From the Editor

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.

As the country continues its vicious cycle over immigration and labor needs, including its impact on agricultural industries, it seems many in the beef industry continue to look away.

If you’re tired of defending the ranching profession to the non-meat-eating masses, fear not. There’s a vast throng of meat eaters building in your corner.

My father-in-law is famous for saying “he’s not progressing; he’s degressing.” In fact, for his birthday last year, I gave him one of our spiffy Progressive Cattleman hats.

A sometimes underappreciated, if not completely forgotten, link of the beef production chain is the cull cow market and slaughter segment. I am probably one of those who, at times, has not adequately appreciated the significance and contributions of the cull cow to the grand scheme of our little cowboy party.

Calving, branding, weaning and shipping, these are the seasons in a cattle producer’s year. Although every producer knows what happens after shipping, their job is to get the cattle on the truck as easily and in the best shape as possible. An entire year’s worth of work is over in just a few hours. Some producers are relieved after this moment, while others worry that their livelihood was just put into the hands of someone else to finish the job.