"Raising Kids through Livestock, not Livestock through kids."

     Hello everyone and welcome back to Thirsty (for info) Thursday's!

This week I feel really compelled to speak about what is going on with the Kern County Fair Drug Testing Scandal.  I first off want to say that I have had a major out pour from the community to ask of my opinion on the subject and up till right now I have tried to have no opinion what so ever. But as I read on a National News Website my home town's name being used in the same report that could very well start a chain reaction to eliminate CA Livestock shows, I felt something proper needed to be said.
There is two things in this world that I believe in most, the youth and agriculture. That would definitely lead me to the conclusion that I strongly believe that there is no better way to teach a youngster the most valuable life skills than competing in junior livestock shows.  When I read this article, my heart sank. I can't describe it any more clear than that. What hurt me was the fact that not once was the youth ever considered in the article. I honestly feel this best describes what is most wrong with today's current "usage" of the show livestock system. Weather these parents like it or not, they need to put their vicarious ways aside and hand the projects back to the youth. I feel that if we focus on the personal goals of each child, and not the goals of social hierarchy these scandals will not come about. I feel that we can redefine the words "winner" and "champion" by teaching  youth to have self reliance and simply understanding that doing everything ethically and morally possible is all we can control. We need to uplift the youth and entertain the idea to them that believing in themselves is the ultimate goal for this program. Kids should be showing livestock because they love to, not because of what we feel they should do. By giving every aspect of the projects back to the youth, they now take pride in what they do. When children have pride for themselves, they want to express it to their peers, thus allowing Showing Livestock to be socially popular which in turn will expand the industry. Even though I and lots of others would love for every child that goes through the program to choose agriculture as a career choice, it is not logical to ask that of them. The only thing we can do is make sure that no matter what line of work kid's want to get into, the skills that they learned through showing livestock can be utilized in any walk of life.
In a whole I feel that this scandal came about because of the greed of parents on both sides of the so called fence. Raising kids through livestock, not livestock through kids is the way I approach this industry, and I strongly feel that if more people can realize the value of those words this industry will never die.
Thank you for your time in Hearing my opinion.
Sincerely,
Jordan Dooley
661 865 8837
earnpurpleinc@gmail.com