Pennoyer featured in Ram video

The Pennoyer family, Arnold, Donna and Jessie, attended the 91st Annual National FFA Convention last week in Indianapolis where Arnold was recognized by the national organization as well as the Ram Truck brand as one of three finalists in "The Farmer in All of Us" program as an individual who has made an impact on the agriculture community. To commemorate and celebrate of the fifth anniversary of Ram Truck's iconic Super Bowl commercial featuring Paul Harvey's speech "So God Made a Farmer" Ram Trucks set out to find a few special people who have impacted the agriculture industry by hosting a contest. Nominations were submitted, and three ordinary people doing extraordinary things were selected as finalists.

Three categories were selected by Ram they felt best reflected the spirit of "The Farmer in All of Us", the Icon, the Innovator and the Future.

Pennoyer was chosen as the Icon.

At the meeting of the FFA Alumni at the convention, they introduced him, saying, "Arnold Pennoyer is a rancher from Wyoming who is a third generation rancher. He has been working his ranch and giving back to the community for decades. His humility and dedication to his family and the land will really shine through and speak to the farmer in us all."

Ram Truck's partnership with the FFA is in it's 60th year and their presence this year at convention featured an exclusive live performance by country recording artist Easton Corbin and the recognition of three finalists of the "The Farmer in All of Us" program. A compilation video showed the finalists at work set to the music of Corbin.

Once selected as a finalist, a film crew flew out to film Pennoyer at work around his ranch. They toured the area and chose a few spots to film footage and do some audio, asking him questions about his life and operation. A separate video featuring just Pennoyer should be released on YouTube in mid-November.

At first Pennoyer was nervous about the whole contest, not even realizing he had been nominated until he received a call from the marketing agency that handles Ram Trucks. Overall, he felt it was a great experience though, "It was fun to meet the other winners. It was really neat how they used the drone to capture some of the footage. When trying to film the cows, they did not like the noise it made and they ran!"

The promotion nomination form, which revolves around Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" speech he delivered in front of the convention 40 years ago, asked just two questions – How does the nominee represent the ideals of "God Made a Farmer" and how has the nominee impacted their community.

To answer the first question, "As a third generation rancher, Arnold is the embodiment of character, spirit and ideals of "God Made a Farmer". He's up at the crack of dawn, works hard all day, everyday, and always thinking of the land, animals and others before himself. He's been up all night helping a heifer deliver her first calf, taking a cow with a breech calf to the vet or bottle feeding a calf who has lost his mom.

"Taking care of the cows also means irrigating fields and putting up enough hay to feed them through harsh winter months. Working the land and managing rangeland for grazing also takes a gentle, caring hand, Arnold takes great pride in being a good steward of our land and natural resources. Without proper management of those resources a rancher can not succeed.

"Any farmer or rancher worth a darn has many friends and that certainly is Arnold. He would give up any "free" time in order to help a neighbor trail their cows, vaccinate cows or help work on a broken down tractor. He never complains that he might not have time, he just asks 'when do you need me to be there or I'll be right over'. And yes, he has also helped neighbors fight a fire at their house and also on another neighbor's rangeland...that's just what you do, no questions asked.

"Even after many a days hard work he has managed to find time to serve on the county Fair Board, Conservation Board and the Weed & Pest Board."

Growing up as a third generation rancher he knew the sacrifices and hard work involved, he went to college and returned back to the family ranch willing to take on what God had planned for him. Raising his daughter he has tried to instill the commitment and dedication needed to be a rancher. She is attending college studying Farm and Ranch Management in hopes of returning to the family ranch to be a fourth generation of God's caretakers.

"Is Arnold strong, tough, caring, expect hard work? Yes, he expects of others nothing less than he expects of himself. There is no easy road in farming and ranching, it is hard work, but you can take pride in knowing you've done the best you can, that you've done it yourself and you are helping feed the world. Being one of God's caretakers takes sacrifice, commitment and dedication."

How has the nominee impacted their community?

"Even with his busy life on the ranch, Arnold managed to carve out time to have served on the Hot Springs Conservation District Board for 28 years and currently still serves on the Hot Springs County Fair Board since 1985 (33 years), the Hot Springs County Weed & Pest Board since 1983 (35 years) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Board since 2014 (5 years). Those are four boards that are directly related to life on a farm/ranch, this is why Arnold is/was involved with them.

"Serving on the Conservation Board is part of taking care of our natural resources and helping educate other farmers and ranchers so they can be good stewards of their land. The Conservation District works with the USDA NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) and between the two entities they can offer grants and monies to help farmers and ranchers with land, water and other natural resource projects to improve their land, production, etc. Arnold put in many hours at board meetings and sub-committee meetings helping the county and locals.

"Serving on the Weed & Pest Board also goes along with taking care of our land and resources as well. As a board member he helps educate others regarding noxious weeds and pests and invasive species. They also support many programs that benefit farmers and ranchers, either through grants, supplies or services.

"Probably one of the most meaningful boards for Arnold has been the Fair Board. Having grown up in Hot Springs County, Arnold participated in county fair through 4-H and FFA, so when presented the opportunity to serve on the board, he jumped in. Our Fair Board handles so much more than just county fair though, the fairgrounds are busy throughout the year with barrel racing, rodeos, demo derby, horse sales, archery tournaments, horse cuttings and being a venue for weddings, family reunions, meetings, etc. And then when County Fair time comes, all work ceases on the ranch and Arnold comes to town for the week to weigh and tag animals, supervise shows, and help direct the livestock sale. Arnold gives 110 percent to fair.

"Also, for the past few years Arnold has enjoyed serving on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Board, which is a direct link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They help the local farmers/ranchers with programs, education and funding."

Additional comments made about Pennoyer: "Most farmers and ranchers live in a rural community, some live closer to town than others. Arnold lives approximately 40 miles west of town. He has devoted many hours of service to the community and the many boards he has served on. Many of those board meetings take place in the evening, so after a long day's work, Arnold would make time to drive in to attend or even chair most of those meetings. On a clear, sunny day it takes him almost 40 minutes to get to town. During the winter or in the dark, many times it takes an hour or better to get to town (one way). That takes dedication and the belief that he can make a difference.

"As stated in the first question, he has inspired his daughter to believe in the future of agriculture by following in his footsteps as a fourth generation rancher. She has also followed in more ways than one...she will be receiving her American Degree at the 91st National FFA Convention. Arnold was the very first member from Thermopolis to receive the American Degree. He is very proud that she will receive hers as well."

The link to view the video is https://youtu.be/fiEQPVMKnqQ