Jason Kraft is the Founder and CEO of Compass Ag Solutions, a Risk Management firm based in his hometown of Ft. Collins, CO. In addition, his family owns and operates Hilltop Hay and Livestock, a diversified family operation that offers high quality hay, cattle and beef to customers in Colorado’s Front Range. We talk market risk, leverage, fed cattle price discovery and asset protection. Throughout his career, Jason has found ways to find solutions to market challenges. Whether it’s his work in ...
Jul 09, 2025•57 min•Ep. 77
Links: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Beef Quality Assurance - BQA Masters of Beef Advocacy Environmental Stewardship Award Program Stockmanship & Stewardship Cattlemen’s College Rancher’s Resilience Grant U S Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Josh White serves as the Sr. Executive Director - Producer Education & Sustainability for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). He is a fourth-generation cattleman whose first experiences with cattle trace back to helping with his ...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 76
Marci Penner has served as executive director of Kansas Sampler Foundation since the formation of the 501c3. She has a unique perspective of Kansas having been to every one of the 627 incorporated cities several times for guidebook research. Having a reason to observe, have conversations, and note common issues and differences led to the PowerUp Movement (empowerment of those 21-39 who are rural by choice) and the access to resources and topics for the Big Rural Brainstorm and We Kan! Conference...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 75
Logan Thompson is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Sustainable Livestock Feeding at Kansas State University. He grew up on a registered Hereford ranch in central Texas which instilled a passion to improve the sustainability of beef production by developing practical solutions for producers. Logan started his bachelor's degree at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX prior to completing his degree at Texas Tech University in 2015. Following this he earned a Masters in b...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Rich Porter owns and operates Porter Cattle Company, a grazing and backgrounding operation, located north of Emporia, Kansas. He receives around 7,000 head of three-weight, high-risk calves from the southeast annually and grows them to roughly 800 pounds. Rich holds degrees in chemical engineering, business and law, but for the last five decades, he has been a student of agriculture. His knowledge and ingenuity in the areas of beef production, conservation and management are an inspiration for m...
Apr 09, 2025•51 min•Ep. 73
Ed Greiman is General Manager of Upper Iowa Beef, a mid-sized beef processing plant located in Lime Springs, Iowa. He was born and raised as a typical farm kid in rural Iowa, went to college at Iowa State University, and has had significant experience in nearly all segments of the beef industry supply chain. NOTE: This episode was recorded in early February 2025, so some of the references to political landscape and economics may sound a bit dated. Home - Upper Iowa Beef | Upper Iowa Beef...
Mar 26, 2025•53 min•Ep. 72
Bill Rishel and his wife, Barb, live near North Platte, Nebraska. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he has always had a passion for Angus cattle and beef cattle improvement. Bill will be honored in November with induction into the Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery, and an in-depth synopsis of Bill's industry accomplishments may be found in this article: Bill Rishel To Be Honored with 2025 Saddle & Sirloin Portrai...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 71
Don Schiefelbein is President of Schiefelbein Farms, a large seedstock operation near Kimball, MN. He is the past-president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the American Angus Association. In this episode, Don outlines his family's business structure and efforts to sustain their family business for generations. He also shares his hopes and vision for the beef industry leadership in the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Links: Grappling with the Family Farm - Sports Illustrat...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 70
Dale Brisby is the self-proclaimed greatest bull rider who ever lived. You may know him from the popular Dale Brisby YouTube channel, the Rodeo Time YouTube channel, and other social media platforms. He also has a Netflix original series How to Be a Cowboy. In addition to his rodeo apparel line, he’s a bona fide rancher, cowboy, and rodeo rider who proudly lives the life 24/7. Follow the World’s Greatest Bull Rider on Instagram. Links: www.rodeotime.com...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 69
Bill Bowman works with Method Genetics, LLC, in St. Joseph, MO. Through the years, Bill has worked in a variety of roles within the Angus breed, from the production to association levels. In this episode, we talk about the early days of multi-trait indexes, the move to genomic-enhanced EPDs, how commercial producers can benefit from the use of indexes; and finally, a few trends that Bill envisions as the beef industry moves into the next decade or two. https://youtu.be/uEf7iJRWvSU https://www.me...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 68
Sam Hands and his family own and operate Triangle H, a diversified cow-calf, farming and feeding operation near Garden City, KS. Sam and daughter, Marisa Kleysteuber, provide the management and leadership for this progressive, quality-focused beef operation. In this episode, Sam shares some of his outlooks on employee management, working with the younger generation; plus the lessons he has learned from his time at Kansas State University, the military and just careful observation of what motivat...
Jan 16, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 67
Amy Perrier is a Christian, Physical Therapist, Mother to five children...and a ranch wife. In this episode, she discusses the challenges, rewards and learnings that she has gathered over the past two+ decades of trying to balance all of these duties. We talk spousal communication, generational transitions, Retirement (or lack thereof) and community leadership. Like the one I did with Ava last January, we recorded this on Bluetooth in the truck, so get ready for a little road noise and a few pau...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 66
Matt takes a solo flight in this episode as he highlights the sires of this year's sale bulls and then gives an overview of the Dalebanks Practical. Profitable. Genetics. breeding philosophy. 52nd Annual Bull Sale November 23, 2024 NW of Eureka, KS mattperrier@dalebanks.com www.dalebanks.com
Nov 14, 2024•34 min•Ep. 65
Dr. Dale R. Woerner, Professor and Cargill Endowed Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, is an academic professional and meat and food industry consultant. Dr. Woerner earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science, Meat and Food Industry Management from Texas Tech University in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in Animal Science/Meat Science from Colorado State University in 2009. He served on the faculty at Colorado State University for 9...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
Bradley Wolter is a relative newcomer to the beef business, but has certainly been a student of the industry since his move from a successful career in the swine industry. In this episode, we talk about his tenure with Maschhoffs, one of the largest family-owned pork producers in the United States. We talk about data collection, management strategy, operational efficiency and the major differences between pork and beef production systems and cultures. Bradley and his family now own and operate W...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 63
Kara Lee is Director of Producer Engagement for the Certified Angus Beef Program. A native of Indiana, she now resides in northeast Kansas. On the episode, we highlight the many speakers and information shared at the 2024 Feeding Quality Forum, held in Dodge City, KS, last month. Slides and further information may be found at: www.feedingqualityforum.com
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 62
Dr. David Lalman is a professor and Extension Beef Cattle Specialist at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Lalman holds the Harrington Endowed Chair with split extension and research appointment. He works primarily in the beef cattle industry focused on cow/calf and stocker cattle production. His extension and applied research program includes beef cattle nutrition and management with emphasis on beef cattle grazing and genetic by environment interactions in beef production systems. His program goal...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 61
Tyler Florence has hosted shows on Food Network, Discovery and several other networks for nearly three decades. He owns restaurants in California, Hawaii and cut his teeth in kitchens in South Carolina. He’s a chef, a businessman, a creative mind, an amazingly nice guy and he LOVES beef and the families who raise it. Miller & Lux (millerandluxrestaurant.com)
Sep 04, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 60
Josh Mueller and Charly Cummings both work with Superior Livestock Auction. Josh and his wife, Macey, also operate Eldorado Livestock Auction, plus farm and ranch with their family near Halstead, KS. Charly is an auctioneer, real estate agent, and partners on his family's diversified hay and livestock operation near Yates Center, KS. On this episode, we cover decisions that producers should consider when they decide how best to merchandise their calves and yearlings this fall. We cover some mark...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 59
Kevin Ochsner was born and raised on an irrigated farm and registered cattle operation in Fort Collins, Colo. He attended Colorado State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. During his undergraduate studies, Kevin was a member of the CSU livestock judging team earning high individual honors at the National Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest and was actively involved in FFA, serving as a National FFA Officer in 1987-88. In 1997, Kevin earned his master’s in ma...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 58
This was a live audio recording from last March at South by Southwest in Austin, TX. SXSW is an annual festival that celebrates the convergence of various fields and genres. This panel consisted of host, Tyler Florence, world-renowned chef and Food Network Star, Dr. Temple Grandin, Animal Behaviorist from Colorado State University, Harris Heckelman, CEO of Chef's Warehouse and Matt Perrier, Eureka, KS. www.sxsw.com
May 22, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 57
Andy Bishop is a cow-calf producer from Bardstown, KY. He also serves as a loan officer at their local bank. In addition, he currently serves as Chair of the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board. Cattlemen's Beef Board | Beef Checkoff
May 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 56
Don Close is Terrain’s Chief Research & Analytics Officer. Don’s prior experience includes his work as a senior animal protein analyst at Rabobank, and as a market director for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, where he worked on all economic and market-sensitive policy issues for cattle feeders in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In his three decades of professional experience, Don has been a licensed commodity broker, handled risk management and pricing for large cattle operations, mana...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 55
Dr. Temple Grandin is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. She is a livestock industry consultant, offering advice on animal behavior. She is also an autism spokesperson and advocate. www.grandin.com
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 54
Lance Zimmerman is the Senior Beef Analyst for Rabobank. Prior to joining Rabo, he has worked for the Certified Angus Beef Program and Cattlefax. He holds a BS in Ag Communications and an MS in Ag Economics from Kansas State University. To access both the summary and complete report we discuss, go to: Rebuilding with resiliency is a necessity for the US beef supply chain (rabobank.com) Contact: Lance Zimmerman (rabobank.com)...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Miles Theurer coordinates research projects for Veterinary Research and Consulting Services, LLC, a practice comprised of 12 veterinarians who specialize in feedlot production medicine and research across the high plains region. Miles grew up on a family farm and cow/calf operation in south central Kansas. He did a dual DVM/Ph.D. program at Kansas State University. miles@vrcsllc.com
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 52
Stan Bevers worked for nearly 3 decades as an extension economist with Texas A&M University. He has also served as a professional consultant on hundreds of ranches from New Mexico to Montana. He helped develop the Beef Cow-Calf SPA (Standardized Performance Analysis) program and uses Key Performance Indicators and accounting fundamentals to help various sized ranches increase profitability by improving their ability to make marketing and purchasing decisions. www.ranchkpi.com stan@ranchkpi.c...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 4Ep. 51
Dr. Phil Bass is an Associate Professor of Meat Science at the University of Idaho. He applies industry experience to teach, advise students and others involved in the Pacific Northwest meat production and processing community; conducts applied research in meat quality with emphasis in beef. We cover human nutrition, beef cattle genetics, livestock selection, value-based marketing, politics, Economics, Animal ID, Exports, public land use, beef promotional efforts, restaurant wait staff training…...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 50
Ava Perrier is a Junior at Kansas State University, majoring in Animal Science with a Communications option. She is originally from Eureka, KS, and yes...she is Amy and my firstborn. At KSU, she has judged on the Intercollegiate Meats Team, served as VP of Finance for Sigma Kappa sorority and continues to be involved in various campus groups and organizations. Her perspective about agriculture, college and life in general is an interesting one, as she connects the dots between her youth, educati...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 49
Dr. Brad White is Director of the KSU Beef Cattle Institute a Professor of Production Medicine and Host of the BCI Cattle Chat podcast. He wears a lot of hats, but in this week's episode, we'll explore collaborative work that he has recently been doing in the area of Bovine Heart Disease. Called by a variety of names (non-infectious heart disease, bovine, congestive heart failure, mechanical heart failure, high altitude disease, brisket disease, AIP and others), it continues to be the topic of m...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 48
