I am a mom to four wonderful children. They’re growing up too fast and two of them are out of the house and in college – how did that happen? I think like most parents with older kids, I now spend a lot of time reflecting on what I have done well and what I have done not so well. Maybe it’s in preparation for grandkids (although I think I am too young for that) and what I can do differently.

What I have realized is that it is really hard being a parent, especially since each child is different and each child requires some special attention and specific/different needs. I know I have made more mistakes than I would like to admit; however, I also reflect on some of the good I have done.

I wish I could go back and change how I handled many different situations. I know I can’t. I also know that I could not protect my kids from every danger, every bad word, every bad person they encountered. Even though I know I could not shield them, I did try and give them lifelong skills to learn to protect themselves. That skill is the one thing I know I actually did right. I always taught my kids to have a voice.

My dad taught me early in my life that using my voice was a way of letting people know where I stand and what I am thinking or feeling. The decision of whether to make a change based on what I said was not on me — it was on others, but at least I made sure I was heard. Teaching my kids this skill has been empowering to say the least. Understanding they can speak their mind and walk away from a situation knowing they have been heard is a big deal for me and I hope for them also.

We, as the poultry industry, have a voice and I want everyone to make sure they take advantage of that voice. We don’t always agree with policy from USDA FSIS, but we always have a voice. Our voice can be spoken together in a unified way through trade associations, but it can and should also be more personal (or company specific). It is really important to tell your story and everyone in industry has a great story to tell, whether it is the very small processor that will go out of business because regulations require extra equipment/ testing/insert whatever fits here, or it is a larger processor that will need time to prepare for changes throughout their entire company. These are all stories that need to be told. USDA needs to know these individual stories. It is our duty to each answer the question, “What does this change mean for my company?”

USDA FSIS has a structure in place for industry to have a voice. The agency has a comment period and we should comment. It is important that everyone understands the importance of these comments. It is your way of being heard and being heard is critical for us as an industry. These comments are read, logged and counted and people at USDA listen. Understand that they may not change the policy, but they will listen, and you never know when that listening ear may make an impact or a change.

Tell your story, whether you are very small, small or large. Use your “voice” on paper and comment. Be authentic in your comments. Don’t cut and paste and use what another company or trade association has written as your comment; that is a sure way of creating a non-listening environment. Think about it: If you were the people at USDA reading and logging the comments and 1,000 of the comments were exactly the same, sometimes with the same misspelled word or wrong comma (it happens), would you “listen”? If there is not a lot of effort in being authentic with the comment, would you listen? You would read it — but would you listen to what the comment is really saying?

To this day, I am not shy about using my voice. People always know where I stand. Do I always expect things to go my way just because I use my voice? No. I think that’s unrealistic to assume I have that kind of power. But I always use my voice and effectively communicate (or at least make the best effort I can) what this situation means to me. I am always authentic, probably painfully so if you ask my colleagues. Use your voice, comment and be heard. Just remember to check with your employer policy before you submit a comment. I encourage everyone to use their voice.

The voices of many are greater than the voice of one

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