Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 88: The Next Generation of Cattle Producers Will Look Different—And That’s Okay

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88: The Next Generation of Cattle Producers Will Look Different—And That’s Okay · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Hey y'all, welcome to another
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  episode of the Cattle USA Daily Podcast.
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  Today we are here to talk to you guys about something that is
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  very near and dear to my heart and a way that I have been
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  sharing a little bit of my story for a really long time as a
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  young producer in AG. And a way to continue to
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  advocate for that next generation of agriculture young
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  producers. People going to college and
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  coming back to their ranch and feeling so lost and that they
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  just don't feel like they have a place or understand what's going
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  on or don't feel seen, don't feel heard.
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  All of those situations. And I am so grateful that in my
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  personal situation, I didn't have that.
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  I had a supportive father who I came back to the ranch and I had
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  all these new ideas and all these things that I want to do.
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  And he's like, cool, let's do it.
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  Like, let's try it out. Let's trial and run things.
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  Let's sit in a situation and he, hey, here's some responsibility
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  for you and doing all of these different things.
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  But I know so many people didn't.
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  And I know a lot of my friends that graduated college and we're
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  in situations with their family members or with ranching
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  operations that they were going back to.
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  And they were like, hey, I went and got this education that you
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  told me to go get. And I'm coming back with new
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  ideas, new innovations, new ways of thinking.
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  And I'm not being heard. And I don't like that.
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  I don't like sitting there like that.
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  And I empathize so much with my friends that were going through
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  that. And luckily I was on the other
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  side of that of like, hey, this is what it can look like.
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  If you do have a family member that is empowering and someone
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  who wants to listen and try new things and continue to innovate
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  and just trial and run and be OK with failing and trying
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  different things and failing again.
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  And this is what that can look like.
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  So that's what we're here to talk about today, guys.
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  I, I want to talk about what it can look like as that next
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  generation of producers. If we're a little bit more open
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  to that next generation and the fact that the next generation of
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  cattle producers is going to look different, it's going to
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  look different than it does right now.
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  And that is okay. It is actually more than okay.
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  We want it to look different. We want AG to continue to evolve
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  and shape and develop and change and that's a great thing.
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  So here are some things that are actually changing in my opinion,
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  things that we're actually seeing some shifts in dynamics
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  or relationships or just different ways about going about
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  business and about life. First and foremost,
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  demographics. We are seeing a big change right
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  now and we're seeing more women, more minorities and a lot more
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  first generation producers coming into AG.
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  We still have a ton of legacy ranches.
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  Absolutely. And I'm a legacy ranch.
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  I love legacy ranches, but we are seeing more just demographic
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  changes as well. As far as value changes go, we
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  are seeing a pretty big values change as far as Gen.
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  Z values go and young millennial values go, we are seeing a big
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  change. Those big changes are things
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  like land stewardship, sustainability, mental health
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  and specifically family time. All of these are growing
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  priorities alongside profit. Alongside the ranch, we're
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  seeing families want to be able to go to their kids soccer game
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  while also working cattle. We're seeing people want to go
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  to therapy while also running a really stressful ranching
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  operation. We're seeing more access to
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  different things like this. We're seeing just values change
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  to. I know I grew up in a situation
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  where my dad was amazing. He absolutely worked his ass
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  off, but there were a lot of times that he didn't make it to
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  my volleyball games or he was late to my volleyball games
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  because Kells got out or things like that happen.
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  And the ranch is still a big priority, but it's maybe not
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  number one anymore. People are valuing that family
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  time a little bit more alongside profit and sustainability and
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  everything else that comes with it.
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  And the next thing is technology.
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  We are seeing a big, big, big, big technology boom right now.
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  So everything from drones to data analytics to AI, artificial
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  intelligence, AI to RFID tags and precision feeding, we're
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  just seeing a big push for technology and science based and
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  backed technology advancements. We're also seeing some marketing
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  models change. So we're seeing more consumer
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  like direct to consumer beef. We're seeing branded beef
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  programs, aggregate tourism subscription boxes and think of
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  these as just like creative income streams, looking outside
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  the box of the traditional cow calf feeder operations.
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  What can we do to bring in more money, really diversify that
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  income? Maybe you can even approach it
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  as people are having a different approach to a business mindset
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  as far as that goes. And then we are seeing a big
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  shift in this is the way that it's always been to more of a
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  how can we improve mindset, which is something that I am so
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  excited about and so excited to see how that mindset shift can
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  continue to evolve agriculture and evolve.
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  The situation that we are in right now of a changing
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  generational gap we have in the reality of it is we have a very,
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  very old and aging population when it comes to producers.
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  Most producers are over the age of 60 and that's scary.
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  We are going to see a big transfer of wealth in the next
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  few years and I pray that that is getting transferred to A next
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  generation, whether it be a familial next generation or a
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  non familial succession plan. I am praying that those are
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  getting those succession plans are getting taken care of and
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  that we are opening ourselves up to the fact that that next
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  generation of agriculture is going to look different.
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  And that that is OK. Because I can guarantee you no
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  matter what generation that you are listening to this, If you
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  look back at the generation above you and the practices that
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  we had in agriculture, then put yourself in the shoes of 20 year
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  olds right now and 30 year olds right now.
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  Where were you 20 or 30 years ago in those shoes?
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  Thinking about how you're going to do things differently.
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  Not saying that we are right or wrong in any situation.
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  Every operation is different and the reality of it is, is there's
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  going to be a lot of trial and and there's going to be a lot of
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  failing. But I'm a big believer that
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  failing is just an opportunity to find what's next.
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  Like, OK, Yep, Nope, this is just stepping stone now.
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  We know what not to do. And so we're going to move
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  forward. We have to try new things to be
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  able to continue to build a sustainable population of
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  ranchers and continue to sustain ourselves through the next 10
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  years when we are going to see this massive shift and ranching
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  operations from one generation to another.
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  Now we talked a lot about things that are changing, but what's
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  staying the same? There's, there's a lot that's
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  still staying the same. The core values and core mission
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  of raising cattle, raising them well, feeding families, feeding
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  America and building generational impact.
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  That's, that's not going anywhere.
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  Guys like we, we are not going to see that change.
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  Work ethic, that's not changing. Are you kidding?
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  Growing up an AG is still growing up an AG.
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  Even if our kids have Xboxes in the living room, they still have
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  chores that they have to do, right?
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  Like growing up an AG is still something to be proud of.
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  We are seeing the community. It's still staying the same.
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  We still have an amazing and strong community within
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  agriculture. And the thing about it is, is
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  relationship driven opportunity is not going anywhere.
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  Relationships are still king. They are still relationships and
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  networking are still so so, so important.
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  And then obviously the land of the livestock are still that.
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  They're like, that's not changing.
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  That's still a core value within this.
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  And so we have a lot of core values and core missions within
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  agriculture that aren't changing.
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  They are staying the same, but they're evolving and they're
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  evolving into something better and bigger and more impactful
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  and just more along the lines of priorities for the generation
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  that we are seeing come into AG now.
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  And every generation is going to see a priority shift, and that's
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  OK. It's scary, it's not fun.
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  It's hard to look at a generation below you and be
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  like, where did we go wrong? What happened, right?
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  Because a lot of the times that's what I'm a part of Gen.
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  ZI am the oldest that you can be for Gen.
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  Z and being a cusper. So someone that's on the line of
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  a millennial or a Gen. Z person, my entire life growing
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  up, everyone was like, what are we doing wrong with Gen.
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  Z? Like what is what is happening
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  here? All of these people are failing.
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  They're they suck at school. They don't have priorities.
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  They care about their iPhones and technology and Snipchat and
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  all of these things. And I used the word Snipchat on
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  purpose because that's what my father calls it.
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  And I'm here to say that like, OK, we're all going to think
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  that about the generation that's following us because they're
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  going to be doing things differently and because things
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  are going to look and feel different than what we are used
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  to. And change is uncomfortable.
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  And in a ever changing world, we are going to see generational
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  shifts and priorities change within each different sector.
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  And we are seeing that right now with an AG.
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  And I think it's important that we keep our minds extremely open
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  to what the next generation is bringing back, especially if
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  your kids are going off to college.
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  If they are going and getting an education somewhere, whether it
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  be college or a trade school or anything, getting an education
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  of Hard Knocks out in the world somewhere.
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  And they come back with ideas or opportunities or thoughts,
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  Please, for the love of God, hear them out.
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  Listen to. Because nothing is more
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  demeaning as that next generation of agriculture than
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  to come home, sit around the dining room table and be told
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  that your opinion does not matter.
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  Because damn it, your opinion does matter.
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  And you are that next generation of agriculture and it is up to
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  us to continue evolving and growing agriculture to be better
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  each and every single day. So it is up to every single one
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  of us to sit around that kitchen table and listen.
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  Sit with intention and listen to one another.
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  Because if we don't, we are going to see a massive wealth
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  shift in the next few years with no one to come back to.
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  I have a lot of friends who sat around that dining room table
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  and got told that their opinions didn't matter in one way or
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  another and they left and they didn't come back and they won't
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  be coming back. And they are seeing success,
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  succession plans be put into place that do not involve them
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  taking over the ranch. And we don't want to see that.
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  We don't want to see that. We want families to stay in AG.
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  We want these families to continue to evolve and grow and
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  have a place here in this next generation.
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  Feel seen and heard. So it is up to us, every single
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  one of us, no matter what generation you are in, to be
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  that person, be a mentor, be a light, be someone worth
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  following. And as a young producer, I'm
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  going to challenge you. If you're listening to this and
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  you consider yourself a young producer, I challenge you to do
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  things differently. Challenge the status quo, sit
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  around that table and ask why and push and question and get in
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  arguments and get in fights. OK, maybe don't get in fights,
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  but get in arguments and make things push and change because
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  change is uncomfortable, but change is also growth.
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  If we stay inside our little bubble of our comfort zone, AG
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  is going to fail and we are not going to see a ever evolving,
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  bettering industry that still has that American value system
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  that we all love. So I challenge all of you, if
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  you're an older producer, be open.
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  Listen, challenge those young producers to go out and learn
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  things. And then when they do come back,
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  listen to them and give them responsibility over a certain
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  sector of your business. And you know what, what I have
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  seen be extremely successful. If you come back, OK, you have
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  ownership over these 20 cows this year, you're going to plan
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  the breeding, you're going to plan the nutrition, you're going
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  to plan every single thing that it has to do with those 20 cows.
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  And you know what? At the end of the day, letting
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  someone have responsibility over something and giving them the
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  opportunity to succeed and fail is what is going to actually
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  build that next generation. And if you were that younger
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  generation coming back, I also encourage you challenge the
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  status quo. But also listen because our
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  families and at the people that came before us, our parents, our
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  grandparents, they also went through the school of hard docs.
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  They went to college, they did all the things and they've been
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  in the seat that you are currently in.
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  So listen to them when they tell you things as well of hey, we've
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  tried that and it didn't work. So we're going to look at this
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  and we're going to reshape it and maybe we'll try it again,
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  but in a different way. And listen to them when they
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  tell you things as well. Because there is nothing better
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  than being able to sit with a family member, a parent that has
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  done this for generations and them tell you everything about
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  the business, everything about their business journey and what
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  it has looked like for them to evolve in operation, in
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  agriculture. At the end of the day guys,
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  change is not bad. It is survival.
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  And in this industry, survival has always meant evolving.
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  So be open to evolving and be open to continue to push the
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  status quo at the end of the day.
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  Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of
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  the Cattle USA Daily podcast. I hope you all enjoyed today's
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  episode. I know I got passionate about
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  this, but darn it, it is something that it's worth
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  getting passionate about. So as always, like subscribe,
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  rate review, do all of the things.
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  We really appreciate it here at the team and we'll see you all
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  tomorrow on another episode of the podcast.
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  Have a good one y'all.