From the Editor

“Go to the ball. Don’t wait for it to come to you.”

Hearing those words were a common occurrence in my high school basketball days, and my team’s lack of implementation (myself included) could very well be the reason those days never amounted to a state title.

Sending a high school graduate out into the world, and through the ever-widening wake of the coronavirus, you quickly realize traditions must be broken.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard “these uncertain times” when talking about the current state of the beef industry, I could probably help fund the USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

All the experience and knowledge gained by producers through a lifetime in the beef industry is now being put to the test. Stunningly, it may not be enough to fully grasp the economic impact felt by producers in the supply chain.

Before a nation troubled with an impending pandemic, headlines of fake meat and climate-killing “cow farts” circulated the internet. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer sat neatly on store shelves, and basketball fans were eager to fill out this year’s bracket.

It has occurred to me that we humans seem very attached to catch phrases, something short, snappy and easily repeatable. I remember when the Tyson fire happened last August, one news article called it a “black swan” and pretty soon, everyone was calling it a black swan which, personally, I think is too suave a name for something that shook up the beef industry so much. Better to call it a “black buzzard” or something equally unsavory.