Grant Norfleet

Living on a family farm has a strict schedule attached to it. Every task has a specific time and place it needs to be completed. The cows and weaned calves are fed at 3 p.m., show calves are fed at 4:30 p.m., hay is rolled out at 5 p.m., and the dogs are fed promptly at 6 p.m. Now, this is simply the winter schedule; summer is a whole other ball game. 

One of the daily farm chores I am tasked with is picking the cattle pens in the barn. This job needs to be completed each day because the cattle need clean pens to stay in that are free of any and all cow pies. Now let me tell you, I despised this chore so I would always try to convince my brother to do it for me. Sometimes I was successful but most of the time I was not.

After spending more time complaining about the task, than completing it, my father finally snapped. He sternly told me that I was not better than a cow pie. It took a few days for this moment to sink in, but I realized nobody is better than a cow pie. 

In life, there are going to be moments where we will have to do things we do not want to. Rather than attempting to push the task onto someone else, it is easier to take the bull by the horns and complete the task ourselves. It is important to have these moments in life where we take a step back and humble ourselves. We will be tested and encouraged in life to make others do the dirty work, but there is never a time we should feel better than a cow pie.

Growing up, I was a child of the Fine Arts before I was a child of Agriculture. I took piano lessons, participated in art workshops, and even dabbled in a bit of dance. But we don’t talk about the dance thing; Let’s just say it didn’t work out. However, one of my favorite summer activities was participating in Theatre Camp at my community’s performing arts center. 

One of the most memorable moments I had at Theatre Camp was when I played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. During the opening night of the show, I was on stage ready to start my very first scene. Dorothy and Toto prance across the yellow brick road over to the centerstage cornfield. There I was, standing on center stage in silence with a thousand eyeballs focused on me; I had forgotten my line. I did not know what to do. I began to panic and could feel myself starting to sweat, but soon before I knew it, my friend playing Dorthy knew exactly how to help me out━the show must go on!

My Theatre Camp experiences often remind me of the roles we play as FFA members. In our organization, we all play a key role on the agricultural stage. Regardless of our connection to the agriculture industry, we all have the opportunity to use our unique roles to produce the story of agriculture. Even though we cannot be involved in all aspects of agriculture, we as FFA members can build relationships with each other, so we can have connections to the diverse cast of agriculturalists. Whether you participate in agriscience research, raise livestock, grow crops or even work at a local restaurant, your role in agriculture matters. Step out onto the agriculture stage and let your story be in the limelight.