There was a wildfire here on the Palouse last week, burning up wheat stubble, closing highways and demanding the best efforts of the area fire crews. It wasn't far from my house where it finally was halted, and a lot of the traffic was rerouted by my house.

As I was surveying the damage that night and early the next morning, I started thinking about how others outside of agriculture might view what had happened. I live near a college town that brings in a lot of people from urban backgrounds with no relation or understanding of agriculture. Granted, a wildfire is a large enough situation that even the city folk would have due respect for being rerouted and the damage it might cause, but what about when we're moving farm equipment down the highway or driving a herd of cattle to spring range? What about weather conditions wreaking havoc with our crops and the volatility of market prices?

I often fall into the trap of an "us vs. them" mentality. I was raised on a cattle ranch, and I can't imagine enjoying any other lifestyle. But when I force myself to pretend I'm walking in a city person's shoes, I can see how they would have a hard time understanding cattle ranching or why I wouldn't want to live in a mile radius of shopping malls, coffee shops and nail salons. With limited to zero knowledge of what cattle ranching and agriculture is truly about, it's no wonder the media can sway people into believing everything it prints.

That's why I would like to encourage you to participate in the Masters of Beef Advocacy program (www.beef.org/mba). It's an online, six-course program that presents concise information and points to use in presenting a positive and accurate portrait of the beef industry. I've just completed the second course - each one is about an hour in length. While a lot of it is information I already knew, the Masters of Beef Advocacy program takes that information and puts it in a consumer-friendly package to help explain what the beef industry is really like.

There can't be an "us vs. them" mentality for the beef industry to continue thriving. Those of us raised in, working in and passionate about beef cattle need to be ambassadors for our livelihood in our own daily lives.

Burned wheat stubble on the Palouse from a wildfire at the end of August.