Ryan Dennis

If location is everything, let me start by disclosing this one thing: This column is being written inside a tent in the mountains of a drought-stricken desert of Chile.

When I was young, I always got jealous when I saw that other kids had Gameboys and Nintendos. I wanted to play with all the latest gadgets and entertainment.

I walked gingerly up to the table with my registration slip. The eight men sitting there turned toward me. They looked me up and down, making calculations. Rural poker sharks do not look like the Vegas typecast seen in movies.

It’s difficult to get people’s attention in the modern era. According to research, the average individual sees over 5,000 advertisements per day.

There were times and places in history when stealing a man’s livestock got you hanged. From Vikings in the north to the cowboys of Australia, getting caught with another farmer’s animals was considered especially heinous.

The nature of agriculture has changed consistently through the decades, becoming largely a global phenomenon.