Latest / The Source – The Jorgensen Land & Cattle Podcast / Episode 16: Built to Last: Growing the Next Generation with Kaid Panic
Transcript
- speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Over a hundred years of experience lie in ideal South Dakota. The team at Jorgenson Lan and Cattle is going to take the time to offer insight into that experience along with many other industry experts. If you're ready to learn and grow, this is the Source. Welcome back to the Source folks. ⁓ I am happy to be in ID or at home in Sturgis recording today, which is great for me. ⁓ been on the road a bunch the month of August and ⁓ had several events and now Jorgensen team is full blown, getting ready for a bull sale in California on October third, and then another one on October twenty ninth in San Salva, Texas. ⁓ we're just wide open, getting calves weaned, and things are things are coming around an ideal. Got a little rain, so life looks good. But ⁓ purpose of today's episode, ⁓ joined by really fun guests for me, ⁓ gentlemen that ⁓ Met at the Beef and Greet ⁓ there in May and ⁓ at this point, ⁓ consider him a friend, ⁓ been fun to get to know Cade Panic. ⁓ he's a whiz when it comes to marketing social media stuff, so I bounced a lot of things off Cade. ⁓ really good to get to know him. ⁓ so I'm gonna let Cade introduce himself and then we're gonna talk a little bit about a pretty neat event that Jordans Atlanta Cattle put on last week and ⁓ give you guys a little insight into some of what we do when we try and put events on. So Cade, introduce yourself to the folks. speaker-1: Well, first off, Jamie, I just want to say thanks, man, for having me on here. It's an honor to to not only ⁓ not only be on the source, but to actually ⁓ be invited into an event where I can actually see the heartbeat of Jorgensen landing cattle. And ⁓ you know, I'm a son in law married into the you know, married a farmer's daughter, and then we kinda got roped into the operation ⁓ voluntarily. I'd like to you know, some days I'd like to say involuntarily, but we're here. And ⁓ you know, ⁓ just kind of pride myself on the fact that I'm just the son-in-law. I ask a lot of questions, and ⁓ if you've seen the old movie, ⁓ son-in-law, that's a pretty dang good description of how I was when I married ⁓ my ⁓ father-in-law's daughter. So anyway, ⁓ run a a small operation of about 200 head in southeast Idaho. And the good thing about what I get to do is I get to go around and learn. I learn all the time. And I've it that's kind of why I started documenting my s my life on social media is because all of a sudden you get a bunch of different opinions. I know a lot of people say don't read the comments, but ⁓ I'd say just sift the comments. ⁓ there's been a lot of knowledge that has been transferred to our operation through the comment section. And ⁓ even better, we get the opportunity to kind of travel around and and get to see other people and w you know what challenges they have, whether they're in Arkansas, they're in South Dakota, California, Kansas. ⁓ you know, it's really cool to take little nuggets of knowledge and bring that back home. And so when Jamie invited me to the the Built to Last ⁓ event, man, it was such a treat. It really was. speaker-0: Yeah. And ⁓ yes we'll go ahead and ⁓ tell the folks what we what we did last week. ⁓ Jorgenson Landic Kettle produced an event that ⁓ that we coined to build to last. And really the goal of the event was to bring young producers together for an educational event that will hopefully let them grow along with build their network. So ⁓ I guess my first question, Cade, when you got the invite to to come join us, what was something you expected that you did not get when you came to to Jorgens and Lanic Catholic and got to this event? speaker-1: ⁓ in all reality, ⁓ what's funny is when you get to doing what I do for a living, you're always ⁓ like I expected, just like when you go to everywhere else, ⁓ they have their best foot forward and it's a showcase on ⁓ look at us and this is how we do it, and we are the best. And ⁓ you know, I was expecting a really polished ⁓ you know, presentation almost of of, you know, this is why ⁓ you should believe in the Jorgensen brand and and you know, just kind of ⁓ PR promotional deal. What was ⁓ unexpected was ⁓ how personable, how intimate, how raw and real the event actually was to where it wasn't just like i and you've said it time and time again, Jamie, throughout the event was like we're not here to sell you anything. We just we just want you to see it. And ⁓ honestly it it was it was like visiting a friend to where ⁓ you know talk about struggles, talk about ⁓ you know, show you struggles. And sometimes ⁓ from the outside or a glossy page of a magazine, it looks like everybody has it all put together. And most of the time we do, but at the same time, ⁓ the one thing I wasn't expecting was it to be so realistic. And the hats off to you guys. speaker-0: Yeah, and you know, like I said, that the purpose of that event, you know, ⁓ for us to bring that group of young people together and and young people being, you know, forty five and younger, ⁓ the next generation of the farmers and ranchers that are gonna be making this thing work. across the United States, whether it's you know, whatever segment of agriculture they're in, you know, obviously we live in the beef cow world, so that's what what the focus was. But ⁓ you know, it was more so, Kate, about us bringing you guys together. ⁓ pretty eclectic group, was it not? speaker-1: ⁓ absolutely. I mean, you had everybody from Grant Jones and Color or in Nebraska to me in Idaho to ⁓ you know, just it was really interesting to there was a small amount of producers that were there, but how different our initial app from a ten thousand foot view, we are so different, whether it's geographics or cow herd size or goals with our cows, but it was Really interesting, come the end of the day, we realize that we're all dealing with a lot of the same issues. And ⁓ we have people to where we can lean on, ask for support, and you know, pick their brains. And and that's one of the coolest things that I've found in agriculture is mentorship is so big. ⁓ and I guess it's just like any other job, right? ⁓ because a lot of our manuals aren't written down in agriculture. ⁓ i as far as, you know, if you're gonna work at a at an industrial assembly line, ⁓ there there's a manual on exactly how you do your job. ⁓ agriculture, we don't have that. And so to be able to call on people that say, hey, you know, like this is what I'm dealing with, and those guys can say, ⁓ that was me three years ago. This is what we did or I tried this and I still couldn't figure it out. And so it gave us ⁓ a little bit of a widening of our network to where ⁓ we definitely have more options and and you know, like you say, Jamie, we we I think at the end of it we all shook each other's hand and called each other friends. speaker-0: Yeah, and so we we did this at at the home place in Ideal. ⁓ main main area being the Lazy Jay Sporting Club, of course. ⁓ Cade, you you flew into Rapid City and we picked you up and you kinda got the the VIP the first day, the black lab experience and all the great things that come with ⁓ spending time with Jorgensen's and ideal. But ⁓ You know, you've been to a lot of these different events. ⁓ talk a little bit about the lazy J and and the accommodations that were there for an event like this, you know, ⁓ with the ability to be staying right there and and food and and everything that comes with it. Just touch on that a little bit, Kid. speaker-1: ⁓ man, like it it's really interesting because a lot of a lot of times ⁓ like events like that are based out of a a hotel and then you gotta turn around and drive out to the country and see what you're looking at and and what they're talking about in a hotel ballroom. It was really handy to one be right there. ⁓ but two, like I think that the Lazy J Sporting Club is built in a way that ⁓ it's big enough to h accommodate everybody. But at the same time, ⁓ you don't get lost in the hotel, right? It's all really it it does a really unique and excellent job of keeping everybody ⁓ in an intimate setting, whether it's you know, you you go out into the main area of the lodge and and you can sit at the bar and BS with somebody till one o'clock in the morning. But ⁓ but also, you know, it's it it was really I I found it really interesting. Because I wondered how you guys were going to tackle that. And I thought that you did a great job and the setting is perfect because ⁓ you can walk out and point at what you're talking about. And ⁓ it it just it was a really, really good habitat for organic conversations and true mentorship in my opinion. ⁓ and then the food was off the chain, man. It was like I'm a foodie, I like to find good food wherever I go and ⁓ I definitely did not think that it would be in ideal South Dakota, but ⁓ man, head chef he he throws it together, man. You gotta watch out or else you're gonna gain weight. I know I did. speaker-0: Yeah, ⁓ yeah. Che Chef Adam does a does an awesome job. We're we're so blessed to have him on our team. ⁓ you know, and just just piggybacking off what you said there, Cade, you know, y you don't have an excuse to duck off. speaker-1: Exactly. speaker-0: you're in those big hotel settings, it it's pretty easy to disappear, right? And you know, sometimes we may want to. Yeah. You know, and you do need to and and you can if you if you really so choose, but it's really easy to just end up in conversation sitting there in the in the lodge and all of a sudden it's two o'clock in the morning and we're going, ⁓ man, we need to go to bed speaker-1: A hundred percent. Well it w what's really interesting is I I kinda look at ⁓ how many missed calls and text messages I have is how like it that's a measure of, you know, how good it was and ⁓ yeah, my phone stayed in my pocket and everybody was like, Where did he go to s ideal and die? I don't understand. I can't get a hold of him. Well it's just the fact that I'm wrapped up talking to ⁓ to Cody about, you know breeding cows and doing the whole thing and talking to you about, you know, whether it was nutrition or or how things run. And and that was the really interesting thing was ⁓ you guys are s are pretty much an open book. And ⁓ there was there were some topics that were discussed that I I know I didn't have the guts to ask you, just out of respect and everything else, you know, but they came up and I was like, wow, I can't believe that That it's an open book, you know what I mean? And so hats off to you guys because I think ⁓ obviously you guys are gonna control the gauge of of how intimate it gets and and how open you guys are and for you guys to go no holds bar and listen, this is we come as we are. ⁓ I think you know, whether it was ⁓ Nick or Cody or you or Larry, everybody l You you did a great job of setting that atmosphere of ⁓ letting us know that we can be vulnerable as well. speaker-0: Yeah, I mean I I think that that creating that that atmosphere, you know, number one, that's kind of the way things are around Jorgensen's all the time. You know. ⁓ if you ever get to know Nick very good, Nick doesn't hold nothing back no matter who he's talking to. And that's such a such a blessing to have him and have him be that way. Right. ⁓ to where, you know, I I think the rest of the industry, you know, sometimes like you said, we portray sunshine and rainbows everywhere you look. ⁓ and it's just not that way. ⁓ you know, everybody has struggles and and there's there's times to have real conversations. So that that first day, Cade, ⁓ we started at noon and and Nick and Cody opened things up. ⁓ With a few of you that aren't really intimate with our program, ⁓ giving some background and and that. And then we talked about genomics and genomic testing. and we did a I called it a wet lab to go with that. And so ⁓ I want your opinion of the wet lab, Cade. ⁓ I can explain it if you would like me to as to what we did, but then ⁓ talk about kind of what you got out of that and If you thought it was beneficial. speaker-1: ⁓ yeah. Well first off I think I think ⁓ it's a little underrated, but ⁓ when Nick and Cody kicked off the day, it was if if you were paying attention, it was a master class. ⁓ you know, like I said again, ultim ultimately raw, real, very intimate. ⁓ w what I accustomed it to because everybody was texting me, ⁓ man, what's going on? ⁓ this the comparison that I made was it was like sitting through a cattle version of Alex Hermosy and ⁓ you know he's a viral influencer that ⁓ you know kind of a lot of people ask him for permission on how they're building or how their businesses go. And ⁓ I I think that that part of the day went severely underrated just because ⁓ it's not that they said much As far as they didn't give us the secret key, but if you were paying attention, they s they executed that perfectly enough to where, ⁓ you know, if you're looking at the big picture, Nick and Cody look at things completely different because they have completely different roles of Jorgensen's. And you start putting the pieces of the puzzle together and you go, This is why it runs the way it does. Because ⁓ you know, Nick is is very simplified and you know, straight to the point like you mentioned. And then you have Cody that ⁓ he believes in the romance of of like creating breedings and and you know there's there's science there but also ⁓ you know it's it's an art to to try and make the perfect Angus cow. And To to be able to see those two different styles and those two personalities mesh the way they do, you're like, dang, that's very commendable. And I understand exactly why they've created the Jorgensen powerhouse. But talking about ⁓ the wet lab, the wet lab was something that ⁓ everybody hears the fact that, you know, genomics, genomics. You need to breed how you you know, you need to pay attention to what your DNA is and breed your cows accordingly. And, you know, it's the same song and dance that we all kind of sit through every other seminar that we sit in and it's like, ⁓ yeah, no, we know. And I come home and I still buy my bulls away, I buy my bulls. Well I always have and and ⁓ I've always picked the prettiest heifers. And what you did, Jamie, is the fact that there was six different pens of animals Three pens of heifers, three pens of bulls, and there wasn't a slouch in any of those pens. They were all great. ⁓ there was definitely a reason to to ⁓ you know, we were asked to rank ⁓ one to five. And there was a reason why each one of those, like somebody could pick a different cow and still be right, in my opinion. ⁓ but what we were doing was was ⁓ And it was really interesting to see was the right answer was based off of genomics and to be able to ⁓ you know obviously you're looking at phenotype when they're in the Corral and to ⁓ to find these hidden curve balls, I'll call them, of man, I didn't know that that she would be able to do that. And it's kind of one of those ⁓ Like everybody's had the heifer that they've kept and and you know, you don't know why you keep her, but you you kinda just do. And then she blossoms as a two year old and you're like, man, that's a nice cow. ⁓ you know, it's it kind of provides a l like to the uneducated, that's what I would say is is you're kind of detecting those performers based on genomics and ⁓ then you're kind of narrowing down on ⁓ on the phenotype end of things. What was really, really interesting is Cody participated in it too. He's been doing this for thirty years and there were still questions that he had. And so it just goes to show you that even though I was wrong, Cody's wrong too. And how much how much importance is placed in the fact of, you know, the genomics and trying to select based upon those and the fact that No matter how good you are, you still need to look up on AgBoost and and consider those scores accordingly. And so I thought it was something that it you you took genomics from a boring PowerPoint slideshow all the way to here's practical real life application and this is what it means. And nobody, in my opinion, has been able to do that in all the genomics conversations that I've been able to sit through. speaker-0: Well yeah, and I I think Cade what we did plays back so much to ⁓ the episode of the podcast where where Cody talked about ⁓ I asked him ⁓ phenotype versus production and we had a conversation about that. And basically Cody got to the point that he wants to study the data first. And it's it's not just genomics, right? It's just for for commercial Kel Kiev guys, you probably don't have a lot of pedigree information, ⁓ dam production records, like you don't have all the data that we do. But if you if you have genomics, at least you have a starting place. And then let's go look at ⁓ That's why it's fun to do it the other way first, to say, okay, maybe this is what what we missed. speaker-1: No. Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. And well, and the other thing too is ⁓ the scenarios that you paired with the back end of the exercise. ⁓ like, you know, looking at the bulls, we had a pen of five bulls, ⁓ two tur we had to pick two terminal bulls, two maternal bulls, and a cole. And ⁓ what was funny is just how swapped around everybody got ⁓ I don't think anybody had the same answer and you know, to be able to step through and and learn How you can divide those different traits of, you know, if you're looking maternal bull, you want maybe more milk and and less ribeye score than a terminal bull, and to be able to kind of sort those out to where, ⁓ yeah, sure, if you're at the bull sale, you're probably gonna bid on all five of ⁓ but at the same time, you can it it gives you the opportunity to dial into one goal, right? And and pick upon ⁓ what your vision is for that bull instead of, well, I just bought him and here's a hope and a prayer. speaker-0: Right. And and for me it was a lot of fun to get to put that thing together because I live in this every day, right? So I'm looking at pedigree because I've got all that information, right? So I'm looking at pedigrees and I'm grouping these cattle to where I know. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: That it's gonna be a challenge. You know, you guys didn't know it at the time, but there was a couple of those pans, those were all full sieves. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: And you know, that's kind of the again that goes back to the why do we use genomics and and why do we record performance data? Well, it's because a set of embryo kiffs are not all created equal. speaker-1: Right. Right. It well then that opened Right. Well it it opened up this whole other avenue. So we had the exercise, but then you know, after we'd kind of shut down, had dinner and and whatever, we s the what was really interesting, Jamie, is the conversation kept rolling. And I remember sitting there talking to Cody about epigenetics and donor cows. And it was something that I don't even consider. I never even thought of. And You know, it's it's just kind of like ⁓ you know, almost we went through chapter one, two, and three in the classroom, but then ⁓ Cody gave us kind of a second a C ⁓ Cody gave us a sneak peek into you know, levels four, five, and six. And just kind of some of the things that you have to consider on that fine level. If you're gonna split hairs and create the next great one. You're thinking in four, five and six, you already I mean, one, two and three is gospel, but four, five and six that's where you really start having to split the hair. speaker-0: And I I think the other great thing that came out of it too was just, you know, ⁓ everybody sees them different. speaker-1: ⁓ absolutely. speaker-0: So you guys got you guys got to talk about, you know, no matter what the genomics says, like, well I I still like her more than I like her. And nobody's right, nobody's wrong in the end. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: You know, that's the that's that's the beauty of the business we're in. Nobody's right, nobody's wrong, just as long as you can make it profitable. speaker-1: E exactly. Well and and that's the ⁓ the craziest part about the cattle industry that I've started to kind of figure out over the last year or two is is ⁓ you know, I was always taught what a good cow was and a good bull or whatever, this is what you look for. But then I shake hands with somebody and they have a completely different style than me and the one that I think should go on the truck and head to Burgertown. ⁓ man, he's an ex herd bull. And it's ⁓ it kind of gets back to how d you know We are diverse in agriculture, we're diverse in the cattle industry, and ⁓ you know, there there's plenty of schools of thoughts to fit multiple demands, whether it's the environment, whether it's ⁓ you know, all all these things that we take into account as normal in our operations, ⁓ you know, our our butter might be somebody else's milk. I it just you know, it's really hard to to say that they're wrong. Because they might be right for them. speaker-0: And so ⁓ we finished up that first day. ⁓ obviously we all stayed up too late. ⁓ we had a lot of fun. ⁓ the the second morning ⁓ we had a we had another little genomics workshop ⁓ really just piggybacking off what we did the day before. ⁓ and you can choose to touch on that if you want to, but ⁓ the the second thing we did that morning is what I what I want you to talk about when we got into ⁓ the panel discussion on transition ⁓ with ⁓ with the young people in the room and and most everybody back at a family operation. ⁓ that conversation got a lot more real and raw than I ever ever dreamed it would. speaker-1: ⁓ man. Well it so yeah, like like you say, we kinda started off the morning of of kind of ⁓ you know, I would I would say reinforcing what we learned the afternoon before. And ⁓ Keep Farmers Farming was ⁓ lucky for for me, they showed up and and led a hell of a discussion and and it it kind of started as a panel, but at the same time ⁓ the group was intimate enough that that the panel was okay. It I think it was more of an icebreaker, ⁓ kind of a make people talk type of a situation. But ⁓ it turned into a round table and we were really what that is when it kind of came full circle to me was when everybody started kind of talking about ⁓ when it comes to succession, whether it's working with dad or father in law or Or the pressure of handling grandpa's place and and trying to understand and wrap our minds around you know, there's things that we beat our our head against a wall every single day and we think, why me? ⁓ you know, whether and and it's not necessarily any negative stuff, it's just like, man, I'm we gotta find a way through this. And to find out that there are multiple people in multiple different avenues That are still th those problems are very relevant to them. I think that that was really what I think is ⁓ the most valuable for me is ⁓ like one thing that was very, very interesting was ⁓ I have a little bit of a different story with father ⁓ with farming with my father-in-law. ⁓ I didn't I'm not blood. And so when it came to succession and being a torch holder to my kids to To keep the blood farming. ⁓ man, I I just didn't know how it would be relatable to most everybody else in the room. But at the same time, I had people coming up to me, you know, after the round table or ⁓ you know, later that night, and they were saying, Dude, I know exactly what you're talking about. Let me tell you my side of the story. And I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, I think that happened to me last week. You know, and so it was really interesting for me to one, understand that I'm not alone, but two, every you know, we we're all dealing with it in some sort of way, and and there's a time that we have to be strategic. We have to be forward thinking. And ⁓ what I think really came out of it is everybody's worried about the shoes that we're wearing right now. ⁓ you know, as somebody that's We're trying to find our own lane. We're trying to take over some of the responsibility and make the decisions. And there's some point in time where we're gonna have to make that transition. But also it was framed of what about the older generation? What are they thinking? How how can we accommodate them better and make this transition better and the best thing for both parties? And I thought that that was really, really interesting and something that I wasn't expecting. ⁓ you know, just the fact that, you know, they're they're having to give up their life's work as well, and they have to be able to trust us with it. And at the same time, we kind of have to prove ourselves, you know. We can't we can't ⁓ can't sit there and and be frustrated without ⁓ making the effort in a way that they can understand that we're making an effort. speaker-0: And and Alan Hoyer does such a masterful job of of getting getting it out of you. He he has the ability to to get conversation to take place. You know, and so we're we're so blessed for him to be a part of it. speaker-1: ⁓ yeah, absolutely. And it what the what it did though as far as the group was ⁓ it made it not like ⁓ it was a fraternity, but it was the it was the same kind of a situation of like it bonded us on a different level rather than like, ⁓ yeah, he's he's another cow guy. ⁓ you know, it kind of made us to where ⁓ We naturally, after that whole situation, we were able to go that much deeper with each other and be able to figure out and continue the conversation in a natural way, right? Like that that was the coolest part about it is is how just that round table affected everybody's trip in my opinion. Yeah. speaker-0: It was it was wide open and ⁓ have to love when that happens for for somebody putting on an event. ⁓ again, this was all for for the guys that joined us. You know, this this really had nothing to do with Jorgensen Landing Cattle, but for for some of you I know ⁓ at times screaming and needing somebody to talk to. ⁓ to have that relationship with somebody that is completely disconnected from what I'm dealing with to just I don't need you to solve my problems. I just need you to hear me for about twenty minutes here. speaker-1: I exactly, exactly. And ⁓ the best part is is, you know, I'd have a couple new contacts on my phone that that I could put ⁓ on speed dial, you know. It's I I think one of the biggest things that you guys were able to do was you not only created the atmosphere and and it ⁓ and maybe this is proof in the pudding, Jamie. You guys created the atmosphere And the chemistry showed up on its own, in my opinion. And I I don't I don't know if that was the goal or if I I don't know when you've initially sat down and decided that we were that you guys were gonna have an event. I don't know if what what the what the punch list of goals were out of the weekend, but from an attendees perspective, ⁓ I've never been to anywhere like it. I've never been to a place that ⁓ you know, I've I've felt not only connected to the Jorgensens and the Jorgensen brand, but just like the industry and understanding the fact that, you know, I'm a small piece of the puzzle, but that's how the puzzle is made up of a bunch of small pieces. And they're they're pretty dang close to to what I'm doing or what I'm dealing with. And so kudos to you guys for being able to provide that atmosphere to where it was completely organic and we all walked away from it. I at least I know I did, as it was a huge success and it was it was the number one thing that I've been to as far as my own personal growth and understanding of, you know, it because Jamie, what you guys did is you didn't you didn't sell anything. But being in that atmosphere, I was able to drink the Kool-Aid and I understand why you're doing the things you're doing, why it's such a benefit, and I go, Okay, I can level up my operation by doing maybe I saw 15 things at Jorgensen's, but it on the drive home and on the airplane, I was sitting there thinking, Okay, what's the three biggest things that's gonna level me up? How can I go through that and actually apply that in my operation? And I think 'cause that's one of the trickiest things, especially for the youngest generation, is we go to a conference, we learn all these things and we have these great ideas, but then we get home and shot down. And You know, because we can't do a good enough job explaining it because we just sat through a presentation. That's all we did. We we sat we sat through a glorified sales pitch where we didn't get to see it applied in real life. We don't get to see the benefits or, you know, when you look back and compare about what you got at home, the negatives of not doing it, right? Like after the wet lab, I think I've been picking the wrong heifers for the last five years. 'Cause I haven't been genomic testing, right? And so all of a sudden I'm s like drowning in regret of ⁓ my gosh, I can't believe you know, like I I didn't know. I was taking a whack at the pinata with a blindfold on. And so ⁓ you gave me enough context to where I picked those three things and then also through the succession planning deal with Keep Farmers Farming. I had some different tools that I could utilize in guiding through the conversation with everybody at home of saying, Hey, I think that this is super beneficial and we could apply this, this, and this. You know, and it's not that we we want to be like Jorgensen's, it's they're the next level, or maybe three levels, or whatever. This is how we get from here to here. And it's pretty straightforward. speaker-0: Yeah. And you know, I think that's again some of the beauty of being being pretty raw and being open. ⁓ You took something back that you could apply. And I hope that's whatever I hope that's what everybody got out of it was you took something back that you could apply. Yes. So you had the you had the benefit, Kate, of being somebody that had never been to Jorgensen, Landon Cattle. And ⁓ Co Cody gave a tour. ⁓ so touch a little bit on the on the tour and speaker-1: Absolutely. speaker-0: ⁓ you guys were gone for about an hour and a half so I know you got the got the solid tour. ⁓ little bit about about what the home place looks like and ⁓ if there was anything there you picked up that's like, ⁓ hey, I could take advantage of that in my own operation. speaker-1: ⁓ absolutely. ⁓ you know, whether it was the working facilities that you guys just got done f ⁓ putting up and ⁓ you know, it it it's really interesting to be able to look at it from a from the perspective and the ten thousand foot view of of what was Jorgensen cattle in the nineties and what is Jorgensen cattle in the twenty twenties. And in in my opinion, I could see the growth and kind of come to an understanding of ⁓ you know where the growing pains might have been throughout the years ⁓ but also how those problems were solved with very out of the box thinking and ⁓ I found it really really really interesting because you guys you don't do things like everybody else does whether it's planting your habitat strips for the Pheasant Club ⁓ in making a bunch of like walk strips for the pheasants, but also how you're able to ⁓ to utilize that into cattle feed and ⁓ you're able to tweak things in the kitchen on a on a feeding ration and ⁓ every everybody thinks that the the typical cattle operation is is squares, right? ⁓ Jorgensen makes the same picture but the puzzle pieces look a lot different. They're look you know the they they don't all fit together the way you think they would, but after you see it, it's a complete understanding of man, this this is about as flawless as it could happen. ⁓ you know, whether it was cruising through the feedlot and and understanding, you know, what these bulls are going through and and you know, 'cause there were some bulls that were coming back off the lease program. ⁓ you guys are receiving weaned calves that are early weaned and ⁓ kind of be able to see multiple scenarios throughout the feed lot and how you're able to balance so many plates at the same time and nothing crashes. ⁓ but you know, like some of those bulls, you could tell like they've been to work and they've had a long summer and it kind of put into perspective of ⁓ like just the smart bulls. And what they have to go through, the hurdles they have to jump to be able to be offered as an age advantage smart bull. ⁓ you know, you you think that ⁓ you know, from the outside looking in, it's like, well, it's probably the leftovers and stuff that they, you know, it might be holdovers and you know, you just you don't really know. But then when you're actually you get to go see training camp and what these bulls go through, it's like there is a very big test. And if they don't pass the test, then they're not on they're not headed to a customer. And so for me, I think that it was a it was a completely different understanding of what ⁓ what you guys provide to your customers. And it's not just local customers. I mean they're nationwide and and how you're able to solve a bunch of needs of of ranches that I mean there's a reason why there's people that bleed for the Jorgensen brand. And so to be able to see that and then w ⁓ you know, whether it's the working facility, the the feedlot, but also ⁓ we're cruising through the field and understanding how you guys use grazing collars and and we got to go see some donor cattle and and some herd bulls and things like that to where it's like, ⁓ yeah, no, I d I know why they're trying to get some embryos out of that one. And ⁓ you know, you kinda see like the the foundation stuff and it's it's funny. It's like Cody knows them on a first name basis, but it's their they they don't have a name, right? It's just their number. But I mean he just spits it off and goes, ⁓ yeah, no, this you know blah blah blah cow over there. I mean she's in here but I don't ⁓ yep, there she is out there. And I'm like, Cody you can't even see her tech. No, that's her. You know, just ⁓ to understand it's her Yeah, yeah it's it's one of those deals where ⁓ you understand how intimate Cody is with the cow herd and you understand why he's so successful. And ⁓ the the bad part about ⁓ I think I think if you were to open up Cody's mind and try and write a book, you'd need about seven volumes, right? To it it would fill that many pages and ⁓ to be able to kind of see some of that stuff on display. But then when you go to the office and you get to see ⁓ kind of the the ode to older generations of Jorgens and and so it's you know you're dealing with you're you're you're understanding at a base level you're understanding what Nick and Cody are going through on a on a day to day basis and what it what it takes. But also it kind of gives you a little bit of a glimpse of what the Martins went through, senior and junior, ⁓ and kind of how they've they've fought and battled through the generations and you know it's ⁓ It was very, very interesting to understand that ⁓ you know, the Jorgensen's just like everybody else come from humble beginnings and they they've worked their tail off to get to where they are, and they haven't forgotten the past, even though it's not heading in the same direction as the past, right? It's very futuristic and and there's been need to change and change is a good thing, especially when you you have guys like ⁓ Nick and Cody at the at the helm of it. speaker-0: Yeah, and and I think just kinda to to jump back to you talking about the feedlot and all the different things going on, ⁓ that's ⁓ for for us that's a hats off to Philip Jorgensen and his team at the feedlot and Dylan Donahue and his team with the cow herd. ⁓ special thanks to both those guys for helping us get this this event prepped, but ⁓ those guys and their team ⁓ They're the ones that make it happen on a day to day basis, keeping those balls in the air, to keep all those different things rolling forward. ⁓ really a special thanks to those guys. ⁓ I would not you could not pay me enough money in the world to have Philip Jorgensen's job on a day to day basis. speaker-1: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Well and and just to be able to see ⁓ the moving parts and it's not just the feedlot, right? They were in the middle of chopping silage and and hustling and trying to get feed put up and and it seemed like it was just another day at Jurgensen Farms and I go, Man, I'd have an anxiety attack looking at this you know, just because there was so many moving pieces, but everybody had the game plan, everybody understood what was going on, that was really apparent because ⁓ You know, it it it was the other thing too that that I think goes kind of unnoticed, Jamie, is the fact of how much faith the team at Jorgenson's have in each other. Because there was multiple times it during the tour that we would roll up on somebody doing something. Whether it was turning manure piles or or packing silage or you know the vet was at the worker facility and there there wasn't one time where Cody even had a a shadow of a doubt that ⁓ that things weren't happening the way they should. And you know, he goes like we would ask a question and he'd say, That's a question for Phillip. He knows he knows what's going on and we hundred percent trust in him. And it was really cool to be able to see him not only give praise to Philip, but give him the the the trust and say, Hey, you know, like that that guy can answer your questions better than I can. I could have told you maybe five or ten years ago, but at the same time, it's that's his home court. Yep. speaker-0: Yeah. So you guys got got the tour and then ⁓ we kind of capped the the day and a half off ⁓ showcasing something that's fairly new with the lazy J ⁓ that I had not even been a part of yet. ⁓ with the Sporting Clays range. ⁓ very much an undervalued ⁓ aspect of the Lazy J. ⁓ we had a lot of fun with that. ⁓ to wrap up that last afternoon. speaker-1: ⁓ man, it was ⁓ it was something there was a lot of smack their cock. ⁓ yeah. Well it and it was something that just kinda like put a put a another level of camaraderie into the into the week was just to be able to go out, hang loose, talk a little smack and and go out there and I and I don't think that there was a professional there at all. But ⁓ for us to just have some fun and and bang some clays, that was that was super fun and ⁓ it it was it was nice because it was something to that weekend that kind of reminded us that we weren't just cattle producers, we're just a bunch of people having fun. And I think that it was kind of the the cherry on the top to be able to shake everybody's hand at the end of it and and ⁓ say, Man, I ⁓ like the guy that was running the clays, he says, Good thing you guys raised your dinner. You don't have to hunt for it. And I'm like, true, true. But ⁓ nah man, it was it was really fun and and I think that it's something that ⁓ would ⁓ when I say, ⁓ yeah, no, like what'd you d w what'd you do in South Dakota, K ⁓ what I went to to shoot sporting clays. I mean I think it it might raise a couple questions, but in all reality until you do that and understand what all of Jorgensen's has to offer. Whether it's the sporting club or or the ideal genetics or ⁓ Jorgis Atlanta Cattle, you get to understand all of these all these different avenues. ⁓ it's just there's a lot of moving parts and pieces and they all work together in a symphony to be able to go out there and enjoy just being in the middle of it. And I genuinely can't thank you enough, Jamie, for the invite because it was it was great and it was something that ⁓ Like I said, it it changed my perspective on a few things that I can find applicable to what I'm doing at my place. And I think that what what that does is ⁓ you know, hopefully you you guys decide to do it again and and ⁓ I can come back saying, All right, I've leveled up since last time. I'm ready to pick the next three things that I can grow with and ⁓ ⁓ for that for that opportunity and to kind of shift my mindset into ⁓ you know, being a progressive thinker, I'd I'd yeah, man, it's priceless in my opinion. It really is. speaker-0: And and so from from Jorgenson Lan and Cattle's end, a special thanks to ⁓ to the whole staff at the Lazy J Sporting Club. ⁓ Patrick Sanders, Troy Lance, David Floyd, Chef Adam, ⁓ and you guys' whole team ⁓ made it a special two days for everybody that was there. ⁓ just kind of a cool event, Cade, and ⁓ hope to do it again and bring a few n new people into the mix of that group, ⁓ because it it became a pretty cool camaraderie by the time we we wrapped up and left. speaker-1: ⁓ absolutely. Absolutely. I think that ⁓ it I would say that ⁓ expectations were shattered in in a the most absolute positive way possible. And ⁓ it was one of the most valuable things that I've been to in a long time. So ⁓ yeah, to be able to to kind of build on that is super super exciting and and I think that ⁓ what you guys have been able to do, I think it was an ultimate like resounding success. And in my opinion, ⁓ coming from somebody that attended, I th I thought that it was it was fantastic. speaker-0: I appreciate you saying that. And I've I've gotten to where I kinda wrap these these up with asking a guest. You're still pretty young, I'm still pretty young, but if you were gonna give advice to an eighteen to twenty two year old today that is headed back into the ag industry and you know, we didn't really dig into Cade Panic today. We'll do that on a later episode. But ⁓ if you're gonna pass that advice to say a kid that's maybe not in it today, but wants to be, what what would you tell that kid? speaker-1: Ask stupid questions and don't be afraid to do so. That's my piece That's my piece of advice. speaker-0: That is That may be the best piece of advice that's ever been given on here. ⁓ because, you know. speaker-1: Yeah, i it's it's just work for me and and ⁓ one of the funniest things is ⁓ like during the tour, ⁓ you know, if you don't know Grant Jones, he's young, really young, and ⁓ you know, he wasn't afraid to ask those stupid questions and to learn and there were some of the questions like I was sitting behind Grant in the van and I was like, Whoo, I can't believe you asked Cody Jorgensen that question and and like Like one of the things that ⁓ that I was really surprised is Cody's answer. And I'm I'm not gonna tell you Cody's answer, because that's for that's for Cody. But ⁓ Grant asked him, he said, What are the three things that you that you need to achieve before you walk out the door and retire? What's your hit list? And I was like, Well, typically you're gonna ask that somebody, but they're gonna keep their cards really close to their chest and They're gonna say, you know, ⁓ we're just gonna keep doing what we're doing, or what what you know, some some lined answer of I you think I'm really gonna tell you that kid? And Cody actually like took a deep breath, thought about it for a second, and answered it the most truthful that I've ever heard anybody answer that question. And the whole time I was sitting there thinking, Wow, this is brilliant and beautiful, but at the same time Like I was too afraid to ask this the stupid question, right? And and Grant got an amazing answer out of it that I think that that Grant could take to his place. And I could take to my place. And so, ⁓ you know, right there the proof was in the pudding that ⁓ yeah, don't be afraid, no matter how how stupid the question ⁓ might sound, you never know what kind of answer you're gonna get, so ask it anyway. speaker-0: Absolutely. Cade, thank you so much for your time. ⁓ thank you for joining us last week. ⁓ it was really an honor to have you take time out of your schedule to come come be a part of this. speaker-1: ⁓ no, the pleasure is all mine, man. Seriously. Thank you guys so much. ⁓ like I said, ever everybody that's in in the in the Jorgensen team, ⁓ whether I got to shake your hand or not, I know that you have probably had a pretty good ⁓ part to play in it and and to be able to make magic happen in in ideal South Dakota is was pretty dang cool to be there to experience it firsthand. speaker-0: Thank you guys for joining us as per usual and we will catch you next time on The Source.