FFA with Warren Beeler

    In conjunction with this year’s Caneyville Fair and Homecoming Oct.3-5, the Caneyville Community Club partnered with Caneyville Elementary, The Cattleman’s Association and our local UK Extension Office to highlight agriculture education with our students.  What better way to start off a day immersed in agriculture than to have 2018’s Mr. Agriculture himself and Caneyville Alumni, Mr. Warren Beeler come speak. 

     Mr. Beeler spoke with the students and teachers about how technology is used in farming today.  He gave examples of how, through new Apps and computer programing, farmers can keep up with the barn temperature, food and water intake, milk produced, milk temperature (which aids in detecting illness), and using GPS to plant. 

     Mr. Beeler also discuss what he’s noticed about people who are successful, especially those whom he has seen in and out of his office as Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy.  What he notices is:

  • They are passionate and excited about what they do.
  • They know how to work.
  • They are patient and good listeners.
  • They have positive attitudes.

He also added a few good old-fashioned truths as well. 

  • Being lazy is worse than stealing. 
  • It’s what you do when you don’t have to do anything.
  • It’s okay to not know everything, but don’t waste a day not learning something.
  • People who think they can, can. And people who think they can’t, won’t.
  • It’s just as important how you handle the bottom 2 as how you place the top 2.
  • If you look hard enough, there’s a win in every loss. 

     Mr. Beeler went on to share how some of the toughest times in his life resulted in the greatest blessings he’s received.  Beeler spoke of how his youngest daughter was born severely handicapped, and how he and his wife at first had thought the world had ended. Beeler said “She’s twenty-eight now.  She can’t walk; she can’t talk; she’s like an infant.  But...she loves me, all the time, she don’t sass me, I don’t have to worry about who she’s running around with tonight.  To be honest with you she’s not near as much trouble as all them other 4 we raised...what looked so bad, turned out to be the most wonderful blessing our family could have ever had.  What looked so bad, turned out to be the perfect child.”  Then Beeler told how in December of 1998, the pig business went bad and he had to start over at 43 years old.  Now twenty years later, he stands in front of our students the connection between the governor of Kentucky and agriculture.  Beeler said, “What looked so bad 20 years ago turned out to be the perfect job. How does it get any better than this.” 

     Beeler had one last encouragement.  He mentioned his son went to Caneyville and now has a PhD in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering from Georgia Tech.  He said “Don’t let anyone tell you that because you come from Caneyville you can’t be whatever you want to be.” He said “You can be doctors, lawyers, plumbers and welders and anything you want to be.  The only thing keeping you from being that is you doubting your own self and there’s no reason to do that.  God gives us talent; life gives us the opportunity to develop that talent. So please, please, don’t waste a day.”