This is the season of the year when we are poignantly reminded of all the things for which we should be grateful. Too often, however, life gets in the way, and we don’t take the time to consider all our blessings. Between breaking ice in stock tanks, trying to get teenagers out of bed to do chores and working to remember what was in grandma’s turkey dressing before we leave the grocery store, we often don’t stop to reflect on all we have.

A new federal database listing drug and alcohol violations by long-haul truck drivers won’t likely impact most individual cattle producers moving animals to market, but producers and owner-operators transporting larger volumes of cattle and other ag commodities longer distances could be affected.

The Holcomb, Kansas, packing plant fire has certainly been a black swan event – rare, unpredictable and has had dramatic effects on the cattle industry.

Cattle producers have a long way to go before agreeing on the issue of a national traceability program using RFID tags.

The Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) and Santa Gertrudis Breeders International (SGBI) are collaborating to provide the beef industry with a unique blend of maternal traits, adaptability, growth and marbling – all packaged with a heat-tolerant, red hide – into a new program for the commercial beef producer called American Red.

Tyson Foods announced that the Finney County, Kansas, plant, shut down in August due to a fire, will be reopening by the end of January 2020.