Baxter Black

It was cold this winter. How cold was it?

In my travels, I have been on lots of family farms where the whole family is involved in the work. During calving season, it is not uncommon for the “rancher” to allow his wife to take the 10 p.m. heifer check.

This is one of those stories that sound so unbelievable you’ll know I didn’t make it up.

Mike studied the bloodlines. He checked performance records. He knew his herd like the top two layers of his tool box. He was a good young cattleman. When he decided on the course of action to improve his herd’s genetics, he called the breed association rep.

There’s an old saying: “A cowboy is born, not made.” However, I’d like to propose that if you’re hirin’ a cowboy to help you take care of your stock, you might look twice.

You can’t necessarily assume that because he’s got a black hat and is broke, he’s a cowboy.

SWEET MEATS
Chocolate-covered chicken kidneys, beef liver or sliced pork tongue, expensively and individually wrapped in foil.

PENCIL-THIN MEATS
The closest thing you can get to jerky and still pay fresh meat prices.

I went to America last week …the middle of America, Kansas, to a county fair. I flew into Denver and drove across miles and miles of green prairie. If America has a heart, it’s out here on the Plains. It’s not an easy place to live.