My traveling companions and I have traversed across the frozen tundra also known as Illinois. We actually saw the thermostat get to positive #s. Little bit chilly and big piles of snow. Speaking of positive, Lance Rhodes (yes, Big Jim’s son), Tommy Milligan and myself made it to Hummel Livestock. Other than they have piles of snow, it was an excellent visit. We got to visit the cat barn. That was a cool, informative visit. I’m not a cat person but I enjoyed listening to Dale & Holly talk the science that backs their cat breeding program. We then headed to the goat barn to look at young wethers, the doe kids in the online sale and a couple of buck prospects. The bucks out of Top Gun x Facebook were intriguing. There was a pretty cool buck but I don’t think that he is leaving their farm. I don’t blame them. The online does are better in real life. This was a good stop and I look forward to coming back when there is green grass. We then centered to Dereu’s to look at the bucks that he’s selling online. Pair of interesting prospects that should sell well and could help a lot of breeding programs. Now on to the next phase of our big adventure. The real reason(s) that we are up here in the Land of Lincoln, a gold key combine tour on Tuesday morning. Can’t wait.