This summer has taken me to some exciting places: Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota and back to South Dakota! Of my travels, my favorite is, and always will be, going to cattle shows with my family. Last weekend, we attended the 2009 South Dakota Summer Spotlight for a few days of agriculture fun.

First, I helped judge the South Dakota Beef Ambassador Contest. Congratulations to Calli Pritchard for winning the senior competition. She will represent our state in the fall at the national competition in Arkansas. We had a great group of young people enter the contest, and I’m excited that there are so many people interested in promoting agriculture!

Next, I helped my sisters get their Limousin calves ready for the show. This takes a lot of work ahead of time, and we were definitely tired once the show was over. The girls had a good day with a few class winners, and even a champion junior showmanship award! Showing cattle takes up a lot of our time, but it’s a great way to market our livestock in our family’s business. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!

So, as the work week continues, and you start daydreaming about the weekend, I want to know what agriculture industry professionals across the country do in their spare time. Fill me in. Do you go camping, fishing, running or boating? Do you grill out? Go dancing? Take a walk? Ride a bike? Do you attend cattle shows and fairs like me? Do you sit in your Lazy Boy? What do you do for fun?