Black Swan Event Visits NE

This past week much of Nebraska experienced an event that one simply could not predict. We can imagine that a future flood event may be two times worse than the last worse flood BUT it could be ten times worse! We simply do not know the odds for these kind of rare events or “Black Swans” according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb. When was the last time you saw a black swan? Nebraska experienced a Black Swan this past week.

Shortly after the reports of problems in Nebraska farm country made the news, the folks at A Greener World emailed us asking how our farm & animals were doing. They were wondering if we needed some help. We replied that our farm was fine but to let us know if others in the Animal Welfare family could use some help. They soon replied that all of the farms working with A Greener World certification programs were OK in this area.

Prior to being certified with A Greener World programs (Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Grassfed by AGW), we were required to have a written plan with steps to follow in cases of natural disaster. We appreciated working through that planning process so when something does happen, we know we have options already in black and white to consider in dealing with the situation.

What can we do now to help those who are hurting?

This is a personal decision for everyone to make. Luckily we have a great connection through the Lutheran Church with an aid organization right in the center of the recent Nebraska disaster area. We would encourage everyone to check out Norfolk Nebraska’s very own Orphan Grain Train website.

So in the face of a truly devastating event like this, we take time to re-evaluate how our operation and animals faired. The key take way from Taleb’s writings is to have options. Since we cannot predict how bad these future natural events will be, we are best prepared by having multiple options. One thing is for sure, nature will rebound from this event as it has in the past. Nature has redundancy (options) built in. This is a key reason we try to mimic nature in our farming operation. Nature knows what to do, just follow her pattern. And when a black swan arrives, it is nice to know others are there to lend a helping hand.