Choosing the U.S. Beef Industry in an Agricultural World
Shaye Koester 00:05
Hey, hey, it’s Shaye Koester and I’m your host for the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast where we connect you to ranchers and beef industry enthusiasts who can help you build a more profitable operation and improve your lifestyle. Are you looking for a community of ranchers who support and challenge you to be more profitable and proactive? Then sign-up for our monthly RancherMind events. RancherMinds are mastermind events for ranchers to come together once a month and find solutions for their own and the industry's challenges. Stay connected by following @cattleconvos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and never miss an episode or event update by signing up for our newsletter on casualcattleconversations.com/newsletter. If you get value out of this episode or any episode drop a comment or tip me by using the link in the show notes. With that let’s see who our guest is today and connect you to a new resource to improve your own operation and lifestyle. Alrighty, folks, let's take a second to thank today's sponsor.
Red Angus Association of America 00:57
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Shaye Koester 02:02
Thank you Red Angus for bringing this show to my listeners. All right, Sebastian. Well, it's one nice to talk to you again. I know it's been I guess we have a few zoom calls together each month but haven't seen you in person for a few months. So it's great to see you and welcome to the show. You this is your first time as a guest on the show. So I'm glad you were able to join me today.
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 02:26
Thanks for having me, Shaye. Yeah, it's good to see you too. Like you said, we've seen each other on Zoom, and a couple of times, and but it's always good to see you and thanks for having me on your podcast.
Shaye Koester 02:41
Well, absolutely. Well, through getting to know you through the Trailblazer program, you have a very unique story. And that's really what I want to talk about today is really your story with agriculture growing up and when you came to the United States, but to start off since it is your story, how about you tell it? Because you'll do a much better job than I can. So would you talk about where you are originally from and what it looked like growing up for you as far as being involved in agriculture?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 03:14
Yeah, yeah, thanks. First of all, it's funny that you say my stories is unique and I've heard that a few times. But from my perspective, it's not unique. But you know, I'm happy to share it anytime. And hopefully, it'll inspire somebody else. But yeah, I guess my journey in agriculture has been, you know, not a straight line to where I am right now. It's been all over the place, but I am originally from Honduras, from a town called Olanchito and it's very agricultural area. We are in the second biggest valley in the country. So there's a lot of agriculture there. We have tropical crops like banana, pineapple, mangoes and all that kind of stuff. Then we have a lot of livestock. So I grew up there. My my grandpa was a rancher. He had dairy and beef and so since I was a little kid, I like to joke about my journey with agriculture starting the day I was born because that day my grandpa gifted me a heifer. So that was when when it all started and of course, I had a strong connection with him and with my dad, you know, and so I grew up around livestock and crops and tractors and stuff. That was you know what I loved the most. So, as I grew up, and I kind of decided what I wanted to do, and the career that I wanted to pursue, like, it was pretty easy for me to decide to do agriculture. So I started my career in high school, actually, I went to an agricultural high school. It was a boarding school and I lived there and I got my agricultural management diploma, I think is what it translates to, in English. And so, because I really loved agriculture, I was a pretty good student. And so I was awarded a scholarship to go to Earth University in Costa Rica, one of the most prestigious agricultural schools in Latin America. And I was very, very fortunate to have that opportunity. So I went to Costa Rica and I lived there for four years. Which is pretty amazing to think about now, but yeah, I went there and I got my, my bachelor's in agronomy. And agronomy is a lot of things, you know, it's soil science, it is pesticides, it is plant management, and all those things, but I always had my emphasis in cattle. So I got a, what you might call it a, a minor in livestock management. And so part of my degree there was to do, or our requirement, I guess, was to do a an internship in my junior year. So in Latin America, we're always, you know, observing what is done in the United States, because agriculture is so advanced here. And we're always trying to pick up on things to see if we can improve our operations down there. And so I always wanted to, I will always wanted to see it for myself. So I decided to come to the US and got exposed to agriculture and not to livestock at the moment, but to crops. And so I was able to see it firsthand what it is like to do agriculture in the US. So I was, it was a life changing experience. And so I wanted to come back to get a degree here in in something related with cattle. And so that's how I ended up in the U.S. First time I came back after my finishing my undergraduate was in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, I did an internship in dairy and so it was quite an experience living in Wisconsin having never seen this know, in my life before that. And so I lived there and worked with dairy farmers, it was pretty eye-opening. But it wasn't quite what I what I wanted to do. And after that, I went to Florida and I did an internship with beef cattle there. And that's when I got exposed not only to the beef cattle industry in the U.S., but also to the research that is done to reduce methane from cattle. And so it was it was really fascinating to me. And it really made me more interested in the science behind it. And that's when I decided to pursue a master's. And so from there, I ended up in Texas Tech, where I got my master's in animal science with emphasis in beef cattle nutrition. And from Texas Tech, I came to UC Davis, where I'm now doing my PhD in animal science as well with emphasis on reducing enteric methane emissions from beef cattle production. So like I said, it's not been a straight line. But, you know, it's been quite a journey and a lot of experiences but it's been all good.
Shaye Koester 08:47
Well, thank you for going through that. I mean, you truly have traveled and bounced around a lot. I mean, you said you started in Honduras, basically the day you were born. And you had experience with that agricultural high school, then Costa Rica and you did an internship in Wisconsin, and then Florida and then your master's in Texas and now California. Wow. That is amazing. So did you know any English before you moved to the states?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 09:21
So I did the internship when I was still in my undergrad. It was 2014, I didn't know any English. We had English class during my undergrad but I was never good at it and to be quite honest with you I hated it. In my mind, I was a little honestly cynical about it. I never thought I would need it. Why would I need it? But I ended up coming to the States. I decided okay, I want to see it firsthand and I, of course, I didn't prepare for you know, not with English enough to be able to communicate. So that was kind of a realization, okay, I need to learn this language because I am interested in this. So I went back to my senior year. I put more time into my English classes. And by 2016, after graduating when I went to Wisconsin, I knew more English, but I still had a lot to learn. And I still, I'm learning every day. But yeah, so I, I would say I, when I, when I started, like really putting time into learning English was 2015 and 2016. So yeah, I wasn't very good at English before that.
Shaye Koester 10:50
Well, that's, that's still amazing that you've picked up on the language so well and taught yourself so much. So looking back at how you've really not only bounced around between different countries and regions within the United States in itself, but different sectors of agriculture. So right now you're really focusing on beef cattle, methane, sustainability, that whole side of things. How did studying the agronomy side and being involved in the dairy part? How did all those little internships and diverse opportunities help you with where you're at now with your research?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 11:32
Yeah, so agronomy because I was able to learn so many things, you know. So I was able to learn about soils and about crops and about the management of different parts of agriculture. It gives me you know, different perspectives, when it comes to cattle, you know, when it comes to, for example, cattle and pastures and things like that. And right now, I do more research at the feedlot. So it's, I don't quite use that stuff a lot. But, you know, being exposed to all those things, just gave me the opportunity to see how things are done in different areas of agriculture. So it's, you know, I have that background. So it comes in handy when people start talking about those things. You know, just go back to what I learned back in those days.
Red Angus Association of America 12:33
Well, that's awesome. Alrighty, folks, let's take a second to hear from our friends at Red Angus. Mark your calendars for the 69th annual National Red Angus convention September 14 through the 16th. In Kalispell, Montana. The commercial cattlemen symposium kicks off the week and has a focus on heifer development and female marketing. Producer panels will discuss nutrition and marketing and extension specialists from the University of Missouri and industry stakeholders will keynote the event to share perspective on successfully developing and marketing heifers. The final two days of convention are full of high-quality education and entertainment with keynote addresses from Damien Mason, and agricultural trends speaker and humorous Don Schiefelbein, National Cattlemans Beef Association president, Jessica Spreitzer, the director of trade analysis for the US Meat Export Federation, and Taryn Drieling an Enneagram. Coach and podcaster. The wide variety of speakers plus updates from Red Angus leadership and committees provides a valuable lineup for every beef producer. Located near Glacier National Park, Kalispell is a prime location to visit with the family, attend the convention and stay afterward for a great family vacation. Registration is now open for the National Red Angus convention, visit redangus.org to sign up and book your travel for a can't miss convention.
Shaye Koester 13:54
So I kind of want to shift gears a little bit and talk about some differences in agriculture between Honduras and the United States. So on the beef cattle side, what would you say is really the primary difference from beef cattle production in the United States versus Honduras?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 14:14
Those are two different things. I mean, gee, starting from genetics, you know, the genetics are quite different. You know, here you have these European breeds and Bos Taurus breeds like Angus, Herefords and so on and so forth. Back home, we have a more indicas influence, you know, we have breeds such as Brahman and gear and all those long eared cattle. They just work for us. You know, we have pretty tropical climate. The summers are very dry and the winters are very rainy. We have a lot of parasites, you know. And so it's what works for us. And so it looks quite different from the genetic standpoint. But also from the management standpoint, we do a lot of grazing. So most of our cattle are grazed there. They live their entire life on pasture, which can be quite challenging, especially when we have a drought, and are fighting to get cattle fed with proper nutrition. Of course, it's always challenging anywhere, but because we have cattle on pasture, then that becomes a bigger issue. But yeah, management, genetics, marketing and the food industry are different, too, from like, I'm speaking more from the what people like, you know, the consumer perspective, here is more about the marbling. And you know, the quality and back home is also quality matters, but what the consumer likes is different. So, it does, it does differ there from the between the two, the two industries in the US and Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, were all pretty similar in that aspect. Yeah.
Shaye Koester 16:39
Would you be willing to dive deeper into like some of those consumer preferences and how they're different? Like, is it more of a specific type of meat? Like, what do you think is driving some of those differences? Or what are some of those specific differences?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 16:53
Yeah, so to give you an idea, I had no idea what a what a ribeye was, until I came to the US, I didn't know what that was. I had never had a medium-rare steak. I had never been exposed to it. So from a consumers perspective there, that it was quite an experience to me, because, one, I had never seen such a huge kind of meat on my plate and that thick and then cutting it and being so juicy and so tender. And so and that comes from, you know, from the genetic that is used in the US and, and all the all the quality in that, in that aspect of improvements in carcass quality. And back home, the cuts are thinner, they don't have that marbling. And people like their meat well done. It's just not only from preference, but also from a food safety measurements and things like that. I'm not saying that your food might be contaminated, but people have that caution, you know, they want to be cautious about their food. And so they always go for well done and don't want to risk it. And so those are the difference there when I talk about consumer demand and consumer perspective.
Shaye Koester 18:34
Well, that's interesting. Thank you for sharing that. So looking at the United States, when you hear about beginning ranchers, or first-generation ranchers, people who don't have a family operation to go back to we talked about having kind of a hard barrier to entry, like it's difficult with the amount of capital require trying and just starting from scratch really. So would you say Honduras has that same barrier to entry or would you say it's easier or harder to kind of get involved in agriculture to really from a production standpoint in Honduras?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 19:14
You know, that is a good question. I would consider I guess I would consider myself a third generation because my grandpa started and then my dad has continued it and well now I've decided to pursue an education in it but you know, I still am still interested in investing in our farm, but I don't know. You know, I think it's hard anyways, you know, to begin from scratch. Land is expensive and we have a lot of remote areas in Honduras where access, you know, transportation is quite difficult. So overcoming all those challenges as a beginner producer, it's always hard. So I would say, the thing is that I haven't been back in Honduras since. Geez, 2012. You know, I've moved to Costa Rica and into the U.S. So, sometimes I guess I've lost track of how things are back home. But I would say anywhere, wherever you want to start from scratch is going to be quite a challenge, no matter where you are.
Shaye Koester 20:46
Okay. So looking at the efficiency side of beef cattle production, what are the main differences there between, you know, the United States in Honduras or United States in the world? Since you've traveled quite a bit?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 21:00
Yeah, so I think from so from the animal performance perspective, the performance that is seen here in the U.S. is quite, it's quite amazing, you know, you have cattle putting on three or four pounds a day, and you know, back home, and if you're getting two pounds a day that's amazing. So and that's, that's not only from the, from the genetics standpoint, but also like, from the management. Since our cattle are mostly on grass, they're getting some type of supplement, you can say that ranchers there are on a forever stocker phase because they supplemented cattle, but they haven't been on grass, of course. And so the growth that you see on those cattle is nothing compared to what you see here. And of course, you know, here you have, you know, your Angus breeds that are really good at gaining. And all the research that has been done, and the technologies that are implemented in the feedlot industry is something that we don't have back home. So the productivity that is, that is inherent to us is, it's what we would call it prime, because it's just something really hard to achieve in countries like ours.
Shaye Koester 22:35
Well, thank you. So what would you say, you know, you've been in the United States for a long time now, what would you say is one thing Americans take for granted being beef producers in the United States?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 22:53
I would say so, from all the, you know, the scientific publications that I read for my PhD, and my masters, all the science that is available for us to learn and read from. I think one thing that is often overlooked is all this science that has been used in the industry to get to where we are right now, you know. There are so many scientists, and so many publications, and so many research experiments, and all this work that has been done over the years, to provide data and information for for the industry to to become better, you know, that, like there is a lot of work that has been done in the background to to improve the industry. So, I think that is often forgotten. I don't know, I don't want to say forgotten, but maybe not as mentioned, you know, because I guess it does happen in the background, you know, we do a trial, we put a publication out for a journal and then you know, sometimes it gets picked up for the, the the NRC, you know, the nutrient requirements for beef cattle, or what I call the nutritionist’s Bible. And so, sometimes it doesn't, and they just kind of fade away, you know, but there is a lot of research that has been done that has provided insight and data and resources for the beef industry to improve. So, you know, at something that I would say, doesn't happen, and in countries like Honduras. The amount of research that is done in beef, you know, I honestly don't know about any, you know. So it's pretty amazing how much research is conducted here in the US just to improve the industry.
Shaye Koester 25:17
Well, that's, that's really insightful and interesting to hear. So what is your wish for the future of the beef industry?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 25:27
My wish? Well, you know, with all the scrutiny that the industry is held to, I hope that the industry just continues to strive, you know, it's just, we have a lot of work to do, we are talking a lot about sustainability, which I am happy about, because that's something that I care about, and that's something that I do put a lot of time into for my graduate education and I want to pursue a career on so I hope that we continue to, to move towards that and, you know, to, to be more open about what we do to communicate more about our industry. I know, in the past, we haven't been the best at that. And that's one of the reasons why we've been the target for so many people in you know, institutions, because we haven't been good at communicating what we do and how we do it. And so I think that, to me, that features, let's continue to work towards a better industry, which is we've been doing this whole time, but also be better at communicating our efforts and what we're doing because a lot of people don't know that we are actually currently trying to reduce the environmental impact of livestock production. They don't they think that which is weird. We don't care, which is not the truth. But the thing is that we haven't been good at communicating that right. So all that is what I wish for the beef industry.
Shaye Koester 27:16
Well, thank you. That is exciting. Do you have anything else you'd like to add Sebastian?
Sebastian Mejia Turcios 27:21
No. I mean, I would like to thank you for inviting me on your podcast, it's really exciting to see so many of you, you know, involved in agriculture, who are putting out these platforms out there for people to share their stories and to you know, have a space to talk and to you know, to have these casual conversations. Yeah.
Shaye Koester 27:52
That's right. Casual Casual Conversations. Yeah. Well, Sebastian, thank you for hopping on the show today. It was great to have you part of the show. Thanks so much. Hey, thanks for having me. Let's hear it again. And thank our sponsor the Red Angus Association of America for bringing this episode to us.
Red Angus Association of America 28:10
The cow. No wonder they call her the “foundation female” – on her shoulders rests the genetic basis of any cow herd, so it’s critical she measures up to your expectations for stayability and fertility. How can you create more high-quality females while eliminating the guesswork and up-front costs that accompany heifer development? The Red Angus Association of America has launched Red Choice – a program designed to aid producers in developing the highest quality heifers through genomic testing, AI technology and veterinarian partnerships. Heifers that meet the criteria are more likely to stay in the herd, propagate the best genetics and make a positive impact on your bottom line. Learn more about Red Choice at redangus.org.
Shaye Koester 28:59
And that's a wrap on that one. Be sure to let me know your thoughts on the episode and if you have any further questions around the topic, take care and have a great day.
