Latest / The Source – The Jorgensen Land & Cattle Podcast / Episode 12: Pre-Weaning Prep with Phil Jorgensen
Transcript
- speaker-1: Over a hundred years of experience lie in ideal South Dakota. The team at Jorgensen Landon 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 live from Houston, Texas in a hotel room. ⁓ I've been at Beef Kettle Short Course for the last couple of days. ⁓ really enjoyed that. ⁓ you guys will actually also hear a pretty fun episode I did with a couple of guys from ST Genetics ⁓ there while I was a beef kettle short course. ⁓ we talked a lot about the AI industry, it was a lot of fun. You'll hear that one coming soon. But today I am joined by Mr. Philip Jorgensen of Jorgensen Land and Cattle. ⁓ Philip, go ahead and ⁓ the folks have heard you on here before, but I want you to go ahead and take some time, reintroduce yourself, and ⁓ remind the folks what you do here at JLC. speaker-0: Yeah, thanks Jamie. ⁓ yeah, my name's Philip Jorgensen. would be the fifth generation here at Jorgensen Landing Cattle. ⁓ I would be the oldest of Cody Jorgensen. I'm here now back at the feedlot. ⁓ it's me, my wife, ⁓ Bassett Hound and a black lab at home. We live right in my great grandfather's old house and we remodeled it two years ago and Live right here on the feedlot. ⁓ been I graduated from South Dakota State ⁓ twenty twenty four. ⁓ my wife also graduated from South Dakota State in twenty twenty four. ⁓ she works at the hospital. ⁓ she's a nurse there. So yeah, ⁓ that's just kinda about me. ⁓ I am ⁓ the feedlot manager here, obviously. ⁓ I deal with cattle shipping, ⁓ receiving calves, shipping out calves, bulls, do all the sorting, loading the trucks, ⁓ herd health or calf health, ⁓ bull health, ⁓ feeding. I read bunks every morning. ⁓ yeah, so just kinda what everything that goes on in the feed lot ⁓ pretty much I deal with. So speaker-1: You bet. And so you would have been ⁓ animal science at S D S U or Ag Business, remind me? speaker-0: Yeah, I would be in agricultural science with animal s animal science minors and egg business miners. speaker-1: Perfect. Perfect. So you're coming in, Philip, this would be your s second full year of winning calves with Jorgens Atlanta Cal? Is that correct? Or is it the third? speaker-0: ⁓ I think it's the third. speaker-1: Yep, yeah, it would be the third. speaker-0: Yeah, it's the third year. The you know, the the third the first year was kind of the first year for all of us. I think you I mean you signed on with us you're fairly new around that time when I was older too, so I grew up to you know, grew up together here as far as winning that first bunch, but we've learned a lot from then. So ⁓ this year's been the third, yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. You guys will get some inside jokes here. Philip and I literally ⁓ we we figured her out together and we both have have moved up in the positions in which we we fulfill the day and speaker-0: It's a hell of lot easier than what it was, that's for sure. speaker-1: Thank God you and I get along. So, Phil, we're getting to that time of year and ⁓ actually ⁓ kind of fun that this works out this way. ⁓ we're recording at the end of the day here. You guys actually weaned the first set at Jorgensen's today. ⁓ I want to spend some time talking about, you know, your your strategy going into weaning. ⁓ So many of our customers this is a an interesting time and and a lot of them it's a tough time. you know, they're not used to having cattle around in a feedlot year round like like we are. so so there's things that that maybe catch somebody off guard the first time they wean a set of kibs. especially when we start talking about guys selling on the video with the preconditioning plans, everything that they're doing there. So the first thing I wanna do, Philip, is have you go ahead and talk about the work that you were doing in June and July to get ready for weaning time. because it doesn't just start last week when you guys decide, hey, we're gonna win Kiev. So so go back to June and and talk a little bit about your process of number one planning and then ⁓ just kinda start rolling into to how we go about getting ready. speaker-0: Yep, well well before I start doing that I'd like to give a couple shout outs. I told the guys after a long day today, I told ⁓ I'd give them a shout out while he had me on here. ⁓ first of all, I I obviously don't do it myself, can't do it myself. ⁓ we have ⁓ three three full time employees here at the feed lot that are pretty much you know, they're here year round. They've been through the worst of the weather, the hottest of the days, ⁓ you know. So first ⁓ Luke Willenbring, who actually kind of got drafted to the Combine, been running Combine during wheat harvest. So he's he's been kind of out of it, but he's still there when I need him. ⁓ Elena Moneric, ⁓ she's been around for two years now, she's been great. ⁓ Hannah Myrie, who's been here for a full year now. ⁓ those will be our full-time employees, and then we got five interns. ⁓ Joe Steffens, ⁓ Jack or Zach Connor, Nathan Williams, Mac McKenzie McConaughey. speaker-1: But before you before you go on there, go ahead and pop your feed team too. speaker-0: ⁓ sure. Yeah, my can't can't forget the guys who do the most important job. ⁓ Brian Totten, ⁓ Lakota Songer, ⁓ James James Nyman, ⁓ and then we have Mike Cochera. ⁓ Mike Cochera, him and his family actually moved closer ⁓ to their family recently. ⁓ but still he's been there through thick and thin for the last four years to help us out. So ⁓ happy for him. ⁓ so yeah, the it's all it's one big team. We can't do we can't do it without any one of us. So it's been it's been some long days, it's been some short days. You know, it's just it's just how it is. ⁓ here in the feed loud you we work with the b the best you can. So So yeah, I'd say kind of just step one. when these calves are becoming of age to get leased out, ⁓ as bulls, ⁓ you know, we start sorting right away, you know, end of March we're sending our first big couple bunches out. ⁓ all the way, you know, kinda small bunches, March, April and then you get in the first part of May it starts ramping up where you're sorting a hundred and twenty bull calves a day and you're loading four or five trucks, you know, it's it gets pretty hectic. ⁓ so yeah, ⁓ as we do that we go and pull individual calves out of each pens and as the pens get lower in their numbers, it kinda opens up, you know, for the pens and and I don't like I don't like ming ming ⁓ coming bulls. ⁓ It's not fun. I'm sure all all of you guys have been a part of fighting bulls before and that's exactly what they do. ⁓ But when they get down, you know, they get down to five five head, you know, it gets hard to feed five bulls. So you kind of gotta say deal with the sacrifices a little bit, ⁓ keep an eye on them. ⁓ yeah, so yeah, when these pens open up, we go first thing we start doing is we drain the waters This first thing we do, ⁓ we have a well here at the feed yard, ⁓ rule water pumped in and we have our Tion well. So let's make and we make s pretty we make sure those waters get you know cleaned out right away. And then we'll do it again before we put ⁓ in there as well. yeah, we'll get the waters drained out, cleaned out, ⁓ and then if there's any holes that have gathered through the spring slash summer, ⁓ any holes that have busted through the fence or gates that need ⁓ rehung or anything like that we'll we'll go and patch all of those holes. ⁓ anything any extra bedding that gets put during down during the winter, ⁓ we'll probably bed at least once or twice a week, depending on you know the weather, ⁓ pretty much from we'll probably end of November, November all the way through February. ⁓ you know, and I've seen some pretty bad days in March as well. So we'll we'll we're cleaning up all that straw, we're starting right away. As soon as that pen is empty, we're pushing up bedding, we're we're hauling it out right away. ⁓ the goal is to have these pens ready a month before the calves arrive. and you know here in the feedlot and the mud the the mud in South Central South Dakota and where we're located is it's something I've never seen before or even could I'm you know, I just it's terrible. ⁓ it sticks to your feet real bad and if it's wet, you get an inch of rain, you're you're out of you can't get in the pens for another two days. So ⁓ so yeah, you just kinda have to play around with Mother Nature. but yeah. speaker-1: So you so your goal there when we start talking about you know pen maintenance and and holes, ⁓ talk a little bit Philip about your your bunk line situation, ⁓ especially there in the circle and ⁓ your your concrete apron and the reason why you know we we get so worked up about making sure that that we fill those holes in right on the backside of that concrete apron going into weakening time. speaker-0: Yeah, do you don't want I mean these depending on you know these it's a new environment when these calves come in, yeah, they didn't they go and endure a lot of stress. So it's to making to making sure like these pens are s completely set up and ready to make it easier for any calf, ⁓ it's extremely important to us. ⁓ ⁓ they get yeah, they get pretty wash out behind the aprons, you know, behind the bunk lines and everything else. You know, some of ⁓ even got quite of a step. So we we're hauling more I joke around with the guys all the time says we're hauling more dirt back in as we are in manure. So we're hauling way more dirt back into these pens than we are manure most of time. My well my grandpa Greg was a big, big Proponently he was that's that was his deal was pen maintenance and he it makes him happy driving around the horn nowadays, seeing seeing the maintenance that we do on these pens. ⁓ but yeah, he was always he always said, Leave more than you take, leave more than you take, put it back in the dirt. speaker-1: And you know, a as you roll into talking about that time and we'll talk about feeding and and that side of it when we go into weaning, but you know, the if a Kiev's gotta make a big step up onto that that concrete apron that that first day he's weaned, chances of him going up to the bump get less and less and speaker-0: Or around the water. If they s if they have quite a leap up to the water, it gets speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah, and the the nutritionist says I don't care what he eats and what he drinks the first three days we wean ⁓ if they'll eat something and they'll drink, they're gonna be healthy. So, you know, the for for a guy that that's not not always involved, you know, from a physical standpoint, the little things, you know, even back from when I was selling feed, it's just the the little things that we do going into this time period where It makes all the difference in the world for those kiosks to be successful. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: So you're getting ready to wean there at JLC. ⁓ so let's really let's really kind of talk about the home raised Kevs. ⁓ we've talked a lot about ⁓ getting pens as far as dirt, fencing, bunks, everything like that cleaned out, squared around. ⁓ I guess first maybe touch on the tanks you guys are using. And then what you're doing as far as making sure that water is ⁓ is as minimal of an issue as possible. speaker-0: Yeah, for sure. so all o all around the feedlot that we have the we call we call it the horn, the the original f feedlot that before we expanded to the west. we have this what is called a mere fount water. I I love the mirror fonts. ⁓ they handle real well in the wintertime. ⁓ we've been using ⁓ ever since I've been here. ⁓ and so it's you know, for me it's kinda hard to get away from something you that you've been using for, you know, your whole life. So I I love Mirror Founts. ⁓ they like I said, they handle real well in the wintertime, but but the mirror founts have that scares most well scares me, I shouldn't say I shouldn't speak for everyone else, but as they have it's the ball waters for those of you who aren't experienced with them. They they have a ball you know, to protect from the wind and everything that blows inside them waters. ⁓ so, you know, a new wean calf and he goes and starts circling the pen right away. ⁓ if he doesn't, you know, for s feel that water on his nose and he might sniff it, but he doesn't never seen the ball before. ⁓ what we do is we go in and take the balls out. We take the whole top off so it's an open water. We'll start him with that. ⁓ speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: And we won't we'll we won't do that for very long though. We'll we'll do that for maybe a day or two. ⁓ you know, kinda let they they know what a feed wagon looks like obviously. ⁓ probably only a day or two, and then we'll go in and actually put the top back on and put one ball in. So it's two balls, we'll put one ball in and leave one ball out. And we'll do that probably for the rest of the week and then that next Monday or that next week that those calves have been here, we'll go back and put another the second bowl in. And they never had an issue with it. ⁓ our calves in particular, yeah, our calves in particular grew up with waters like that, so it might even be a little faster process than usual. ⁓ so it's not it's not too big of an issue, but How yes, just to talk on about kind of what's been going on the last two weeks with the weather, ⁓ we've been seeing, you know, anywhere from a hundred and ten to ninety, you know, either way, and it's it's hot outside. ⁓ with the exception of the day of today, but it's been really, really hot. ⁓ I think last Friday yeah, last Friday we received fifty nine fall calves ⁓ from a multiplier and it was a hundred and I think it was a hundred, I think like just just a hundred degrees when they arrived. ⁓ we what we do there, ⁓ obviously you don't the least amount of stress is possible on these calves is huge for us. ⁓ where they where they actually unload They literally walk off themselves, they walk right to the pen they're gonna be for the next week. ⁓ when it's that hot, we won't mess with them. ⁓ and they have ⁓ five hundred gallon fiber small fiber fiberglass tank with a ⁓ in their pen. ⁓ we shred hay. ⁓ these these particular calves were just weaned, so they were balling. ⁓ we shredded hay in their bunk, maybe put five pounds of feed ⁓ on top or below or underneath underneath it. ⁓ just kind of sprinkle it in there, get them introduced it introduced to it. But we shred hay all the way through that weekend just you know, prevent bloating and anything any other disasters. ⁓ but I think we didn't lose we haven't lost a single calf out of that particular group and that's I'm very proud to say that. ⁓ but I I really do believe the water source that they were exposed to during that time of stress did save those calves life. ⁓ we refilled them two times two times a day. and then we were used using el ⁓ electrolytes that come in the bag called blue light. We use that all day and i I mean it was huge. ⁓ so yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, and and you talk to you you started into it, you know, and we'll we'll jump back to the JL Cievs in a minute, but but this being a set of set of genetic partner for all Kievs, let's let's kind of stay down that route. you know, those Kievs get weaned on the truck with diesel smoke headed down the road. pretty sure I know where they came from, so they had about a hundred and seventy, eighty miles worth of haul on for a lot of you you know, in our part of the world we maybe don't talk to the think of that as a long haul, but but there's a lot of parts of the world where that's pretty good haul on a set of a set of ball and calves. getting ⁓ to to do to do those two things we talked about. You know, you address getting ⁓ to drink water with a big tank that they're used to that's open that they can see. that's a huge part of it. And then the second part of it, talk a little bit, Phillip, about why why we shred hay in the bunk, ⁓ why we don't just go to you know, 'cause even for us at Jorgensons we don't use a we don't use a high a high energy ration. ⁓ it's a growing ration, it's real forage based. ⁓ So you wouldn't you wouldn't necessarily think about a lot of issues going straight into that forage-based type diet, but we do know that that we've gotta get ⁓ to figure out where it is to go eat it. So so talk a little bit about why we go about shredding hay in the bunk, the kind of hay you're using and ⁓ and why we think that that helps so much on these wind gives. speaker-0: Yeah, well, ⁓ yeah, so just jump to jump right in it, the the quality of hay that we're using is obviously set apart from the we call grinder hay. ⁓ you know, it's not it's not kosher weeds, you know, it's it's just, you know, long stemmy hay that we put and feed our two year old bulls. It's not as good as what you're obviously gonna feed in a brand new wean calf. ⁓ so yeah, we set that aside. ⁓ that's that's the hay we're running through our processor, ⁓ Bale Buster. ⁓ So yeah, we'll all we do we don't fill we don't throw a whole bale in the bunk. You just fill the bunk up just a little bit, you know. They know what hay looks like, they know what grass, they've been on grass their whole lives. ⁓ so they obviously know what that looks like. ⁓ that's that's one of the big reasons why we do it. ⁓ the n another big reason ⁓ why we do it is it's it's ⁓ We're not we're not trying to put a lot of weight on these cattle right away, you know, and we're not trying to get to where they need to be in X amount of days. ⁓ these are these are athletes, these are these are bulls. ⁓ we want to make sure that we're not ruining 'cause you can you can ruin these bull calves pretty quick by pushing and pushing and pushing. ⁓ so it's it starts with hay in the bunk and it slowly increments that and then you just feed ⁓ just enough to get ⁓ through that winter. it's pretty it's pretty tough, you know, finding that spot. You know, every group every group eats and feeds a little different. So that's finding that perfect spot, find that perfect amount of you know per head is is is pretty tough. But we ⁓ we do it. ⁓ we've been having luck with hay. You know, they come it's getting them too to come to the bunk is a lot easier, you know, rather than throwing something at them that they've never seen before. ⁓ so speaker-1: Yeah, ⁓ and you g you go to that and ration they probably aren't gonna visually see laying in the bunk, especially if you're just bringing a small amount early on. You grind that hay in, number one you're blowing some of it on out onto the apron where they're gonna be doing the walk. Mm-hmm. And then it's big and fluffy and easy for ⁓ to see. As you mentioned, they know what it is. So it's easy to attract ⁓ to go eat, get something in their belly. and then you add one other tool out there. and ⁓ you'll talk a little bit about placement as well. what's the other thing, Philip, that you throw out there in those pens as we're weaning that ⁓ that we really like and think think seems to do us a good job. Yeah. speaker-0: It's yeah, we so we we use ⁓ Forma feed, they we buy ⁓ a a a lick tub, a stress tub that comes from them. I I I I really do believe in ⁓ They've they they work really well. The the in the theory, you know, ⁓ whatever's inside of ⁓ you know it you know, I've it works. It does work. And but just to get them calves to do something else other than Beller is the goal. speaker-1: Yes, sir. speaker-0: It's just another thing in the pen for them to lick on or, you know, rub their head against or whatever they're doing against that tub, whatever they're doing against the bunk, the water, it's just another thing in that pen for them to not be bellering. ⁓ I love ⁓ just, you know, for that reason. We'll put two out per fifty head. ⁓ and it's and it's it works. It really does work. speaker-1: Yeah, and you you typically kinda place those tubs, you know, strategically along the fence lines so they kinda gotta crash into ⁓ as they're walking the fence. Mm-hmm. And then from a nutritionist standpoint we know that if if they're licking that stimulates them to wanna intake, they see the hay laying in the bunk, they go eat. You know, and ⁓ like we said, if they'll eat and they'll drink in the first three days they're weaned. Sure helps a lot of a lot of health issues. and I don't know, Philip, if you guys did go ahead and hit an initial process on that set of kibs when they came in or not, ⁓ with the heat. But on a on a typical fall fall time, you know, if we're talking about getting a set of G P partner Kibs in in ⁓ mid October, you know, straight off the cow. you guys do go ahead and process them immediately typically. Talk talk a little bit about what you're doing there, ⁓ and then that ⁓ there's a couple of products that I know we use there that ⁓ that sure help at weaning time as well. speaker-0: Yeah. Right. Yeah. ⁓ so yeah, so it all kind of depends on, you know, what time they arrive, you know, what time and you know what they went on, you know, before they even got here. You know, we're in a lot of communication with the with our multipliers before they send ⁓ Are they, you know, what are they doing before they load ⁓ on that truck, stuff like that. ⁓ But I typically I typically would like to work ⁓ right away. ⁓ that's just it's my opinion. ⁓ it's whether if it's right or wrong. ⁓ but you know, obviously with the weather I'm not gonna work calves in hundred degree weather, you know, it's probably not gonna happen. We'll work we'll wait till the next morning or do something else like that. ⁓ but I I I would like to the reasoning of me doing it soon is Because I I know that pen is ready. I know that pen before they arrive. I know that pen's gonna be ready for them. ⁓ I wanna get ⁓ worked in the system as soon as possible and get ⁓ to where they need to be and just not mess with them. ⁓ we can't if you you take ⁓ you know, some guys, you know, they will unload ⁓ take ⁓ right to the pen and then bring ⁓ back two days later. ⁓ y There's there's I don't I don't think there's any right or wrong. ⁓ there's you know, it's kinda based it's based on your facilities, ⁓ your crew, ⁓ how you do things, what's going on that day, are you gonna have time, you know, for this or what what else is going on. ⁓ so yeah. Our our initial process is basically as soon as possible, ⁓ just to kinda get the ball rolling on ⁓ a little quicker and kinda just let them figure their selves out and just leave ⁓ alone. speaker-1: Yeah. And you you get that first round of shots in ⁓ then. typically they've got ⁓ preconditioned shots in ⁓ anyway. But at that point, they get a fair piece. And I know that we've sure been been happy with what that product's done for us. Touch a little bit on that, Philip. I know you use it in some other aspects besides weaning time, but it it sure kinda shines right there at wheaning time. speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ yeah, so Ferrape's we we you know, it's it's another product we use to el eliminate eliminate the stress, you know, for them first first days. ⁓ so the way Ferapese works is Ferapes works for like seven to ten days right away. ⁓ it's it's not gonna work, you know You know, it doesn't just it basically it works for seven to ten days. It gets the initial beller out and gets to the bunk faster is is what it's it's worked for us. ⁓ so yeah, it's I've tried it on mixing, you know, putting some pens together. I've tried it on that and it works for ten days and all of a sudden those ten days are up and they Yeah. So but yeah, for calves it's it works amazing. It's great. ⁓ so yeah. speaker-1: The fights on it. you know, f aga again that all ties back to that if they'll eat and drink and go lay down, they're gonna they're gonna thrive. And ⁓ from what I've seen that that product sure does ease those Kevs off of their wanting a beller. ⁓ I I'm not sure what you did on these fall Kevs, but when you're when you're receiving Kivs like we talked about there in October, November ⁓ are you typically having those kiosks bedded down already, Phillip, or what's kinda your mindset there? speaker-0: Yeah. excuse me. Yep. ⁓ so yeah these calves these calves when they're coming in, depending on, you know, like I said, Mother Nature, ⁓ what the pen looks like when they arrive, what the pen's gonna look like when they ⁓ when they get there. But yeah, we'll we'll we'll lay down as much bedding, ⁓ bed down, especially if it's dusty and stuff like that. ⁓ we'll we'll lay down a bunch of bedding and hopefully, you know, eliminate some of the the all the as all the bad things that Mother Nature may bring to us sometimes. ⁓ so yeah, we'll well not not you know, we we won't we won't bed, you know, like on a day like today it's fifty degrees and no wind, you know, the perfect perfect weaning weather. ⁓ we'll let those calves come in and, you know, they'll they'll be just on dirt, but ⁓ yeah, with it's snow on the ground, cold, you gotta protect gotta protect their goods. So that's the most important thing. So we'll we'll lay down a bunch of bedding. speaker-1: And you know, any time you know, we talk about this weaning time and they're looking for a for a spot to lay down anytime it's not not ideal conditions. ⁓ I've known some nutritionists throughout my my history that would tell you that you shouldn't bet ⁓ because you wanna force ⁓ to go to the bunk and again my nutritionist friends would shoot me for this one, but ⁓ I don't care. I'll give up five or six days of whatever performance we're trying to hit because if they're not healthy, ⁓ y all that does is kill performance down the road. So so like you talked about, unless unless you've got ideal conditions, it sure goes a long ways for ⁓ to have a spot they're comfortable going laying down in. speaker-0: Yeah, our our five here at JLC, our five or six days of performance, ⁓ you know, I'm not gonna say it doesn't matter as much, but it our five and s our five and six days, our first days of performance right when they get here are near as important as those five or six days before they go out in May. ⁓ or any day in the wintertime or you know, it's we gotta get ⁓ there first, so speaker-1: And and so we've been we've been talking about genetic partner kibbs and and weaning around the horn and historically you'd wean JL Cavs the same way. Go ahead and talk a little bit about Philip about about the adjustment that you made, especially in the time of year that that we're weaning there at the ranch. And ⁓ you and Dylan made the the decision to to do what you're doing now and I think it's made a big difference. Go ahead and talk a little bit about how you guys have have changed things up and and the good and the bad that comes with the change that you made. speaker-0: Yeah, I'm gonna get two more shout outs here. Matt Lance, ⁓ who also ha he had he helped us out lot today. He he runs our recip her. ⁓ and then ⁓ our cow boss Dylan Donahue. A lot of decisions when it comes to winning our own calves aren't made aren't made, you know, just by me. It's me and Dylan as a team. ⁓ he's been dealing with them since January. So it's yep it's kind of saying goodbye to your kid once he's going off to college, coming into the feed lot. Well. speaker-1: We should we should really clarify when Dylan started dealing with him. speaker-0: Yeah, sorry. speaker-1: He can he conceived a lot of ⁓ so they're speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. He is this is like yeah, it's it's his holiday today is finally finally gonna get rid of him and he's got those couple months where he finally gets to be just with his ladies. So I'm sure he's looking forward to that. But yeah. ⁓ we made ⁓ we made a change a couple of years ago, ⁓ been last year was our first year I think. Would've been last year. ⁓ we we like Jamie said, we first we weaned our calves, bring ⁓ here in the feed lot or both calves, ⁓ and then would feed ⁓ here and get ⁓ going right away, ⁓ here at the yard. ⁓ but, you know, we we fought a lot of dust pneumonia this time of year. ⁓ it was our number one thing. And you know we we were doctoring and running calves through and it was s they get here and everybody would just be sick. And we just we couldn't We couldn't figure it out what was going on and we could started looking back at you know the environment. where are we at? What are we doing? ⁓ Well it turns out this is we're prime time prime time chopping silage right now. ⁓ there's yeah we have five there's five RTX trailers, five you know, five trucks going on by at least five trucks going by nonstop all day, every day. ⁓ And they're they're driving right by, right by our feed lot and they're going right up to the kitchen, which for those of you been out been out here before, a kitchen is right by a set of you know the first part of bunks. So they drive right by. ⁓ you know, the wind blows all sorts of directions out here in Trip County, so it's these these calves are inhaling everything. ⁓ all of all of you know the bad stuff that goes along with chopping silage right by right in your yard. So we're like, Okay, well how how can we what can we do to prevent that? Well we can't wean here. ⁓ We have our cow facility a couple miles to the west of us. So we're dealing he calves out all his cows. They do all breeding shots ⁓ breeding breed cows up there. It's where we do everything. There's big we have four big sets of heifer pens and they're won't be way wrong on this, but they're probably at least no they're probably at least five acres piece. speaker-1: Yeah, they're they're big big, big, big pens. speaker-0: Yeah, they're big, big pens. So so yeah. We put ⁓ up there and there's nice shelter belts all the way around there, around all those pens. ⁓ and then that typically that's where we would wean wean the hefer calves. ⁓ they would be up there. ⁓ we feed ⁓ up there. ⁓ And then we just kinda started asking us like, well, why can't we should just wean everything up there? ⁓ just take ⁓ away, get ⁓ away from everything. ⁓ we have a roto mix feed truck we'll that we'll run we'll run up there. You know, it goes it goes pretty pretty good down the road. So it as far as ⁓ time it takes to feed these calves, it's really you know, it's not that that big of a difference. ⁓ but yeah, we've ⁓ we started doing that last year. and y you it was night and day difference. there is is no comparison. We we'll leave them up there we'll leave ⁓ up there till we're done. It'll be it'll probably be well usually bring ⁓ back after the we bring ⁓ in for our second round second round of shots. We'll do we'll give them a booster around September time, middle September. ⁓ and then we'd bring the bull cavs back to the yard around then. ⁓ but yeah, it's it's nine and day difference. ⁓ we wouldn't do it any other way, you know, in the near future. It's just the health on these calves, being away from everything that goes down goes on in our yard ⁓ this time of year is you know, it's it's it's amazing. So speaker-1: And and you know, you you touched on it and I think it it's worth just hammering on and expanding on a little bit there is e even when we're not chopping silage, there's just a lot going on this time of year in the in the JLC feed lot. Sorting, shipping, loading trucks, ⁓ there's just a ton of activity. speaker-0: Yeah. So hauling a little bit of manure or yeah, we're doing it all. speaker-1: And you're your your that the facility being up there away from everything. ⁓ when you drive a pickup up there to just go look at Gev's yeah y you have no idea that that JLC headquarters is two miles away. It they're the the noise is down, so you've just you've eliminated so much stress by just getting them away from what's going on in the main yard and I I really think that's something worth worth kind of pointing out to the folks is that if if you have an opportunity to get your weaning pens somewhere where where you can be a lot more quiet about it. And you know, there's a lot of folks out there that that talk about fence line weaning or speaker-0: Yeah. Thank you. speaker-1: Or wiener rings, all those kinds of things. all of that just ties back to eliminating stress, right? And so for us a lot of those things logistically don't work so well. ⁓ so you guys found a workaround that I think is just phenomenal. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's it's been great for us. And those pens are set up, you know, just like i if not even better than what they would be in the feed lot. They're set up, you know, the same. ⁓ they we have you know two thousand gallon steel tanks and small water troughs that are always full for ⁓ we got we even got hay feeders in there, so they have, you know, free choice hay. ⁓ and you know, and we're also still shedding bunk hay hay in the bunk right now, you know, first couple days of weaning. And then we're going in there the feed truck, we're driving through ⁓ with the feed truck, which is also, you know, a new factor that I slowly had realized l at towards the end of last year. You you drive through, you know, you drive through those sets of calves, they really they'll really know what that feed truck is, you know, once you drive through them. So I figured out a lot quicker. ⁓ so yeah, it's been really great for us. speaker-1: Yeah. So as we kinda get closer to wrapping up this conversation about about Wien and Phillip, what what are a couple of takeaways that you could point out to to our folks that are listening of important things that that you wanna circle? ⁓ really checklist stuff for for people that are Maybe gonna wing kiosks for the first time. What what are some things that I need to make sure I've handled going into to getting that set of kiosks standing in a pin? speaker-0: Mm. yeah, well first I when it comes to weaning, it's it's it's such a debatable topic. Yeah, everyone everyone does their own thing when it comes you know, when it when they come to win their own set of calves. ⁓ and everyone's calves are always bigger when you go to the sale barn, you know, when you go and have breakfast and start talking. But at the end of the day it's it's all Work with what you got. ⁓ environment is a huge, huge deal. How can I set up my facilities to work for my cattle? ⁓ you know, it's it's this kind of all there is to it is it you have to you gotta work with what you got. You can't Well my neighbor down the road's got this, so I need that. And you say, Well you don't really need that. You just you know, how can I how can it be less stressful for these calves w as I bring my own set in, you know. ⁓ what works for me. ⁓ if it works for you generally then it's probably gonna work for your calves. So when you're yeah, that's kinda all I really got for that. ⁓ I've kinda just have figured this out. You know, I've watching and learning growing up as a kid, so ⁓ the best my best advice is just kind of just working with what you have, trying not to deal with them as much as you you know as you speaker-1: I think that's worth expanding on a little bit, Philip. you know, talking about work with what you have. and we're blessed at Jorgens Atlantic Cattle. We have a lot of nice things, obviously, right? But you guys had identified a problem with some of the issues weaning there in the yard. And you have the other facility, ⁓ You know, I think that that work with what you have and and what what makes you and the cattle the most happy. ⁓ that that's one of the one of the most impactful things you can say is ⁓ nobody here is telling you you gotta go spend a bunch of money to build this and this tank and and these bunks and this feed. speaker-0: Yeah. You can give ⁓ this shot and you can give ⁓ this shoot side and it's it's you know, it just comes down to, you know working working with you know, obviously working with what you have. ⁓ putting ⁓ in putting them in a pen when you first get ⁓ and kinda letting them do letting ⁓ be their own you know, do their own thing. you know, naturally they wean you know, if you were to just leave those calves out anyway they naturally would wean themselves. So just kinda just let them be by themselves and only thing you can do is provide provide for ⁓ Provide everything that you have as far as feed or ⁓ a stress tub or anything else that you may have on your ranch, you know, provide what you have to these calves and, you know, kinda just sit back and watch them grow. So speaker-1: Yeah, and so let's ⁓ let's take it go ahead and go one step further here. So you get the first round of shots in ⁓ set of genetic partner kibbs rolls in. You're gonna get the first round of shots in Are you gonna brand ⁓ that day or are you gonna wait until you give ⁓ the second round, Philip? speaker-0: ⁓ we we brand ⁓ We brand them that that that day. ⁓ so yeah, depending on you know, the set of multi multiplier casts that do come in, they ⁓ generally won't need to be ran back through a second time. So we'll ⁓ we'll brand them that day. ⁓ ours are obviously they've they've been they were branded in May. So ⁓ ⁓ depending on, you know, whose calves if they do need to be ran back through a second time then we will do it that second time. speaker-1: Yeah. And just a little bit on on kind of feedstuffs we're using and those initial rations. ⁓ let's just touch on it. ⁓ people ask a lot of times anyway what we're using. Just kinda kinda brush on on how we make up that that forty eight megacal ration that they roll on to and they they're basically gonna see from wheaning time to to the day they go to grass. speaker-0: Yeah, they ⁓ yeah, the r the ra the ration we actually implemented today is a mixture of well right now we're we're kinda using just have a little bit of tad left over stuff that we've carry over ⁓ from last year until we start, you know, getting into the new stuff ⁓ like I said through in the middle of September. ⁓ but yeah we'll obviously we're we're using some corn silage. Right now our that in our forty eight also is peas and oats, ⁓ wet distillers, and we are feeding, you know, obviously, you know, quite a little hay. ⁓ so yeah. That's pretty much that makes makes that up. ⁓ obviously we were rumensin, we're starting them on that, and then ⁓ we're also crumbling them once a month. ⁓ so yeah, we'll we'll run crumbles about once a month. speaker-1: Okay. So I I did this to my guests earlier today, Philip, as we as we kind of wrap up this conversation. And Claude Felter gave me the same reaction, I'm guessing you're going to. And you're real close to what it was. Him and I are a little further away. If you you know, you you've stepped into quite a role at Jorgensolana Cattle and ⁓ you talked a little bit early about that that sink or swim that you that we kinda got to do there that first year. ⁓ we figured a lot of stuff out on the fly. what advice would you give a sixteen, seventeen, eighteen year old kid that is getting ready to to start thinking about college and they want to be in agriculture? what advice would you give them as far as what things they need to listen to, think about, learn about and and how how their mindset needs to be when they're thinking about college and that side of it. speaker-0: yeah. so ⁓ I think s just some little advice that I'd give to, you know, someone coming up and wanting to learn about everything like that is is like I said, every there is a lot of people that do what we do. ⁓ there's a lot of people ⁓ that grew up doing it. ⁓ there's there really is no right or wrong way of how to do it. They're the only thing that I would say, and this goes for me too, is 'cause I'm I'm still learning. never, never stop learning, I guess, is one thing that I would I would be I tell my interns that every year right when they show up. I said and they say, Well, what do you know? I said, Well, I done this, I done this, I said, No, it's the wrong answer. You don't you don't know. You don't know anything 'cause you've never been here before. And this place is way different than where you came from. I mean, if I were to go and work at your place, I would have no idea, you know, how you do things. It's ⁓ so just be open, be very open to different environments, be very open to learning new things. ⁓ you can ask my seventy five year old grandfather and I guarantee you that he's still learning new things. He might not admit it. speaker-1: ⁓ I think he admits that he's learning on his golf game right now is what he admits he's learning too, right? That's why he winters in Florida. speaker-0: Yeah. Yep. speaker-1: well thank you for ⁓ for taking the time to jump on today, Philip. ⁓ I think some insight into into our process of the ⁓ the first step of turning boys into men as it's happening right now. pretty important for for not only us and not only seed stock producers but but a guy with so commercial kebs that that he wants to wean and speaker-0: Yeah, day one. speaker-1: And get a little extra pounds on, especially right now where pounds are paying what it's paying. You know, and the the premiums that can happen, sell ⁓ on a video with ⁓ with the VAC sixty program, something like that. I think it's gonna continue to to drive more and more folks to start start trying to figure out how to background some of these Kevs themselves and I think it's some really good information today for everybody moving forward. speaker-0: No. speaker-1: Thank you for taking the time to join me today, Philip. And we will catch you all next time on the Source. speaker-0: Appreciate it, Jamie.