As the cold reality of winter sets in, and the daylight hours shrink, I think fondly of the bygone days of a few weeks ago – when the colors were just beginning to change, and Mother Nature still shed just enough light and warmth on the Heartland to encourage anything green to squeeze out its last tiny bit of growth.

In December, I made the trek to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to check out the Tulsa Farm Show. Oklahoma, in its best effort to make me feel at home, welcomed me with temperatures colder than what I left at home in Idaho.

I don’t know about your corner of the world – but here in Idaho, we get some pretty darn near perfect sunsets when dusk rolls around.

Editor’s Note: Follow along as Progressive Cattleman editors share conversations and news learned from the road in the new ‘Trail Rides’ blog.

The old village may as well have been erased from a map. Those who lived there were broken, feeble and hungry. War had come and gone. Disease had been a familiar foe.

At nearly 100ºF, it was a relief to be greeted with air conditioning as I walked through the automatic doors. Grabbing a shopping cart and strolling through the aisles, I noticed something peculiar given the grueling heat in my Idaho home: garlands, mistletoe, snow globes and Santa knickknacks.

Sustainability in beef. OK, I know what you’re thinking. What does that even mean? For most ranchers, sustainability is defined as having grandkids ready to take over the ranch, and tires that last four years on the pickup.

Ropers use “horn wraps,” which are strips of leather or rubber wrapped around the saddle horn to provide protection and give the rope a little grip after a dally.

The law of the harvest is one of history’s simplest proverbs. It’s also one of the most misunderstood.

The life of an ag magazine editor is not a life of danger. Nonetheless, there are moments of dread and some mental anguish.