The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. This familiar saying applies to many aspects of life, but in the state of Idaho today, it is especially relevant to water infrastructure.

Depending on where you’re located in this great state, conditions vary, but overall the outlook is pretty bleak. And yes, it seems even more bleak than usual.

Every now and then, a song comes along that just hits you right in the feels. “McArthur,” sung by Hardy, Eric Church, Morgan Wallen and Tim McGraw, is that song for me right now. It’s a gritty, story-driven piece that leans into legacy and land, with each voice stepping in as a different chapter in the life of a farm – and the family rooted in it.

American Farmers Network, a beef and bison processing plant formerly known as Intermountain Packing in Idaho Falls, abruptly closed its doors in early April.

There’s a saying: Most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. Farming and ranching are much the same. The work never really ends. There are delays, sick days, unexpected storms (or, in this year’s case, none at all) and market disruptions. But if you look back over a year, you realize how much you truly accomplished.