“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
~Winnie-the-Pooh~

January is always the time to make those new resolutions and take the time for personal reflection. We all know that no matter how often we pile on the pledges at the beginning of the New Year, there will always be a number of them that just won’t stay on the stack as the year evolves. Regardless of the statistics, I’ve decided this is going to be my year to strip and glide. In other words get rid of the junk and make things easier. I’m going to work a lot smarter then harder just by exercising my “tossing” arm.

I don’t know about you, but I’m that person who keeps everything, because I’m positive its going to come in handy at some juncture in my life, and at this point the clutter is wearing me down. It’s time to get lean, clean and mean. I’m reducing the mess and I’m going to work at getting by with less, the time has come to toughen up. The “delete” on my computer is definitely going to heat up as I set out to prioritize and organize my trails. I can’t wait to be able to find things in a moments notice and never face that fear of venturing into the unknown regions of my filing cabinets. Six months down the road will be where the real test lies in whether I’ve managed to maintain my resolve or if I’ve fallen back into my paper piling ways.

I have one other item on my long list of changes, that being to bring back from near death, the art of the simple handwritten card. I’m worn out with the quick fixes of e-mails, phones and don’t get me started on text messaging. I’m returning to the old fashioned hard copy. From here on out if I’ve got something important to say to someone, I’m writing it down and sending it with hopes our postal system gets it delivered.

The one thing that won’t be changing is the very stirring reads that this magazine delivers to your mailbox each month, with this month being no exception. The scope of our industry is in constant change and trends and economics in the last few years have brought black hided cattle to the forefront, but does that pose serious implications for the beef industry down the road? To help answer that question, be sure and turn to the article titled “Black Tide” for part one as we examine one breed’s dominance. Water wars are nothing new in the West, but they’re really heating up, for more information on who really owns that stream take in the article “Whisky is for Drinkin’ and Water is for Fightin’”. The National ID topic continues to turn up more questions then answers, for the latest on the issue, sit for a spell with the article “What’s Next”.

These are just a small preview of the fascinating and remarkable reads that make up this January edition, they’re a great way to jump start your New Year. While I’m clearing my trails I want to take a breather and wish all of you in “hard copy” time a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Happy Trails….