Progressive Cattle Podcast: Recent Episodes
Progressive Cattle editors
Progressive Cattle editors David Cooper and Cassidy Woolsey sit down with “Irons in the Fire” columnist Paul Marchant to chew the cud on current events in the beef industry, preview the upcoming edition of the magazine, and interview some good friends from the ag community.
In this episode, Zoetis's Dylan Preston and producer Andrea Severtson-Flemming discuss the benefits of genetic testing on commercial operations. David Cooper also talks with UNL-Lincoln ranch management specialist Aaron Berger on systems management and also the value of heifers for an operation. Then, the team discusses Tyrell's trip to the BIF Symposium in Calgary and concludes with a recap of their Independence Day celebrations, including ... wait, this can't be right ... porcupine races?
On this episode of the podcast sponsored by Zinpro, join David, Carrie, Paul and Allyson for a preview of the July issue of Progressive Cattle and the annual beef statistics poster. David tests the podcast team on just how well they know U.S. and global beef statistics. Also, Cassidy Woolsey interviews management guru Don Tyler on the principles of emotional intelligence in working with your teams. Tyrell Marchant also visits with Larry Johnson about the costs you can expect this year in feed shipping.
In this episode, Clay Burtrum, a commercial cow-calf producer in Oklahoma, shares his experience with a two-year virtual fencing project with Oklahoma State University. He discusses everything from price, ease of use, and current challenges. Lastly, Elliott Dennis, an economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, discusses today’s high cattle prices and how, when adjusted for inflation, the prices have not surpassed the 2013-2015 levels. And new Progressive Cattle intern Allyson Dalton introduces herself to the podcast team. You won’t want to miss it!
In this episode, Paul visits with Dave Nichols, an emeritus professor at Kansas State University about his experiences as a livestock judge and educator, discussing opportunities to bridge the gap between agriculture and consumers. David also visits with K-State ag economist Ted Schroeder about the changing elements in the cattle markets, and the potential pitfalls of mandating cash cattle markets. David, Paul and Carrie also share a preview of the November issue, and share what they're grateful for this Thanksgiving season.
David, Carrie and Tyrell provide a rundown of AgProud.com, the new ag supersite that is now Progressive Cattle's home. Then Tyrell checks in from the National Red Angus Convention in Kalispell, Montana. Red Angus Association of America CEO Tom Brink shares details of a survey of the feeder cattle industry that indicates producers are looking to move past skin-deep methods of cattle evaluation. RAAA commercial marketing specialist Nolan Woodruff also weighs in with the latest data for hosting a successful bull sale. The episode concludes with a riveting conversation about the spaces occupied in American culture by plant-based meat and the British royal family.
In this episode, two guests from the great state of Texas join Tyrell. Ag attorney Kyle Weldon discusses open range and fence laws, and Texas A&M’s Jason Banta weighs in on cow-calf nutrition. Carrie, Paul and David discuss county fairs and the recession, then debate the merits of the Top Gun franchise.
In this episode, Cassidy Woolsey visits with Rosslyn Biggs from Oklahoma State University about the shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and some of the challenges graduating vet students face in today's climate of inflation, job demand and crushing student debt. Biggs also shares some details about Oklahoma State's networking and mentoring program for vet students and established veterinarians. Carrie, Tyrell and Paul talk about their plans for summer and some summertime traditions including fair season and, at least for residents of Council, Idaho, porcupine racing.
David visits with University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s ag economist Elliott Dennis on the values that can be captured through flexible grazing leases based on land output, fed cattle prices or other factors. David, Paul and Tyrell discuss heat waves in the Midwest, and Paul shares details about his visit to a new packing facility with Intermountain Packing in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
This month's guest is Jason Medows, creator and host of the Ag State of Mind podcast. He visits with Cassidy about mental health in agriculture and how producers can be proactive, ways to better deal with some of the stresses that come with job, and how to help children and teens. You'll also want to stay tuned for his rule of 2 and rule of 5. Then, hear from our newest Progressive Cattle team member, Tyrell Marchant, as he, David and Paul discuss cow herd liquidation and the most memorable Father's Day gifts.
To listen to the Ag State of Mind podcast and find other mental health resources, visit https://agstateofmind.com/
In this episode, David and Carrie visit with meteorologist Matt Makens about what Mother Nature has in store for producers this year. All indications point to a La Nina-leaning neutral year for weather, which means the drought in the West will persist, and that the timing of precipitation will be critical for crop farmers this year, especially the Corn Belt. Makens also goes into more detail on how weather patterns are analyzed and forecasts are made. Also, Carrie, Paul and production editor Sarah Hernandez share their favorite – or least favorite – things about springtime.
To read more weather reports from Matt Makens, visit makensweather.com.
In this episode, Carrie and Paul chat with Texas A&M ag economist David Anderson about the state of global corn and wheat supplies in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its potential impact on beef producers, along with trends in the beef market and different factors that influence consumer demand. Also, Carrie, Paul and Cassidy offer a sneak peak of the April issue and debate their favorite seasonal treats.
The Progressive Cattle podcast editors deliver their third and final podcast from the NCBA Cattle Industry Convention in Houston.
In this episode,
Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax discusses the impact of beef quality on consumer demand, packer dynamics, market transparency, and some of the leverage beef producers are going to have in the cattle markets.
John Stika, president of Certified Angus Beef, talks about market premiums and the growth of beef quality and demand. He also discusses the growth of beef demand in international markets, especially in Asia.
Tommy Perkins, Dean Hawkins Chair for Cow-Calf Management at West Texas A&M, shares his experiences with the challenges in higher education and preparing the younger generation to join the workforce.
Tanner Beymer, Director of Government Affairs and Market Regulatory Policy for NCBA, discusses the process behind NCBA's price discovery and market transparency policy, and dives into NCBA’s stance on government mandates regarding cattle marketing and the formation of a cattle contract library.
The Progressive Cattle podcast editors deliver their second of three podcasts from the NCBA Cattle Industry Convention in Houston.
In this episode,
Rick Kuhn, owner of Thunder View Farms in Grahamsville, New York, talks about practices that earned an Environmental Stewardship Award honor, and the positives of the farm’s proximity to New York City.
Ron Scott, Purina Animal Nutrition’s director of beef technical innovation, speaks on immunity factors related to nutrition plans, and leaky gut syndrome.
Kelli Retallik, president of Angus Genetics Inc., shares thoughts about beef on dairy genetic trends in the cattle industry today.
And Brian Earnest, lead economist for CoBank on animal protein, talks on consumer spending trends, beef demand index, and beef packer expansion.
David, Paul and Carrie report their first of three podcasts from the NCBA Cattle Industry Convention in Houston.
Interviews are with Travis Arp of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, Shaye Koester of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, Samantha Augustine with Northeast Beef Promotions Initiative, and Cameron Mulroney, executive vice president of Idaho Cattle Association.
Joining David, Cassidy and Paul on this episode is Lee Jones, an associate professor of beef cattle production medicine with the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He discusses everything from discovering problematic patterns in calving season to balancing modified live and killed vaccines in the cowherd. Also, the Progressive Cattle podcast hosts share their thoughts on President Biden’s plan to improve beef market competition, as well as their now-irrelevant Super Bowl picks.
Cassidy, Paul and David visit with University of Missouri assistant extension professor Jordan Thomas on the management variabilities that producers can prepare for in a given year. Whether it be for calving, forage or marketing, cattle producers can sometimes be their own worst enemies in managing for profit. Thomas applies system thinking that helps minimize risk. The Progressive Cattle podcast hosts also discuss the outlook for the new year.
David, Cassidy, Paul and Carrie discuss the end of 2021; and David chats with Oklahoma State's Derrell Peel about supply issues and inflation; Hector Menendez of South Dakota State introduces new model system thinking for event challenges such as drought. Cassidy shares the journey to adopting their family's first child.
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David, Paul and Carrie visit with Troy Marshall, director of commercial relations for the American Angus Association, about the Genetic Merit Scorecard and its use for predicting the performance on a pen of calves, and how the scorecard adds value with higher participation among producers participating.
The hosts also discuss growing concerns about the U.S. supply chain for production and manufacturing, and what they’re prepared to keep and avoid for upcoming Thanksgiving.
Join Paul, David and Carrie as they attend the 2021 Red Angus Association convention in Boise, Idaho; and engage in discussions with RAAA CEO Tom Brink about trends within the breed; Ryan Boldt discusses data use in the association for breed improvement; and marketing specialists Katie Martin and Rachel Oliver share their presentation on bull sale data gathered at Red Angus livestock sales over a five-year period.
David, Cassidy and Carrie preview the September issue of Progressive Cattle in the final podcast from NCBA convention in Nashville. In this episode Steve and Joy Wooten of the Beatty Canyon Ranch share their methods that earned the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award for soil and water conservation at their Colorado ranch. Dustin Aherin of Rabo AgriFinance drops by to provide inside on the industry’s work through the fed cattle backlog of 2020 and how it’s shaping up for a positive price outlook in late 2021. And from the Noble Research Institute, CEO Steve Rhines and Hugh Aljoe, director of producer relations, share the institute’s greater focus on regenerative farming and ranching, and how it fits with the original vision of the founders, and how these methods can result in more effective sustainability with actual results.
CattleFax CEO Randy Blach stops by to is it with Progressive Cattle Editors in the second of three podcasts from the NCBA convention in Nashville. Randy shares how leverage is looking to change toward the cow-calf producer as the supply chain sees lower cow and cattle numbers, and a look at how more packing facilities and shackle space is on the horizon. Mitch Blanding of Zoetis and Ted Perry of Purina come to explain Purina’s new Purina Plus program to utilize nutrition planning with several pharmaceutical companies’ herd health protocols. And Catltemen’s Beef Board Chair Hugh Sanburg drops by to discuss Beef Checkoff success in its 35 years of promoting beef demand.
The Progressive Cattle team hits the road at NCBA in Nashville visiting presenters of Cattlemen’s College. Emily Solis of Animal Agriculture Alliance explains preparing for animal activists hitting your ranch; Jessica Gilreath of Texas A&M University shares research of sustainable practices directly beneficial to cow-calf production; Jason Sawyer of King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management dives into decisions that sort the manageable as opposed to the unmanageable; and Kent Swisher of the North America Renders Association about the role they play in the sustainability picture for beef production in all phases of rendering.
Cassidy and David visit with Bob Milligan, a senior consultant with Dairy Strategies LLC, who shares his insight on working with cattle ranchers and those in ag related to business management. Also get to know Kate James, Progressive Cattle’s summer intern, and what goes into her work with the publication.
Paul, Cassidy and David spend some time talking on market dynamics with Tanner Beymer, NCBA’s director of government affairs and market regulatory policy. Just how far has NCBA membership moved toward price discovery reform in recent years?
Listen in as David, Cassidy and Paul talk about the magic of grazing with the executive director for the Texas Grazing Land Coalition, Jenny Pluhar. Do you know what grows on your ranch? Should you really take half, leave half? And, do you really need 16-plus pastures to do rotational grazing effectively? All of these things and more are discussed in this episode.
Paul, Cassidy and David put their taste buds and palate for real beef to the test with a blind taste test of Burger King’s traditional Whopper and the fake meat in the Impossible Whopper.
In this episode, Colorado-based chief meteorologist and drought planning consultant Brian Bledsoe shares his weather forecast for the coming months, as well as the importance of having a drought plan. He also lists a few things to include in the drought planning process – one being forage insurance.
On this episode of the Progressive Cattle podcast, Frank Mitloehner, professor of animal science and air quality specialist at the University of California, Davis, discusses beef’s roll in climate change. What battles should beef producers fight? Is climate change real? And, is biodiversity the next “Achilles’ heel” in animal agriculture? You won’t want to miss it.
Joining us on this episode of the Progressive Cattle podcast is Ranch House Designs’ founder Rachel Cutrer. She shares social media tips, how much you should include in your marketing budget and ways she has seen seedstock producers adjust during the pandemic.
And, did Paul really say he takes oxytetracycline (OTC)? Yes, yes he did.
This episode's sponsor is King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management.
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Join David, Cassidy and Paul as they look back at 10 years of Progressive Cattle and what was happening in the beef industry when the magazine got its start. You’ll also hear special guest Elliott Dennis, a livestock economist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, wrap up this year’s cattle markets and what he forecasts for the first quarter of 2021.
David and Cassidy chat with our own Irons in the Fire columnist and podcast contributor, Paul Marchant, about his newly published book, “Musics of a Would-be Renaissance Cowboy.” The book is a collection of Paul’s columns for Progressive Cattle and its sister magazines. He shares the inspirations that have helped his career in ranching and how collecting that experience and learning about others helped shape his new book. The editors also chat about major events of 2020 and where the beef industry goes into 2021.
David, Paul and Progressive Cattle editor Carrie Veselka visit with Hugh Aljoe, a range and pasture consultant and director of producer relations at the Noble Research Institute. Hugh discusses those common hurdles that producers see when buying new equipment, adopting new record-keeping programs, and building a mindset for data and analytics. He additionally shares how the pandemic has affected producer attitudes in the past months.
Join Paul, David and Cassidy on the Progressive Cattle podcast for a visit with the legendary cowboy poet and performer Baxter Black. Baxter shares a look back on his start in column writing and cowboy poetry, and his connection to his readers and listeners. He also shares a preview of his new series of audiobooks with stories about life and love on the rodeo circuit.
Join David, Cassidy and Paul as they host the podcast from the sound stage at the Cassia County Fair and Rodeo in Burley. Their guest is Randee Munns, a veteran barrel man and rodeo clown who has worked events across the northwest U.S. for almost 40 years, and is still working the circuit at age 70. They discuss the importance of returning to fair events after a long stretch of isolation in the age of coronavirus.
We’ve talked about the challenges the current pandemic has brought to the beef industry, but what about the opportunities? Listen in as David, Cassidy and Paul talk with University of Idaho meat scientist Phil Bass about possible innovation in the cow-calf segment all the way to retail.
Packer segment dynamics - with John Nalivka of Sterling Marketing Inc. joins Paul, David and Cassidy to explain how packers are faring during COVID-19 recovery, monopoly investigations that have begun on packer pricing, and how the industry is catching up with the backlog of cattle that are still waiting to be processed.
Jim Robb, senior analyst with the Livestock Marketing Information Center, visits with David, Cassidy and Paul for a discussion about livestock markets and feed outlook heading into summer 2020. Listen in as Jim addresses slaughter number increases, placements into feedlots, heavier carcass weights, use of the Defense Production Act, packer and labor shortages and the summer plantings for corn.
Join David, Cassidy and Paul as they visit remotely with Kim Brackett, a member of NCBA’s advisory panel for Beef Quality Assurance programs. The four chat about market premiums on BQA, advisory panel discussions on pain management and antimicrobial use, stockmanship seminars for the coming year, and participation in programs among producer segments.
Recruiting and retaining talented employees seems to be a consistent challenge across the beef industry. In this episode David, Cassidy and Paul talk with Rick Machen of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management about a series of articles he wrote for Progressive Cattle on employee management.
Other topics such as social distancing, the stock market and what’s coming up in the April issue are also on the table. You don’t want to miss it!
Join David, Cassidy and Paul as they ask Nebraska cattleman Shane Wobig to weigh in on his experience with the Premium Red Baldy program, a genetically verified partnership between the Red Angus Association of America and the American Hereford Association.
They will also preview the March issue, including articles on easing into artificial insemination, the economics of sexed semen and some insight on how chutes and facilities can perform best with cattle behavior. And, Paul chimes in on calving season and his travel wardrobe woes.
In this final podcast episode from the 2020 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention, editors David Cooper and Cassidy Woolsey visit with NCBA chief executive officer Colin Woodall. Woodall was made new CEO in the fall of 2019, and shares what goes into selecting a location for the NCBA convention; also his perspective on his first months and goals he has for the association; key issues for the industry related to fake meat, exports and price transparency; and some of his own background coming to the new position.
David, Cassidy and Carrie wrap up with their takeaways from a successful 2020 show.
Progressive Cattle editors David Cooper and Cassidy Woolsey share the second of three podcasts from the 2020 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention, this time with presenters from Cattlemen’s College . In this episode, David and Cassidy chat with Michael Bishop, director of strategy for Vytelle and his presentation on in vitro fertilization; Tom Brink, the CEO of the Red Angus Association of America about value programs and balancing management for genetics with marketing; and then talk with Dr. Dusty Abney, a cow-calf consulting nutritionist for Cargill’s nutrition division Provimi.
Join Progressive Cattle editors David Cooper, Cassidy Woolsey and Carrie Veselka from the 2020 National Cattlemen’s Beef Associations Industry Convention and Trade Show. For the first of 3 podcasts. In this version, the editors talk with Will Sawyer of CoBank about Walmart’s decision to get into beef with its processing plant; Dr. Jared Decker from the University of Missouri, about research into traits related to hides for southern climate cattle; and with Dr. Shalene McNeill, NCBA’s executive direction for nutrition science, about the upcoming dietary guidelines.
The Progressive Cattle editors David Cooper, Cassidy Woolsey, and Carrie Veselka kick things off at the 2020 National Cattlemen’s Beef Associations Industry Convention and Trade Show. How is the weather? Is that a taco hat? Listen as they get things started and introduce some of the industry guests from across the industry you can listen to in our three-part podcast episodes.
Join David, Cassidy and Paul as they discuss with Derrell Peel, a livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University, the impacts of the wildfires in Australia and the relevance it has to the U.S. beef industry. Peel also touches on important topics such as China’s new phase one trade deal, as well the economics in importing beef in the U.S.
You’ll also get a sneak peak of the February issue including what is required before moving cattle across state lines, how to make photographing purebred cattle a breeze (or close to it) and ranching in the state of Florida. And, the best lunch at a bull sale is up for debate.
David, Cassidy and Paul launch the first Progressive Cattle podcast with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension specialist Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, host of the Ag Law in the Field podcast, to share management tips producers should consider heading into a new year. They also preview January issue articles focused on dystocia in calving, management tips from the King Ranch Institute, and market news from Range Beef Cow Symposium.