Luke Russert has a problem. No, it isn’t a problem with terrorism. And it isn’t a problem with pesky things such as free college, or defense, or even the Oscar woes that Al Sharpton seems to have an issue with. Instead he has a problem with United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA). You see, when it was announced that she would give the response to the State of the Union address, Russert tweeted:

Joni Ernst's meteoric rise continues. This time last year she was an unknown pig farmer, on Tues she will deliver GOP SOTU response.

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) January 15, 2015

Boy howdy! There’s a backhanded compliment in there….somewhere! Luke, as you’ve now discovered, your tweet is falling flatter than a pancake. You see, Sen. Joni Ernst is MUCH more than “just” a pig farmer. Luke, she didn’t just pop up out of nowhere and decide to run for office. In fact, she has quite a record as a businesswoman, landowner, and military veteran. Lets take a look.

I was born and raised in Montgomery County. I grew up walking beans and feeding hogs. My mom made all of my clothes. We went to church every week, helped our neighbors when they needed it, and they did the same for us. These were the values I was raised with, and they’re the same values I have fought my entire life to promote and protect.

She has contributed to the security and safety of Iowa and of the United States for over 21 years.

In fact, she is still serving today as a Lt. Col in the IA National Guard. According to Benny Johnson at the National Review:

A day after winning one of the most contested Senate seats in the country, Joni Ernst reported for duty at her National Guard base. Ernst, a lieutenant colonel, started two days of training with the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion on Thursday.
“Not many folks know she is in uniform on Thursday and Friday,” Ernst’s husband Gail tells National Review Online, “She does it without fanfare.”
A spokesman for the Iowa National Guard, Greg Hapgood, says soldiers don’t “punch the clock.” “We serve regardless of our situations and Colonel Ernst doesn’t want to be treated any differently.”
Ernst, a ferocious campaigner, had just finished a 24-hour straight campaign sweep of Iowa two days before reporting for duty. Her victory in the race also sealed the Senate for the GOP majority.

Jodi wrote about Senator Ernst here and highlighted one of the best campaign spots we’ve seen in a very long time.

You know, that ad was terrific and her follow up ad was epic! It certainly made quite a few people sit up and take notice of Joni and of the life of a farmer. Maybe that is what Luke is fixated on. Perhaps he doesn’t understand what it takes to be “just a pig farmer?”

Luke, I’m a 5th generation rancher’s daughter. Lets see if I can help you out. A rancher or farmer’s day usually starts at the crack of dawn. There are livestock to feed, equipment to get ready for haying, irrigation water to check, sprinklers to check, equipment and sprinklers to fix, fences to fix, and much more.

A rancher/farmer’s day can include work stoppages due to equipment breakdowns or weather problems. It’s a common mantra in the agriculture business that its either feast or famine with the weather. You either get too much moisture or not enough. Then you add in vet bills, mortgages, fuel expenditures, employee salaries, and insurance. A farmer/rancher has to juggle all of that and more. For me, I got to add many fun adventures that included herding cattle through a massive rain and lightening storm, accidentally sinking a tractor in the pasture, a few too many close encounters with rattlesnakes (the real kind), nearly putting a front-end loader on its side, and getting discovered by my dad when I was yelling 4-letter words at a windrower that was giving me fits.

Oh and Luke? Let’s not forget all the branding fun. Yes, I actually did wrestle and hold calves down while they received their vaccinations, were tagged, got branded with our family brand, and the bulls became steers ie; castrated. You know, brandings are a lot of fun. You never know what type of rodeo you’ll get. Will it be one of the mama’s bawling and slobbering on your shoulder? Will it be one of the calves taking you for a bumpy ride across the corral? Or it is having a branding come to a halt as you watch a huge bull elk stalk across the pasture majestically ignoring those noisy humans and cattle off to his left? All of this is part and parcel of the life ranchers and farmers know very well.

We know adversity because of weather, banks, taxes, and more. We are resilient and adaptable. We are practical, frugal, knowledgeable, and have a knack for looking at the big picture while taking care of the details. Our day starts at the crack of dawn and doesn’t end until the sun goes down. We check on the livestock and take care of them and the land in every type of weather you could imagine.  We help our neighbors out and don’t expect compensation in return.  In times of adversity we pull together and don’t take the time to wait on the government to “help” us.

Luke, Senator Ernst is all of the above and more.  She is a wife, a mother, a farmer, a solder, and a United States Senator.  You may not be, but this rancher’s daughter is more than pleased to have an “unknown pig farmer” serving her state and this country in the United States Senate.