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.

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.

A potato is a wondrous thing, isn’t it? I mean, yeah, it’s just a potato. There’s nothing fancy about it, and it’s not trying to trick you into believing it’s anything more than what it is. More than perhaps any other food on the planet, a potato is at peace with itself, confident in what it is, neither seeking to rise above its station nor bowing to anyone.  

I was hesitant to write on this topic because the last thing producers need is more weight on their shoulders. Still, understanding how we got here matters – because with every challenge are opportunities. They just might require thinking and operating a little differently.

While attending the Idaho-Oregon Grain and Oilseed Convention in Sun Valley last month, I didn’t expect a breakout session to shape my Christmas message, but it did – reminding me how we all need hope and, at times, help.

That story reminds me that gratitude isn’t about stumbling upon life’s “nuggets” – the milestones, the grand gestures, the once-in-a-lifetime moments … the stuff. It’s about learning to see the flecks of gold hidden in the ordinary. I’m still learning, but the more I practice noticing them, the fuller my life becomes.

Sure, I understood that this crinkly old piece of paper held some important numbers, but how was I supposed to know when it was tossed on the kitchen counter, looking like it had been in his pocket for weeks? So then, per usual, we went on the hunt – the hunt to find a paper that I should’ve known not to toss. Can anyone relate?

What do Warren Buffett and Jackie Chan have in common? Aside from their padded pockets from years of success and fame, they both have voiced publicly that they will not be leaving their fortunes to their children.