Although the calendar claims that the first day of summer is officially June 20th, I personally feel like summer has already begun. Summertime…I remember it as a kid, so excited for the last day of school and finally hearing the bell ringing for the last time that year and releasing us to freedom. I remember wearing cutoff shorts and barefooted, walking the short distance from our house to the wet weather creek nearby and spending as much time as I could swimming andwading in the running water. Don’t get me wrong — I didn’t get to do this every day — just occasionally on the weekend or some weekdays when I wasn’t helping my dad. I’m convinced that kids growing up in the country are very fortunate and blessed because they hopefully will always cherish the great memories that many won’t experience.

So, what does the summer of 2024 look like for us this year? If you read Brian Bledsoe’s column in the last issueof SLS, then you already know that he is concerned with where the high-pressure system that dominates the southand southwest during the summer months will set up this year. In years past, and especially 2023 and 2011, the high-pressure dome set up right over Texas which is where it usually does. This, of course, is a problem because itgenerally prevents coastal storms and even hurricanes from moving inland into Texas.

However, this year Brian thinks the high pressure may establish itself more to the west over New Mexico, Arizona andColorado for most of the coming months. This is very important for us in Texas because it could allow the tropical moisture and storms to advance north into Texas and other Gulf Coast states. This would be a blessing because it’s been a longtime since we’ve had a somewhat wet summer. Only time will tell, but if we do get some summer moisture, that will helpkeep our overall temperatures lower than if we are in a drought. We might have to contend with the humidity but maybe notthe excessive heat like 105-110 degrees every day.

If you decide to come in out of the heat, you might want to try some free A/C at the Independent Cattleman’s Assn. Annual Convention set for July 1-3 in San Marcos, Texas. That will not only be a fun, entertaining event but also a veryinformative meeting with lots of cattle information that might make your life a little easier and possibly more profitable. Then, on August 5-7, is the 70th Anniversary Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in College Station. This event is always one of my favorites because once again, it is in the air conditioning. But more importantly, it is the best to placelearn about not only cattle, but forage production, weed control, agricultural law, new products, future weather andlivestock market predictions. Both of these are great events!

This will be our last issue in June and our next issue is scheduled for July 5th. We will be taking a little time off to restour aging bodies and get ready for the fall sale season which is just around the corner. We hope all of you continue to getsome rain and cooler temperatures and most of all, we pray you have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July from all of us at Southern Livestock Standard.