Our home ranch is featured in this month’s Edible Austin magazine.  If you like the photos, they are a credit to my husband and partner, Ralph Mitchell.  He’s also the one responsible for doing the steak grilling for the taste-testing we do of each harvest of beef, not to mention the bulk of the ranch work.

This article presents an idyllic view of our life.  In reality, it is hard work almost every day.  It is also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.

While I was in Washington D.C. last week, a cab driver from Mauritius, upon hearing that I ranched for a living, asked how many hours a week we worked and what we did for a vacation.  He seemed surprised when I explained we pretty much worked  while the sun was up and that time off the ranch was only by necessity.

I found myself explaining that although we work really hard almost every day, our “vacations” come in small moments that don’t happen during most people’s work life.   Often, in the midst of a stressful event, I’ll be caught by the beauty of a nighthawk chasing insects in the morning sun, or the smell of clover in bloom.  As it mentions in the article, we sometimes turn a routine chore like checking on the cows into a mini romantic interlude.  Honestly, if I had a week with no responsibilities or duties, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here on our home ranch.

I wonder how much different the world would be if most people were able to find the same kind of reward in their daily labor.

Back when President Obama got elected, he promised to include Washington outsiders in his new administration.  In that vein, anyone could go to the change.gov website and submit a resume to be “considered for a position in the Obama-Biden administration”.  I, along with a number of members of my church community, did so.  None of us really thought we were likely to be contacted, but the whole idea was still kind of cool.

In August of 2009, while I was selling our ranch’s beef at the Georgetown Farmer’s Market, I got a call from the White House personnell office asking if I’d be interested in following up on my application.  Once they convinced me they were for real, and that the position wouldn’t require me to leave my beloved Texas, I embarked on an 9-month process of interviews, FBI background checks, paperwork and more paperwork.  In the end, I became one of three Presidential nominees for the board of directors of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, fondly known as “Farmer Mac“.  Tomorrow, I am scheduled to appear before the Senate Ag Committee to be confirmed.

Farmer Mac is the ag equivalent of the better known Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  It is a publicly held (i.e. for profit) institution created by government mandate to help make loans available to rural america.  Of the 15 directors, 5 are appointed by the President.  The job of the Presidential appointees, as representatives of rural America, is to help make sure that Farmer Mac meets its mission.

I’ve been in Washington all week.  At 45 years old, I can safely say I am no longer a wide-eyed innocent, full of idealistic dreams.  However, my week here has made me excited to begin this new adventure.  It is encouraging that a small rancher, not to mention one who makes much of her living through farmer’s markets, would be chosen for this position.  These are interesting times for agriculture and for our economy.  The status quo is being examined and many new ideas are being thrown into the mix.  I look forward to listening, learning and doing my small part create solutions.