My nephew and I were in the grocery store the other day when he spied a department store Santa Claus who had just finished his shift. It must have been a hard one, too – because the Santa was buying a bottle of booze.

Marci WhitehurstCowboy lingo: Understanding a cowboy’s grunts and gestures

1. Lying flat on my back in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix at 2 a.m. I passed the carafe of chablis to my reclining colleague, who looked at me and said, “Pardner, I don’t think you’re executive material.”

Though cattle prices have come down from historic highs, there are still ways for beef cattle producers to capture more dollars for their calves by adding value at the ranch, according to experts at the 45th South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic in Brenham, Texas.

Here’s a look back at which stories captured the most online attention from readers of Progressive Cattleman.

I would like to tell the story of a real-life Christmas miracle. With the hustle and bustle of the world around us, we often forget that the Christmas season is a very special time, and miracles do happen.

Land O’Lakes Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire Southern States Cooperative Inc.’s animal feed business. This letter follows the announcement earlier this year that Southern States had entered into a supply agreement with Land O’Lakes Inc. through its WinField United crop inputs and insights unit.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers do not have a succession plan for their ranch.

On Nov. 8, Donald Trump became the president-elect. Although the U.S. stock market initially declined, the losses were made up later that day and the market has continued to react positively. What will happen long-term is up for debate.

This time of year tends to bring on more work with fewer daylight hours to get it done. A big thank- you to all the cattle producers for their unwavering commitment to the cattle, land and industry that is such a large part of this great country.