I recently saw the headline “Be a Mac in a PC world,” and I loved it. Possibly because the first computer I ever bought was a MacIntosh and my husband has never let me live it down. To him, Mac’s were so different - they were their own world. To me, that Mac launched my journalism career.

But another reason I like the idea of being a Mac in a PC world is that it takes guts to be different. Yes it is a risk, but the payoffs can far outweigh the ordinary. Think about your beef operation, are you doing things the same because that is how they’ve always been done? Or are you prodding yourself to aim higher, do better, be different?

I received a piece of mail today with an Eleanor Roosevelt quote that really sums it up. She said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do things you think you cannot do.”

BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly contributor Troy Marshall, who is also a Colorado cattle producer recently wrote about what he views as challenges to the beef industry. Of course, we can all agree that the future success of beef lies in maintaining and growing beef demand. But Marshall says a threat that the industry needs to keep a close eye on is animal welfare, animal rights and environmental issues.

Particularly groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) and the like are now using the environmental movement against animal agriculture. For instance, they recently capitalized on a United Nations report that claims livestock production produces more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation.

As always, PETA in particular has been adept at garnering free publicity as it targets the new de facto leader of the environmental movement — Al Gore — to get this message across. It’s just one more example where we, the beef producers in this country, need to do a better job of explaining what we do and why we do it to the public. So when these types of messages that are unkind to agriculture surface, people can sort fact from fiction.

The leaves are starting to turn golden and there is definately an evening chill in the air here in South Dakota. Our kids are slowly getting into their school and preschool routines. Last week our three-year old had her first day of preschool and all summer she has been so looking forward to it. However, the night before the big day, she wouldn’t eat, asked to go to bed early, and had bad dreams and a fever in the night.

The next morning she was still acting pretty sickly, but I took her to preschool because I didn’t want her to miss the first day. I stayed with her for about a half an hour and then she started doing better once she got used to the environment. I was relaying this story to a friend who happens to have cattle, and of it, he said, “She gave herself shipping fever!” I laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess she did.” Now a week has gone by and she (our little 3 year old) is back on feed and doing fine!

I tell that story because there are lots of calves (and kids) around the country who are being taken out of their normal routine with weaning (or school) and put into an unfamiliar environment. As a producer (and a parent) do what you can to make that transition a smooth and comfortable one. Your cattle - and your kids - will perform better in the long run.

Since I’m telling kid stories, another fun one from our summer was our foray into a sheep project. My husband and I decided it was time for our kids (who are 7, 5 and 3) to get some chores. So in June we were able to borrow three sheep from a neighbor. We got some panels and rotated the sheep around on some places where we had extra grass. By the end of the summer, hubby and I were noticing that the kids weren’t too involved and it was more of a “chore” for he and I to care for those sheep. We laugh now and say it brought us closer together! The sheep have since gone back to greener pastures at the neighbors. But our little three year old just asked the other day if we’ll be getting sheep again next summer. I guess it will depend on how badly her dad and I want to do some extra chores!