The Writing Rancher

Our youngest is 14. He eats, sleeps, and breathes farming. As example, he scours farm sales and presents us plans for things he thinks we should invest in.

His latest plan resulted in us buying him a used wagon with a drill fill so he can plant oats on his own. It’s not home yet — and IT’S ONLY MARCH, so those of us focused on calving season and the cows we like better don’t give two hoots about farming. 

But, after a rough day at school yesterday, our youngest needed a task that reminded him of his abilities.

To that end, he left the house with the service pickup, tinkered on maintenance for an hour, and emerged from the storage shed with the planter. He proceeded to clean and prep the machine more before turning his attention to detailing the payloader.

It was well after 9 pm before he returned to the house … filthy, exhausted, and most importantly, fulfilled. He was no longer burdened by what he didn’t know yet. He was emboldened by the reminder of what he knows already.

That’s the secret to life, in my book, and I hope each of our kids learns it well.

Too many of us don’t have what he found … an interest, activity, or calling that fulfills us even when (or if) no one else thinks the same.

Here’s to agriculture and the lessons it can teach us all!

It seems this page has had an influx of new followers. Though I don’t know what landed you here, thank you for choosing to follow! In a space filled with “content creators,” I’m simply a gal who needed an outlet for connection beyond the one provided by my daily life.

So, hi; it’s me, Amy — the one wearing fabulously painful red heels in this family picture from a gorgeous fall wedding.

I’m also the one who does the writing around here! But make no mistake, the other five are as much a part of this page as anyone.

Nearly 24 years ago, I landed in a little town along the Missouri River in South Dakota. My only intention was to get back on my feet and get the heck out of here.

Instead, I built a career, met a guy, got married, welcomed four children in rapid succession, left my career, ventured into never-dreamt territories, and BOOM … here I am, slogging through the next chapter and sharing it online.

If you found this page hoping to learn about South Dakota ranching, you will be disappointed to instead discover sarcasm, sappy ramblings, and a smattering of daily happenings dripping in humor.

My roots are seven generations deep in South Dakota agriculture.

Though I didn’t plan to work in actual farming or ranching, my husband is the second generation on our ranch. And well, his dream of giving a third generation the opportunity to grow in this business became mine, too. I often have to remind myself, but my boots are just as deep in the doo-doo as his boots because of it.

I am an advocate for ag and believe deeply in the work we do, but we’re a pimple on a gnat’s behind simply trying to build a legacy business while making a life worth living in agriculture.

If you decide keep following, you might learn a thing or two about ranching, but my greatest hope is that you learn we aren’t all that different no matter how different we are.

So there! That’s me in a nutshell, which is fitting because I feel nuts most of the time. 

Your questions are always welcome, and your fellowship in this online space is deeply appreciated. Thank you for being here!

#WeAreRanchers #January2026#gettoknowme#introduction#ranchlife

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'”
~ John 8:12

My friend Steve was laid to rest today (January 3). After 95 full years — years where he was a light and a joy — he quietly passed into heaven on Dec. 18 for a reunion that I can only imagine.

Steve, and his lovey Arloine, came into my life during college when I joined their bull sale prep crew. I was a broken, wandering mess in those years, trying desperately (and often failing) not to lose myself entirely.

But, Steve and Arloine never judged me. I never felt unworthy in their presence. They fed me, loved me, prayed for me, and kept faith. They stayed in touch even when I tried to retreat in shame.

They joyfully approved of The Rancher and shared in our wedding. Steve & Arloine stayed current with our kids as if they were their own grands.

He even once convinced a friend to make the six-hour round trip to our ranch so that he could see where we called home and personally deliver the hair blower and poop scoop that I used on his cattle to our newly minted 4-Hers. Those items and more remain daily staples in our barn.

By all accounts, Steve & Arloine were family.

John 8:12 is the Bible verse Steve chose for the back of the calling cards he had made and shared around the country. His tag line on the front proclaimed “Power in the Blood” … a reference to both the powerful Angus bloodlines he adored and the blood of Christ he lived in.

Steve was a light. He was a joke-telling, cow-knowing, gift-giving, faith-sharing, family-loving messenger of God.

I do not cry over his death. Steve was tired and ready. He lived a good life full of the most important treasures, and I was blessed to share a heartfelt “see you later” during a face-to-face visit in November. That’s not a gift you get with everyone.

I will miss our routine phone conversations, laughing at his latest corny joke, and hearing him say “I love you.” But, I am mostly grateful to have those memories.

Steve’s blood family remains the image of his joy, faith, love, and acceptance. I take comfort knowing I and countless others have the opportunity to do the same.

What about you? Can you be a light in the darkness this year?

Please, pick up the phone and check in with a loved one. Be kind to the people you encounter in your daily activities.

Take example from my friend Steve and be a light. You never know when the light you share will be exactly the flicker someone else needs to keep their flame glowing!

#WeAreRanchers#January2026#friends#faith#family#PowerInTheBlood

As we head into our state fair week, this photo of our middle son, who is a freshman, leading the varsity football team onto the field in their first game of the season has me feeling all the feelings. It also has me thinking of a recent chat with a dear friend.

We not only raise cattle but also show them. The level of competition here in South Dakota especially is impressive. While everyone dreams of or works toward a banner or buckle, the reality is only one each year actually gets it.

If that buckle or banner alone was our “why” for showing cattle as a family, we would fail in more ways than one.

Which comes back to this photo.

Our son practices and competes to win, but his “why” runs much deeper. He plays to be part of a team. He plays to grow as a leader. He plays to support his teammates and help them stay excited for the game even when the game isn’t going well.

He didn’t play on the field Friday night, but he did shine in the Friday Night Lights while living up to his “why.” In that, there was no loss or failure. There was a helluva lot of growth and purpose though.

So, when the dust settles this week at our final event of the year, I hope we all remember there is room for everyone at the table.

When one of us wins, we all win because, truly, the real championship spirit lies not in the material award but in the heart of our “why” and the passion we have for it all.

#WeAreRanchers #dirtfair2023 #SouthDakota

Have you ever had so much to say that you remain silent? Has your mind ever been so heavy that your heart can’t sort it out? I have a feeling many of us could answer a silent ‘yes’ to both questions.

Uncomfortable as this topic is, especially for those of us in rural America, it deserves, even demands, our attention. Folks in rural America—you and I, our peers, neighbors, friends, and family—are dying by suicide at a rate two times greater than American veterans.

It seems if urban America even thinks of us at all, it’s not uncommon for us to be thought of as poor, uneducated souls in need of saving.

My husband and I are in the thick of daily ranch work just like most of you. We are dedicated to what has been built and committed to all yet to be done. We are busy trying to mute the noise of outsiders while getting the most important work done and not overlooking priceless family moments in the process.

I’ve also made the mistake of reading online comment sections on stories related to agricultural hardships, policies, and the like. Don’t do it! What feels like a vast, unscientific majority of those comments prove people in our own backyards are further removed from production agriculture than most of us realize.

I often see folks posting on social media, imploring those who fight against depression, anxiety, and other health issues to reach out. I hope that continues because no one can receive the help they don’t know exists. But, have we forgotten the power of a human connection?

Do we: smile genuinely at the healthy-looking man in the grocery store? Smile empathetically at the tired woman on the street? Call the friends we only ever text and say, “You were on my heart today.”?

As rural gathering places fade away or become influenced by urbanites who think they can solve our troubles, do farmers and ranchers really acknowledge each other?

Life is hard enough even when it’s simple. What if making a point to positively acknowledge others not only improved their well-being but also increased ours? What if the thread your neighbor is hanging on to is the one you offered by shaking hands after church or patting him on the back after borrowing a piece of equipment?

I know firsthand the terrifying grip of depression compounded by the idea that some people are too blessed to experience such darkness. I’ve felt its burden grow heavier with my own inability to accept help. I understand the crushing weight of isolation despite a system of unwavering support.

I also know the solace in a well-timed text and the relief of a friendly voice when my inner self grows dark.

Agriculture has never been an easy way to make a living. Our hearts beat in tune with the land and animals in our care. Our minds weigh the needs of our souls with the demands of our bank accounts. We are often pawns in games we didn’t ask to play, and it can all lead us to fight internally with the senselessness of two old bulls.

Though we bend and stretch to great limits, we aren’t impervious rubber people. We are breakable, which is why I know we can do better for each other.

Some of us are certainly more susceptible to the dangerous depths of depression and despair than others, and few of us are professionally trained to help. But, we all have moments of overwhelming angst or challenges, and we are all capable of being even a little kinder and more forgiving with ourselves and our neighbors.

I pray the long winter days give way to bountiful green grass and a spring crop of healthy calves. Even more, I pray you have the strength to weather it all, and if strength isn’t on your side, I pray you have a friend or loved one with some to spare.

If you or someone you love needs somewhere to turn, please call Avera’s Farmers’ Stress Hotline at 1-800-691-4336, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or reach out to the nation’s leading agricultural health behavioral professional and farmer Dr. Michael Rosman at mike@agbehavioralhealth.com or 712-235-6100.

“Clarity is when your eyes and mind see what your heart feels.” ~ Me❤️

When you doubt yourself for whatever the reasons may be, you end up feeling restless. When you aren’t clear about what you want, you’ll likely end up where someone else decides you should be. Indecision is, indeed, a decision to walk a foggy path.

How do I know all this with such certainty?

Because I have lived it. I have doubted my own intuitions and believed a relentlessly harsh inner monologue. I even slip back into it all occasionally.

I am capable of doing many things. I even occasionally say yes to all the things before giving thought to what I’ve done.🤷‍♀️

But, I also believe “I can” doesn’t mean “I should” or even “I want”.

None of this is to imply a life well lived is one where you only do what you want to do while saying to hell with anything else. Life, especially one in agriculture, requires a special level of commitment to what must be done for the greater good while honoring what must be done for the better you.

When I think about times of crystal clarity in my past, I am reminded how much I need and desire clarity in my present.

The Rancher and I went on our first official date 19 years ago. I knew when we met the week before that he was my future, and we haven’t been apart since. I trusted my heart, and it led me home because my vision was clear despite the well-founded doubts of some others. Quieting the noise around and within me is what keeps me here also.

I left my town career 10 years ago, and I know it was the right, clear choice for me. Yet, I found myself judging and doubting my decision for years.

Those years were rough, to say the least. I landed in a wickedly foggy, dark place and stayed stuck in some deeply hurtful feelings until some people I love very much helped me break free. I don’t have 100% of my clarity back, but I’ve got really amazing glimpses of it that keep me moving forward.

Clarity lives within each of us. We already possess all we need to live our best, authentic journeys. Perhaps what is missing for so many of us are the people who help hold us accountable to ourselves.

It’s a philosophical kind of day for me. The kind of day I need in order to reset and refocus. I don’t pretend to know the kind of day you need for the same result, but whatever it is, I hope you know it, embrace it, and make time to honor it.

#WeAreRanchers #clarity

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” ~ Ralph Blum

Living with gratitude hasn’t always been my norm. In an industry where so much is outside our control, negativity finds plenty of fissures to infiltrate. Yet, the single greatest change I’ve made in recent years is making the practice of gratitude my default.

That doesn’t mean I don’t still cuss like a sailor with fury or frustration occasionally. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel sad, anxious, or defeated sometimes. Instead, learning to live with gratitude as my default means I’m actually learning to live an authentic life … one full of real feeling and emotion but not controlled by the swings of it all.

Practicing gratitude daily means welcoming a peace I once believed had to be chased. Gratitude doesn’t change the uncontrollable factors in farming and ranching, but for me, it makes those factors less of a mountain and more of a bump. #WeAreRanchers #findthegood #bethegood

“We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.”

~ Virginia Satir

I find this affirmation true and meaningful; however, I’ve come to believe the most dangerous, the most limiting perceptions are those we hold about ourselves

Other people do not limit us. We do that to ourselves.

The two pictures I’ve shared are both me.

I enjoy ranch life. I like feeding cattle. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of my husband’s dreams. I am a rancher, and I occasionally get annoyed by it all.

I also appreciate my diamonds, enjoy getting my hair fixed, and make sure my brows are done. I am an empathetic visionary who enjoys chatting about the power of mindset, sharing other people’s stories, and diving deeply into psychology, law, and a bunch of other topics. Occasionally, I feel annoyed by it all, too.

I am unapologetic about my high expectations, and I continue to grow more comfortable moving through disappointment and failure rather than holding on to them. I deeply appreciate moments of quiet simplicity that counter our full life.

The thing is, even though I’ve spent decades not believing this, I get to be and feel all of that and more, and so do you.

I don’t know why anyone really follows this page, but I do know why I share our life on it. We all deserve to find connections — with ourselves, other people, and the world around us. I routinely find meaningful connections thanks to sharing on this page. Maybe you can, too! #WeAreRanchers #nolimits