Life Lessons
Limi Boosters
By Erica Peterson, Limi Booster president
It was a great time at the 2019 National Junior
Limousin Show & Congress. First off, I want to
give a great big “THANK YOU” to the Missouri
association for hosting. It’s hard work, lots of
sweat, and probably even a few tears to get
through that week as the host. Secondly,
thank you NALF staff and NALJA board of
directors. Hats off to you for making the
week fun for all juniors and their families.
Limi Boosters are excited to have another year
of tremendous support from our breeders.
Our mission is to raise funds to promote
Limousin Juniors. We have a great group of
young people in our breed. Giving state grants
and individual scholarships helps us keep
that going! Some of us on the Limi Boosters
board grew up in the breed and others came
to love it as we were adults. But all of us have
a passion for the cattle and for our juniors.
As we round out another summer, I
leave you with this thought:
Reality Check.
We had one of the hardest days we’ve had in a
long time several months ago. We said goodbye
to a best friend, someone who helped our son
learn that he was bigger and braver than he ever
thought he could be. Someone who helped him
understand that even though you are small, you
can do great things. She was patient with him,
kind and calm. When he was a second year 4-Her,
she was perfect for him during a time when he
questioned if he had what it took to show cattle.
We had a life lesson that hurt. But then again, don’t
most life lessons hurt? They probably wouldn’t
be called lessons if there wasn’t a little sting to
them. This one though, it hurt more than usual.
We learned what I think a growing number of
American’s struggle to grasp, that we raise livestock
for a purpose. They provide us food, whether it
be directly or indirectly. Do we care for them? Oh
yes. Do some of them become a pet? Certainly.
Do we want the best quality of life for them?
Without a doubt. But in the end, even when we
have a special animal that has made a mark on a
young man’s life, we raise cattle to do a job. And
when their job is complete, we sell them and we
harvest them. In this case, a show heifer that was
very special to Memphis hurt herself badly enough
she could not be put back into production and
she was sold. And it was difficult. There were tears
and there was worry that somehow he had caused
her issues. Then there was the startling reality,
that despite the hope this day would never come,
it happened. In the end, even when we really
care for an animal they do die. The work we do in
ranching is not easy work. We put hours and hours
into keeping animals nurtured. We grow attached.
We consider them special. But they do serve a
purpose beyond a show ring, barn or pasture.
Animals are not people. We want them to be.
PETA and other animal rights activists will tell us
they are. We assign human qualities to them and
cartoons and movies make us believe they can
be people. But they aren’t people. Do animals feel
pain, yes. Do each of them have habits and certain
things they like and dislike, most definitely. They
deserve to be cared for and to know the routine
of a day. They deserve to not be beaten and left
for dead. But they are animals. And they serve a
purpose. Livestock play a role in our ecosystem.
They forage, help eat things nothing else will.
Allow us to grow food on land that won’t support
crops. They give us meat, milk, and eggs. In our
house we talk about this a lot. Both of my children
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