Latest / Women Who Make It - A Females in Food Podcast with Angela Dodd / 22. From Bloomberg to Beef: Kimberly Ratcliff on Leadership, Community & Local Food

Transcript

22. From Bloomberg to Beef: Kimberly Ratcliff on Leadership, Community & Local Food · Women Who Make It - A Females in Food Podcast with Angela Dodd

0:00
SPEAKER_01: I know I am a rarity in this industry.
0:02
SPEAKER_01: I've hired many rarities under my umbrella to show that we are a rarity company now.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: And that's another mission I have, right?
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Because I think I know for a fact that we're talented.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: I know for a fact that we haven't had our chance in this industry.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: And I know for a fact it's my responsibility to show that.
0:17
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: To show it in every aspect that I can in this business.
0:23
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Women Who Make It.
0:24
SPEAKER_02: Real conversations with women in the food and beverage industry who are building careers, leading teams, and figuring it all out.
0:31
SPEAKER_02: After years of building females and food, I've had conversations with some of the most brilliant women in the industry.
0:37
SPEAKER_02: And they shared the real stuff.
0:38
SPEAKER_02: The pivots, the boundaries, the burnouts, and the moments of is this even working before it finally clicked?
0:44
SPEAKER_02: So I hit record, and now you get to hear it too.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: We're women who make it.
0:49
SPEAKER_02: So let's dig in.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to Women Who Make It.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: Real women, real talk, and real stories of women making it in the food and beverage industry.
1:01
SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Angela Dodd, founder and CEO of Females in Food.
1:05
SPEAKER_02: And my guest today is Kim Radcliffe.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: She's the CEO of Radcliffe Premium Meats and a rancher at her family's ranch in East Texas.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Kim left her career at Bloomberg in New York City to come home to help build the family ranch business.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: And today we're going to talk about what went into that decision and what it took to turn that commitment into a business.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: We're going to get into the realities of raising cattle and bringing beef to the market and what she wishes more of us understood about the people behind our food.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: We're also going to talk about being a woman, especially a black woman in ranching and what she hopes the next generation of ranchers and little girls watching her journey will see as possible for themselves.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: Kim, welcome to the podcast.
1:46
SPEAKER_02: I am so excited.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for coming to the ranch today.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: At the ranch, we're here recording live, which is only the second time I've ever done this, by the way.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: So wow.
1:57
SPEAKER_02: It's an honor.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: It is an honor.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: And we're out here in Texas.
2:00
SPEAKER_02: Um, never, I'm originally a Texan.
2:02
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you know that.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: I did not.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, up in up in the panhandle, though.
2:06
SPEAKER_02: So we're a bit more south.
2:07
SPEAKER_02: Just brought some cattle down from there.
2:09
SPEAKER_02: Um they're on their way here.
2:11
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
2:12
SPEAKER_02: So from my from my home, my home area in the panhandle amarilla.
2:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, different than down here.
2:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, very but beautiful down here.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: So for everybody that can't see us right now, we have a beautiful view of their ranch.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: And I'm uh I'm joined here with with Kim Radcliffe, who's the CEO of Radcliffe Premium Meets.
2:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, so down in Oakwood, Texas.
2:32
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Oakwood.
2:33
SPEAKER_02: Little small town.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna dive in.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: We have a lot to cover over the next 30 minutes.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: So, first, as we as we jump in for our listeners who don't know a ton about you, because they've just heard your intro, but uh take us back.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: You started your career in New York, Bloomberg.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: Right?
2:49
SPEAKER_02: Like how did we how did we end up right?
2:51
SPEAKER_02: How did we end up in Texas?
2:53
SPEAKER_02: It's the navigation of life.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: Take us back a little bit to the beginning of your career journey and and what those decisions looked like in the early days from when you were sitting in New York to what influenced you to come back here?
3:04
SPEAKER_01: Right.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I did start my career in New York.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, I went to college there.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: My family really, my dad's business was originally based there.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: So it was just one of those things.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: I thought I wanted to be there, right there with my dad's business, but I ended up going into the corporate world.
3:20
SPEAKER_01: Um I ended up working for Bloomberg.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: Um, I did public relations and marketing for them.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: I loved my career there.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: It was eye-opening.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: I learned so much.
3:29
SPEAKER_01: I had an opportunity to work with such drastic people just from every aspect of the financial world.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: And it made me realize that the financial world is so complicated, right?
3:41
SPEAKER_01: And it's so complicated to the point that it makes so much decisions for what my dad had here on a daily basis.
3:48
SPEAKER_01: So my dad bought this ranch in 2002 while I was in New York.
3:53
SPEAKER_01: And when he bought it, he bought it turnkey.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: Some of the furniture that we're in here, he purchased with the property.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: And when you buy something turnkey like that, it's a life learning experience, right?
4:06
SPEAKER_01: The blessing is you have experienced employees that are there.
4:09
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: But it's life learning experience for the back end of it.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: And for me to hear those daily nicks that he had to go through on a daily basis on the ranch, and then me be up there and talk to all these analysts and these economists and everyone, and that disconnect just I had to.
4:26
SPEAKER_01: I had to just be like, what fence do you want to be on?
4:29
SPEAKER_01: As you say, on a fence.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to be on one side or the other?
4:31
SPEAKER_01: And I said, you know what?
4:33
SPEAKER_01: I need to come home.
4:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: I need to come home.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: I have enough knowledge, just nothing else I can gain from the financial world.
4:40
SPEAKER_01: I gained what I did.
4:41
SPEAKER_01: Now take it home.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, take it home and use it.
4:45
SPEAKER_02: And so as you came back here, what were some of those early days like?
4:48
SPEAKER_02: Let's just talk about that.
4:49
SPEAKER_02: You got that, you got back here.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: When I did come back, let me just say, when I did come back, I did get my education at Text University.
4:55
unknown: Yeah.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, which has a huge-cause where would where'd you grow up?
4:58
SPEAKER_01: Where were you born?
4:59
SPEAKER_01: I was born in Houston.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: In Houston.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: But my dad's job moved us.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: He worked for IBM back in the day, and I call it I've been moved.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: They moved me like crazy back in the day.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: We moved so much.
5:09
SPEAKER_01: And we moved a lot, and he ended up starting his own company after working for IBM and and was blessed with having an opportunity.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: And well, and I originally grew up here, but IBM took us to New York.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: But to tell you the truth, the main things that happened when I came home is I did go to Texas Christian University and I came back.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: And when I came back, I thought I knew it all.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: You know?
5:32
SPEAKER_01: And I had to realize my dad bought this place, and this was his baby.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: And I can't come in with what I think is right.
5:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
5:42
SPEAKER_01: And I think I learned that the hard way.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: I would come home and I tell people I was probably fired 10 times.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: Every day I would come home, they'd be like, go home.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that fun when you when you get that those interactions with parents?
5:55
SPEAKER_01: Those interactions right there was just really eye-opening.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: And then I realized my my philosophy was wrong.
6:01
SPEAKER_01: You just can't come in and say, I'm going to change something.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: You have to come in and be like, you know, I would go to my dad and I'd be like, Can I just have that one acre to try something out?
6:10
SPEAKER_01: Or can I just you had to show them.
6:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: You can't come in and tell them, oh, well, I learned this at Texas Christian University.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: You should be doing it this way.
6:20
SPEAKER_01: They didn't care.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: They cared.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: They were proud of me.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: They they loved that I learned it there.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: But this is something he's been doing for generations.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: So those were the hardest things that I learned is just to sit back and listen.
6:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: And then and move through that with your family.
6:36
SPEAKER_01: And move through it.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: And now it's at the point now, my dad's like, okay, what should we do now?
6:41
SPEAKER_01: Right?
6:42
SPEAKER_01: What are our next steps?
6:43
SPEAKER_01: Because he has that trust.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the student becomes the teacher.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: And and yeah, that long, that long built and earned trust.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that trust is amazing.
6:53
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm blessed with it.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: Um, that's the reason why Radcliffe Premium Meats exist.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so because of my parents.
7:00
SPEAKER_02: There's two different names here.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about the connection there.
7:03
SPEAKER_02: There's Radcliffe Premium Meats, but then there's also Caney.
7:07
SPEAKER_02: Am I saying it right?
7:08
SPEAKER_02: Caney Creek Ranch.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: So we bought this place and it was called Caney Creek Ranch.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: So it's just one of those embedded things.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: And when I should backtrack a little bit, when my dad bought it, and I told you he bought it Turnkey.
7:19
SPEAKER_01: We bought it with a breed of cattle called Charbray, which is a I tell people not many people are familiar with it, but they're familiar with the Brangus.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: Right?
7:27
SPEAKER_01: So take a Brangus and make it white.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:29
unknown: Okay.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: That's what a Charbray looks like.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: Got it.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: Right?
7:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm learning here too.
7:35
SPEAKER_01: Charbray is.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: I dropped out of my meat science with a one glass.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: So that we brought that, and I should say, when I first came home, I thought that's what I was going to do.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: So I was going to all the shows the Houston Livestock Show, the Fort Worth show, Beaumont Show, you name it.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: I was going and showing bulls everywhere.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, the show thing is not me.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: I was never a supermodel.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: You know, I felt like it was like a runway.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: You're walking around, you're showing you clothes, you're walking around, you're showing you bulls, right?
8:02
SPEAKER_01: And they're so critiquing it.
8:03
SPEAKER_01: And I understand it, you know, it got a little white this right here, it got this little nipple over here.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Dad, this is not me.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm a commercial person.
8:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:12
SPEAKER_01: I'm one of those that's like, I want just a good sound bull.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: And so we we we kind of backed out of doing the shows.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: We still sell a lot of charbets here.
8:21
SPEAKER_01: We can't keep them on our place.
8:22
SPEAKER_01: We're always selling out.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: But we still do that.
8:25
SPEAKER_01: But that was what the core business of it was.
8:27
SPEAKER_01: That's what my dad bought.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: When he bought a turnkey, he bought the charburet bulls with the operation.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: And I decided to go a different direction.
8:35
SPEAKER_01: And I'll tell you twofolds, real quick.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you why I decided to do a different reparation.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: So I have two older brothers.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: And I know when I came here, I wanted to keep this family land.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: And that was my number one reason is how to keep the family land in here.
8:48
SPEAKER_01: And I didn't know how to get my brothers involved.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: So when I realized we could collaborate all these resources here and have a meet company, and we can kind of dive deeper into how that happened.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: But for me to take the resources that we have in a community and make a mood company, I kind of made my brothers realize the necessity of the ranch.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: And now it's generational.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: And as you think about, I mean, you bring up such a good point though, because it's one thing to start a business.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: And I've had this conversation even on the way out here to the ranch about what it takes to run a sustainable business that can last generations.
9:29
SPEAKER_02: Right.
9:29
SPEAKER_02: That is a whole nother thing.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: So let's let's dive into that.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what happened?
9:33
SPEAKER_01: So when I came back to the ranch, I started a nonprofit.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: And I started at nonprofit because the amount of people in this community that thought I was crazy for leaving Wall Street and coming back here was like I would get it daily.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: They'd be like, I just gotta put my eyes on you.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, why in the world are you leaving New York City to come here?
9:54
SPEAKER_01: Because most people, it's my child that lives 30 minutes away to come to the ranch.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Right?
9:59
SPEAKER_01: But you're coming 2,000 miles away and you're able to come here.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: So with that being said, I felt like they were coming for a need of help.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: You know, whenever they come out their way to sit on a porch and talk to you, they're not necessarily saying help, but they're coming in a need of help.
10:19
SPEAKER_01: So for me to see that, I decided that I was going to do a big celebration.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: I said, have we ever celebrated what we're doing?
10:27
SPEAKER_01: It's always come home and work.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: Always come home and feed up, always come home to do something that is needed on the place, which is great.
10:37
SPEAKER_01: But can we come home and just have a big bonfire and celebrate and have fun and then attach work to it?
10:44
SPEAKER_01: Because then they're coming home for more than just work, they're coming home for what the community else can offer.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: So that's what I did with events.
10:51
SPEAKER_01: And then those events end up being a common denominator, it was cattle.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: So we would sell our cattle together.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: Myself, someone actually kind of helped sell them together.
11:01
SPEAKER_01: We would just collaborate with the gentleman to sell our cattle together.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: And from selling our cattle together, we still had the charbray cattle.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: They would be like, Can you feed one or two with them, with your charbray cattle for my family?
11:13
SPEAKER_01: Right?
11:14
SPEAKER_01: So we would feed them for the family and they would come back, and that was the best meat I had.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: And I said, you know what?
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Can I take some of these to the farmer's market?
11:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: So I started taking them to the farmer's market.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: That's how Rathcliffe Premium Meats was.
11:26
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: So it really did start local.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: Started local.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: And now to this day, it's buying local cattle.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: It's buying everything local.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: And now the community is on board with it because they've seen the process.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: So everyone in the community is like, okay, we're proud of Rathcliffe Premium Meat because we see where it started.
11:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
11:46
SPEAKER_02: And being able to, I wasn't going to get to this part later, but I think that's such an important part of the sustainability piece of this business and where you're taking it is being able to show, you know, truly where this, where your meet starts and where it ends up.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: And for our listeners who are tuning in, who maybe have never been to a ranch, have never been to a small town, have never been on a gravel road.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: Right.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: Which me going, me going to college, somebody asked me, what's it like driving on a gravel road?
12:13
SPEAKER_02: Because I'm from slow.
12:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm from North Dakota.
12:17
SPEAKER_02: So that was like my reality for when I was growing up.
12:20
SPEAKER_02: But what would you hope somebody would see from that process from ranch to their table and everything in between?
12:26
SPEAKER_02: What do you what do you want somebody to take away from that journey?
12:29
SPEAKER_01: I want to tell the see the actual producer and what it takes for that producer to survive.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to necessarily see grass-fed all natural.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Right?
12:40
SPEAKER_01: I think that's great terminologies, but I think you need to understand what it takes for the economic value of my producer to stay in business.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: That's what my meat company is about.
12:51
SPEAKER_01: It's a brand of keeping a producer in business.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: It's not a brand based on you wanting grass-fed because that's not sensible for a producer that has 20 cows.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: So what can we do to keep us in business that still gives you healthy things on the tape?
13:09
SPEAKER_01: Everything we're doing is healthy at the whole process.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: But it's a realistic of what it takes to stay in this business.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: It is so dry right now.
13:18
SPEAKER_02: I was gonna for anybody who's tuning in, it is literally what month are we in?
13:23
SPEAKER_02: We're in September.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: End of September.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: We're recording this end of September here in Dallas, and it is like still 95 degrees out there.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: It's so dry that people have to supplement.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: They have to do whatever they can to make it reasonable.
13:37
SPEAKER_02: But you mean and you mean supplement with grain grain, grass, hay.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: Gotta keep the animals alive.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: You gotta keep the animals alive.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: So they're no longer in whatever program you consider them in.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: But they are doing their best to keep the animal alive.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so that's that's really been my base since I came home.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: Was number one, keeping my family alive, which I thought originally that's what I was coming home for.
14:01
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: But it became more than that when everyone came to me and was like, I don't understand how you why you came home.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: And now I'm like, I need them to understand why I came home.
14:12
unknown: Yeah.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: So for those, I mean, big as we kind of pull pull the lens out of back into what it takes, the real challenges today for running a ranch, for running a meat company, right?
14:28
SPEAKER_02: And what consumers don't see.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: Right.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: What are those challenges that you're facing as a rancher today?
14:35
SPEAKER_01: So as on the production side, right, it's the volatility of everything.
14:40
SPEAKER_01: How am I gonna give you a price that's consistent when I don't know what diesel price is gonna be tomorrow?
14:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: Which ultimately it does every single input no matter what you do.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: Now, once the meat is cut up and put in in the distribution side, we have been honored to have a great following right now with this local push.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: I have the meat.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: Do you know how hard it is to get boxes?
15:07
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: You know that boxes come mostly from Canada?
15:11
SPEAKER_01: I believe so.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: Do you know that tariff right now in Canada is preventing me from getting boxes?
15:16
SPEAKER_02: And for some types of food, the packaging is more expensive than what's in it.
15:20
SPEAKER_02: Not necessarily for meat, but like my dad, my dad was in the pasta industry, and we have this conversation because he's like the packaging costs more than what actually went into that box.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: So I can't afford a$20 box to ship a product.
15:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it doesn't make sense.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: So now it's the packaging itself that's becoming a bigger issue than just the meat.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: So it's a it's a it's a chain effect of what's happening nationally that's have affecting my business.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: And it honestly starts with fuel costs.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: I'll give you that right now, because we don't know how much it's gonna be tomorrow.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: No, so how am I going to actually equate that to in cost of meat?
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: It's hard to so it was funny because um and I and I'm sorry if I'm kind of going all over, but we're probably gonna talk a little bit how I recently got to Cisco deal, right?
16:12
SPEAKER_01: And we do this transportation cost, and we had this conversation with Cisco yesterday, and they're like, I need you to put your transportation cost in your final cost.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: And I went back to them and I said, How do you want me to figure that out?
16:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, walk me through what that calculation is.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna hedge that hedgehog fuel for it?
16:33
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: So I said my price is gonna change every week.
16:36
unknown: Yeah.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: Right?
16:37
SPEAKER_01: I was giving them a bottom line kind of cost at the bottom, but that's the thing I'm telling you, right?
16:43
SPEAKER_01: When when people, when consumers want a price for a product that includes transportation, how do you include that transportation cost in the end product?
16:53
SPEAKER_01: No, it's a good thing.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: And that is really one of the most complicated things I have to do right now.
16:59
unknown: Yeah.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: And it the transportation costs and every item that I'm getting.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: So I will be honest, if we could figure something out with transportation, it would change the whole entire agriculture system.
17:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's across the board.
17:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
17:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm sitting here, I'm sitting here pondering because I know it's a conversation for for all the farmers.
17:17
SPEAKER_01: So we're we do our own oil changes here, right?
17:19
SPEAKER_01: On our tractors.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: We were allowed to buy two of the oils that we could.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: Because, yes.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: We went into Git in one.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: They're like, we're limiting how many gallons of oil you the oil you can get because it people are stocking up on it because of the fuel prices.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: It's getting that serious.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: And as consumers, right, we're sitting in the middle of the street.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, it's not gonna do much for the five, six tractors I have up there.
17:49
SPEAKER_02: I think until until Americans start seeing products not on the shelves, that they really start wondering, because we've seen inflation, the prices are going up, right, and people are you know not happy about it, but it you know, they're making the hard trade-off choices that you have to at the end of the day.
18:06
SPEAKER_02: But until you stop seeing your favorite products on the shelf, does the re I think the reality really set in that the economic situations are ha are going to and are having an impact.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: But I feel like the the farmers are feeling it, especially right now.
18:22
SPEAKER_02: And and each time there's a wave in these in these periods in our food supply chain, there are people that don't survive it, right?
18:33
SPEAKER_02: It will push, it will push people out of business.
18:36
SPEAKER_02: Right.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: And you know, so be besides you know the packaging, the fuel, we compound that to what I'm guessing is also labor.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I was gonna get their labor.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: So I I labor's uh issue because uh employees now want to increase, right?
18:53
SPEAKER_01: They're they're consuming products that are also costing them more.
18:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: So in return, they're like, Can you pay more?
19:03
SPEAKER_01: Um, so we have that issue, and I think I I've been really blessed with my local workforce here.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, I went to them, and that's what we're gonna have to go to.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Is I went to them and they're assisting me right now with some employees that are gonna cost share with me.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: So there's a huge ag push within the workforce commission, which has been really nice.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, but the problem is not all the ag person work know that.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: So I'm hoping on this podcast people know that they can go to their workforce commission and their specific programs for ag culture producers.
19:36
SPEAKER_03: That's good to know.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: And because they can go in, they can go in and they'll call share with their employees.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: Now there is a database that they have to apply for, but if there's someone you like, have them apply on the database, right?
19:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's a simple solution for that.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: But I think the resources that are out there aren't known, like I don't feel like there's a platform anymore for them.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: And it's it's a lot of there's not many out there, but the few we have, we got to share.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: And that's the other thing that's key.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: Would you say that the that in general you found over the course of have you've been doing this now 15 around there?
20:14
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: So putting a number out there.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, something like that.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: Has has the agricultural community, I mean, how people interact, exchange information, has it changed much?
20:24
SPEAKER_01: A lot of them rely on me still, because I had that nonprofit first before I had the for-profit.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: And I still have my nonprofit that does a lot of semination of material, but I don't think it's as easy as it used to be.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: I think this current system that we have to get that information out is not as easy.
20:41
SPEAKER_01: We used to do a lot of outreach programs.
20:44
SPEAKER_01: We don't have as many outreach programs anymore right now.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: There's no resources out there to do those outreach programs to let them know what programs, government programs or non-government programs.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: So even though the technology employees to do the outreach program.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: That's it.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: So when you get the federal ones, it's really word of mouth because you don't have it.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: The offices are not stopped as much.
21:03
SPEAKER_01: So that's the problem with the federal resources.
21:06
SPEAKER_01: And then, of course, there's no grants for these nonprofits now to do the outreach.
21:11
SPEAKER_01: So it's a whole chain of effect on how to get it out there.
21:16
SPEAKER_01: And it's a matter of just knowing the person, like I'm friends with the person that's the workforce commission, not friends, still still goes in the relationships in the industry.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: And that's how you find out.
21:27
SPEAKER_02: So when let me pause, let me pause real quick.
21:32
SPEAKER_02: Um there's there's so many, there's so many things I want to ask you about.
21:37
SPEAKER_02: Um be mindful of, we have a party to get to.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: I'm ready.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: But we guys, for our listeners who don't know, um, there is a big event happening out here tonight because you it's your birthday number one.
21:49
SPEAKER_02: But you guys, part of like building this community around your ranch is that you guys are hosting these large events.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: So I kind of got this event from when I did the producer's event.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's I used to do the producers and bring them in and and do the like parties, right?
22:05
SPEAKER_01: And then have work attached to it.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Well, because of a lot of the platforms that I put myself on, you know, I've done TV, I've done social media, I've done quite a bit.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: People wanted towards.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: And I said, you know what?
22:16
SPEAKER_01: Why not let do these meetup events?
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: And the meetup events just I love it so much.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: Because we say like females and food meetup, but this is M-E-A-T, guys.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, M E A T.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sorry, M-E-A-T.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: So why not bring our consumers and everyone here for this?
22:31
SPEAKER_01: So it is so enlightening.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: Like you guys people need community, yeah.
22:35
SPEAKER_01: They do.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: So we have a live band, we have horseback riding, trail riding, we have mechanical bowl, we have a hat bar, we have cigars, we have everything you can imagine out there.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: And it's amazing how many people from all over the United States fly in for this girl.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: We flew in, they flew in on the plane this morning.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: And then we get locals, and it's so it's consumers, producers.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, I get like my HEB person supposed to come today.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: It's all it's all of that supposed to be coming.
23:05
SPEAKER_02: Mike, my challenge, Mike Challenge.
23:07
SPEAKER_01: We're uh we're doing it uh we're uh deciding to just bring that same community base back to my consumers' community.
23:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
23:16
SPEAKER_01: Because consumers need to see it live in action and they need to be present where there's the same producers that the cattle came from, the same processor in a room, the same distributor in a room with the family.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: And it's a whole different kind of community because I I I believe that's the meat that we want to eat, right?
23:38
SPEAKER_01: Over a label of organic that I'm gonna be honest comes from large, large operations or able label of grass-fed or all natural.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: We want to eat the meat that's coming from our community.
23:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
23:50
SPEAKER_02: And that's the goal of the meat.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: That's almost like if we can just cipher through as consumers, it's not just a label, but yeah, recognizing the family name.
23:58
SPEAKER_02: I know I grew up in a small community and we knew the ranchers, we got it butchered in our town, we filled up our freezer for six months, you split the cow with somebody.
24:07
SPEAKER_02: Like we that was the way I grew up and how we bought our meat.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: But for those that don't have access to maybe the freezer space or the local, like, what are some of those practical tips you can help people to like and one of the I because I also know the other thing to talk about is you guys are expanding nationally.
24:27
SPEAKER_02: That was where my train of thought was going earlier.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: Cisco, HEB, like tell us more.
24:33
SPEAKER_02: What are number one, what are some practical tips that consumers can use to look at a package if they don't have access to direct order from a ranch?
24:41
SPEAKER_02: Or two, what are some of the wins you guys are having to expand your reach?
24:45
SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of it when you go into grocery store, it's kind of hard to read the labels.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
24:48
SPEAKER_01: It's really, really difficult, and it's intentional.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: It's intentional for you just to pick up and go.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: You know, they don't want you reading the labels.
24:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm guilty of it, and I'm a food scientist, so it is.
25:06
SPEAKER_01: We have our list, we're going to the grocery store with our list, we checked it off, and we're gone.
25:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
25:11
SPEAKER_01: But if we just breathe for a minute and we look at the label, there is where that meat's come from from the label.
25:19
SPEAKER_01: And it's just another one step just to take that time and look at it.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: And generally, if it is much cheaper, generally it is not American meat.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say that like it's very timely because there is some meat that's being discounted, I believe, coming from across the board.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: And it's probably not that fresh.
25:36
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: If you think about it, it's probably been sitting overseas for a while.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Right?
25:41
SPEAKER_01: And when it's sitting overseas for a while and it comes here, I can't even tell you how aged it is.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: And I like to age my meat.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: Don't get me wrong, I age it hanging.
25:48
SPEAKER_01: And we age all of our meat hanging, and that's a different kind of age than aging it in a freezer.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: Aging it in the freezer that way in the right storage.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: Right.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: So we really just need to just breathe and take a look at that and see where our meat's coming from and understand that that's not going into our economy.
26:07
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, we need to look at what's supporting our economy because when you go back to your employee and you want a pay raise, or if you go back and you want something, it's hard for us to get that if you're not supporting us.
26:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: So it's a it's a train effect.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: And I understand there's ways, and I've done my new thing is how do we take something and stretch it?
26:28
SPEAKER_01: Right?
26:28
SPEAKER_01: It's hard times right now for everyone.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: So, how can you stretch a piece of ground beef?
26:32
SPEAKER_01: How can you stretch we add black beans to it in our house?
26:36
SPEAKER_01: Right.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: Add some rice, some vegetables, some vegetables, make a pasta salad out of it.
26:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're gonna have to get there because I understand ground beef is expensive.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: I do, and I get it's hard for people to consume as much beef as there was before.
26:51
SPEAKER_01: But we got to really talk about when my parents were raised me, raising us, because we definitely didn't just have ground beef on a plate by itself, right?
26:59
SPEAKER_01: We definitely had it paired with other things that made it filling and flavorful and delicious.
27:05
SPEAKER_01: So it's it's and balance we need to do it, right?
27:08
SPEAKER_01: In the balance.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: So that's one thing.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: And then just in general, for the localness, when you're looking at it, right?
27:15
SPEAKER_01: And I understand that I love everyone to buy Ratcliffe Premium Meats.
27:19
SPEAKER_01: Don't get me wrong, but I can't feed America.
27:22
SPEAKER_01: And I I love it that when someone we will try, but we will try, but I love it when someone comes to me and they say, Well, I just bought from my local producer.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: I said, That is awesome.
27:32
SPEAKER_03: That's a win.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: That's a win.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: That's a win.
27:34
SPEAKER_01: That's a win for me.
27:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: Right?
27:37
SPEAKER_01: And and I I love hearing that story.
27:39
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, you can still buy from Rackliff, but if you're buying from your local, continue.
27:43
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: Continue buying it, continue supporting them because you're supporting me.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's like hopefully the local take of all producers.
27:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: Right.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: Because then that's how we make a change.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: We make a change in the way consumers look at local.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Right?
28:03
SPEAKER_01: They think of us as a community that we are branded together instead of branded separately.
28:09
SPEAKER_01: And we're not like the big three or four, however you want to count, how many you want to count?
28:13
SPEAKER_01: Some people say three, some people say four.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: But we're not like them, that they're so competitive that they they're trying to monopolize everything they say, right?
28:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, so we got to really analyze that.
28:23
SPEAKER_01: And I think because of that, that I've and I really speak out of that, that's what made me become more nationally known as a product.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: Right?
28:31
SPEAKER_02: Which to be that as a platform, like to represent the local food supply chain, I think is a powerful place to make it.
28:40
SPEAKER_01: That's really what I want.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: I want everyone to see me as local.
28:44
SPEAKER_01: And if you have access to me, absolutely buy me.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
28:48
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely buy me.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have access to me, buy local.
28:52
SPEAKER_02: And keep an eye out for Ratcliffe premium meats across the nation.
28:56
SPEAKER_02: Across the nation.
28:57
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: So I would be, I always get this wrong.
29:01
SPEAKER_02: I always want to say amiss, but it's remiss.
29:04
SPEAKER_02: I would be remiss if I don't ask you, because this is women who make it.
29:08
SPEAKER_02: Right.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: And there are not a lot of women in ranching.
29:13
SPEAKER_02: No.
29:13
SPEAKER_02: And there's not a lot of black women in ranching.
29:16
SPEAKER_02: And for our listeners, I think it's really important that you share what that experience has been like.
29:24
SPEAKER_02: Right.
29:24
SPEAKER_02: Who has supported you through this?
29:26
SPEAKER_02: Because it's hard enough to make it as a woman in a male-dominated industry, but you take it one step back into agriculture or into ranching, and it's a whole nother culture people don't realize.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: And I'm curious how you support.
29:39
SPEAKER_01: Like it it honestly, it is the so refreshing.
29:43
SPEAKER_01: This community here in Freestone County, as soon as I do something, they're like putting me on like the front page.
29:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's not necessarily just the people that look like me.
29:55
SPEAKER_01: I think it's just because they haven't had anyone that's that's taking this little town butler nationally.
30:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
30:03
SPEAKER_01: And I am so proud to come back and say, these are the people that's helping me make national.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: Like these are my roots, right?
30:11
SPEAKER_01: It's not Kim Ratcliffe doing it, it's this community.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think it's and I honestly I think it started when my first day I came back from school and they drove up.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: Remember, they drove up, right?
30:22
SPEAKER_01: And they were looking for someone like me.
30:25
SPEAKER_01: That's how I felt.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: And even when it comes to some things that this community needs assistance with, because of these national recognitions and some of the government connections I have, I'm quick to call them.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: So it's for me using my resources, not just for me.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: And everyone in my community knows that.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the support I get, which is beautiful.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: And everyone loves to see that their meat might be on someone's plate.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: Right.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: It's and it's good to know that I don't sit here and say I raise all the cattle.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: I don't sit here and say I raise all the feed.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: I sit here and say my community raises it.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: And when they see that, they can go into any product that I'm in and they'd be like, this might be my steak.
31:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
31:16
SPEAKER_03: It takes it takes a bit.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: I think that's the pride I want in the community, and that's sustainable.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: Right?
31:23
SPEAKER_01: And it's sustainable because that's how generational wealth is built, not just for me, yeah, but for the whole community.
31:32
SPEAKER_01: It's built for their kids.
31:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:34
SPEAKER_01: Because now they're living for something more than just taking something to the cell barn, getting their money, and then never knowing where it goes.
31:43
SPEAKER_01: The cycle ends.
31:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: The cycle ends.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: The cycle never ends with me.
31:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: The cycle continues until it's in someone's tummy.
31:50
SPEAKER_02: You said something so powerful though, and that's using using your resources to help others.
31:56
SPEAKER_02: And I even within Females in Food, we talk about this all the time of we all have an innate gift, skill set, strength that we can offer to somebody else.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: Right.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: And I think too often we don't look inside to what our own light is that can be shining outward.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: And I think it's powerful to just share that, to say these are the resources that I'm able to share.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to die with my resources.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: What does that mean?
32:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're not helping anybody.
32:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can't help anyone.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: So help them while you're here on earth.
32:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: But with every resource you can, right?
32:30
SPEAKER_01: Now I tell people I'm an open book, but my financing.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: So as long as you don't want to know what's in my bank account, we are right.
32:37
SPEAKER_01: So that's the key.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: It's like you can ask me anyone, anything almost, and I'm gonna help.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: Because Ratcliffe's premium meat success is everyone's success.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: It's every local producer's success.
32:48
SPEAKER_01: It's every local grain person's success.
32:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's what I hope the mission is.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
32:55
SPEAKER_02: And the mission is.
32:56
SPEAKER_02: And I think even as we think about sustainability for the broader food and beverage industry and the lessons that can be taken away for other companies to have that pride, that pride in community, those who are doubling down and not forgetting that this is And I love to tell the story about how my parents allowed me to make mistakes on this journey.
33:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: For the listeners, I just literally got to meet her dad.
33:17
SPEAKER_02: And the sweetest, he's the sweetest guy.
33:20
SPEAKER_01: But I'll be honest with you, we would sit there and I would tell him what I want to do.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: He's like, okay, let's try it.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: He's like, don't cost too much money, right?
33:29
SPEAKER_01: But I think success is based on mistakes sometimes, right?
33:33
SPEAKER_01: Navigating mistakes.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: And as a like, I call my parents, they're really my CEOs, right?
33:39
SPEAKER_01: Because this is their ranch.
33:41
SPEAKER_01: They're allowing me to run the ranch that they had a dream of that I don't think meat was ever.
33:47
SPEAKER_01: My dad always teases me.
33:48
SPEAKER_01: He's like, I always wanted the animals alive.
33:51
SPEAKER_01: You want them dead.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: He always teases like everyone that comes here is like, I don't understand that.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: She came here and she's like, she wanted all my animals dead, and I don't know what to do.
34:02
SPEAKER_01: So, and and but that philosophy, he realized I might be able to make more money, dad, with them dead.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: I know that's a harsh way to think of it, right?
34:10
SPEAKER_01: But that's just our our like little conversation about it.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: But and he's like, you proved to me that we could make more money.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: Are you guys are you doing your own processing?
34:20
SPEAKER_01: So we partner with a processor.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, East Texas Processing, we have dedicated dates because we do 30 to 40 a week.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: Wow, okay, right right now.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: So we have our old dedicated, they had to do a whole another line for us.
34:32
SPEAKER_01: So we have a whole night line.
34:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the Rackcliffe line.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: I like that.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we have a whole line um for us on on usually Monday through Thursdays.
34:41
SPEAKER_01: No.
34:41
SPEAKER_01: So we can get those Buckhead Cisco meat out the door for them.
34:45
SPEAKER_01: Go find it.
34:46
SPEAKER_02: Go find Cisco.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: And if it's not and you're a restaurant person and you want it, call Buckheads or Cisco and say you want Rackcliffe Premium Meats.
34:53
SPEAKER_01: We are you guys gotta ask for it.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: That's how change happens.
34:56
SPEAKER_03: That's how you do it.
34:57
SPEAKER_01: It's it's for me, it's a big push with the sales rep.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: I I had the honor of actually speaking at the Texas national sales rep meeting.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: And I was the only speaker.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: And it was an honor to do that because I am their big push for Texas beef.
35:10
SPEAKER_01: So, with that being said, it's a lot with me to go out to the Salesforce and to change their mind.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: So I had the honor of replacing another meat company that has the same number in their name.
35:23
SPEAKER_01: They have two numbers and they have farm after it.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: I'll let you guys figure out what that is.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: So I had the honor.
35:31
SPEAKER_01: I had the honor of replacing that brand.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: But now I have to educate the consumer on what we're doing right now.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: What are you doing?
35:40
SPEAKER_01: What we're doing right now, which is fun.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: It's now educated like we have the producers, we're educating consumers.
35:45
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm educating those in the restaurant world about what Rackley Premium Meat's about.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: And it's changing that mindset again of you know, we with what I get, I can still get the high quality.
35:57
SPEAKER_01: We do premium choice.
35:58
SPEAKER_01: That's really our area of expertise, is that premium choice area.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: But it's a premium choice with the story that you probably always wanted to have.
36:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: And I think the more the consumer across the board from a retail and food service lens can get closer back to that producer, right?
36:13
SPEAKER_01: You know, in a time that we're all looking for more trust and transparency through our food supply chain, you know, I think that's where And I think more companies are going to have to do that, not just any company that you're with, right?
36:27
SPEAKER_01: No, I mean you might, a consumer might be a different name than a producer.
36:32
SPEAKER_01: It might be, I don't know, within your system, you have to feel like who feel find out who's making that product.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: So just like me, if I go into a restaurant, I want to know waitress staff.
36:43
SPEAKER_01: Like it's the same situation because those waitress staffs are the ones that are going to actually sell my product.
36:48
unknown: Yeah.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: So when I went last time, I asked them, can I speak to your waitress staff?
36:51
SPEAKER_01: I would love to meet them.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: Right?
36:54
SPEAKER_01: So I think we're put a face to name, they can sell my stuff.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: It's great to meet the chef.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: It's great to meet everyone else because they're cooking it.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: But they're but if that waitress staff gets to sit down with me and hear the story that I'm staying, yeah, that's my sell.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: That's your salesperson.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: That's my salesperson.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: So we got to think philosophy differently across the board.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then that's the salesperson that's gonna be like, oh, my family, this and that.
37:17
SPEAKER_01: Before you know it, you have a whole long story.
37:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: So the way we're selling, the way we're presenting our product, all has to have a different philosophy now.
37:26
SPEAKER_01: Number one, we already talked about the prices increase.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: So we got to change that price value into the story value.
37:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: Right?
37:33
SPEAKER_01: So convert that price value into a story value, and then it's worth this, it's worth its value.
37:39
SPEAKER_02: And then doubling that in a time that like people don't know what like the level of I mean, we are looking for the authenticity and realness of everything in our life because I I do feel like between what's happening with AI and digitization, we are looking for that human connection even more.
37:57
SPEAKER_02: And I think that holds true for what we want out of our food supply chain.
38:01
SPEAKER_02: You even see it how it's being marketed.
38:03
SPEAKER_02: I know PepsiCo has been running big advertisements and showing they're opening up their factory doors and showing how their food is made for.
38:09
SPEAKER_02: For better or worse, you're gonna get opinions on both sides of the table.
38:13
SPEAKER_01: But at least, you know, showing and if it's the worst, you explain like this is the system.
38:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
38:19
SPEAKER_01: Like processing a cow is not necessarily the most it's it's a it's a process, yeah, right?
38:24
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's important that people see the process.
38:26
SPEAKER_01: And some people say, I just don't want to see that process, but I will eat it.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
38:31
SPEAKER_01: But there is a process in everything that we do, and it's not necessarily um glamour all the time.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: But that's process is to get the meat on your table in the best sustainable way possible.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what we have to really preach is how do we get a product the most sustainable way?
38:52
SPEAKER_01: And when I and sustainable, I always tell people, it's it's best practices on the ground, but it's best practices in your company too.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: So I think we have to say sustainability is not just because we have we're dry, but we're green.
39:07
SPEAKER_01: We're one of the few people that are probably so green on our pastor because of the way we manage our pastor.
39:12
SPEAKER_01: But I feel like I'm just as green in my in my in my office too, because the way I manage my what the way my employees, and I don't like to say managed, because um the way we run, because we're a team.
39:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: Every time we get on there, I go, we're a team.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just I'm just a team member like everyone else.
39:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
39:29
SPEAKER_02: I can agree.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: I couldn't agree more.
39:31
SPEAKER_02: And I even on the way out we were talking about what would the younger self tell us about being a leader?
39:35
SPEAKER_02: Like, what was the one thing you overestimated?
39:38
SPEAKER_02: My personal answer was like, I don't enjoy managing people.
39:43
SPEAKER_02: And it's the truth, as much as like the younger version of myself would have said, I want to be an executive, and you get there and you realize I like working amongst a team.
39:54
SPEAKER_02: And I think if we can all start changing our mindset around, yes, there's a level of accountability and responsibilities that come with running a business, but ultimately I'm looking for team members that can hold hold their weight and really challenge me as a leader, bring me the, you know, bring challenges and solutions and be an active piece of that platform.
40:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm a big um person and like right now, I'm sitting here with you guys, and my team members doing an awesome job.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: You guys don't even see the production that's happening on the other side of the computer.
40:23
SPEAKER_01: But it's just it's just an amazing thing.
40:26
SPEAKER_01: And I will honestly tell you, because I know I am a rarity in this industry, I've hired many rarities under my umbrella to show that we are a rarity at a company now.
40:38
SPEAKER_01: And that's another mission I have, right?
40:40
SPEAKER_01: Because I think I I know for a fact that we're talented, I know for a fact that we we haven't had our chance in this industry.
40:47
SPEAKER_01: And I know for a fact it's my responsibility to show that.
40:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
40:50
SPEAKER_01: To show it in every aspect that I can in this business.
40:54
SPEAKER_01: Because if you're a rarity and you're not showing other people that look like you can do just be just as bad as you, then there's an issue.
41:04
unknown: Yeah.
41:04
SPEAKER_01: So when you go up there today, you're gonna see all the rarities that are out there, and hopefully it won't be called rarity anymore.
41:10
SPEAKER_01: Right.
41:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, hopefully we'll all be we just people leading with one another.
41:15
SPEAKER_01: It won't be a second glance, because I do get those second glances.
41:17
SPEAKER_01: It won't be that second glance anymore.
41:19
SPEAKER_01: It'd just be a glance and be like, hey, so that's they're to celebrate together.
41:24
SPEAKER_01: That's what leadership's about.
41:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
41:26
SPEAKER_01: That's my definition of leadership.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: It's how do you bring a team together that's diverse?
41:32
SPEAKER_01: That's what a leadership should be about.
41:35
SPEAKER_01: It's not about bringing a team together to try to manage and micromanage and do all that stuff.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: No, it's to bring a team about diversity because if I didn't have diversity up there, we all have the same opinions.
41:46
unknown: Yeah.
41:46
SPEAKER_01: And believe me, we butt heads as a team and they'll tell me I'm wrong.
41:49
SPEAKER_01: And I I love it.
41:51
SPEAKER_01: I love it when they tell me I'm wrong sometimes, right?
41:54
SPEAKER_01: And I'll have to admit, you guys are right.
41:57
SPEAKER_01: That's the team.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: Team leader can't be one that says they're not right off their right all the time.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: Makes us stronger as a team.
42:02
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it does.
42:03
SPEAKER_02: It does.
42:04
SPEAKER_02: Okay, rapid fire.
42:05
SPEAKER_02: Favorite cut of meat.
42:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, sirloin.
42:08
SPEAKER_02: Uh, one thing you want little girls to take away from your business as they watch your journey.
42:14
SPEAKER_02: Let life navigate you, you not navigate life.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: I like that one.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: And if you're not eating meat, you're eating.
42:21
SPEAKER_02: Ooh, what am I eating?
42:23
SPEAKER_01: What am I eating if I'm not eating meat?
42:27
SPEAKER_01: Potatoes for a reason.
42:28
SPEAKER_01: Because that goes with meat.
42:29
SPEAKER_01: Potatoes and meat, you can't, you gotta have both of those.
42:32
SPEAKER_01: What do you eat for breakfast?
42:33
SPEAKER_01: Egg bites.
42:35
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
42:35
SPEAKER_01: I love egg bites with all beef sausage.
42:38
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
42:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:39
SPEAKER_02: And what's the one thing that excites you the most about the next 12 months in front of you?
42:45
SPEAKER_01: The blessings that have come upon me.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: And I'm excited to see where Ratcliffe goes.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: I have, I honestly have to tell you guys, if you asked me a year ago, I wouldn't be here.
42:55
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be distributing where I am.
42:57
SPEAKER_01: And I think because I'm living the moment, I'm letting experiences come to me.
43:03
SPEAKER_01: And I'm saying yes to many of them and no to some.
43:07
SPEAKER_01: And I'm learning to navigate.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: I love, I'm excited about navigating this new experience that I've never been in.
43:13
SPEAKER_01: And I think most local have it.
43:17
SPEAKER_01: And how do I still stay local with a national appearance?
43:21
SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm excited about because I think that's possible.
43:26
SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of people are telling me, Kim, you're gonna get so big that you can't be local anymore.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: And that's not what I'm gonna show as a brand.
43:32
SPEAKER_01: And I want to show that roots.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I can show that we can still be local and still have a national appearance in places.
43:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
43:40
SPEAKER_01: That's when I'm excited to maybe be this case on how local will change the way they look.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: We're doing a research project on the definition of local.
43:49
SPEAKER_01: Because the definition of local is no longer just because you're here in this 100-mile radius.
43:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: What does that mean?
43:55
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
43:56
SPEAKER_01: What does it mean?
43:57
SPEAKER_01: So that's what I'm excited to navigate.
43:59
SPEAKER_02: Made in America.
44:01
SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
44:01
SPEAKER_02: What does that mean?
44:02
SPEAKER_02: We're going, we're going back to, yeah.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: So that's what I'm really excited about is navigating this new localness and how can we now take a local to a national platform that they the big four aren't known as much, but these are locals are known.
44:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love that.
44:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
44:18
SPEAKER_02: Well, so much to look forward to.
44:20
SPEAKER_02: Also, the last time you and I met, you shared a secret project that you were working on.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: Where is that?
44:24
SPEAKER_02: Where I can't, I don't think I can reveal it.
44:26
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
44:26
SPEAKER_02: I'm working on my book.
44:28
SPEAKER_02: Is that what it was?
44:28
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
44:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's it's can we talk about that?
44:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, I'll I'll tell you it's coming.
44:33
SPEAKER_01: Or do we need to edit this part out?
44:35
SPEAKER_01: No, you don't have to edit it.
44:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's a long process.
44:38
SPEAKER_01: It's a long process, but you're writing.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: I don't realize books are hard.
44:41
SPEAKER_01: Books are hard.
44:42
SPEAKER_01: Like you're pulling me, like you're asking me how did I birth myself almost?
44:47
SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, when you were born, how'd you feel?
44:49
SPEAKER_01: Like it's and who has you also have to create a lot of white space to sit down.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: But it's so fulfilling because it is pulling things out of me that is making me better.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:00
SPEAKER_01: I really think if you could write, not necessarily like even a it's like me writing my journal, right?
45:06
SPEAKER_01: I'm sitting down every day with my team, my book team, and pulling things out of me, that emotions out of me that's making me a better person.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited for this book because it's really, I'm gonna be honest with you, it's really gonna be good.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: Our readers can have that to look forward to.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: Not that, not that I want to be able to do that.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of taking, I'll give you a little teaser.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of taking what I've learned in this ag world of navigating being a woman in this business, and taking it where anyone in ag and outside of ag can navigate life.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: Right?
45:38
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of lessons there.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: So taking these lessons that are the grass, the roots, the the cattle, and how I navigated to make a business and how you can take those resources and navigate life.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna come back and do a whole nother podcast.
45:53
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
45:53
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: Well, Kim, this has been such an honor.
45:57
SPEAKER_02: And the fun is just beginning.
45:59
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna show you all, follow along.
46:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, there'll be some fun captions from the event that we'll uh that we'll grab as well.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: But the the party.
46:07
SPEAKER_02: They're coming in.
46:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
46:08
SPEAKER_02: I'm watching these cars pass by right now.
46:10
SPEAKER_02: We gotta wrap it up.
46:11
SPEAKER_02: We gotta party to get a let's party.
46:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's sing some.
46:15
SPEAKER_02: And it was also her birthday week this week.
46:17
SPEAKER_02: And so at the end of the day, we're not just making food, we're making moves.
46:21
SPEAKER_02: We're women who make it.
46:22
SPEAKER_02: And so glad to have you guys here.
46:24
SPEAKER_02: Be sure to like, comment, and share this episode so that we can reach even more women who are making it out there.
46:31
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for listening to Women Who Make It.
46:34
SPEAKER_02: If today's episode inspired you, please follow the podcast so you never miss one of these powerful conversations.
46:40
SPEAKER_02: And we would also love your help in growing this community by sharing the show with friends and colleagues because together, our stories can create change.
46:49
SPEAKER_02: For even more connection and inspiration, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at femalesandfood.community.
46:56
SPEAKER_02: Or join our global community of women by visiting the website femalesandfood.community.
47:02
SPEAKER_02: We're not just making food, we're making moves.
47:04
SPEAKER_02: We're women who make it.