September 30, 2025 • 27 mins
Early mornings on horseback and late nights in a tractor aren’t a contradiction—they’re the operating system of a ranch that actually works. We sit down with Fort Sumner’s Jimmie Fitzgerald to trace how a Texas upbringing, New Mexico grass, and a stubborn love for doing things right built a family operation that farms, grazes, and finishes with purpose.
Jimmie opens up about making the hard choice to move, take over, and then expand—adding ranches, growing the farm, and building a yard so the business could feed more than one family. He explains why carrying capacity is a year-long calculation, not a good-looking month, and how being a “grass barber” protects both the range and the bottom line. We dig into the practical playbook: branding and weaning vaccines that prevent wrecks, reading cattle twice a day, and weighing often because a half-pound of gain multiplied across a set is real money. He shares how alfalfa, wheat, and silage connect the dots between pastures and pens, turning weather swings into manageable decisions rather than emergencies.
The conversation stays grounded in people. Jimmy talks about earning respect as a younger operator, the neighbor culture that makes brandings work, and why teaching kids to do hard things is the true payoff. We also pull back the curtain for consumers—how to talk to your butcher, what to look for in a steak, and why questions lead to better beef on your plate. And yes, we end at the grill with a sleeper cut you should try next: tablitas, cross-cut ribs seasoned simply and cooked hot for big, marbled flavor.
If this story resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who loves good beef, and leave a quick review—your feedback helps more curious listeners find these ranch-side conversations.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:04):
Welcome back to another episode of Behind the
Burger, our podcast from or withthe New Mexico Beef Council.
I'm Caroline Romo, and I am herein Fort Sumner with Jimmy
Fitzgerald.
And um, Jimmy, will youintroduce yourself and thanks
for coming coming on thepodcast?
Me.
SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
Yes, thank you.
Um Jimmy Fitzgerald, live inFort Sumner, grew up in Texas.
We moved here a few years ago.
I live here with my wife Sarahand our kids, Slate and Della.
And uh we farm and have ayearlin operation and run Cal
Kiefs.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
Perfect.
And what's kind of thebackground?
What where'd you grow up and andhow'd you get into uh this this
lifestyle?
SPEAKER_00 (00:39):
So I grew up in Jacksboro, Texas.
Uh my family always had a CalKiev deal, and then we had a
construction business as well.
We did that.
And so I grew up aroundequipment, which has helped me a
long way in life.
Um, as we got older, starteddoing some Kivs and started
doing that.
And then it's getting morepopulated around there, and
everybody's moving out from FortWorth, and our land values are
going through the roof, and sowe had to kind of decide, hey,
(01:02):
we're gonna make a change.
And Sarah's dad unfortunatelygot sick, and so kind of opened
up a window here.
Either they need to get out ortake over.
So we moved out and boughteverything out and took over.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah, and that's been that's been going pretty
well.
And and uh you guys have the thefarm, the grow yard, and the
ranch.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
Yes, he'd always had a ranch and the farm.
And uh, whenever we got here, Iknew I had to expand because at
that time he was still runningas well.
So we added two more ranches andI expanded the farming
operation.
And then after we took over,I've just combined them all and
built the yard and it's been agood deal.
SPEAKER_01 (01:34):
Yeah.
I think that's something that Iwas trying to explain, try to
explain to people, especially,you know, hopefully we have
consumers listening or you know,people that aren't familiar with
agriculture, is that in orderfor a family business to stay a
family business, you have toexpand.
And so when you have a largeoperation, it's it's a survival
method, right?
In some ways, is you get to feedmultiple families, you can't
(01:56):
stay uh, you know, you can't youcan't stay small in some ways,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yes.
Yeah, we see it a lot.
I have a lot of friends that,you know, there's just not a
room for them to grow.
They stay there and do what theycan and fill in and end up
starving to death and trying tomake it, and then it gets a bad
taste in their mouth, or theywant to go do something else to
provide for their family, andthen the opportunity does come
up where they can go back andthey don't have a desire
anymore.
Yeah.
So that's what we did.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Oh, yeah.
And I I think that's a reallyneat opportunity that you guys
had and uh and great foresight,right?
Yes.
What's the most rewarding partof being a rancher?
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Uh seeing the seeing the fruits of your labor, I
guess.
You know, we start out and we'llhave the little baby calves and
the kids love it, and they getto go and see them, and then you
know, those calves were runningthrough the summer, and then,
you know, we wean, and hey, theydid pretty good this year, and
then we bring them in, and youdon't you don't think they have
much upside, and then we'llshape them up and kind of even
(02:48):
everything out, go to wheat withthem, and they get wow, they got
bigger and man, they look good,and then you ship them off, and
it just feels good because Iwatched an animal go from
conception to 800, 900 poundsteer, and it's just it's neat
to see that.
And the kids they like watchingthat, and then the cycle just
starts over again.
So it's not like you get to seeit one time and then move on.
SPEAKER_01 (03:07):
Yeah, I think it's a great, great example of being
able to see it truly in front ofyour eyes, see the growth and
see your your business growingor your your uh cattle growing.
It's it's one of the few thingswhere you can see the fruits of
your labor in a very physicalway, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
That's it.
We bring in Kevs in our yard,and it's interesting to see, you
know, if you don't dedicate yourtime and spend time with them,
well, there's your big deathloss.
You know, we red pins twice aday, and you say, hey, you know,
that was miserable, but look, wedid pretty good.
We didn't lose very many.
So I I think that's veryinteresting.
SPEAKER_01 (03:38):
Oh, absolutely.
Uh I mean, the animals that Imean, that's something too that
that I always hope the consumerknows is that that the amount of
time and energy and people thatare focused on the well-being of
cattle is just unimaginable.
The amount of people that thathave eyes on the cattle and and
make sure and even the the wayswe monitor cattle, sometimes
(04:00):
people aren't getting that goodat monitoring, right?
SPEAKER_00 (04:02):
That's it.
unknown (04:03):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Um they'll think we're getting rich because they
see, oh my goodness, thesesteers sold for this much money.
We'll break it down to how muchwe made an hour, and it's not
very much.
But we do it because we like it,not because we're gonna get
rich.
SPEAKER_01 (04:14):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think uh even the lightsin the feed yard is is proof of
that, right?
I saw you had a a light thatthat obviously that means you
had to load cattle in the darkor or uh check cattle in the
dark because yeah, it's a it's a24-7 roll in a lot of ways.
Uh, what about talk about NewMexico's landscapes?
How does New Mexico's landscapesand climate kind of shape your
(04:36):
methods?
SPEAKER_00 (04:37):
So some things I think really help.
Um, you know, we're pretty dryand the grass out here is sure
enough stout.
So it's a lot different fromback home.
Uh our carrying capacity is notas high as it is at home, but
our grass is stout and thosekids sure do good on it once it
kind of hardens up a little bit,dries out.
Um, as far as our landscape, youknow, it's it's hot, but it's
not humid.
(04:57):
That helps a lot, especially, Idon't know, October National
Dead Calf month seems like.
And out here we don't have it asbad as we did back home.
You don't get those 40 degreedays or that just wet and
drizzle and miserable.
And here we just don't have it.
So I really like it.
Our summers are harder becauseyou get a lot more dust.
We're a lot sandier, a lot ofdust.
So we could kind of fight somelong stuff.
(05:18):
But other than that, it's a lotbetter.
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
Yeah.
So you you mentioned carryingcapacity.
And if the listener doesn't uhdoesn't know our doesn't know
beef or doesn't know ranching,um, carrying capacity and
stocking rate that has to dowith how many cattle are on the
grass at a at or on a um acreageat a time, right?
I'm sure you could explain thatbetter than me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Yeah, so our carrying capacity, so just say
for example, back home, we're15, 17 acres of cow, and out
here we're 40, 50, 60.
Um, a lot of people just be justbecause you can put them out
there and they look good for amonth, look at the whole year.
Don't look at just that onemonth window.
And so we're a little more onthe conservative side.
Um, you know, you can you cansure eat that grass off and it
(06:01):
won't grow back.
So I'd rather leave a littlefeed, and then whenever we go
back out in the summer, hey,we've got standing feed from
last year.
It may not be fresh greengrowth, but it's something to
hold them in case disaster doeshappen.
So we we're definitely verycognizant of our carrying stock
and rates, and it may changefrom year to year.
This year we're having a reallygood year.
We may load up a little bit morethan we normally do, but we're
always conservative becausewhat's the rest of the year?
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
Yeah, and I think uh I think you told me at one
point, I think it was you, maybewhen we were at your branding,
is that that you're you're agrass barber in a lot of ways,
right?
You've got to grow the grass.
That's that's the the grass'snumber one priority in a lot of
ways.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
So you can't feed them through it and you can't
haul water.
Those are two things that peoplethink, well, it's getting dry,
we just need to start feeding,and we're gonna feed and feed.
Well, look what feed costs aton.
Put that in to your break even.
We run sheets on everything, andwe know hay, it's sometimes it's
better to do somethingdifferent.
You know, that helps a lothaving the farms.
We can bring alfalfa hay, numberone alfalfa hay, it's gonna test
(06:58):
really, really high.
We'll supplement, we'll replacecake with it.
We'll haul hay out there, alittle bit more time and labor,
but you know, it's helping ourbottom line.
SPEAKER_01 (07:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
And and the farm helps withthat.
So uh what is maybe one of thebiggest challenges you all face
in your ranch or your farming?
SPEAKER_00 (07:15):
You know, we're we're paying for land and we're
paying for cows, and it's justpay attention to the bottom
line.
Don't be scared of hard, youknow, we're we're paying for
land and we're paying for cows,and it's just pay attention to
the bottom line.
Don't be scared of hard work,you're gonna work your tail off,
but it it is rewarding.
And our hope and goal is thatone of these days when we do get
(07:35):
older, hey, we can maybe provideour kids with the place that is
paid for that they get a littlebit leg up and they can go and
do.
So I think that would be ahardship that we do.
And as you're young, um, you'renot viewed as everybody here I
would say has been pretty good,but you're not always viewed as
being knowing what you're doing.
You're just some young guy andalways growing and that's not
(07:57):
gonna work.
Well, it's working.
So I think you just have to kindof sit back and slow roll it a
little bit sometimes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:05):
Yeah, I like to joke with my husband that that uh and
even friends that I'm okay withbeing underestimated.
That's okay.
I can be underestimated.
We'll we'll work through and andwork hard and and prove prove
ourselves, even if we're justproving it to ourselves.
That's okay.
Uh um can you give an example ofhow you care for your cattle to
ensure their health andwell-being?
SPEAKER_00 (08:26):
So when we brand, we're gonna vaccinate all then
and we'll keep a solid eye onthem throughout the year.
As the grass does differentthings, you feed different,
different things like that.
You'll tell the difference.
So there's always a happy lineof monitoring them throughout
their growth.
Once they get to weaning, wegive them more shots.
We we pre uh we wean all ourcalves.
We don't sell anything off thecow.
(08:46):
I have the facilities to do it,so we do that.
So we're monitoring themconstantly.
And I don't think there'sanything wrong with, you know,
hey, we had a lot of troublethis year.
Let's change our vaccineprogram.
You don't have to need to be theperson that, oh, this is a good
idea or this is a good idea.
You kind of need to stay solidin your methods, but I don't
think there's anything wrongwith looking outside the box.
We've tried a couple ofdifferent things that have
really made the weaning processeasier, and you can tell a
(09:08):
difference in your gain.
And that's other things I say isweigh your cattle.
You know, you can tell somethingas simple as half a pound,
that's half a pound.
You put that across their anchesand that adds up to a
substantial amount of money.
So I think just kind of be intune with what they're doing and
what to change.
SPEAKER_01 (09:23):
Yeah, and and when you talk about vaccines, um,
some things I think areimportant to to point out for
animal health.
Vaccines are are a reallyimportant part of it to prevent
disease outbreaks, to prevent,you know, illnesses that that
you know, by using the vaccines,we've wiped them out of cattle
herds, right?
And then and then also animportant part is is the
(09:45):
vaccines are never getting intothe beef supply.
So the vaccines have withdrawaldates, which require a, you
know, a certain amount of timebetween giving the vaccine and
harvesting the animal.
And and some of and some of themget out of the system pretty
quickly.
But anyways, I just wanted tosay that to for the for the sake
of listeners, is that is that uhit's a very safe practice and a
(10:06):
very well well uh studied,researched, and tested process.
SPEAKER_00 (10:11):
Yes, it is.
And we don't we don't implantour kiffs from growth, we do
natural program, we'll sell forthat, you know, and but I'll
punt too.
If it looks like these calvesare on the bottom end and we're
pretty small and we need to putthem in the yard and we need to
push them a little bit harder,we're not opposed to it.
But we try to stay more thatroute.
The um I'd rather eat a calfthat's healthy than a calf
(10:32):
that's skin and bones and just adog eat sucker.
And I don't think as our chargedhumans that we're supposed to
take care of our animus.
And I feel like if we just say,well, we're not gonna give them
that, it hurts my heart to seecattle like that.
So I think we're supposed tokeep them healthy.
SPEAKER_01 (10:45):
Absolutely, absolutely.
We we take our kids to thedoctors.
Yes.
We gotta we gotta take care ofour cattle.
And if it's if medicine isrequired, then we're gonna we're
gonna take care of it.
Um so what's one thing that mostpeople don't know about raising
beef in New Mexico?
SPEAKER_00 (11:01):
I would say kind of what we touched on earlier, it's
a multifaceted business, andthere's a lot to it besides just
go to the grocery store and pickyou up a steak.
Um, I think even it's just thefact of looking at your steaks,
there's 15 different things tolook for in a steak, and you can
pick out your better beef.
And I would say research whereit comes from.
I know we don't do it, but a lotof people do the whole farm to
(11:23):
table thing.
And it's neat to see thatprocess.
It really teaches you a lotabout the industry.
I would say if people havequestions, ask.
You know, there's a lot of y'allare a great source on providing
knowledge to people.
I would say reach out if youhave questions throughout the
whole process.
Ask.
SPEAKER_01 (11:39):
Absolutely.
Yeah, we're open to questions.
And and then even too, werecommend people go into your
meat counter, your grocerystore, if it's a small local
grocery store or even a chain,go to the meat counter and ask
them.
Even, even at, you know, the thebig wholesalers, I'll go in and
ask them for the best, bestprime rib or and they bring out
and they'll show me why it's thebest.
(11:59):
And and I even should know whatI'm looking at, right?
But I still learn every time Italk to somebody behind a meat
counter.
That's a great way to to askabout your beef too.
And then if you want to, youknow, talk to a rancher or or
you know, our organizationrepresents ranchers, we'd be
happy to answer questions.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
Yeah, we're blessed.
We have a really good meat placehere in town.
And I know good and well thatthey want you to have the best
cut of whatever you're lookingfor.
And if there's a way that theycan help you get what you want,
they sell more beef.
You're a happy customer, it's awin-win for everybody.
So don't be afraid to ask.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and and people liketalking about what they know
about and what they'repassionate about, right?
That's that's why the podcast isworking.
Um, but we yeah, so absolutelygo to the meat counter or the or
the uh meat store.
I was gonna say like like FortSumner processing when they sell
uh that's your local one you'retalking about, right?
Yes.
Um, what is your favorite partof the beef industry?
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
I think there's very few industries you could look at
farming that involve family.
You know, they there's placesthat everybody has a story about
going to their granddad's farmor their granddad's ranch, or
oh, we we used to go help brand,or we used to help go and to do
that.
And we've tried to really pushthat through our outfit is bring
your kids, bring your family.
It's inclusive.
(13:15):
But if also if somebody hastrouble, everybody stands
together, everybody bondstogether.
We neighbor on branding stuff,and you know, you can pick up
the phone and say, I'm reallysorry this happened, and we got
a bunch of stuff mixed, andthey're gonna come help you.
And, you know, they're gonnafeed you the best meals you've
ever had and they're gonnaappreciate it, and they're gonna
tell you thank you 50 timesbefore you leave because they
truly appreciate it.
(13:36):
And we'd do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01 (13:38):
Absolutely.
I think I I agree that there'snot many industries or places
you can go where where you'regonna get that that family and
that community that's justunimaginable.
And even the the food at abranding.
So it's like I'm always tryingto beg to get get invited to a
branding because I because Iknow you're gonna get fed some
sort of great meal, and it'slike the college kid in me and
(13:59):
just looking for a free meal orsomething.
But really, it's that communityand that and that romanticism of
of uh of seeing community andseeing family uh together.
SPEAKER_00 (14:10):
In the morning, you'll be able to drive
somewhere and everybody hastheir happy place or their
peaceful place, and you can'tlook around and not see God
everywhere, and that you know,this is a creation that we're
part of, and it's a it'sspecial.
It's beats the pookie out ofsitting in a traffic jam.
SPEAKER_01 (14:28):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
It's beautiful out there, and I don't know, you see
the little kids and you see thekids, and it's special.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I think what a what a neatthing.
There's so many great things.
It's even hard to ask thefavorite part of be the beef
industry because getting to livethat lifestyle um for outside
looking in is is admirable andand uh uh inspirational to sign
up for this, continue to expand,um, and and you know, run this
(14:59):
business.
What what makes you keep going?
SPEAKER_00 (15:01):
My kids.
Um, I would say that's the shortanswer, the biggest deal.
You know, if we make a littlebit of money along the way,
that's great.
It's gonna go to something tofurther their life.
Um that's all I want.
I at the end of the day, we workor tell off or whatever.
And I think you ask anybodythat's in the industry, there
might be a handful that say, Ido it because I want to get
rich, but most everybody isbecause they want to pass
(15:23):
something on to their kids.
I you can teach them 15different work ethics whenever
you're doing it, and they don'tlike it, but they know it's part
of it.
My kids are the day, so I don'twant to do that, but I know I
have to.
And that's exactly right.
And that goes through any partof their life, no matter what
they're gonna do.
You may not like it, but yougotta do it.
And so I I think just the futureand just family is the reason I
(15:44):
do it.
That's my drive.
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Absolutely.
And that's the greatestinspiration is is our kids.
Um, is there anything that youwould want listeners to know
about the beef industry that youhaven't already said, or or even
if you want to talk about youroperation more, but just just
anything.
SPEAKER_00 (16:01):
You know, kind of our operation.
Uh, we really didn't talk awhole lot about the quote kind
of what we do, but you know, wefarm, we all forn and wheat, and
they all tie into our ranches.
They tie into my yard, they tieinto whatever.
And if if we get a little hayrained on, you know, it may not
be a real marketable product,we'll feed it through the yard.
We got wheat we turn out on, andthen we'll harvest it after
(16:22):
that.
Um, our corn, chop for silage.
We'll sell some, chop some forsilage and put it back.
So it kind of goes hand in hand,and I think that rolls on to a
lot of different businesses.
Just don't think just cookiecutter, this is what you do.
You buy your feed, you sell yourthe they can interlink and uh
make a better operation in awhole.
(16:43):
And so I that's what I would sayis just don't do everything the
way that granddad did it.
Look at kind of maybe outsidethe box and keep up with your
numbers, run your sheets, andmaybe it'll be successful.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, I and I think uh I think Isaid it when we were reporting,
or maybe it was yesterday, isthe the walking the feed off the
farm is a is a great uh solutionthat I think that going back to
that because you have you havethe feed is such a great, great
way you feed the cattle, feed itto the cattle and and keep it
(17:14):
all in-house and then and thenyou you suddenly have vertical
integration, right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:18):
Yes.
Yeah, yes.
I think when Arborie decided tomove out here, I told Sarah we
were gonna move out here andlive the romantic New Mexican
lifestyle.
And I told her, I'll doanything, but I'm not gonna be a
farmer.
But you you can't say thatbecause there's things you don't
want to do, whether it's fixinga water gap on a million-acre
ranch or it's shoveling stallsor mucking mucking stalls or
(17:39):
scooping out bonks.
There's things you don't want todo, but they make the operation
work.
And that's kind of where it's uhwith my farming.
You know, I may be on a horse atdaylight and I may be sitting in
a John Deere tractor at twoo'clock in the morning trying to
get done.
It just takes it all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:54):
Oh yeah.
Well, the older I get, the moreI know not to say never, right?
Yeah, yeah.
You can't say I'll never, I'llnever drive a uh this truck or
you'll never because anything,anything, uh things change and
and we have to adapt.
And even as a human, I think notbeing uh not being uh you know,
too good for any job is such agreat trait, right?
(18:15):
Of just we got to get our handsdirty and we gotta do everything
because cause I'm not too goodfor anything, right?
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
Yeah.
I think that's important, likethe guys that work with us, you
know, we have a phenomenal groupof guys and it's very family
oriented, and I hope that wetreat them where it's somewhere
they want to be at.
But you know, that they'll doanything.
They'll any no matter what thejob is, they'll say, okay, and
they'll do it.
And you need people like thataround you, and this sure makes
our life run a lot better.
SPEAKER_01 (18:42):
Absolutely.
And what what would you sayabout kind of storytelling and
and talking about what you do?
How important is that?
I know obviously we're we'reasking you, we might have
voluntold you uh to be on thepodcast, but what how important
is that in this industry of ofbeing willing to tell your story
and and you were even willing tolet the you know national
(19:03):
organization come and get somefootage?
Why are you willing to to putyourself out there?
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
So I think that ignorance or not wanting to
learn anymore that's ignoranceis detrimental to us to any
business.
Be looking at something else.
Now, I may say something herethat somebody says, Well, shoot,
we got 20 acres down in thebottom.
We might could grow some feed.
Well, that's something they hadnever thought about.
It's a great idea.
(19:29):
I love listening to when I sitin tractor, I spend many, many
hours in a tractor.
I listen to podcasts constantly.
I I can do that or listen to theradio.
I can listen to somebody abouttheir old Chevy truck drinking
down by the lake or whatever.
Or I can listen to a podcast tosomebody that's in business, has
had the hardships, has reflectedon it, knows, hey, I'd do that
different next time.
Well, that might take a step ofmessing up out of my book.
(19:52):
So I just always try to furtheryour knowledge.
SPEAKER_01 (19:55):
Oh man, being open to learning is is great.
Admittedly, I wasn't interestedin podcasts necessarily.
I just knew it was it was thenext thing and it's great.
And I just, it wasn't personallyhow I got my media.
Well, now of course I'mlistening to podcasts, and I
listened to one recently, and Ihe was talking about building a
business and and all of thethings to protect yourself and
all of that, and it's justextremely inspirational.
(20:15):
And I I realized, you know, I'mI'm missing out a little bit.
Uh so I so I've got a I've got aqueue of podcasts now.
SPEAKER_00 (20:22):
In the past, you know, we didn't have podcasts as
an avenue.
My parents always ran smallbusinesses.
I grew up in it.
So I learned business aspectfrom them.
If I didn't have them, who wouldI have got it from?
I mean, you could watchsomebody, but it's a it's hard.
It's hard to get started, hardto know the ins and outs of
every little thing, and I'mstill learning.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and and we always say evenranching in any business is
multifaceted.
The things you'll end up dealingwith, you'll you'd never be able
to imagine or even explain tosomeone of all of the facets of
it.
Even even the fact that uh whenwe talk about uh ranching and
and uh weather, so you you saidthere's two and a half inches,
we got two and a half inches ofrain last night.
(21:03):
And that's something that in inmy career, in my life, I
understand and we talk about allthe time.
And sometimes I talk to someoneand I ask them, oh, what what's
your annual rainfall where youlive?
And they're like, What?
Why would I know that?
Oh, I don't know, it's just agreat topic of conversation when
you talk to ranchers becauseit's interesting.
And even knowing the rainfall inNew Mexico, how diverse it is,
uh, you said you get like 15inches, or you had 15 inches in
(21:25):
like two months last year,right?
Um, that's a really uh uniquething that you wouldn't realize
that these these cowboys ridinghorses and and doing these
things, you're also uh like ascientist and a weatherman and
uh and uh you know businessperson and a uh CPA and all the
things.
So um I always think it's it'ssurprising how much how much
(21:46):
more you have to do.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
So I had to take a lot of weather classes.
Oh, yeah, or weather stuffbecause I fly.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:53):
And that's been the neatest thing is to watch
weather patterns.
I never thought I'd like theweather so much, but that's the
other thing I'd tell people iswatch the weather.
And even not your short termwake up in the morning, drink
your coffee, watch weather.
Look at your long-termforecasts.
They're not always gonna get itright.
Sometimes they say it's gonnarain and it's 100 degrees, and
vice versa.
But if you can look, hey, we youknow, it looks like we may have
a wet spring.
(22:13):
Well, maybe we hold some effortsback from the fall before.
And you can kind of play withthat.
And I it's all long-termforecast.
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
We at at the NationalCattlemen's uh the cattle
convention, every year there'sthe cattle fax weather forecast.
And that's I think the mostattendant event of the whole of
the whole week.
It's I think it starts at rightat 8 a.m.
and everybody is crowding instanding room only to listen to
the meteorologist talk aboutlong-term forecast.
(22:41):
And his forecast in February wasthat we'd have a pretty wet
monsoon in New Mexico.
SPEAKER_00 (22:45):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (22:46):
So far feels that way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
It is, and I that's what I was seeing too.
I was looking at the fronts andI thought, you know, I think, I
think it may do it.
So we took on some extra cows,we took on some extra Kevs this
year, and so far it's working.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:57):
Uh now if it changes, we'll have to buck.
But so far we're so good, we'regood, and that's because we
looked at it.
SPEAKER_01 (23:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
And then and then beingadaptable if it changes.
Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Great quality.
Okay, so kind of uh wrapping upat the end, I I joke that this
is the most important question.
Um, unless you have anythingelse to add about your operation
or just the industry, I can addthat.
SPEAKER_00 (23:17):
No, I would say that if I'm far from an expert, but
if somebody has a question orsomething they want to visit
about, we're open.
And I don't know, I just want Ijust want everybody to know
that.
Just, you know, you can get incontact with us, and what we
tell you may not be right, butit's something that's worked for
us.
SPEAKER_01 (23:34):
Yeah.
What I what I found to be trueabout ranchers in New Mexico
specifically is is you alwaysanswer the phone.
I've called a lot of a lot of uhour either our board members for
the beef council or cattlegrowers, anybody, and the amount
of times they answer their phoneis just surprising to me.
And and so uh I have so muchrespect for that that that uh I
(23:54):
can ask questions.
I can I even if I'm a strangercalling, I'll call some
producers and ask them advice orwhat they want the the beef
council to be doing.
And the the response is, yeah,I've got time for you.
Yeah, what do you need?
And it's that's just a anincredible quality.
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
So I think it's the beef industry.
We operate as a collective.
Yes.
You know, we all sellindividual, and you might have
got a nickel more than I got onmy cattle, and I'm secretly wish
I'd have got better, but youknow, we got a dime more than we
were gonna get because we didsomething together or something.
So I think just working togetheris key.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
Absolutely, absolutely.
All all ships rise with a with arising tide, right?
Yes.
Uh so so then, okay, now I'llget to my last question, and
it's you know, jokingly the mostimportant.
What's your favorite way to eatbeef?
Hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (24:38):
Okay, so I love a good steak.
Um I'm not always the best atgoing sitting down at a white
linen tablecloth, wear a suit,kind of deal.
But I love a good steak.
I like a good simple steak.
Um, we cook a lot of tablitas onthe grill.
And uh so you can get yourtraditional ribs, and they just
(24:58):
take and cross-cut these thingswhere they're gonna be, you
know, what three eighths thick.
It's about where we get themcut, and it'll they're
phenomenal.
And so I throw them on thegrill.
A lot of people will marinatethem nearly like a fajita
marinade and then cook them.
But here lately we haven't beendoing that.
I stole salt and pepper, throwthem on the grill, and there's
all our beef we feed.
So there's a lot of marbling inthat, and they're pretty good.
(25:22):
And people, most people haven'tever had them, and they'll come
over and have, well, what isthis thing?
Because they look like a littlebitty thin flank steak or
something, but they'll eat itand then they come back and get
more, and then they takeleftovers, and then next time
you cook, could we cook somemore tabletis?
So that's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Oh, that's great.
I now that you said that, Ithink I've eaten that off
someone's grill and I didn'tknow what it was.
SPEAKER_00 (25:40):
Well, you didn't know the name for it.
We used to just kind of sitaround and hang out and rope the
dummy or whatever, throw them onthe grill and eat them and you
eat them with your fingers, andthey're a little messy, but and
they're good.
SPEAKER_01 (25:50):
That's perfect.
And I think it's uh yeah,anytime you're putting beef on
the grill, it's a great, greatway to serve your friends and
and have some fun.
SPEAKER_00 (25:57):
That's we have a freezer full of it and we use
it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:01):
Yeah.
Uh as you should.
As you should.
Well, perfect.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on the podcast.
Appreciate your time and andthen also appreciate what you do
for the industry.
I think um working to feed theworld and then being open to uh
to tell the story and then alsosaying you're you're welcome to
to questions.
Uh just thank you for that.
And and uh again, thanks forbeing on the podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (26:22):
Yes, ma'am.
Enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Thanks.
Behind the burger is a podcastproduced by the New Mexico Beef
Council with the goal of tellingthe stories of the cattlemen and
cattlewomen of the New Mexicobeef industry.
Thank you for joining us fortoday's episode.
If you would like moreinformation, please visit
nmbeef.com.
Whether it be a burger, a steak,or another beef dish, we hope
you are enjoying beef at yournext meal.
Welcome back to another episode of Behind the
Burger, our podcast from or withthe New Mexico Beef Council.
I'm Caroline Romo, and I am herein Fort Sumner with Jimmy
Fitzgerald.
And um, Jimmy, will youintroduce yourself and thanks
for coming coming on thepodcast?
Me.
SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
Yes, thank you.
Um Jimmy Fitzgerald, live inFort Sumner, grew up in Texas.
We moved here a few years ago.
I live here with my wife Sarahand our kids, Slate and Della.
And uh we farm and have ayearlin operation and run Cal
Kiefs.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
Perfect.
And what's kind of thebackground?
What where'd you grow up and andhow'd you get into uh this this
lifestyle?
SPEAKER_00 (00:39):
So I grew up in Jacksboro, Texas.
Uh my family always had a CalKiev deal, and then we had a
construction business as well.
We did that.
And so I grew up aroundequipment, which has helped me a
long way in life.
Um, as we got older, starteddoing some Kivs and started
doing that.
And then it's getting morepopulated around there, and
everybody's moving out from FortWorth, and our land values are
going through the roof, and sowe had to kind of decide, hey,
(01:02):
we're gonna make a change.
And Sarah's dad unfortunatelygot sick, and so kind of opened
up a window here.
Either they need to get out ortake over.
So we moved out and boughteverything out and took over.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah, and that's been that's been going pretty
well.
And and uh you guys have the thefarm, the grow yard, and the
ranch.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
Yes, he'd always had a ranch and the farm.
And uh, whenever we got here, Iknew I had to expand because at
that time he was still runningas well.
So we added two more ranches andI expanded the farming
operation.
And then after we took over,I've just combined them all and
built the yard and it's been agood deal.
SPEAKER_01 (01:34):
Yeah.
I think that's something that Iwas trying to explain, try to
explain to people, especially,you know, hopefully we have
consumers listening or you know,people that aren't familiar with
agriculture, is that in orderfor a family business to stay a
family business, you have toexpand.
And so when you have a largeoperation, it's it's a survival
method, right?
In some ways, is you get to feedmultiple families, you can't
(01:56):
stay uh, you know, you can't youcan't stay small in some ways,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yes.
Yeah, we see it a lot.
I have a lot of friends that,you know, there's just not a
room for them to grow.
They stay there and do what theycan and fill in and end up
starving to death and trying tomake it, and then it gets a bad
taste in their mouth, or theywant to go do something else to
provide for their family, andthen the opportunity does come
up where they can go back andthey don't have a desire
anymore.
Yeah.
So that's what we did.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Oh, yeah.
And I I think that's a reallyneat opportunity that you guys
had and uh and great foresight,right?
Yes.
What's the most rewarding partof being a rancher?
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Uh seeing the seeing the fruits of your labor, I
guess.
You know, we start out and we'llhave the little baby calves and
the kids love it, and they getto go and see them, and then you
know, those calves were runningthrough the summer, and then,
you know, we wean, and hey, theydid pretty good this year, and
then we bring them in, and youdon't you don't think they have
much upside, and then we'llshape them up and kind of even
(02:48):
everything out, go to wheat withthem, and they get wow, they got
bigger and man, they look good,and then you ship them off, and
it just feels good because Iwatched an animal go from
conception to 800, 900 poundsteer, and it's just it's neat
to see that.
And the kids they like watchingthat, and then the cycle just
starts over again.
So it's not like you get to seeit one time and then move on.
SPEAKER_01 (03:07):
Yeah, I think it's a great, great example of being
able to see it truly in front ofyour eyes, see the growth and
see your your business growingor your your uh cattle growing.
It's it's one of the few thingswhere you can see the fruits of
your labor in a very physicalway, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
That's it.
We bring in Kevs in our yard,and it's interesting to see, you
know, if you don't dedicate yourtime and spend time with them,
well, there's your big deathloss.
You know, we red pins twice aday, and you say, hey, you know,
that was miserable, but look, wedid pretty good.
We didn't lose very many.
So I I think that's veryinteresting.
SPEAKER_01 (03:38):
Oh, absolutely.
Uh I mean, the animals that Imean, that's something too that
that I always hope the consumerknows is that that the amount of
time and energy and people thatare focused on the well-being of
cattle is just unimaginable.
The amount of people that thathave eyes on the cattle and and
make sure and even the the wayswe monitor cattle, sometimes
(04:00):
people aren't getting that goodat monitoring, right?
SPEAKER_00 (04:02):
That's it.
unknown (04:03):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Um they'll think we're getting rich because they
see, oh my goodness, thesesteers sold for this much money.
We'll break it down to how muchwe made an hour, and it's not
very much.
But we do it because we like it,not because we're gonna get
rich.
SPEAKER_01 (04:14):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think uh even the lightsin the feed yard is is proof of
that, right?
I saw you had a a light thatthat obviously that means you
had to load cattle in the darkor or uh check cattle in the
dark because yeah, it's a it's a24-7 roll in a lot of ways.
Uh, what about talk about NewMexico's landscapes?
How does New Mexico's landscapesand climate kind of shape your
(04:36):
methods?
SPEAKER_00 (04:37):
So some things I think really help.
Um, you know, we're pretty dryand the grass out here is sure
enough stout.
So it's a lot different fromback home.
Uh our carrying capacity is notas high as it is at home, but
our grass is stout and thosekids sure do good on it once it
kind of hardens up a little bit,dries out.
Um, as far as our landscape, youknow, it's it's hot, but it's
not humid.
(04:57):
That helps a lot, especially, Idon't know, October National
Dead Calf month seems like.
And out here we don't have it asbad as we did back home.
You don't get those 40 degreedays or that just wet and
drizzle and miserable.
And here we just don't have it.
So I really like it.
Our summers are harder becauseyou get a lot more dust.
We're a lot sandier, a lot ofdust.
So we could kind of fight somelong stuff.
(05:18):
But other than that, it's a lotbetter.
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
Yeah.
So you you mentioned carryingcapacity.
And if the listener doesn't uhdoesn't know our doesn't know
beef or doesn't know ranching,um, carrying capacity and
stocking rate that has to dowith how many cattle are on the
grass at a at or on a um acreageat a time, right?
I'm sure you could explain thatbetter than me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Yeah, so our carrying capacity, so just say
for example, back home, we're15, 17 acres of cow, and out
here we're 40, 50, 60.
Um, a lot of people just be justbecause you can put them out
there and they look good for amonth, look at the whole year.
Don't look at just that onemonth window.
And so we're a little more onthe conservative side.
Um, you know, you can you cansure eat that grass off and it
(06:01):
won't grow back.
So I'd rather leave a littlefeed, and then whenever we go
back out in the summer, hey,we've got standing feed from
last year.
It may not be fresh greengrowth, but it's something to
hold them in case disaster doeshappen.
So we we're definitely verycognizant of our carrying stock
and rates, and it may changefrom year to year.
This year we're having a reallygood year.
We may load up a little bit morethan we normally do, but we're
always conservative becausewhat's the rest of the year?
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
Yeah, and I think uh I think you told me at one
point, I think it was you, maybewhen we were at your branding,
is that that you're you're agrass barber in a lot of ways,
right?
You've got to grow the grass.
That's that's the the grass'snumber one priority in a lot of
ways.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
So you can't feed them through it and you can't
haul water.
Those are two things that peoplethink, well, it's getting dry,
we just need to start feeding,and we're gonna feed and feed.
Well, look what feed costs aton.
Put that in to your break even.
We run sheets on everything, andwe know hay, it's sometimes it's
better to do somethingdifferent.
You know, that helps a lothaving the farms.
We can bring alfalfa hay, numberone alfalfa hay, it's gonna test
(06:58):
really, really high.
We'll supplement, we'll replacecake with it.
We'll haul hay out there, alittle bit more time and labor,
but you know, it's helping ourbottom line.
SPEAKER_01 (07:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
And and the farm helps withthat.
So uh what is maybe one of thebiggest challenges you all face
in your ranch or your farming?
SPEAKER_00 (07:15):
You know, we're we're paying for land and we're
paying for cows, and it's justpay attention to the bottom
line.
Don't be scared of hard, youknow, we're we're paying for
land and we're paying for cows,and it's just pay attention to
the bottom line.
Don't be scared of hard work,you're gonna work your tail off,
but it it is rewarding.
And our hope and goal is thatone of these days when we do get
(07:35):
older, hey, we can maybe provideour kids with the place that is
paid for that they get a littlebit leg up and they can go and
do.
So I think that would be ahardship that we do.
And as you're young, um, you'renot viewed as everybody here I
would say has been pretty good,but you're not always viewed as
being knowing what you're doing.
You're just some young guy andalways growing and that's not
(07:57):
gonna work.
Well, it's working.
So I think you just have to kindof sit back and slow roll it a
little bit sometimes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:05):
Yeah, I like to joke with my husband that that uh and
even friends that I'm okay withbeing underestimated.
That's okay.
I can be underestimated.
We'll we'll work through and andwork hard and and prove prove
ourselves, even if we're justproving it to ourselves.
That's okay.
Uh um can you give an example ofhow you care for your cattle to
ensure their health andwell-being?
SPEAKER_00 (08:26):
So when we brand, we're gonna vaccinate all then
and we'll keep a solid eye onthem throughout the year.
As the grass does differentthings, you feed different,
different things like that.
You'll tell the difference.
So there's always a happy lineof monitoring them throughout
their growth.
Once they get to weaning, wegive them more shots.
We we pre uh we wean all ourcalves.
We don't sell anything off thecow.
(08:46):
I have the facilities to do it,so we do that.
So we're monitoring themconstantly.
And I don't think there'sanything wrong with, you know,
hey, we had a lot of troublethis year.
Let's change our vaccineprogram.
You don't have to need to be theperson that, oh, this is a good
idea or this is a good idea.
You kind of need to stay solidin your methods, but I don't
think there's anything wrongwith looking outside the box.
We've tried a couple ofdifferent things that have
really made the weaning processeasier, and you can tell a
(09:08):
difference in your gain.
And that's other things I say isweigh your cattle.
You know, you can tell somethingas simple as half a pound,
that's half a pound.
You put that across their anchesand that adds up to a
substantial amount of money.
So I think just kind of be intune with what they're doing and
what to change.
SPEAKER_01 (09:23):
Yeah, and and when you talk about vaccines, um,
some things I think areimportant to to point out for
animal health.
Vaccines are are a reallyimportant part of it to prevent
disease outbreaks, to prevent,you know, illnesses that that
you know, by using the vaccines,we've wiped them out of cattle
herds, right?
And then and then also animportant part is is the
(09:45):
vaccines are never getting intothe beef supply.
So the vaccines have withdrawaldates, which require a, you
know, a certain amount of timebetween giving the vaccine and
harvesting the animal.
And and some of and some of themget out of the system pretty
quickly.
But anyways, I just wanted tosay that to for the for the sake
of listeners, is that is that uhit's a very safe practice and a
(10:06):
very well well uh studied,researched, and tested process.
SPEAKER_00 (10:11):
Yes, it is.
And we don't we don't implantour kiffs from growth, we do
natural program, we'll sell forthat, you know, and but I'll
punt too.
If it looks like these calvesare on the bottom end and we're
pretty small and we need to putthem in the yard and we need to
push them a little bit harder,we're not opposed to it.
But we try to stay more thatroute.
The um I'd rather eat a calfthat's healthy than a calf
(10:32):
that's skin and bones and just adog eat sucker.
And I don't think as our chargedhumans that we're supposed to
take care of our animus.
And I feel like if we just say,well, we're not gonna give them
that, it hurts my heart to seecattle like that.
So I think we're supposed tokeep them healthy.
SPEAKER_01 (10:45):
Absolutely, absolutely.
We we take our kids to thedoctors.
Yes.
We gotta we gotta take care ofour cattle.
And if it's if medicine isrequired, then we're gonna we're
gonna take care of it.
Um so what's one thing that mostpeople don't know about raising
beef in New Mexico?
SPEAKER_00 (11:01):
I would say kind of what we touched on earlier, it's
a multifaceted business, andthere's a lot to it besides just
go to the grocery store and pickyou up a steak.
Um, I think even it's just thefact of looking at your steaks,
there's 15 different things tolook for in a steak, and you can
pick out your better beef.
And I would say research whereit comes from.
I know we don't do it, but a lotof people do the whole farm to
(11:23):
table thing.
And it's neat to see thatprocess.
It really teaches you a lotabout the industry.
I would say if people havequestions, ask.
You know, there's a lot of y'allare a great source on providing
knowledge to people.
I would say reach out if youhave questions throughout the
whole process.
Ask.
SPEAKER_01 (11:39):
Absolutely.
Yeah, we're open to questions.
And and then even too, werecommend people go into your
meat counter, your grocerystore, if it's a small local
grocery store or even a chain,go to the meat counter and ask
them.
Even, even at, you know, the thebig wholesalers, I'll go in and
ask them for the best, bestprime rib or and they bring out
and they'll show me why it's thebest.
(11:59):
And and I even should know whatI'm looking at, right?
But I still learn every time Italk to somebody behind a meat
counter.
That's a great way to to askabout your beef too.
And then if you want to, youknow, talk to a rancher or or
you know, our organizationrepresents ranchers, we'd be
happy to answer questions.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
Yeah, we're blessed.
We have a really good meat placehere in town.
And I know good and well thatthey want you to have the best
cut of whatever you're lookingfor.
And if there's a way that theycan help you get what you want,
they sell more beef.
You're a happy customer, it's awin-win for everybody.
So don't be afraid to ask.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and and people liketalking about what they know
about and what they'repassionate about, right?
That's that's why the podcast isworking.
Um, but we yeah, so absolutelygo to the meat counter or the or
the uh meat store.
I was gonna say like like FortSumner processing when they sell
uh that's your local one you'retalking about, right?
Yes.
Um, what is your favorite partof the beef industry?
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
I think there's very few industries you could look at
farming that involve family.
You know, they there's placesthat everybody has a story about
going to their granddad's farmor their granddad's ranch, or
oh, we we used to go help brand,or we used to help go and to do
that.
And we've tried to really pushthat through our outfit is bring
your kids, bring your family.
It's inclusive.
(13:15):
But if also if somebody hastrouble, everybody stands
together, everybody bondstogether.
We neighbor on branding stuff,and you know, you can pick up
the phone and say, I'm reallysorry this happened, and we got
a bunch of stuff mixed, andthey're gonna come help you.
And, you know, they're gonnafeed you the best meals you've
ever had and they're gonnaappreciate it, and they're gonna
tell you thank you 50 timesbefore you leave because they
truly appreciate it.
(13:36):
And we'd do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01 (13:38):
Absolutely.
I think I I agree that there'snot many industries or places
you can go where where you'regonna get that that family and
that community that's justunimaginable.
And even the the food at abranding.
So it's like I'm always tryingto beg to get get invited to a
branding because I because Iknow you're gonna get fed some
sort of great meal, and it'slike the college kid in me and
(13:59):
just looking for a free meal orsomething.
But really, it's that communityand that and that romanticism of
of uh of seeing community andseeing family uh together.
SPEAKER_00 (14:10):
In the morning, you'll be able to drive
somewhere and everybody hastheir happy place or their
peaceful place, and you can'tlook around and not see God
everywhere, and that you know,this is a creation that we're
part of, and it's a it'sspecial.
It's beats the pookie out ofsitting in a traffic jam.
SPEAKER_01 (14:28):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
It's beautiful out there, and I don't know, you see
the little kids and you see thekids, and it's special.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I think what a what a neatthing.
There's so many great things.
It's even hard to ask thefavorite part of be the beef
industry because getting to livethat lifestyle um for outside
looking in is is admirable andand uh uh inspirational to sign
up for this, continue to expand,um, and and you know, run this
(14:59):
business.
What what makes you keep going?
SPEAKER_00 (15:01):
My kids.
Um, I would say that's the shortanswer, the biggest deal.
You know, if we make a littlebit of money along the way,
that's great.
It's gonna go to something tofurther their life.
Um that's all I want.
I at the end of the day, we workor tell off or whatever.
And I think you ask anybodythat's in the industry, there
might be a handful that say, Ido it because I want to get
rich, but most everybody isbecause they want to pass
(15:23):
something on to their kids.
I you can teach them 15different work ethics whenever
you're doing it, and they don'tlike it, but they know it's part
of it.
My kids are the day, so I don'twant to do that, but I know I
have to.
And that's exactly right.
And that goes through any partof their life, no matter what
they're gonna do.
You may not like it, but yougotta do it.
And so I I think just the futureand just family is the reason I
(15:44):
do it.
That's my drive.
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Absolutely.
And that's the greatestinspiration is is our kids.
Um, is there anything that youwould want listeners to know
about the beef industry that youhaven't already said, or or even
if you want to talk about youroperation more, but just just
anything.
SPEAKER_00 (16:01):
You know, kind of our operation.
Uh, we really didn't talk awhole lot about the quote kind
of what we do, but you know, wefarm, we all forn and wheat, and
they all tie into our ranches.
They tie into my yard, they tieinto whatever.
And if if we get a little hayrained on, you know, it may not
be a real marketable product,we'll feed it through the yard.
We got wheat we turn out on, andthen we'll harvest it after
(16:22):
that.
Um, our corn, chop for silage.
We'll sell some, chop some forsilage and put it back.
So it kind of goes hand in hand,and I think that rolls on to a
lot of different businesses.
Just don't think just cookiecutter, this is what you do.
You buy your feed, you sell yourthe they can interlink and uh
make a better operation in awhole.
(16:43):
And so I that's what I would sayis just don't do everything the
way that granddad did it.
Look at kind of maybe outsidethe box and keep up with your
numbers, run your sheets, andmaybe it'll be successful.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, I and I think uh I think Isaid it when we were reporting,
or maybe it was yesterday, isthe the walking the feed off the
farm is a is a great uh solutionthat I think that going back to
that because you have you havethe feed is such a great, great
way you feed the cattle, feed itto the cattle and and keep it
(17:14):
all in-house and then and thenyou you suddenly have vertical
integration, right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:18):
Yes.
Yeah, yes.
I think when Arborie decided tomove out here, I told Sarah we
were gonna move out here andlive the romantic New Mexican
lifestyle.
And I told her, I'll doanything, but I'm not gonna be a
farmer.
But you you can't say thatbecause there's things you don't
want to do, whether it's fixinga water gap on a million-acre
ranch or it's shoveling stallsor mucking mucking stalls or
(17:39):
scooping out bonks.
There's things you don't want todo, but they make the operation
work.
And that's kind of where it's uhwith my farming.
You know, I may be on a horse atdaylight and I may be sitting in
a John Deere tractor at twoo'clock in the morning trying to
get done.
It just takes it all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:54):
Oh yeah.
Well, the older I get, the moreI know not to say never, right?
Yeah, yeah.
You can't say I'll never, I'llnever drive a uh this truck or
you'll never because anything,anything, uh things change and
and we have to adapt.
And even as a human, I think notbeing uh not being uh you know,
too good for any job is such agreat trait, right?
(18:15):
Of just we got to get our handsdirty and we gotta do everything
because cause I'm not too goodfor anything, right?
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
Yeah.
I think that's important, likethe guys that work with us, you
know, we have a phenomenal groupof guys and it's very family
oriented, and I hope that wetreat them where it's somewhere
they want to be at.
But you know, that they'll doanything.
They'll any no matter what thejob is, they'll say, okay, and
they'll do it.
And you need people like thataround you, and this sure makes
our life run a lot better.
SPEAKER_01 (18:42):
Absolutely.
And what what would you sayabout kind of storytelling and
and talking about what you do?
How important is that?
I know obviously we're we'reasking you, we might have
voluntold you uh to be on thepodcast, but what how important
is that in this industry of ofbeing willing to tell your story
and and you were even willing tolet the you know national
(19:03):
organization come and get somefootage?
Why are you willing to to putyourself out there?
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
So I think that ignorance or not wanting to
learn anymore that's ignoranceis detrimental to us to any
business.
Be looking at something else.
Now, I may say something herethat somebody says, Well, shoot,
we got 20 acres down in thebottom.
We might could grow some feed.
Well, that's something they hadnever thought about.
It's a great idea.
(19:29):
I love listening to when I sitin tractor, I spend many, many
hours in a tractor.
I listen to podcasts constantly.
I I can do that or listen to theradio.
I can listen to somebody abouttheir old Chevy truck drinking
down by the lake or whatever.
Or I can listen to a podcast tosomebody that's in business, has
had the hardships, has reflectedon it, knows, hey, I'd do that
different next time.
Well, that might take a step ofmessing up out of my book.
(19:52):
So I just always try to furtheryour knowledge.
SPEAKER_01 (19:55):
Oh man, being open to learning is is great.
Admittedly, I wasn't interestedin podcasts necessarily.
I just knew it was it was thenext thing and it's great.
And I just, it wasn't personallyhow I got my media.
Well, now of course I'mlistening to podcasts, and I
listened to one recently, and Ihe was talking about building a
business and and all of thethings to protect yourself and
all of that, and it's justextremely inspirational.
(20:15):
And I I realized, you know, I'mI'm missing out a little bit.
Uh so I so I've got a I've got aqueue of podcasts now.
SPEAKER_00 (20:22):
In the past, you know, we didn't have podcasts as
an avenue.
My parents always ran smallbusinesses.
I grew up in it.
So I learned business aspectfrom them.
If I didn't have them, who wouldI have got it from?
I mean, you could watchsomebody, but it's a it's hard.
It's hard to get started, hardto know the ins and outs of
every little thing, and I'mstill learning.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and and we always say evenranching in any business is
multifaceted.
The things you'll end up dealingwith, you'll you'd never be able
to imagine or even explain tosomeone of all of the facets of
it.
Even even the fact that uh whenwe talk about uh ranching and
and uh weather, so you you saidthere's two and a half inches,
we got two and a half inches ofrain last night.
(21:03):
And that's something that in inmy career, in my life, I
understand and we talk about allthe time.
And sometimes I talk to someoneand I ask them, oh, what what's
your annual rainfall where youlive?
And they're like, What?
Why would I know that?
Oh, I don't know, it's just agreat topic of conversation when
you talk to ranchers becauseit's interesting.
And even knowing the rainfall inNew Mexico, how diverse it is,
uh, you said you get like 15inches, or you had 15 inches in
(21:25):
like two months last year,right?
Um, that's a really uh uniquething that you wouldn't realize
that these these cowboys ridinghorses and and doing these
things, you're also uh like ascientist and a weatherman and
uh and uh you know businessperson and a uh CPA and all the
things.
So um I always think it's it'ssurprising how much how much
(21:46):
more you have to do.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
So I had to take a lot of weather classes.
Oh, yeah, or weather stuffbecause I fly.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:53):
And that's been the neatest thing is to watch
weather patterns.
I never thought I'd like theweather so much, but that's the
other thing I'd tell people iswatch the weather.
And even not your short termwake up in the morning, drink
your coffee, watch weather.
Look at your long-termforecasts.
They're not always gonna get itright.
Sometimes they say it's gonnarain and it's 100 degrees, and
vice versa.
But if you can look, hey, we youknow, it looks like we may have
a wet spring.
(22:13):
Well, maybe we hold some effortsback from the fall before.
And you can kind of play withthat.
And I it's all long-termforecast.
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
We at at the NationalCattlemen's uh the cattle
convention, every year there'sthe cattle fax weather forecast.
And that's I think the mostattendant event of the whole of
the whole week.
It's I think it starts at rightat 8 a.m.
and everybody is crowding instanding room only to listen to
the meteorologist talk aboutlong-term forecast.
(22:41):
And his forecast in February wasthat we'd have a pretty wet
monsoon in New Mexico.
SPEAKER_00 (22:45):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (22:46):
So far feels that way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
It is, and I that's what I was seeing too.
I was looking at the fronts andI thought, you know, I think, I
think it may do it.
So we took on some extra cows,we took on some extra Kevs this
year, and so far it's working.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:57):
Uh now if it changes, we'll have to buck.
But so far we're so good, we'regood, and that's because we
looked at it.
SPEAKER_01 (23:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
And then and then beingadaptable if it changes.
Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Great quality.
Okay, so kind of uh wrapping upat the end, I I joke that this
is the most important question.
Um, unless you have anythingelse to add about your operation
or just the industry, I can addthat.
SPEAKER_00 (23:17):
No, I would say that if I'm far from an expert, but
if somebody has a question orsomething they want to visit
about, we're open.
And I don't know, I just want Ijust want everybody to know
that.
Just, you know, you can get incontact with us, and what we
tell you may not be right, butit's something that's worked for
us.
SPEAKER_01 (23:34):
Yeah.
What I what I found to be trueabout ranchers in New Mexico
specifically is is you alwaysanswer the phone.
I've called a lot of a lot of uhour either our board members for
the beef council or cattlegrowers, anybody, and the amount
of times they answer their phoneis just surprising to me.
And and so uh I have so muchrespect for that that that uh I
(23:54):
can ask questions.
I can I even if I'm a strangercalling, I'll call some
producers and ask them advice orwhat they want the the beef
council to be doing.
And the the response is, yeah,I've got time for you.
Yeah, what do you need?
And it's that's just a anincredible quality.
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
So I think it's the beef industry.
We operate as a collective.
Yes.
You know, we all sellindividual, and you might have
got a nickel more than I got onmy cattle, and I'm secretly wish
I'd have got better, but youknow, we got a dime more than we
were gonna get because we didsomething together or something.
So I think just working togetheris key.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
Absolutely, absolutely.
All all ships rise with a with arising tide, right?
Yes.
Uh so so then, okay, now I'llget to my last question, and
it's you know, jokingly the mostimportant.
What's your favorite way to eatbeef?
Hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (24:38):
Okay, so I love a good steak.
Um I'm not always the best atgoing sitting down at a white
linen tablecloth, wear a suit,kind of deal.
But I love a good steak.
I like a good simple steak.
Um, we cook a lot of tablitas onthe grill.
And uh so you can get yourtraditional ribs, and they just
(24:58):
take and cross-cut these thingswhere they're gonna be, you
know, what three eighths thick.
It's about where we get themcut, and it'll they're
phenomenal.
And so I throw them on thegrill.
A lot of people will marinatethem nearly like a fajita
marinade and then cook them.
But here lately we haven't beendoing that.
I stole salt and pepper, throwthem on the grill, and there's
all our beef we feed.
So there's a lot of marbling inthat, and they're pretty good.
(25:22):
And people, most people haven'tever had them, and they'll come
over and have, well, what isthis thing?
Because they look like a littlebitty thin flank steak or
something, but they'll eat itand then they come back and get
more, and then they takeleftovers, and then next time
you cook, could we cook somemore tabletis?
So that's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Oh, that's great.
I now that you said that, Ithink I've eaten that off
someone's grill and I didn'tknow what it was.
SPEAKER_00 (25:40):
Well, you didn't know the name for it.
We used to just kind of sitaround and hang out and rope the
dummy or whatever, throw them onthe grill and eat them and you
eat them with your fingers, andthey're a little messy, but and
they're good.
SPEAKER_01 (25:50):
That's perfect.
And I think it's uh yeah,anytime you're putting beef on
the grill, it's a great, greatway to serve your friends and
and have some fun.
SPEAKER_00 (25:57):
That's we have a freezer full of it and we use
it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:01):
Yeah.
Uh as you should.
As you should.
Well, perfect.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on the podcast.
Appreciate your time and andthen also appreciate what you do
for the industry.
I think um working to feed theworld and then being open to uh
to tell the story and then alsosaying you're you're welcome to
to questions.
Uh just thank you for that.
And and uh again, thanks forbeing on the podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (26:22):
Yes, ma'am.
Enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Thanks.
Behind the burger is a podcastproduced by the New Mexico Beef
Council with the goal of tellingthe stories of the cattlemen and
cattlewomen of the New Mexicobeef industry.
Thank you for joining us fortoday's episode.
If you would like moreinformation, please visit
nmbeef.com.
Whether it be a burger, a steak,or another beef dish, we hope
you are enjoying beef at yournext meal.
Host
Carollann Romo
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