I have another cowgirl feature for you today! 🙂 I love showcasing the great women and men in the ranching world. By it's very nature, it tends to be a lifestyle that is lived mostly in solitude, or at least partial isolation from most of society. Many thousands of people in our great country have no idea what life is like for those of us who put food on the table for everyone.
I am happy to introduce you to Meghan - a woman who is quite busy and talented! Read on...
1. Name: Meghan Anderson
2. Where do you live? Guide Rock, Nebraska. My husband, Troy, and I ranch alongside his parents, and his family has been involved in ranching for at least 120 years.
3. Job Title? I am a beef specialist for Aurora Cooperative Elevator Company.
4. Tell me a little about your job description. I have a day job where I work as the beef specialist for Aurora Cooperative. I work with cow/calf producers and feedlot operators mostly. I market animal health, feed supplements, mineral and ethanol co-products to them. I also help them with their feed rations and develop least cost feed plans for them. When I come home in the afternoon/evenings and on the weekends I help Troy with our operation. It consists of a commercial and purebred Angus herd, developing replacement heifers, marketing Angus bulls and we are currently building a backgrounding yard. We also have a 16 month old son.
5. What are some things you enjoy doing in your time off? I enjoy running, gardening, competing with my horses and spending time with friends and family. I also blog at huskercowgirl.wordpress.com. I am in the first National Cattlemens' Beef Association / King Ranch Institute of Ranch Management Beef Scholars program. We are in the first year of a two year program.
6. What is something you enjoy about your job? I don't believe what I do is a "job", but a lifestyle. Our life together revolves around the cattle, horses and taking care of the land that supports us. Its something we want to do no matter what Mother Nature throws at us. Somebody once said to Troy, "Why don't you sleep in on a Sunday and not do any work?" His reply was, "There are no Sundays west of Omaha."
We don't take vacations, but sometimes can sneak away for a one day trip, usually to a bull or cattle sale. But this lifestyle wouldn't be traded for anything. I was fortunate to be part of NCBA's Young Cattlemens' Conference last year. If it wasn't for the beef industry supporting its young producers, I would not have had the opportunity to attend the conference. I'm proud to be in agriculture!
Great post!