CALF_News_February_March_2020

5 CALF News • February | March 2020 • www.calfnews.net Editor & Publisher Betty Jo Gigot | (620) 272-6862 National Account Manager Jessica Ebert | (785) 477-1941 Art Direction & Administration Kathie Bedolli, Lisa Bard Leslie McKibben | BluePrint Media Copy Editor Larisa Willrett | BluePrint Media Contributing Editor Blaine Davis Contributing Editor Brad Geiger Contributing Editor Chris McClure Contributing Editor Kelsey Pagel Contributing Editor Kelsey Pope Contributing Editor Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor Will Verboven Contributing Editor Jim Whitt Contributing Editor Olivia Willrett Contributing Editor Heidi Wiechert Contributing Editor Patti Wilson CALF News (ISSN 00077798) is published bimonthly for $40 per year by B.J. Publishing, 4303 East Cactus Road, #309 Phoenix, AZ 85032; (620) 272-6862 e-mail: bjgigot@calfnews.net Postmaster/Change of Address Send address changes to: BluePrint Media 2935 Little Salt Road Seward, Neb. 68434 (308) 440-8179 Please notify us of your change of address at least six weeks before the change. Include the address label from your latest issue. Give both your old and new full addresses. Please print legibly. Copyright 2020. B.J. Publishing CALF NEWS The Face of the Cattle Industry February | March 2020 Vol. 59 Issue 1 Published bimonthly by B.J. Publishing Gypsy Wagon From the Publisher ON THE COVER: A sample of our featured photographer’s work honors the hard-working people in the agriculture community. Photo by Cindi LaBash Betty Jo Gigot bjgigot@calfnews.net T he opportunity to travel to Australia three different times and also to spend a month each time is one of my most treasured memories; at my age, there are a lot of them. As I look back at the hun- dreds of photos I brought back, including this one of me driving on the other side of the road (would you believe I saw my first round-about over there) the memories come flooding back. I am sure some of them are places that are smol- dering in ashes right now. What can we say except pray for rain and for our friends facing such devastation. One of my favorite stories from that time was about a station (ranch) I visited on the way to Ayres Rock (now called Uluru). The lady of the station was a 60-some-year-old pilot of a small plane that flew tourists around “the Rock.” She told me about a nine-year drought on the station years before – and that was not that unusual out there.“Would you believe, when it finally rained, the kids water skied on the lake next to the house for six months,” she said. My response was,“It seems to me the most difficult decision you would have to make out here is when to buy a boat?” All smiles aside, it’s not climate change, it is a fact of life “Down Under” and sad for the soul. I live in a complex where a number of Canadians retreat for the winter. One question I hear often is how I feel about the Trump presidency. My answer always goes immedi- ately to the number of over-reaching regulations that have very quietly gone away, par- ticularly in the agriculture field. One of the most far reaching is Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which gave total control of every drop of water in the country to the government. The Canadians, in turn, don’t seem to object to the up-and-coming trade changes with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement we are spotlighting in this issue. As I write this, the Chinese are supposed to sign “Phase One” of our new agreement. How that will affect those of us in the beef community is to be seen. Pretty far removed from the day-to-day rural life many of you experience, a few days on a mountain in southern Arizona brought back reminders of real life. Staying in a small-walled casa in Patagonia, visitors and I ate at the old hotel, shopped at the tiny market on the corner and toured the town, looking for the old railroad terminal that had been one of the largest cattle shipping depots back in its heyday. It rained as the cattle on a friend’s ranch were moved from one pasture to another. The Mexican food in the converted Texaco station was great for lunch, and dinner that night was at the county fairgrounds. More than 100 ranchers, wine makers and winter visitors ate steaks and clapped loudly as awards were given to the year’s outstanding vol- unteers. Another evening, we went to Tucson for cocktails and dinner and, would you believe, old friend Baxter Black and his crew were holding their Christmas party there. There were hugs all the way around. Every year about this time, I use the old quote,“May you live in interesting times.” That certainly applies to our world today, but before we throw up our hands and cry “all is lost!” let’s look at the facts. Beef is still the food of choice, we don’t have nine- year droughts and spring is on the way. There is a lot to look forward to. Meanwhile, between trade and Iran and what in the world Harry and Megan will do next, stay tuned. 