Paulsen Marketing On the Road Blog

Farmer DNA, More Determined than a Protective Mama Cow

greg.guse@paulsenmarketing.com (Greg Guse) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 11:27:09 CDT

Guest blogging today is Krystil Smit, public relations director.

I don’t talk much about the fact that I’m a farmer. It’s not that I’m not proud of being one, because I feel incredibly fortunate that I have lived my entire life on a farm. It’s as much a part of my identity as being born a girl; so I guess the reason I don’t talk much about it is, it’s just who I am.

Because I have a “town job” here at Paulsen, I don’t get to participate in the everyday work on our farm, but I have, over the years, performed nearly every agricultural task you can think of – driving tractor, milking cows, fixing fence, hauling bales, combining, running the grain cart, feeding cattle, pulling calves, shoveling and spreading manure, just to name a few. And to be honest, I’ve loved every second of every task. Well, maybe not so much the manure gig, but it’s a necessary evil.

So when I get a chance to pitch in at the farm, I am eager and able. I’ve been getting more opportunities than normal as of late because my husband recently had back surgery, so he is in recovery mode during spring calving and planting this year.

One recent Sunday morning while checking on the cattle, my son saw a newborn calf had partially fallen through the ice in a shallow creek along the cattle yard, and the protective new mama cow was pacing with anxiety. My son and I headed out in the RTV for “Operation Calf Rescue.” The little fella’s hind legs had broken through the ice, and he was cold and shivering.

A newborn calf weighs about 90 pounds and it took me four attempts to pull him safely to dry ground. My first try, mama cow put her head down and came after me. We repositioned ourselves on the other side of the creek bed, and, from a safer position, my second try I also fell through the ice and was stuck up to my thigh in mud and water as mama cow paced nervously just several feet in front of me. Once I pulled out of the mud – and also retrieved my boot stuck in the mud – I grabbed hold of the calf and pulled his front legs until I freed his hind legs. Mama was mad again so I had to retreat. On the fourth try, I was able to pull him to safety.

It amazed me that within seconds, mama cow found a way to cross the creek, reclaimed her calf and then led him to a safer place to cross the creek again. They headed directly to warm shelter and dry bedding, and later that day the calf was thriving and nursing from his mama.

I felt a lot of pride for rescuing that calf. And while I don’t get to achieve that kind of farm satisfaction day to day, I reconnected with the passion, emotion and immense responsibility for caring for animals that livestock producers do experience daily.

As I write this, another winter storm is upon South Dakota. With last fall’s Winter Storm Atlas still on the minds of cattle producers in this region, the present unrelenting winter we’re experiencing and many baby calves on the ground right now, I can only imagine the anxiety – similar to what that mama cow exhibited for her calf – that livestock owners are feeling. I know one thing; farmers and ranchers will risk it all to save one animal. The heartfelt gratification is worth it. And, it’s just who they are.

greg.guse@paulsenmarketing.com (Greg Guse) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:33:51 CDT

Guest blogging today is Mark Smither, VP, strategic director.

I am 50 years old. In advertising years, I am probably closer to 70. I have experienced a career’s worth of deadline-induced stress and sedentary-related weight gain. This is what happens when you choose a profession that requires staring into a computer screen eight hours a day.

When I was a younger man, I would smoke a pack of Marlboro lights, eat a couple of jelly-filled donuts and wash it all down with a gallon of bitter, black coffee just to get my engine started. By the time I was 30, I had managed to stop smoking. However, I never could give up the sugar and caffeine.

At the half-century mark, I realize that I can’t continue to repeat the same bad habits and expect to remain productive. I need to change—for my clients and colleagues, for my friends and family, and for myself.

Today, our VP, Digital Services, Sara Steever, gave me a self-help book entitled, Younger Next Year. I don’t know if this was just a coincidence or an intervention, but either way I am grateful.

The book, written by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D., draws on the very latest science of aging to show how men 50 or older can become functionally younger every year and continue to live like 50-year-olds well into their 80s. I have to admit, I am intrigued.

Although I haven’t read the book yet (I just received it a few hours ago), I did come across these seven simple rules for living a long, productive life. They seem to make a lot of sense.

Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.
Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life.
Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.
Spend less than you make.
Quit eating crap.
Care.
Connect and commit.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to step away from my computer for a while. I think I hear an elliptical machine calling my name.

Five Cool Agriculture Instagrams

greg.guse@paulsenmarketing.com (Greg Guse) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:46:00 CDT

Guest blogging today is Katie Levitt, creative director.

Instagram is the great photography equalizer. Its forgiving filters allow even (ahem) the most clueless amateurs among us – myself included – to take an okay shot now and then. And it’s a wonderful way to appreciate and share the day-to-day beauty all around us. If you’re an Instagram fan like me, check out these awesome ag-stagrammers:

1. Instagram.com/agrowlife

2. Instagram.com/farming_northamerica

3. Instagram.com/farmpicsdaily

4. Instagram.com/godmadeafarmer

5. Instagram.com/luckycharmsandbeer

Twelve Hours of I-29 Inspiration

greg.guse@paulsenmarketing.com (Greg Guse) — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 07:54:10 CDT

Guest blogging today is Bryan Bjerke, public relations director.

I had the privilege of judging the PR entries for the national Best of NAMA competition this past week. It meant a trip to Kansas City, which meant some drive time. I enjoyed the opportunity to put in six-hours-each-way of windshield time on the drive from Sioux Falls to Kansas City. That’s a lot of windshield time. And a lot of time to reflect on both wide-open spaces and the role agriculture is playing in the world these days.

On both the way down and the way back, I noticed how many semis were moving up and down I-29 hauling grain. It’s a reminder of how grain marketing has changed. Thanks to the huge increases in production, along with significant increases in storage capacity, grain marketing and transport is now, more than ever, a year-round proposition. And the impact the grain markets have on our economy has grown along with it, providing ongoing work and economic impact for both rural America and our overall economy.

Once I got off the Interstate and into Kansas City, I had a chance to marvel at the scope of agriculture through the work of public relations professionals and their work. Best of NAMA showcases the work of advertising and public relations, and this year’s public relations entries showed the increasing scope of agrimarketing, from traditional work involving annual reports and newsletters, to the latest digital advances. There were so many innovative and inspiring ways to tell important stories about farming, farmers, agribusiness and rural life, that it left me tired but inspired by the work and the subjects of that work.

I was honored to be one of the judges for all this work, but even more honored and inspired to be part of an industry that is amazing in its scope. From grain marketing to rural/urban food dialogues, from fertilizer to satellite imagery, many of the true renaissance people today are deeply involved in American agriculture. That insight alone was well worth twelve hours on I-29.

Small Towns Count on Ag Dollars

greg.guse@paulsenmarketing.com (Greg Guse) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 10:36:05 CDT

Just back from the Wheat Growers annual meeting in Huron, S.D. It was an excellent meeting with several outstanding speakers and some very impressive year-end results to share with the cooperative’s membership. Strong commodity prices, increased agronomy performance, and a better-than-expected harvest made 2012-2013 an excellent year for Wheat Growers.

Our agency was proud to be a part of the annual event by producing the annual report and video presentations that highlighted the year and thanked Wheat Growers patrons for their support during the busy planting and harvest seasons.

It had been awhile since I took the back roads of eastern South Dakota on my way to Huron. I have some observations from this 250-mile round trip from Sioux Falls to Huron that I’d like to share.

First, it’s great to see the new homes and large new machinery buildings that have been built in rural areas over the past few years. It’s a sign of a strong, healthy ag economy and it’s good to see positive signs of life, as opposed to the abandoned farmsteads we’ve become accustomed to in years past. I saw several examples of a new home built in addition to the existing farm home, which leads me to believe that a son or daughter has returned to the farm to establish new roots there--haven’t seen that for some time either.

Secondly, it was good to drive through a number of small towns along the way, many with populations of less than 500 people. It’s easy to see how dependent these small towns are on the agricultural economy and the farming community to keep them alive and viable.

In each of these towns, there’s a bank, a bakery and café, a church or two, a feed/seed dealer and elevator, in some cases an implement dealer or car dealer, a veterinary clinic and, of course, the local bar that becomes the town’s gathering place after high school basketball games. Every one of these establishments depends on farmers for their success and survival.

Recently, our agency created a television campaign for the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council titled, “This is Farming.” One of the spots features a feed and hardware dealer in Parker, S.D. The :60 spot is narrated by the business owner with his thoughts as to the importance of farming on his business and the impact of agriculture on his local community. (Click here to see the commercial that’s been running throughout the state for the past month or so.)

My recent trek through eastern South Dakota reaffirmed the fact that agriculture is indeed our state’s largest and most important industry contributing nearly $21.4 billion to our state’s economy and creating nearly 173,000 jobs.

I’m darn proud to be part of this industry and for the opportunity to help tell agriculture’s story through the clients who’ve placed their trust in our agency.

Spending a day in the country gives a person a whole new outlook. I highly recommend it.