We started with $500, a little barn in Sparta, North Carolina, and absolutely no idea what we were doing. Eight years later, the best part of the Southeast Highland Cattle Show & Sale has very little to do with the cattle and everything to do with the people who helped build it.

The cow I once begged someone to put a price on has now given me five heifers. This latest one arrived just in time for my birthday and reminded me why some of the purchases you second guess the most end up being the ones you’re most thankful you made.