Time To Be Thankful

      Well, it’s that time of the year again. It’s time to look back over the past year and thank God, our families and others for the good of the past year. As we reflect over the past year, we tend to remember the negative or the not so good events – the passing of someone close, some hard times with health or money issues or just bad luck. The good times of the year tend to get hidden in the memory bank.

Today, if we started talking about the weather, we would most likely start visiting about the cold of the last 10 days and how hard and fast it hit us. The memory of the great spring, summer and fall we had is old news. It is easy to do, and I think this cold weather lately has us all in shock. A 70-degree difference in a day or so was brutal.

But as they say, some days are just better than others. As we remember last spring, the summer we had and the fall – the great fall we had – it is a wonderful memory. Not all the state had adequate moisture, but most did at one time or another. I remember green grass in October from year’s past but not like we had this fall.

Then we think back to the cattle prices of the past year. In April and May, most were thinking it couldn’t get any better, but it did. Then, the video sales started, and prices kept rising. There were some hiccups now and then, but calves and yearlings sales were great. Cull cows were the big story. I see some brought one dollar a pound this past week. That is unbelievable. God bless hamburger – it’s what’s for dinner across America.

Lamb and wool also had a steady rise, which was needed in the sheep markets. Some public lands grazers were hit with bad news on the western forests, but hopefully we will be able to work through that issue. 

Some say there is a time to let things happen and then there is a time to make things happen, the trick is when to do it to take advantage of luck. If it works, we have a good story to tell. If not, it’s a memory.

I, like most of you, are thankful for our families, our churches, our businesses, ranches and farms. We’re thankful for our state and the employment and opportunities it offers, the university and colleges, the schools and the people involved in teaching and administrating.

I’m thankful that the national elections were more favorable to the agricultural community and those who work in our communities, as well as our congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. and their aids. We’re proud of the work they do, along with our own legislature and state governmental officials. If I started naming names, I would have enough for over two columns, but you know who they are, and we need to say thank you now and then. We’re thankful for our ag and livestock organizations and those who manage them, along with the various boards who volunteer their valuable time to help manage and support them.

And most of all, remember today – it’s tomorrow’s past. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Roundup.