Nov. 17, 2017, was a big day in our lives. It’s a day my wife and I have been working toward since we were teenagers. It’s the day we signed up for Social Insecurity.

I have mixed emotions about the show ring and where it fits in with today’s data-driven cattle business. I grew up showing cattle and being on judging teams, and I think I learned more in those activities than I ever did in school.

I can’t imagine a Christmas without kids. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are made special by those with wet diapers, no hair or teeth. And that’s just the old fogies among us; the babies are even more entertaining.

Just as America is doing, the cattle industry is separating itself into two classes: the Haves and Have-Nots. According to the USDA, 57 percent of American ranchers have less than 20 cows, and the average herd is only 42 head.

Despite having lived in, or near, rattlesnake country my entire life, I’ve never known anyone who actually got bit by one, let alone got bit and lived to tell the tale. Until now, that is.

You can’t pick up an ag publication these days without finding a story on how drones will revolutionize the cow business. Supposedly, they’ll do everything from checking on float valves to spotting a trespassing hunter.

Among the many things I enjoy about raising animals is watching their interpersonal relationships. If there was such a thing, I think I’d have made a very good cow, sheep, pig or horse psychologist. Wisely, I considered their ability to pay and became a writer instead, which pays only slightly better than a tightwad hog would.

Being a ranch real estate agent these days must be difficult because they must appeal to two distinct types of buyers. There are the lifestyle buyers, who couldn’t care less about a ranch’s carrying capacity, and then there are the ranchers, who have pulled the wool over their bankers’ eyes and can get financed to buy another place.

Here is the correct way to load a horse. 1. First, catch your horse. Using apples, carrots and sweet talk, draw it near. When it’s eating out of your hand, rub its neck and attempt to put the lead rope around its neck.

It’s been a while (30 years) since I, the god of good taste, answered your many questions regarding what’s in style. It’s quite natural that you’d seek guidance from such a fashion-forward expert as myself.