There are always ins and outs with any relationship, but I'm here to give you the cold hard facts about dating a cattle farmer, or at least my cattle farmer. I'm sure they're applicable to other cattle farmers.

1. He's always exhausted.

No seriously, he gets off work, then heads home to start work on the farm. It's a vicious cycle and sometimes he just needs a nap, or seven. Yet, despite the sore muscles and tired mind, he still wants to know how your day was.

2. He probably smells like... well, crap.

Sure that's never the plan, but sometimes things happen and the smell is unavoidable. Life with livestock is not a walk in the park. Just let him get a shower real quick.

3. He cares deeply about his cattle.

He may be a hard man, and you may never see him cry, but trust me, he cares. When that rejected calf he's been bottle feeding doesn't make it, hug him a little tighter because he's hurting.

4. He's gonna sing Johnny Cash to you.

I didn't say it always sounded like Johnny Cash, but bless him for trying.

5. He looks good in a pearl-snap.

Like, "slap your mama" good. Like, oh man, oh man, have you seen this guy in his pearl-snap?!?

6. He's as strong as a dang ox.

Lifting all that feed and hay has really proven to be the ultimate workout. No gym membership required.

7. He doesn't always need your help.

He knows you may not be able to pull as much weight as he can, but he loves that you try.

8. His hands are always rough.

He has callouses on callouses and his hands feel like they could sand off a rowboat, but you know you kind of like it.

9. His days are often unpredictable.

It's not that he wanted to cancel your plans, he can't help it that he has 20 head of cattle roaming the two-lane road because "a deer tore the dang fence down again," as he put it.

10. Dates may be unorthodox.

Working cows in the bitter cold counts as a date? Yes, yes it does.

11. He quotes from Tombstone like it's going out of style.

"I'm your huckleberry." — Doc Holiday

12. He's obsessed with being gritty.

He just wants to be "courageously persistent," as Merriam-Webster puts it.

13. He's genuinely proud of you.

When you use cattle jargon he's taught you, a thin smile creeps across his face.

14. He needs pick me ups sometimes.

Sometimes he just needs a reminder that you appreciate him, and you recognize what he does is important. But honestly, doesn't everyone need to feel they're valued?

15. He is a beautiful mess.

Some days, he looks like he's been run down by a train, or an angry mama cow, hard to determine which.