Rancher. Cattleman. Cowboy. Buckaroo. Vaquero. Farmer-Feeder. The list goes on and on. People who are involved in the cattle industry refer to themselves by various names. It seems to depend on what region of the country you are from.

Take my father for instance. Growing up, my father was (and still is) a Rancher. Most of his neighbors, if asked, would also call themselves Ranchers. My father and his neighbors all wear similar styles of hats, dress similarly and use similar saddles and tack.

When I first met my husband, he didn’t fit the traditional Rancher role. He wore a different style of hat. He had a long mustache that he waxed. He wore button-down shirts without collars and buttoned to the top. He tucked his pant legs into his Paul Bond cowboy boots. He was different from anybody I had met.

I had met a Buckaroo.

After we got married, I found myself surrounded by Buckaroos. And if I’m not mistaken, we are now raising a few Buckaroos.

No matter what they call themselves, people in the cattle industry all have a common purpose: to care for their land and livestock. They spend their days outside tending to the animals in their care, assessing the results of different grazing programs or feed rations, monitoring grass levels...

They spend their evenings reading the latest trade publications to make sure their operation remains competitive and sustainable, calculating the amount of feed they will have for the winter, determining break-even prices for their business...

It's this work ethic and commitment to the land and livestock that I hope we are passing onto our children. No matter if they are Buckaroos or Cowboys or Ranchers or whatever career they choose.