Once-upon-a-time, in 1979, I purchased 9 wonderful cows from a fellow who had never received that much money for 9 cattle in his life. He had a smile on his face when he received the check like a wave on a slop bucket--if you are old enough to know what that means.

Three years later I returned to look over his cows I had not selected the first time, and perhaps do another deal—if something looked good. We chatted. We looked at cattle, but something was cold this time. The person with me said as we drove away, “That guy hates you.”

Sometimes a woman can sense things a man is too simple to perceive, and this was the case. I liked the fellow, but obviously he did not have the same feeling about me. Although the purchase of his cattle was a little over $20,000, I had sold an embryo heifer out of one cow for $114,000. Some people can’t handle that. Perhaps he would have liked me better if I had lost money on every cow. Some folks are that way. They can’t stand the thought of leaving a penny on the table and, Heaven forbid, the next person making a nice profit.

I have found the opposite to be the good high road. I am excited for our buyers to make a profit. Not every time, but often those are the repeat buyers who buy even more cattle the next time around. It is okay to sell at a reasonable price and the next guy “cuts-a-fat-hog.” Not only that, but sometimes their neighbors also come to purchase more cattle. It is a very good thing. I like it. And such was the following case.