No Pecking Way

We're not giving up!

The world may feel particularly treacherous right now.

It requires courage to dive in, but you are a courageous creature.

Keep moving. Keep going. Keep standing up tall.

You are the bravest bird of them all. — Heebeejeebees, who never forgets her cousins are eagles.

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

A few weeks back, I asked y’all for suggestions on finding community. I got so many lovely ideas, including one reader suggesting I pull my community into this newsletter via Q+As. What a brilliant idea, thanks, Melanie!

Today, I have a discussion (lightly edited for length and clarity) with Megan Brown, a sixth-generation cattle rancher in California. (We’ll be back to regular farm updates next time!)

Megan and I could not have more different cattle rearing backgrounds, she grew up on a ranch, while I’ve mostly learned from YouTube. But, despite our backgrounds, we’ve both ended up in a similar place: Believing that agriculture would be a better place if empathy was seen as a feature, not a bug.

AC: You’re actively working on taking over your father’s cattle operation and you recently bought your very own ranch. Was taking over the family business something you always wanted?

MB: My whole life, this has been my legacy. It’s something I have always wanted. But taking over the operation, buying my own ranch, that’s like the culmination of 40 years of trauma. Growing up, I was a sensitive, empathetic child. That’s not something that’s seen as a good thing in agriculture. My father worked hard to stamp that out of me. Growing up, the model of working cattle [moving cattle through a pen to give vaccines or sort them], was that there was screaming, yelling, and throwing of things. Before we would work cattle, I would wake up and throw up from the anxiety. I had to unlearn all of that. Now, I have a chance to build my own legacy, to help others and to build something I can someday give to my nieces.

AC: What is your plan for your new ranch (which is so gorgeous!)?

MB: Good people want to leave the future brighter for others, and that is what I want to do. I am partnering with friends who are first-generation ranchers. They started with a U-pick peach orchard and are now interested in cattle. But this is a tough industry. So they’re helping me around the ranch—they were out helping build a fence last weekend—and I am giving them a good deal, compared to what market rates are on using the land for grazing. They’re good people who are going to raise good cattle and do good things. Having them around to help me is so fun, too. My goal is to be wildly successful while helping others along the way.

AC: You’ll have your herd of cattle on your new ranch, too, right? Tell me about them.

MB: That’s right. Most of my cattle have been raised by my dairy cows, and I give them treats, so they’re very tame. Recently, I had to gather a whole field of cows on my own, and my dad watched me do it just by calling them. He was agape. He said, “Megan, you’re a better cattle woman than I have ever been.” I have relationships with my cattle. I can doctor them by myself if I need to. I try to give them the best lives they could possibly have.

AC: I feel like, if more women were in positions of power in agriculture, there might be considerably less cruelty in animal agriculture.

MB: I agree.

AC: What makes you hopeful about the future of women in agriculture?

MB: I’m not actually sure. Now, more than ever before, we do have more women in leadership roles. For example, the president of the Farm Bureau is a woman. But sometimes I’m not sure how much of that is tokenism—and how much of it is women actually making progress. I mean, the fence builder keeps asking to talk to my dad and I’m like, who is the one writing the checks? I don’t know that we have enough women in power speaking out about sexism in agriculture. When I started speaking out about it in 2017, I just got piled on. They made an example out of me. But I can take it. I’m a hosebeast. And I’m a petty bitch in the best possible way; I’m going to keep speaking out and helping others while also working on my own success.

AC: What’s your advice for beginning farmers?

MB: This is super cliche, but find some mentors. And that’s not always easy. But even if they are only online mentors, it really helps to have someone who has been doing this for a while in your corner.

Community. We all need it. Now more than ever.

And, because I don’t want to not give you all an update from the farm at all, here’s the update. It’s still winter. There’s still snow. We’re all thinking about moving to Megan’s place in California!

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

Have you downloaded the 5 Calls App yet? It’s a super easy app that tracks issues your legislators should be engaged with. You can pick an issue, and it will give you a script and pull up the phone numbers of your legaslators. I know it can be scary to call strangers, but channel your inner Heebeejeebees.