Beef Industry Lessons Learned After 5 Years of Podcasting
Five lessons after five years of podcasting doesn’t seem like nearly enough to summarize all that I’ve learned about the beef industry, podcasting and entrepreneurship. However, I’m also a believer that there will never be enough words to sum up our life experiences of any kind. The five lessons I share in this podcast episode and article are ones that I find to be both relevant and thought-provoking for cattlemen and women who don’t lose sight of the bigger picture and maintain a focus of continuous learning.
It Will Take All Kinds of Kinds
I’ve had conversations with ranchers on all ends of the spectrum when it comes to operation size, goals, and marketing strategies. Each operation has increased the magnitude of its impact by finding ways to be diverse and staying in its lane. Having diversity in production practices, marketing strategies, size and location allows us as beef producers to meet the many needs of consumers whether they prefer to shop for beef in grocery stores or by directly from the producer. As long as we are honest in our approach and marketing and continue to support one another; this diversity will continue to be beneficial in building trust and demand for the high quality protein source we raise.
You Can Learn Something From Everyone
Continuing on with the first lesson, the diversity we have in all segments of the beef industry creates countless learning opportunities. Whether you agree or disagree with the opinions of others, their business model or anything else; being willing to listen and reflect on these differences will help you and those in your circle improve your own strategies. For example, I occasionally see fear-mongering used in marketing strategies to convince consumers to purchase one type of beef over another. I do not believe fear-mongering should ever be used in marketing nor should we be putting down other producers or their products. But, we can look at how others respond to these marketing messages to learn what concerns they have and how we can address these concerns in our own approaches. On a completely different spectrum, this lesson is used each month during RancherMind calls as members share what works and does not work for them when it comes to risk management, reducing inputs, creating new revenue streams and a variety of other topics. This lesson was foundational during the first year of hosting Casual Cattle Conversations. The more conversations I continue to have, the more I continue to believe that we can learn something from everyone.
There is No Such Thing as an Average Joe
If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Well my story really isn’t that much different than the next guy’s.” I wouldn’t need to find any more podcast advertisers! I’ve found that cattlemen and women sell themselves short. Each person truly has a unique and impactful story filled with ingenuity, resilience, passion and faith. Keeping our stories and the lessons we’ve learned to ourselves doesn’t allow others to learn from us. Not to mention that sharing our story can be a critical component to our marketing strategy. Our stories help build trust with others. So even if you feel like an average Joe, remember that no two stories are the same and that yours isn’t any less impactful than the neighbor’s. For goodness sake, you are helping feed the world by running a very complex business!
Times are Supposed to Change
I’ve heard mostly positive remarks about the high cattle prices we have experienced over the past year! It’s been wonderful, hasn’t it? But the markets are a cycle and there will be a drop at some point. With low prices usually comes complaining and grumbling. If we know that we operate in volatile markets, why not find ways to manage the risk and learn to enjoy the ride? If we never had bad times, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times, right? I challenge you to find ways to make the most of every season you experience whether it is related to markets, weather, labor challenges or anything else.
Ranchers are the True Leaders of the World
During an entrepreneurship summit I attended in June, I was challenged to write my Manifesto. As I reflected and thought about the people I get to work with, here is what came to mind.
I believe cattlemen and women are the true leaders of our world.
We know the importance of operating a profitable business but still act for the greater good.
We know there is more we can’t control than can control, so we make the most of the situation by working with Mother Nature to the best of our ability.
This makes continuous learning and improvements unquestionable in our minds. It is simply part of our plan to do things better each day.
While the well-being of the cattle and resources always comes first and creates long hours, somehow we still find time to serve our families, communities, nation and the world.
We don’t take our job lightly as we feel the weight of our responsibility every day.
We know our actions impact our business, family, community and the world.
We do more than provide a nutrient-dense protein source along with hundreds of by-products for the world.
We set the tone for how to care for God’s creations and leave this world better than we found it.
My hope and intentions for sharing these lessons with you this week are to build excitement around the work we do and the people within our industry. Thank you for all the work you do as a rancher, farmer, industry supporter and consumer of beef. And, thank you for being a part of the first five years of Casual Cattle Conversations. Happy ranching, folks!
