Last year, my brother-in-law took a cowboy job with a ranch in northern Utah. It’s his dream job, no two ways about that. The guy spends his days on the back of a horse and can train as many cow dogs as he pleases. His rope is never far from his hand, and his cowboy hat doesn’t leave his head. He makes as good a cowboy as Marlboro Man.

“Low-stress livestock handling” (LSLH) is currently a popular subject and is getting significant press. However, as evidenced by many articles published by agricultural periodicals, there is a great deal of confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation regarding the topic.

As a young girl, I remember looking forward to this day for months. I could hardly sleep because I was afraid I wouldn’t hear him downstairs and miss him. Santa was not who I was anticipating; I am talking about my dad and those special days when we would take cows to the sale barn.

Congrats on what may be the most practical/applied beef/ranching industry publication available. I appreciate the timeliness of your articles and in particular the editor’s column on the GMO debate in the April issue. I applaud your encouragement of greater transparency across our industry. Such counsel is spot on.

This weekend I had the pleasure of watching my daughter take off on a young colt that we have been riding for her. I love riding young horses and watching the lights come on when they really grasp what you are trying to teach them.

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. —Vincent Lombardi

Extension cords strewn all over, creating booby traps for the next set of ropers coming in hot. Checking the fuel level periodically. Chatting at high volumes to overpower the extreme noise. I have never been fond of the hum of a generator.

Agriculture as an industry is known for being comprised of fiercely proud and independent people. While we come together united when major issues arise, such as WOTUS and public lands use planning and the like, we do have a habit of not being able to agree more often than not.

Calving is in full swing in many parts of the country. Here in north-central Montana, we are a bit behind the rest of the country – many of our cows don’t start calving until after mid-February.

There I was, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. He had done it for the last time. I wasn’t backing down, and one of us was leaving that barn dead. You guessed it – a pack rat.