From the Editor

Listening to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue as he addressed cattle producers at NCBA in February, it was readily apparent this administration is misusing one of its best assets.

It was cold – painfully cold. The kind that instantly slaps you in the face, stiffens your coat and freezes your nose hairs. Horses were hunkered under trees, cattle were grouped up along fencelines, and anything smaller, or perhaps smarter, was nowhere in sight.

It’s been a good 15 years now since the cow that killed Christmas nearly took the entire U.S. beef export system down with it. How the industry bounced back should prove useful in tackling the next danger peeking over the horizon.

The good times didn’t always roll in 2018, but there was some nice music playing in the background. Prices were relatively stable on many commodities, production of beef escalated throughout the year, and demand held steady while energy prices began to taper off toward winter.

A few years ago, my wife asked me what I needed for Christmas. I racked my brain and offered some vain ideas. But in my heart, I knew the answer. I didn’t really need anything.

The summer before my first semester of college, I took a job as a cashier at a mountain resort convenience store. Nestled in the Utah mountains, the winding roads and mountain air attracted cyclists like mosquitoes to a stagnant water trough.