From The Publisher,
Since I have last wrote, my dad broke his arm and cracked his collar bone (see page 1) while sorting cows. This happened not long after I ran a wheel off my livestock trailer and had a tractor fire. Don’t they say bad things happen in three’s, so maybe I’m good for a while of smooth running?
As you pick up this month’s issue you may notice that it is four pages smaller than most months. Every year usually in June and July we hit a slower time for advertising revenue and we pear back accordingly. As readers, keep in mind our advertisers are important partners in our efforts. If the opportunity presents itself by all means give them a chance to meet your needs and drop in a good word for The Cattleman’s Advocate. Even with twenty pages, I think you will find we have plenty to offer you this month.
Our feature takes an odd twist as we bring you information on a little farm creature that we almost never would have reason to consider. Dung beetles are just plain underappreciated. In our drive to bring interesting area stories that you will likely not find anywhere else, this feature hits the mark. When I run across examples of how such a seemingly insignificant little critter contributes to the much larger picture of our world I can’t help but reflect in amazement. As for me such things reinforce my belief in creation and a Creator. When we look at the complexity of our world, how some of us believe that all around us is the result of a “Big Bang” and an endless chain of beneficial accidental advancement, I shall never understand.
A.M. Foster submits a story (pg 19) on Becky Blackaby the local singer song writer several Advocate readers are pulling for. She has set some ambitious musical aspirations to which she has been making noticeable gains. For those of you have yet to hear of Becky or catch a performance use this article as an introduction. It’s nice to see one of us from Cattleman’s Advocate country doing well and striving forward. There is no doubt that her path will be difficult, but we wish her the best of luck and have little doubt that local support for her effort will continue to grow.
Kirsty Morse who has been running the Cow Palace Café at EMCC has decided to pursue other opportunities. Kirsty stepped in at a time when we were in a jam, and we appreciate what she did for us. Jerri Jean Tyler and Olivia Orf will be stepping in (see ad pg 4) to fill this void. A change in the restaurant name to the Wagon Wheel Café will just be the beginning of things to come as the pair has several fresh ideas that I think may be well received. We wish Kirsty, Jerri Jean and Olivia the best of luck as their life stories are each beginning a new chapter.
From Our Side of the Fence (pg 4) for this issue is somewhat darker than what we are a custom. Could this perennial bull turning in a bear report be a contrarian market signal? It is likely not but it is something to think about. In talking to cattle feeders/feedlot mangers that have seen a lot of market cycles are nearly all in agreement that they have never seen anything like what we have seen recently in the cattle markets. The take away for me is that after two years of losses, something is going to change soon, as veteran cattle feeders that are left fighting it out don’t start making money soon they are going to “gather their toys and go home.”
My eclectic interests have admittedly been turned toward political realm as of late. I have recently finished Mark Levin’s book Liberty and Tyranny, A Conservative Manifesto, and have just started reading Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government Inspired by Thomas Paine. I ran across Thomas Sowell’s article (pg 17) referring to the writings of Edmund Burke that I found very interesting. Why am I drawn to such and why are these things important to The Cattleman’s Advocate readers? I like many, including those in the “tea party movement,” believe that we had better get back to the wisdom expressed by our founders and those that inspired them, or risk being the generation that failed in preserving the “great American experiment.” Would you rather but your trust and your children and grand children’s future in the hands of the modern progressive ideas of politics, governing and government, or in the spirit of the ideas and wisdom of our founding fathers? I long ago made that decision for myself. I submit that we collectively have come to the proverbial fork in the road. I would also suggest that we should, as the founding patriots did, choose a road less traveled, a road more difficult to traverse, but sure to yield a more favorable journey. No other nation has been as successful as when we followed their original intent for us. I have no interest in following the lead of the United Nations, or the European Union. We are Americans darn it, since our founding we were meant to lead. Our nation’s successful history is witness to the validity of the founder’s ideas. Thomas Jefferson warned, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” I’m tired of yielding and hope that it is not too late to get back on that narrow path less traveled.
How about you, are you tired of yielding ground?
