With Valentines a few days away, I can’t help but think about the bold-faced lies the media is telling our young people about this thing called love.When I was growing up, love meant something beautiful and enduring. L stood for Loyalty; O stood for obedience to God first; V stood for vigilance about virtue; and E stood for eternal bonds.

One year ago I sat at Bagram Airfield, in what is known as the Clamshell, and with a thousand other warriors I listened to Christmas music. Here is a story of that memorable day.

Trust – it’s something that can’t be bought. The maturation of the Internet and modern communication has, in my opinion, made earning trust more of a challenge than ever.

Believers attribute everything to God, and non-believers attribute everything to coincidence. I often wonder how two people can witness the same experience and come up with totally different explanations.

It’s been fun watching the dairy industry grow around here. While Texas isn’t the No. 1 dairy state (yet), people sure are keeping an eye on us.

I am learning to fly. What once was just a dream is now a reality. Here is my story as a soon-to-be aviator.

It’s a new year, and a new Progressive Dairyman magazine. You won’t recognize it until January 22, but this year you will receive an issue from us every three weeks. That’s 18 issues a year. Many have already asked, “Why the switch?”

A few weeks ago, I taught my husband’s heavy equipment class of high school students how to write a résumé and cover letter and gave them information to prepare them for an interview with a potential employer. I talked to them about skills, work experience, education and interests. I talked of job portfolios and letters of recommendation.

In a large room decorated with maps of Tajikistan, nearly 15 people gather for a day of training. These are Tajiks. They are agronomists. They speak Russian, and they are all men, except for two. This is their story.

As the year ends, it brings a sense of closure for all that has transpired within the dairy industry during the past 12 months. We’ve seen higher than normal farm-gate milk prices coupled with record-breaking feed and fuel costs. Who would have ever thought corn would be more than $9 and wheat would be $4.50? And now diesel is $3.65 per gallon locally! What seems constant are the inconsistencies and the unexplained variables in the milk price/feed cost ratio.