Michael Thompson walks the same Kansas fields his great-great-grandfather broke in 1888, but his vision reaches far beyond tradition.

As one season wanes and another somehow, almost imperceptibly, creeps into my consciousness and then into my reality, I’m often given to moments of reflection. First of all, especially in the transition from summer to autumn, I’m quite often rudely reminded by the weather and the ever-shortening days that there remains a very long list of things I failed to get done over the summer.

Life can’t and shouldn’t be one big joke, but keep your sense of humor handy, even if it’s aimed at yourself.

The old tree was a reminder of hope and healing and redemption; a promise that the mistakes and the wounds from last spring or last year or even 10 or 20 years ago can heal – maybe not forgotten completely, but repaired and tucked away where they belong; a lesson, but not a life sentence.

Be proud that you’re a first-generation rancher. We need you. The industry needs you.

When the King Ranch owners recognized professional ranch management is critical for successful cattle operations, they established the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) with Texas A&M University – Kingsville in 2003. They realized the ranching business has changed and continues to evolve, and keeping up with or even anticipating changes is a critical business management component of a profitable ranch.

Outside of the small farming town of Manhattan, Montana, sits Feddes Red Angus. What started as a registered Hereford operation in 1945 has evolved into a multigenerational registered Red Angus operation.

Cattle people are the same, no matter where you’re from, and you can always rely on finding a friend, new or old, when you find a gathering of “your people” – in this case, cattle folks.