09/16/2026
Diesel hit $6 a gallon this week. Oil is over $105 a barrel.
But tonight, I want you to forget about barrels of oil for a minute.
Look at this mama cow.
To most people, she’s just a cow standing in a field.
To the rancher who owns her, she’s so much more.
She represents thousands of dollars invested with absolutely no guarantee of a return.
She represents hay put up on the hottest days of summer so she’ll have something to eat on the coldest nights of winter.
She represents frozen fingers breaking ice, muddy boots at 2:00 in the morning, sleepless nights during calving season, vet bills, feed bills, fuel bills, busted equipment and miles of fence that never seem to stay fixed.
She represents birthdays missed, dinners interrupted and plans changed because the cattle don’t know it’s Sunday, Christmas morning, or your kid’s ballgame.
And after all of that, she gets one chance each year to raise one calf.
One.
The rancher feeds her for 365 days.
Checks her when she’s sick.
Watches over her when she’s calving.
Prays for rain when the grass turns brown.
Prays for sunshine when it’s time to make hay.
And when that calf finally goes to market, the rancher doesn’t get to name his price.
He takes what the market gives him.
Sometimes there’s a profit.
Sometimes there’s barely enough to keep going.
And sometimes, after an entire year of work, there’s nothing left at all.
Yet the next morning, before daylight, that rancher gets up and does it again.
Why?
Because agriculture has never just been about money.
It’s about watching a newborn calf take its first breath.
It’s about seeing your children (or grandson David) riding beside you checking cows.
It’s about looking across a pasture your father or grandfather once worked and knowing you’re carrying something forward that money can’t buy.
It’s about leaving your children more than land.
It’s leaving them a way of life.
Every steak on a grill and every pound of hamburger in a grocery store started somewhere like this—with a mama cow and a farmer or rancher willing to take the risk.
Behind that package of beef is somebody’s land.
Somebody’s savings.
Somebody’s sweat.
Somebody’s sleepless night.
Somebody’s family.
Somebody’s dream.
And a whole lot of faith.
So when you look at that mama cow, don’t just see cattle.
See the family behind her.
See the sacrifice.
See the generations.
See the prayers.
See the people who keep doing it—not because it’s easy, and certainly not because they’re guaranteed to get rich.
They do it because feeding people is more than their business.
It’s their life. 🇺🇸🐂
Hereford cattle ( #28 Addie Kay - yes she has a name :) and calf. He was 3 months old in this picture, sleeping on Moms shoulder) in picture are from A&M Farms here in Hillsville, VA.
This post was originally from Mountain Top Cattle Co. in Warm Springs, Wv. Thank you for sharing! 
