Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 331: Connecting Consumers to Beef Takes More Than independent Processing with Bobbie Rae Smith

Transcript

331: Connecting Consumers to Beef Takes More Than independent Processing with Bobbie Rae Smith · CattleUSA Daily

0:00
We are welcoming Bobby Ray Smith on to the podcast today and
0:03
Bobby is here to talk about the meat processing industry.
0:07
She is a part of a company called Madison Lodge Meat
0:10
Company here in the state of Kansas.
0:12
And what they're doing in the meat processing industry is so
0:16
unique and innovative and just uplifting and exciting for the
0:20
beef industry as an entire whole.
0:23
And what they're doing in their partnerships with ranchers, in
0:25
their partnerships with their community, in their partnerships
0:28
with actually selling meat to consumers and what they're doing
0:31
to get into these urban communities and really share the
0:34
story of their producers they're working with.
0:36
But then also just the story of the beef industry in general.
0:39
They have such a unique business model.
0:41
And we on this podcast have talked multiple times about the
0:44
need for independent processors within our country and our beef
0:47
producing communities. And what Madison Lodge Beef
0:49
Company is doing is so unique and so exciting.
0:52
And so I'm so excited that Bobby is coming on today to share the
0:55
story with you today. Before we hop into today's
0:57
podcast episode, if you're watching on YouTube, make sure
0:59
you hit hit that subscribe button and like this episode.
1:01
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1:04
must know the drill at this point.
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just continues to help us grow this podcast, make a wider
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here, for being audience members that are willing to help us grow
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and support us along the way. Without further ado, let's go
1:39
ahead and hear from Bobby Ray Smith.
1:44
Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily Podcast, your go to source for
1:48
the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
1:51
shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
1:55
passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
1:57
informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
2:01
episode. Bobby, welcome to the podcast.
2:08
I am so excited to have you on today.
2:10
I would love it if you could take it away, share a little bit
2:12
about yourself, who you are, what you do, and just kind of
2:15
Share your story with us in the audience for those that don't
2:18
know who you are all. Right, absolutely.
2:20
Thank you Lauren so much for inviting me on.
2:22
I've been so excited about this opportunity.
2:24
My name is Bobby Ray Mays, I'm from Medicine Lodge, KS born and
2:28
raised here in Barber County. 6th generation and AG here with
2:31
my mom's side of the family. Grew up in the beef cow industry
2:35
as kids. Rodeoed show the cows that did
2:37
all things. I live here, I have two little
2:39
boys. They are 8 1/2 and 12 1/2 and
2:42
they are getting into the same things too.
2:44
Showing the cattle rodeo in the summer, play all the sports.
2:48
I have worked in many different facets of just everything in the
2:52
world and but my heart has always been agriculture.
2:55
Getting back to that. I always knew somehow someday
2:58
big, big picture is I I wanted to be somewhere in agriculture
3:01
and I wanted to be able to be in a position to not just work in
3:04
it. Like the best part is, you know,
3:06
boots on the ground, working cows, doing all that like that.
3:09
I love that. But I have found a way into just
3:11
being a bit on a platform to advocate for producers and for
3:16
ranchers within this industry that I love so much.
3:18
And so in that shift here in the last few years, going from
3:23
helping my family on their operation here a few years ago
3:25
to waltzing into the meat company one day because a friend
3:29
of mine said, hey, they need a local kid that knows people.
3:32
And here we are. That was gosh, almost exactly 2
3:36
years ago. And it started out as an
3:38
experiment. We, my GM and I, we signed a
3:42
three month agreement that we can both say goodbye at the end
3:45
of this if, if it's not working. And well, obviously it worked.
3:49
And so here we are. Fast forward, I guess that's
3:52
kind of short version, but within this I am able to again,
3:57
like I said, take my passion for agriculture and the beef
3:59
industry and run with it in different ways just beyond the
4:03
front gate, you know, and within the meat company, we it's kind
4:09
of as our tagline last couple years was beyond processing and
4:13
our relationship with you doesn't end when you haul those
4:15
boxes at our front door. And we want to advocate for you.
4:19
And if there's stuff going on with if, you know, if you're
4:22
trying, we have a lot of our customers sell their beef retail
4:26
and so doing a lot of work with them to help them market their
4:29
products and find, you know, to get it sold to the public.
4:33
So working really close with people and just I guess I kind
4:36
of put the bow on it there to kind of how I ended up with the
4:39
meat company and just everything else I do just within the
4:42
industry. Share a little bit more about
4:44
the meat company itself and kind of what you guys do there, what
4:47
you're providing to the community and just expand a
4:49
little bit more on your guys's true partnership that you guys
4:53
look at with your producers that you're working with.
4:56
OK, well, most want to be company.
4:57
We have been in production about three years.
4:59
So we're a brand new baby company built from the ground
5:02
up, just a wonderful state-of-the-art, clean,
5:05
perfect, beautiful facility. We're kind of proud of it.
5:08
If you case you couldn't tell, but I guess kind of like I
5:11
previously said, we just take it beyond processing.
5:13
We we work with different organizations.
5:17
We do a lot of work with our 4H FFA local, local kids and
5:21
students creating meetings and conferences and opportunities to
5:25
bring all these people together. A year ago we had a producer
5:28
conference here in Medicine Lodge for specifically targeting
5:31
producers that were trying to just find their lane to get
5:36
started selling their beef in a retail setting.
5:38
And we were able to pull in, which ended up being several of
5:42
our customers pulled them in, who all do the same thing but a
5:45
little bit differently. We have a customer that has a
5:48
storefront not in Oklahoma and he sells his beef that way.
5:52
And then we have some customers from here locally that they kind
5:54
of do the farmers market scene over in the bigger cities.
5:57
And so they kind of have that route.
5:59
And I had another producer that that was a lot into shipping.
6:02
And so just bringing all of these tools together into one
6:05
spot so that other customers can start putting those pieces in
6:08
the toolbox and finding what they need to, to be successful.
6:12
Because at the end of the day, if if they can't sell their
6:15
beef, I can't keep processing it.
6:17
And I'm the beef processor. So it's beyond processing.
6:20
We we keep moving out the door for you and helping you find the
6:24
ways to market it to the public. Because I think we all know how
6:29
in the last several years a big deal.
6:30
It is the direct to consumer selling of our beef and how
6:34
people have just grabbed a hold of that and are so appreciative
6:37
to it and want to know where their beef is coming from.
6:40
Everything's expensive. Everything's expensive.
6:42
So if we're going to have to spend, to have to have anything,
6:46
well, no matter the quality of it, we want the best quality.
6:48
We want to know who brought it, who raised it, how it was
6:52
raised, and be able to make that connection.
6:53
Just complete that circle between producer and consumer
6:57
and bring everybody together. Because at the end of the day,
6:59
we all want to feed our families.
7:00
We want to feed our families well, and it's something we're
7:03
going to always have to do. So we need to just facilitate
7:06
that relationship and bridge that gap and bring everybody
7:08
together. Absolutely and I love just the
7:11
passion that you have behind that of like, hey, this doesn't
7:14
stop when you guys take the meat out the door.
7:16
We are going to truly continue to help you market that meat and
7:20
continue this business relationship past just hey,
7:24
these are the cuts we need. You guys are doing a great job
7:26
at that and so long sayonara. We'll see you when you need the
7:30
next beef processed right Like you truly are building a
7:34
relationship with these producers.
7:35
How did you guys like look at your community and be like this
7:38
is needed here. This is going to be successful
7:40
here or was it just like, hey, we think this is going to work.
7:43
Let's let's. See.
7:45
Some type of situation. Our owner, he initially here
7:48
several years ago, he purchased a ranch out West of Medicine
7:51
Lodge and that's what kind of got him to this community.
7:54
And then, you know, 2020 and 2021 hit, nobody can get
7:58
processing then. So it's like, why not?
8:00
So it's been a bit of an uphill climb and we have been digging
8:04
in tooth and nail, but the just our, our mindset of just being a
8:10
team player has I think been, it's been revolutionary in the
8:15
processing world or how we operate in Medicine Lodge isn't
8:18
normal. And I totally am saying that in
8:20
a braggadocious way. Like I am very proud of our team
8:24
and our leadership and our ownership because we are very
8:27
much God handpicked every one of these people on our team and
8:30
just dropped them from the heavens.
8:31
I swear that's how it happened. And our mindset and our goals
8:35
and community and family and just building our ecosystem
8:39
right here at home is so strong that people have been taking
8:43
notice of that. And I have customers that come
8:45
from several hours away. And that's not a small feat when
8:49
you're hauling cattle in, you know, especially if it's hot or
8:52
if the weather is getting crummy in the winter time.
8:54
But then you got to get it all home.
8:55
So their commitment to us, it just makes our commitment to
8:59
them even greater in pulling that all together here this
9:02
spring. We have been able to put
9:03
together a program and we're still sure we're growing it and
9:06
still fine tuning it. And we call it the Rancher
9:08
Bundle program. And we have, we also have a
9:11
mobile unit over kind of around Wichita.
9:13
And through that mobile unit we are able to purchase from our
9:17
producers, from our customers, their premium beef.
9:20
And it all has to grade, grade appropriately to be in our
9:23
program. Put their beef together in a box
9:26
with their label on it with their story in the box with
9:29
them, a picture of their family. I go out and film a little promo
9:33
on their ranch with them and their families and tell their
9:35
story and we promote them and sell their beef.
9:38
The meat company isn't making bank off of this project by any
9:41
means. But again, it goes back to the
9:43
if you can't sell your beef, I can't keep processing it.
9:46
So if we keep helping you shove it out the door, then we can
9:49
keep processing it for you. So that's, that's kind of our
9:52
baby this spring is growing this Rancho bundle program and
9:55
getting that really off the ground.
9:56
And I have lots of people involved.
9:58
I just needing to get more, you know, get it more on the radar
10:01
in the consumer world, but that that's kind of our big deal this
10:04
spring. That's such a unique approach.
10:06
And I want to talk a little bit about being an independent
10:10
processor in the marketplace that we're in right now.
10:13
I think people talk about it all the time of we need more
10:15
independent processors. We need more people opening up
10:18
these like processing facilities and doing these things and
10:22
providing this for ranchers and all of these things.
10:25
Like it's something everyone is talking about right now.
10:28
Gosh, I think on this podcast alone, we've talked, we've had
10:31
like 3 different guests on to talk about this topic.
10:33
But as someone who recently has been involved in starting the
10:38
independent processing facility and gone through that process
10:42
and you guys take a very unique approach to it too.
10:44
You're like, because you guys are USDA certified, you are, you
10:47
do all of these other things too.
10:49
You're not just a small town processing facility, You're
10:53
bringing in people from all over.
10:55
You're bringing in people from hours away and providing all of
10:58
these extra things and doing marketing and doing consumer
11:00
relations and all of this. But can you talk a little bit
11:03
about being an independent processor in the marketplace
11:06
that we're in right now and starting out like really
11:10
launching a business and being successful in it in the world
11:13
that we're in? Because I think not to ramble
11:15
too much, but I think the one issue and concern a lot of
11:19
people have with starting independent processing
11:21
facilities is are we going to be successful?
11:23
Can we keep up with the other big dogs?
11:26
Like can we actually be competitive with in this
11:28
marketplace and provide something to our community and
11:31
ranchers? So just talk a little bit about
11:33
that side of things for me, OK? When we started was I, I was
11:38
late to the game. I didn't get to be with their be
11:40
with them there at the very the beginning, but luckily I caught
11:43
in caught on here in the last two years and have been able to
11:45
fly with them, but it was an uphill battle getting started.
11:50
It is just a lot of kind of how I've already kind of, you know,
11:55
described this is we're just very innovative, very outside
11:58
the box. Our favorite ideas are the
11:59
wildest and craziest ones that somebody thinks you're insane.
12:03
There's there's such a need, just as you said, there is such
12:06
a need. Well, there's two more
12:07
processors less than 30 miles South and east of us and they're
12:12
well established over probably over 50 years old to very well
12:15
established processors. So us getting us getting a
12:17
foothold in an established area, we had to think outside the box.
12:22
And we're not here to put anybody out of business because
12:24
there's, there's plenty of business.
12:26
And when I came on board, my, my job was go find customers.
12:31
And so I infiltrated my circles for the last, you know, 10-15
12:34
years from, you know, my days in college down in Northwest
12:36
Oklahoma, producers I've worked for across Kansas and Oklahoma
12:40
and just started literally making circles all over the
12:43
country, pulling into feed yards, pulling into sail barns,
12:46
staying feed pickup in a gas station parking lot and walking
12:50
up to them and handing them business card and just striking
12:52
up conversation with them. And those are just more of those
12:55
things that are uncommon in this industry.
12:57
That connection, that relationship, that friendship.
13:00
Some of my customers are some of my best friends now and getting,
13:03
we get invited to family functions and weddings and such,
13:06
like, it's so cool. But the need in the industry is
13:10
so great. And back to, to that, you know,
13:12
connecting the circle between producer and consumer that
13:14
brings it down to the local level of we don't want to do
13:17
the, we don't want to do business with the great big
13:19
factories, the great big facility.
13:21
We want to be here at home. We want to, we want to stand at
13:24
the door of the production room where our beef is being cut up
13:26
and watch him do it, which people do it all the time.
13:28
I will stay on there and visit with you for two hours and watch
13:30
him cut your beef. I've done it.
13:31
I love it. It's great.
13:33
Just that open door policy, that friendship, that relationship,
13:36
That's what sets us apart in, in the small processing in the, in
13:39
the world of smaller processors. That's what what sets us apart
13:42
is our tight relationship with our people always being
13:45
available. I, I live on my phone seems like
13:48
always working with my people. Hey, somebody calling you up.
13:50
Hey, what about this? I get an idea or, you know,
13:53
let's cut my beef up different this time.
13:54
We need to do something different for the season.
13:56
Just just everything, anything and everything that we can
13:58
innovate and be different and set us apart from, from the big
14:02
guys most mostly, but just making us a little bit different
14:06
from other smaller processors just like us to where we're all
14:09
successful. There's enough pieces of that
14:11
pie for all of us. And then on the side behind our
14:14
processing, we are finding other ways within in the meat company
14:18
to generate other income. We, we will help other companies
14:23
that maybe want to do some wholesale type things so we're
14:26
able to buy from distributed use and repackage and help them
14:29
move, move other like box beef and pork or chicken products as
14:32
well. And that, that just helps us
14:34
generate a little more income. So then we can focus on our
14:37
processors and giving them our 110% all the time, but still
14:42
making us not forcing us to rely solely on the processing and
14:47
rising cost of everything. We've talked about this already
14:50
and not happen to be just chopping them off at the knees
14:53
every six months when we got a hike somewhere else.
14:55
And we've got to compensate for it.
14:57
We're able to help keep the lights on over here with these
15:00
other projects we have running in the background within the the
15:02
company and still serve our of our producers to to our greatest
15:07
extent and make all of us profitable.
15:09
Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more
15:11
about that side of the business as well of the different unique
15:14
ways that you guys are continuing to grow your
15:16
business? Because I think so often people
15:18
look at independent processors and they think of their small
15:21
town processor that's been around for 50 years and they've
15:23
got 4 employees. And that's just like the way
15:27
that they do it and they just are processing beef or chicken
15:31
or pork or whatever they're doing, doing that week, right?
15:33
Day in and day out. And then it's going to grandma's
15:35
freezer and part to our freezer and maybe to a cousin's freezer,
15:38
things like that, right? Like that's kind of the thought
15:41
process that I think most of us default to.
15:44
And we think of independent processors.
15:45
But I think if people are looking at the current industry
15:48
and they're thinking of bringing something to their community, it
15:52
can't be what worked 50 years ago or what might be working in
15:55
some of these small towns. It has to be something that's a
15:58
little bit more innovative and a little bit more like, hey, we
16:01
have to grow, grow this outside of just processing, outside of
16:06
just like, yes, this is our core business model.
16:08
This is what we're doing, but there's more to this as well and
16:11
there's more we can do as far as impacting our community
16:15
standards go to. Yeah, just the innovation
16:17
thinking outside the box, we call it Co packing and it's
16:21
where we will order from distributors, take orders from
16:25
an outside customer. The couple that few that we do
16:27
have right now are actually out of state.
16:29
And then RGM, he's kind of my numbers guy, the the one that
16:32
hunts things down. We joke that I was a personality
16:35
hire and and he's the numbers guy.
16:37
He will, he will find the best deals and work with these
16:41
companies that they might have stores or food trailers in other
16:45
places and find them the best prices for, for both quantities,
16:49
whether it be beef, pork, chicken, and then we bring it
16:52
into our facility, repackage it, customize their label, put it on
16:56
it, they come pick it up, take it away and that's it.
16:58
And that's one of those other ways that our business is able
17:01
to generate more income to help us continue moving forward for
17:05
our producers and helping them. We do a lot of work in our
17:07
community as well. We have a school beef program.
17:10
We set aside $15,000 a year to donate towards processing,
17:16
whether you're donating, donating a beef to our school,
17:18
North and South Barbour or our local food banks as well, that
17:22
we will partner with you if you're bringing the beef.
17:24
We're going to bring the processing and keep our local
17:26
beef in front of our kids and our classrooms and, and for our
17:29
families here and our community where there's needs that need to
17:32
be met in our food banks as well.
17:34
We do, I think we talked about 4H, we work with our 4H kids,
17:38
sponsor what we can, you know, what county fairs and such and
17:42
just more finding those ways to bring things together.
17:45
I think I've mentioned our mobile unit a little bit.
17:47
We have a mobile trailer over towards and over in Wichita over
17:51
in that area area and that's another one of our sources of
17:54
revenue where we will package. We have we sell our rancher
17:59
bundles off of there. So we sell our producers beef
18:01
off of there. But then we also have another
18:04
kind of level of of you know another budget type beef or
18:08
product for other people's, you know, whatever your needs are,
18:11
beef, pork, chicken. We have a line of signature
18:13
brats that we make in house that are ours and we sell them off of
18:16
that trailer over there on the weekends and in special
18:19
occasions and just generates more income to the meat company.
18:24
And again, it all is part of the system and making it flow to be
18:28
able to better serve, serve our producers.
18:29
Absolutely. I want to spend some time
18:31
talking about your guys's Consumer Focus.
18:33
We've talked a lot about it already, but that is one of your
18:36
guys's big pillars. So the whole thought process of
18:39
like you guys are making the whole ecosystem healthy of like
18:43
a rising tide raises all ships, You're making your producers
18:46
successful, which then makes you guys successful.
18:48
But you guys do still have a big focus on education being
18:52
consumer populations. And I think so often you look at
18:55
it and people say like, well, it's your responsibility as a
18:58
beef producer to get out there and Share your story.
19:00
But you guys are saying as a processing facility of, yeah,
19:03
it's your guys's job, but it's also our job too.
19:05
And we're going to, we're going to pick up some of that slack
19:07
and we're going to do some of that.
19:08
So share a little bit about what that looks like for you guys and
19:12
why that focus is such a core principle for your business.
19:16
Absolutely. How I like to describe this is
19:19
they're the cow man and cow women.
19:21
They raise the cattle, they raised the beef.
19:22
They, you know, they have 4550 years built into their genetics
19:26
and that is their thing. Their thing may not be what you
19:28
and I are doing here and talking and being public and, and having
19:31
your face places. And that's what I tell them.
19:33
I was like, you can raise your beef.
19:34
I can sell it for you. I can help you market it.
19:37
I can, I can give you, I've made brochures and Flyers and sent
19:41
them, emailed them to my customers.
19:42
Be like, hey, here's some business cards.
19:43
Here's some Flyers. I've, you know, made them with
19:45
your brands and your family and your story.
19:46
I stole from your website and here go go use this, go use
19:50
this. Go stick this under windshield
19:51
builds in the in the grocery store parking lot.
19:55
And we all, just like I mentioned with our team, we all
19:58
have our spot like we dropped from the heavens.
20:00
Everybody's in their spot and and we're just a well oiled
20:03
machine and everybody doing their doing the job that they
20:07
thrive at the best. My producers, they raise it,
20:09
they create it. I can, I can process it and we
20:12
can help them sell it. I can advocate for them through
20:15
this rancher bundle platform, the promos that we can do for
20:18
them that we filmed for them and share for them because then they
20:20
can use those everywhere, all over social media, because
20:23
everything happens on social media anymore.
20:25
But no, we can, we can help you market it.
20:27
That is what we're good at. And where I, I love the, the
20:30
production side of all of it and the feeding side of all of it.
20:33
I'm really good at sitting here talking about it and sharing
20:36
about it and educating our consumers.
20:39
And through our mobile unit, it also has a Facebook page as
20:42
well. Medis Lodge mobile, Medis Lodge
20:44
meat company mobile unit. We share these stories on there
20:47
and that gets it into, gets it to our city people, gets it into
20:50
those urban areas where those people are very removed from our
20:54
way life out here in the hills and where they're pretty foreign
20:57
to us. Well, we're very foreign to them
20:59
and getting that story in front of them.
21:01
And so they can see where it's coming from and see that, see
21:05
that family that they are supporting by choosing to feed
21:09
their, their high quality beef to their family.
21:11
And you know, we're, we're not shopping at the, you know, the
21:14
local chain store and padding some big execs pockets.
21:18
No, you're paying the feed bill for these kids as show stairs.
21:21
You're helping pay entry fees for these kids over here by
21:25
doing business with this family. You're, you're helping them
21:28
continue running their business for the next generation and
21:31
their family to get ahold of and to be able to run it.
21:33
So continuing bridging those gaps and bringing consumer and
21:36
producer back together. And just I, I love to hear the
21:39
stories, everybody's stories. I love telling their stories.
21:42
I love to tell stories. I love to tell people stories.
21:44
I just, I could sit and watch them all day long.
21:47
And so to be able to share those with people and I've grown up in
21:50
it, I've lived it my whole life and I still love it.
21:53
So I just know people that it's foreign to you, they have to
21:56
enjoy it too. Absolutely.
21:57
And I love that focus. And I think that what you guys
22:00
are doing with the mobile meet trailer is so unique too,
22:02
because you're taking that and you're saying, hey, we are close
22:05
enough to the Wichita area and to the Andover area where we can
22:08
really intersect a market here that has a major need for it.
22:12
And we can also share these producers stories.
22:15
But then there's a need for it and people want this direct to
22:18
consume their beef these days. And so we're providing that and
22:22
it's a hey, we're winning, you guys are winning, everyone's
22:25
happy here type of situation, which is I think so unique and
22:29
so fun to see a processing facility that's like, we want to
22:33
be involved. We don't want to be behind the
22:35
curtain. We want to like really be in
22:38
part part of this story and sharing the story of beef and
22:41
getting the producers their success and just having those
22:45
conversations with consumers and everything there.
22:47
You're like, Nope, put us, put us on the front line, coach.
22:50
We're we're ready to go. The blaze and let's go in full
22:53
forest yeah and. And getting to spend time with
22:57
I'll go feed cows with somebody like I'll just ride around to
22:59
pick up with somebody and open gates and feed cows or, or stand
23:02
around the feed lot and visited with them and catch them in the
23:05
field getting off tractor and just to, to meet them where they
23:08
are. They don't have time to come to
23:10
us. Let's get real.
23:11
They don't have time, but they don't have time.
23:13
So for us to be able to go to them or us to be just always at
23:16
their disposal over the phone to help them brainstorm ideas and
23:20
whatever the case may be. And then I can take that and I
23:23
can, I can go to the consumer side of things with our trailer
23:26
and be like, hey, this is what we, this is what we got coming
23:28
from this side. Let's find a way, Let's find a
23:31
way to promote over here. Let's, let's, you know, let's go
23:34
to the drawing board. Let's come up with a new plan, a
23:36
new marketing campaign or whatnot.
23:37
Let's continue selling these people.
23:39
And and from that comes us telling their stories to to the
23:42
consumers over there that we're connecting them to, to sell
23:45
their beef. Absolutely.
23:46
I love it. And Bobby, I think that you and
23:48
I could chat about this all day long as.
23:50
Given the opportunity, I think you're right.
23:52
I really I really do believe that we could Joe Rogan this
23:55
podcast and sit here for three hours powers and not blinking
23:58
eye type of situation. I agree.
24:00
But as we start to round out this podcast, do you have
24:04
anything else that you would really like to just leave with
24:06
our producers or maybe our consumers that are listening to
24:10
this podcast today about what Medicine Lodge Meat Company is
24:13
doing, what you guys are doing, or anything else that you would
24:15
just like to leave with our audience today?
24:18
The last little plug for medicine lodge.
24:19
We want everybody on our team. We want to work with everybody
24:22
in and maybe we don't have the answers, maybe we don't have the
24:25
perfect plan, but call us anyway and let's find one.
24:28
Let's figure it out. Let's go to the drawing board
24:30
and the Sky's the limit. The worst thing that could
24:32
happen is it doesn't work and we start over and we're all about
24:35
trial and error and figuring it out.
24:38
So like I said, we want you everybody to be on our team.
24:40
We want to find ways to work for everybody, whether it be, you
24:43
know, in a more commercial Co packing scene, the production
24:47
scene with, with our Coco ranchers to selling it to our
24:50
consumers in the urban areas. We we have a spot for everybody
24:54
and we want them all in our under our umbrella with us
24:57
because strength in numbers. We we all need each other and
25:00
the producer needs the consumer to buy it and vice versa.
25:04
Like we all need each other. And it's just a wheel that just
25:07
needs to keep going around and, and taking it.
25:09
And also just our how we take care of home.
25:12
I call it taking care of the front yard, how we just really
25:14
get a hold in our community and do everything we can here
25:16
locally. Some of it's under the right are
25:18
some of us and that's fine. That's how we like to be
25:21
sometimes working with our schools and our food banks and
25:23
just strengthening our local ecosystem and and just
25:26
strengthen numbers. Like I already said, just
25:28
pulling everybody together and just being a team.
25:30
Bobby, that is so wonderful. I have so enjoyed today's
25:34
podcast episode and really getting to chat with you about
25:37
everything you're doing and just your passion that you exude for
25:39
this industry is amazing. And I, I really do, I do love it
25:44
so much. So thank you so much for coming
25:46
on today, for sharing your story, for sharing the story of
25:48
Medicine Lodge Meat Company and everything that you guys are
25:50
doing. I hope that today's conversation
25:52
inspired some producers, whether you're in Kansas or whether
25:55
you're across the country somewhere else to look at
25:59
different partnerships and your rural communities and how you
26:01
can continue to make impact outside of just your operation
26:04
or your operation or your company.
26:07
This has been really wonderful. Bobby Ray, thank you so much for
26:09
coming. To you so much, Lauren, for
26:10
having me on and letting me share our story.
26:12
It's, it's been wonderful. I really appreciate it and I
26:14
appreciate your platform and how you're also furthering the AG
26:17
industry. As well.
26:17
Thank you. Thank you so much to all of our
26:19
audience members. If anything that we talked about
26:21
today interest you or you want to go stock medicine lodge meet
26:24
company on Facebook, make sure you check out the show notes
26:26
down below. And I will have all of their
26:28
links from their website to their social medias to
26:30
everything else that you could possibly need to check them out.
26:33
Get a hold of Bobby, their team, start the asking those questions
26:35
or anything else that that looks like.
26:37
So Bobby, thank you for your time today and to all of our
26:40
audience members, we will see you all next time on another
26:42
episode of the Cattle USA Daily podcast.
26:44
We'll see y'all next time.