Summer Break

Congratulations to all the kids and teachers out there who made it through another year of school. Now you get to look forward to long summer days of sleeping in late, hanging out at the lake with your friends or maybe sitting around a swimming pool or even playing a little golf or tennis at the country club. 

Wait, what’s that you say? This is rural Wyoming and that’s not the way it works around here?

Maybe I should have started off this column congratulating all the farmers and ranchers out there with school-aged kids or a spouse who is a teacher. You did it! You survived another fall, winter and spring having your best help dropping from full time to only working early mornings, nights and weekends.  

But, now that your operation is back to being fully staffed, it’s time to get stuff done. You finally have your cow hands, equipment operators, chief irrigators and fencing crews all at full strength for the next few months.  

This week was my two boys’ last day of school for the year, and I know I am excited to have the extra manpower around to help. If you ask them, they probably wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about the prospect of helping me with my summer work.  

With this being said, I think they enjoy it more than they let on. If all they had to look forward to all summer long was lounging around all day, other than maybe mowing the lawn once a week, they would be bored out of their minds after a week or two. 

I guess I will know for sure if the fencing projects and irrigation pipe spreading I have in mind for them is deemed to be worthy of a “snap” on Snapchat to show all their friends how much fun they are having. 

Farming and ranching are two of the oldest “family businesses” on earth. If your family makes its living in production agriculture, you are going to contribute to the business in one way or another starting at an early age, it’s a given.  

The benefits of farming and ranching will last throughout the rest of their lives and the skills learned and life lessons are enormous. It builds good people, and this is something the world we live in today needs a lot more of.

I hope you will have the opportunity to enjoy the summer with your family and have some fun. Hit a few rodeos, go to a few jackpot shows and fairs or even get away for a day or two over the summer to take the boat to the lake or go fishing. At the end of the summer, those are going to be the days we look back on and smile.

I want to wish everyone a heathy and happy summer filled with perfectly timed rains, pastures full of heavy calves and fields of abundant crops at the end of it. 

Until next time,

Curt