Tag Archives: baxter black

Book Review: Lessons From A Desperado Poet – Baxter Black


Lesson #20: Remember, often it’s not ability, it’s reliability. The world is run by those who show up.

Meeting Baxter Black at NCBA Trade Show

Back in February while at the the National Cattle Industry Convention, I had the opportunity to meet Baxter Black and receive a copy of his latest book - Lessons from a Desperado Poet: How to find you way when you don’t have a map, how to win the game when you don’t know the rules, and when someone says it can’t be done, what they really mean is they can’t do it. Think he could have come up with a longer title?

Baxter Black is a cool ole guy. I haven’t been a committed follower of his, but will take the chance to read his column in various Agriculture publications or watch a video clip of his various comical encounters. My favorite would probably have to be The Prolapse from the Black Lagoon. So when I got a copy of his latest, I was excited to add it to my book list!

Lessons from a Desperado Poet, isn’t a normal collection of stories from Baxter Black. Yes, he does share several of his great life experiences and it provoked several deep gut laughs. Instead of stories from the cow shed, Baxter takes the opportunity to share some advice from life experiences. This self-help book provides some good advice and motivation from someone who has been down that road. Even though I’m not an aspiring cowboy poet or entertainer, or even looking to publish my own book, there’s something to take from the lessons shared.

I sat down on Spring Break to start the book and read half of it in one sitting. Baxter shares some good motivation for when things seem to go wry. His lessons are spread throughout the book and I urge you to give it a try. (HA, after re-reading this, I found that weak attempt at poetry.)

Baxter Black's latest book. Even had it signed!

Here are a few of the many lessons shared throughout the book that stuck with me.

Lesson #1: When a human meets a horse, or cow, or dog, they start out even. Then one of them gains the advantage. Eventually a relationship is established. The same applies to meeting new coworkers, in-laws, barbers, or house cats. It;s not fair, it’s just life.

Lesson # 76: Perseverance is the most valuable trait to have when the chips are down. Not being funny, smart, strong, or good-looking, just being able to get back on when you get bucked off.

Lesson #78: The person who can beat the most naturally gifted is the cowboy who works harder.

Lesson #105: The cowboy way is not just a punch line. It is a code of conduct that boils down to ‘doin the right thing.’

And Baxter sums things up with a few words of wisdom about Faith.

Lesson #117: Faith is a mental, emotional, and spiritual muscle that can be developed by exercising it regularly.

I encourage you to find a copy of this book and invest the time to learn from the experiences of someone who has been there. Baxter Black does a good job of this.

Have you read this or any of Baxter Black’s other books? What are your favorites?

The Many Reasons To Love Cattlemen’s Conventions


Where to begin? This has been a very fun week in Nashville and I still have one more day to go. A record 7,000+ cattlemen/women and community members have invaded the Opryland Resort. Every where you look there are advertisements from vendors, equipment sales, and breed association. Too many things to do. Too many people to find. (Literally, I’ve been looking for two days and there’s still people I haven’t seen).

I haven’t actually been staying at the Resort, rather making the drive in each morning. The University is bringing cattle in each day for the demonstrations, so I’m out here at the Research Station, loading cattle early each morning before heading in.

Wednesday morning kicked off with Cattlemen’s College. There were some great researchers and scientists from across the country there to present their research findings and answer questions from cattlemen. I attended sections on Feed Efficiency and Reproduction. A few of the presentations went pretty specific, and some kind of missed making their take home point. They tried to fit a lot of material into the sections and ended up rushing at the end of every section. (Why is it that so many people find themselves rushing at the end of a presentation. Time management?) It’ll take a few blog posts next week to explain these.

We had an awesome Tweetup on Wednesday night at the Angus booth. 25-30 people showed up and it was great to put voices and faces with the names. In twitter language that’s #IRL (in real life). We have another tweetup this afternoon at 3 with the Brangus booth! It has been great to finally meet IRL so many people who I talk to everyday through social media. These relationships forged through messages and phone calls become exciting when you finally get to meet at a convention like this.

The trade show is huge. I’ve been to a few, but this one is by far the largest. So many booths and vendors. Great people to meet. I got to meet Baxter Black. Our keynote speakers have been great, awesome, and entertaining. Some at one of the restaurants asked if I’d like to start with chicken strips (I kept my comments to myself).

I think the BEST part of this Cattle Industry Convention is being in one place with 7,000+ people who are passionate about the same thing. I can strike up a conversation with anyone and they’ll be more than happy to compare notes and see how things are different in other parts of the country. It is such an encouragement and motivation to be surrounded by so many people with the same passion. An event like this truly emphasizes why we refer to this group as a cattle and beef community.

Here’s a few of the bloggers who have been keeping pace with the convention.

Janice Person has many more great photos on her blog!

The Young Producer’s Council blog

Amanda Radke (Beef Daily) – great to finally meet her!

Cowboy Poetry and Humor


Need a little reminder of the bright side of life? I am sure you could use a little modern day cowboy poetry. Large Animal Vet, Baxter Black, is great at telling stories of ranch life and shaping his words with lyrical humor. I always love listening to clips of his stories and watching videos of his stuff. Mr. Black’s material is often found in industry publications and newspaper columns. Enjoy this video and have a GREAT Friday and Labor Day Weekend!

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