“Yay! You did it!” I exclaim as my 1-year-old daughter toddles toward me with a big, proud smile on her face. 

She collapses in my arms as the exertion of those first steps seemingly exhaust her. After a few seconds of rest, she pops her head up, ready to try again — she makes the same few steps across our living room floor, but now with a little more confidence.

In the past few months, this was a hot topic when talking with family and friends.

“Is she walking yet?”

“Any day now.”

“Just give it time, and she’ll be running soon.”

I thought for sure she would walk before that 12-month mark. Instead, she took her time practicing, a little more cautious than her older sister.

This big milestone is a culmination of little ones.

To walk, babies must first develop many skills, including balance and the ability to shift weight from leg to leg. All those other exciting highlights like rolling, sitting, crawling, standing and cruising along furniture all build upon each other, helping babies to develop strength and coordination. For nearly all their little lives, they have been working on the foundations for these first steps.

Our lives, businesses and cattle herds, too, are culminations of milestones — a sum of good decisions and, most likely, a few mistakes, establishing a solid footing for success.

Solid footing

In this issue we provide some tips from fellow breeders and industry leaders to help you navigate those decisions.

For breeders looking for help in a challenging labor market, it’s crucial to identify, hire and retain quality cattle hands. We learn from experts with experience.

There are also tips on being proactive with biosecurity in your operations as a building block to reestablishing the national cow herd.

Data provided by breeders to the genetic evaluation is foundational for quality selection tools. Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) is implementing updates to keep up with a growing data store.

The next generation is the future of the Angus breed, and we travel to Colorado with 50 Angus youth for the Raising the Bar Conference as they spent a few days developing some of those foundational skills.

The work of a cattleman is wrought by daily challenges, but it culminates with great reward — building a life and business you can be proud of.