Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 78: How to Be Taken Seriously as a Young, First-Gen, or Female Producer

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78: How to Be Taken Seriously as a Young, First-Gen, or Female Producer · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Welcome to another episode of
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  the Cattle USA Daily podcast. Today we are going to be talking
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  about first generation producers, young producers,
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  female producers, what that looks like for those individuals
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  within the industry and how to be taken seriously as one of
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  those people. Because here's the thing, just
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  because you're new, it does not mean that you're clueless.
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  And just because you're different, it doesn't mean that
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  you don't belong. For anyone who has walked into
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  anywhere and whether that be a sale barn, a meeting or just
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  meeting with another producer and you fell out of place, this
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  is for you. And this is some encouragement
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  for you as a female producer myself who grew up in this
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  industry that can just gain some understanding for some people
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  and then also just share the story, right?
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  And here's the thing, I am not here to talk to you about
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  demanding respect. Absolutely not.
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  You do not because you are a young producer, because you're a
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  first Gen. producer, because you're a female producer.
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  It does not mean that you automatically get respect within
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  the industry. No one gets that.
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  And so just because you fall into one of those categories
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  doesn't mean you get it either. We are here to talk about
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  earning respect, building it and walking into it.
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  That is what we are here to talk about today.
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  So elephant in the room, right? AG has traditionally been
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  dominated by older generations, men and multi generational
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  operations. It is important for us to
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  acknowledge that and that's fine.
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  That's amazing, that's awesome. I have no problem with our
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  history being that way. That is not the way the AG is
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  going to be continuing to evolve.
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  Are those still the dominated areas within AG?
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  Absolutely. But we are seeing more and more
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  young producers, first generation producers or female
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  producers come into the fold. And I want you to understand as
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  someone who has lived through this their entire life, that
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  understand that skepticism might not be personal.
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  Often it is cultural or a generational thing.
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  Look at it in any other standpoint of a minority group
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  within a situation that if you're going against the grain
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  or against the way things have always been, or you're showing
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  up in ways that are unexpected, it might not be a personal
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  attack. It might just be a cultural
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  thing or generational thing and people just aren't used to it.
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  But here's the thing, big fat. But you don't have to accept
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  disrespect or shrink to fit into AG.
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  We want you here. We absolutely do.
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  So here is how we can start to build some credibility within
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  this because that is such an important aspect of gaining
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  respect and earning respect is walking into a room with
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  credibility. So first and foremost, know your
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  numbers. Nothing earns respect faster
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  than being sharp on your business, especially if you're
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  having business discussions, if you are meeting with a banker,
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  if you are meeting with a loan officer, if you are meeting with
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  someone about land rentals. Know your numbers, know your
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  business because that is one of the quickest ways to gain
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  respect. The next thing with this is I
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  want you to be asking smart questions.
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  Even if you are new. Curiosity framed with purpose
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  shows that you were there to learn and to lead.
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  No question is a dumb question. Ask the questions because people
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  want to tell you and it is better for you to ask the
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  question than to pretend like you know the answer and then
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  make a fool out of yourself. The next thing.
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  Take notes, remember names and show up early.
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  Those things that are considered little, they actually go a
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  really long way. And this is coming from someone
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  who still to this day has a very hard time remembering names.
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  And that is something that I am continuously trying to get
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  better at. But acknowledge that the little
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  things go a long way and then let your words speak.
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  You do not need to prove your worth in every conversation.
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  Consistency over time builds A reputation unlike anything else.
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  You do not need to go into every conversation and defend yourself
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  of why you deserve a place in this industry.
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  That's absolutely not what we're asking.
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  I'm asking you to go into these conversations and into these
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  relationship building scenarios with an open mind, understanding
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  the reality check that we talked about in the beginning, but then
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  also understanding the fact that you are not here to demand
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  respect. You're here to earn it, just
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  like everyone else has to. And you know what?
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  Sometimes you might have to work a little bit harder to get that
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  respect. That is also the reality of it.
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  But that does not mean that you get to sit there and cry and
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  whine and be like, woe is me, I'm a female producer in the
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  industry and things aren't going my way.
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  Use that as a stepping stone. Use that as part of your
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  testimony of like, hey, I went through all of this adversity
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  and I still showed up every single day and I beat the odds.
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  And I am someone who is pushing to have my name known within the
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  industry, to have relationships that continue to build my
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  operation and build my legacy. At the end of the day, you don't
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  earn respect by just walking into a room and you
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  automatically get it. You earn respect by doing these
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  things, by building credibility and by having good
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  communication. So with communication, this is
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  an area that your words, they matter.
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  They absolutely matter with this.
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  Speak plainly, not passively. And what I mean when I say this
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  is I want you to own your words. I do not want you to be saying
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  I'm just XYZ or sorry, but no, no apologizing for who you are.
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  And no, I'm just, I know so many people that say I'm just a
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  rancher. I'm just a farmer.
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  No, that's something to be really proud of.
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  Own your words. You are a farmer.
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  You are a rancher. That is amazing.
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  And The thing is with that, that holds a lot of merit.
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  There is no I'm just in front of it with conversations.
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• 6:51
  a goal, it is a necessity. Here at Cattle USA, we are
• 6:54
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• 7:01
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• 7:03
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  Today I want you to know when to listen and when to speak.
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  There are times where silence or giving space to someone as
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  someone who can listen is way powerful than any words that
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  will ever come out of your mouth.
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  And this is coming from someone who also likes to talk.
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  The thing about communicating is silence is overlooked these
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  days. We don't know how to have a
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  conversation and let there be a blip of silence between the
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  person that was just talking ending and then you beginning to
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  speak. We don't know how to do that
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  anymore. It's uncomfortable in a world
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  where everything is go, go, go, go, go.
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  Learn how to listen. Learn how to listen well.
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  Don't listen to people and just be the entire time.
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  Be thinking I what's my response going to be?
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  What's my response going to be? Or like they say something in
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  the beginning and then you think like, oh, I'm going to respond
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  to that part and you're thinking about that the whole time.
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  And then you don't listen to anything else that they just
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  said. No when to listen and no when to
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  speak. And when you speak, speak
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  plainly, not passively. Also, when you speak, don't over
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  explain. Confidence can be quiet and it
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  can be short. You do not need to sit there and
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  explain yourself for minutes and minutes and minutes.
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  Sometimes a sentence is just as powerful as 10.
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  And finally, I want you to be handling criticism like a pro.
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  I want you to say thanks for that perspective.
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  Move on and that conversation and then on your own time,
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  filter the useful from the noise.
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  But every conversation when you get criticism, thank you for
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  your perspective on that. Because at the end of the day, 9
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  times out of 10, people aren't giving you criticism to try and
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  tear you down. They're giving you criticism to
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  try and build you up or try and make you better.
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  And sometimes the delivery of that criticism is not always the
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  best. That is the reality of the
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  situation. So thank you for that
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  perspective. Move on.
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  And then when you're in your own time, you're going to filter the
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  useful criticism from the noise. OK, as we round out this
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  podcast, I want to remind you guys that no matter where you
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  are and your operational standards and your operational
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  building, all of the things you are not behind, you're building
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  something new. And that is going to take time.
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  So give yourself grace and permission to just be where you
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  are. You are going to continue to
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  build, but don't look at your life the entire time and think
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  that you're behind because all of a sudden you're going to get
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  20 years down the road and you were going to think to yourself,
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  I wish I would have lived a little bit more in the moment
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  when I had the chance. Next legacy does not have to
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  mean that land was passed down. It can be built from scratch.
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  You are the start of your legacy.
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  You are either the start of your legacy, you're the continuation
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  of your legacy, or you're the change in the legacy.
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  Which are you going to be? And here's the thing with that.
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  You belong in every single room that God puts you in.
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  If you were in a room and that imposter syndrome is coming
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  through and you're like, what am I doing in this room?
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  I do not belong here. This is uncomfortable.
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  Good God is putting you there to grow.
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  He's putting you there to push you.
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  And the reality of that situation is that if you were
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  walking into every single room extremely comfortable, I would
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  challenge you and say that you need to be walking into new
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  rooms because life was not meant to be comfortable and growth and
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  comfort are not in the same sentence.
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  You belong in every single room that he has put you in.
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  And there is power and being underestimated.
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  So use it. Surprise the industry with
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  excellence. Go out there and make something
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  new. Make something so powerful and
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  exhilarating and something that lights your soul on fire and
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  surprise the industry with excellence.
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  Because the young producers out there, the first generation
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  producers out there, the female producers out there, whatever
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  you may be, there's a lot. There's a lot coming in this
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  industry with all of those people.
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  And I am so excited to see how the agricultural industry
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  continues to evolve and how the beef industry continues to
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  change and develop with all of these new individuals coming
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  into it. I want to remind you guys that
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  respect is earned through consistency, clarity and having
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  courage. And I also want to finally
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  remind you, our first point that we had on when we walked in
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  today, that respect cannot be demanded.
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  It is earned. So walk into rooms, think about
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  your communication, think about how you are showing up as an
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  individual within the industry and continue to push the
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  industry forward because you all absolutely can do it.
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  So thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of
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  the Cattle USA Daily Podcast. I hope you all enjoyed this one.
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  A little bit of a shift and kind of what we typically talk about,
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  but I really enjoyed sitting down and discussing all of this
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  with you guys. As always, if you have a moment,
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  please like subscribe, rate and review.
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  We really, really do appreciate it here at the team.
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  It continues to allow us to grow and bring on some amazing guest
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  speakers for you guys to hear from different industries within
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  the agricultural industry. So as always, I hope you guys
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  have a great Friday and we will see you all on Monday on another
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  episode of the Cattle USA Daily Podcast.
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  Have a good one y'all.