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I want to take a second to talk about mental health of all my fellow ranchers and farmers. Yeah, I know, no one likes to appear weak. We all wannabe tough guys acting like nothing is bothering us. But let's admit its been a suck ass year. Terrible weather, shitty markets,
a pandemic and lots of political wrangling got us all questioning what we are doing and if we can make it another year. It's not all unicorns and rainbow farts out there. I think one of the worst things we do as an industry is compare ourselves to others. Especially what we see
or read on social media. Actually social media has been proven in studies to cause episodes of depression. You see Joe rancher succeeding and you think, damn, they got their shit together. If only I could be them. Maybe in some of my posts I contributed to someone thinking
that way. If so, let me clear something up. We are some of the biggest screw ups you'd ever want to meet. I just choose not to draw attention to it. But truth is we are. We wreck things, make bad decisions, run crappy equipment etc. Our cattle are a mash up of everything
you don't want in cattle. Our ranch has been bankrupt twice and it was oil that baled our ass out both times. It wasn't smart decisions that made us succeed it was pure luck. I'm trying to change that, but I'm fighting 100 years of that's the way we have always done it.
Old habits die hard and the cycle perpetuates itself on a yearly basis. Don't look at me or us as being successful because we're not. We survive and to be honest if it wasn't for my wife having a job my kids might starve. I guess the important thing to remember is don't
beat yourself up and to hang together as a community. If you're feeling down talk to someone. It's ok to be afraid or say I'm struggling. It's ok to sell the farm or ranch and walk away. It's ok to have a second job. It's not ok to bury your feelings and pretend
everything is alright when you're dying inside. I don't want to read one more story about a farmer or rancher taking their own life. I think about how our culture of tough guys prevents us from opening up. I may be tough, but this shit gets to me to, but I have friends that
are always available to just talk. You'd be surprised how many friends you have out there that would do the same for you. They would much rather listen to you today then miss you tomorrow. We're in this together fellas. You're not alone.
