# 58 - Kevin Ochsner, Living to Serve

Kevin Ochsner was born and raised on an irrigated farm and registered cattle operation in Fort Collins, Colo. He attended Colorado State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. During his undergraduate studies, Kevin was a member of the CSU livestock judging team earning high individual honors at the National Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest and was actively involved in FFA, serving as a National FFA Officer in 1987-88. In 1997, Kevin earned his master’s in management from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue University.

Kevin spent more than two decades working for the Indianapolis-based consulting firm Agri Business Group before founding his own consulting practice, Agcellerate, LLC. Over the past 24 years, he has had the privilege of providing strategic planning, marketing consulting, sales/management training and keynote speaking services to some of the country’s largest animal health, crop protection, seed, feed and farm machinery companies.

Today, Kevin, his wife Julie and their three children, Caitlyn, Ashlyn and Collin, make their home in the small agricultural community of Kersey, Colo., 60 miles northeast of Denver. In addition to his consulting and TV hosting responsibilities, Kevin manages his family operation consisting of 130 head of registered Limousin and Lim-Flex cows together with irrigated corn, alfalfa and grass hay along the South Platte River. In addition to marketing bulls to commercial cow-calf operations, Kevin’s family also operates Ochsner Tenderlean Beef, a small branded beef company that markets beef directly to consumers along the Front Range of Colorado. 

Episode Transcript

Microphone (Yeti Stereo (00:05):
Thanks for joining us for episode 58 of
practically ranching.
I'm your host, Matt Perrier.
As always the podcast issponsored by Dale banks, Angus,
you re Kansas your home forpractical, profitable genetics.
Some might say that there isn'tmuch practicality in discussions
about industry involvement andcivic duty and association

(00:29):
relevance.
So this might be another one ofthose episodes that leaves you
with a few more questions thananswers.
But as a lifelong-- probablygenerational-- inquiring mind
myself.
This was a really fun discussionfor me with a friend of mine who
is no stranger to servantleadership, consultation and

(00:52):
industry involvement.
I first met Kevin Ochsner about20 years ago when he led a
strategic planning session forthe American Angus association
while I was on the staff there.
And since then Kevin has becomerecognized as a bit of a star as
the host of cattleman tocattleman on RFD TV.

(01:14):
He continues to consult with agentities like associations and
other businesses, plus he andhis family owned and operate a
seedstock cowherd.
And while we may not give thatmany answers in today's episode,
this may be one of those foodfor thought discussions that we

(01:34):
as leaders in agriculture--maybe society in general--
really need to hear.
You know, I've witnessed asignificant change over my years
of how folks view membership inorganizations, whether it's our
industry trade groups or civicorganizations or churches.

(01:54):
People today are not usually asinvolved with these groups as
they were decades ago.
And maybe this is just a trendand part of life's natural
progression.
Maybe it's the fault of ournonprofit organizations that
aren't nimble or willing enoughto change their model and the

(02:16):
services that they offer.
Or maybe it's a bit of both,which means that each of us
probably need to look at thistype of an issue from both
perspectives and then figure outwhere the best path forward
lies.
You know, the thing I like aboutconsultants, like Kevin, is that
they are really good at makingme think about what could be,

(02:39):
not just about what is.
And even if these mindwanderings don't elicit true
change, I think they're ahealthy exercise for all of us,
whether it's in our own familyfarms and ranches, Uh, industry
trade group boards that we maysit on civic organizations.
We have to be at least willingto consider how we would do

(03:02):
business if we didn't have theparadigm of our past to cloud
our judgment.
So enjoy this conversation.
Thanks for tuning in.
God bless you all.
And here's Kevin Oschner.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (03:16):
How are things in Eastern Colorado?
Assuming that's where you aretoday.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024 (03:21):
That is where I am today, and they're
better today than they wereyesterday, at least for some of
us.
We got a little rain last night,and unfortunately with all the
challenging weather across thecountry, some folks just a
little further north of us gottotally hailed out.
And so we're pleased that it waswet, but not too hard on our

(03:42):
place, but feeling for someneighbors with a lot of high
value vegetable crops that gotdestroyed last night.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (03:50):
Yeah, it's been, been one of those
Springs.
It seems like feast or famine,which, which can be the case all
the time, but it seems like evenmore so this year.
So I am quite certain thatprobably everybody who is
listening to this, Thinks theyknow what you do because they've
probably heard of you.
If not worked with you in avariety of roles and a very, you

(04:14):
know, through the decades, tellme first, what all you're up to
today for those of us that mayjust see you on TV or may just
see you in a boardroom or mayjust read something of what
you've done, what you're up totoday.
And then we may go into the pastand what brought you to here

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (04:32):
Oh, let's not go into the past,
Matt.
That could be dangerous.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (04:34):
for both of us, for both of us.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (04:37):
Uh, no.
I appreciate the opportunity tobe with you today, Matt, and
value our friendship over manyof those decades that you just
mentioned.
Um, no, to to summarize, at theend of the day, a lot of people
in the beef cattle businessbelieve that my full time job is
host of Cattleman to Cattleman.
and Uh, while, I thoroughlyenjoy that opportunity, uh, that

(04:58):
I've had since I think 2008 or9,.
Uh, that is really a very smallportion of my daily and weekly
life, so to speak.
For 33 years now, I've been inthe agribusiness consulting
industry.
I spent about 23 of those years.
Uh, with, uh, Indianapolis basedagribusiness group and, uh,
really cut my teeth inagribusiness consulting, through

(05:19):
that organization, um, startedmy own business called
Accelerate, uh, here in Coloradoand continue to do the same sort
of things.
And I guess, uh, from aconsulting standpoint, Matt, you
and I've worked together on acouple of occasions.
Really that business iscomprised of three key elements.
I spend probably about 80 or sopercent of my time in strategic

(05:40):
and marketing consulting.
And that is a process of helpinganybody from, you know, breed
associations to multinationalcompanies develop and implement
strategic plans or, or marketingplans for their organizations.
probably, uh, another 10 percentor so of my business is in
keynote speaking.
I do a lot of, keynote speakingat national sales meetings and

(06:00):
conventions and conferences.
And, and the remaining about 10percent is in sales and
marketing training.
And so, um, Uh, the vastmajority of my weekly life is
spent, uh, on the road, uh,working with, uh, all sorts of
clients in and aroundagribusiness from crop input
companies to, uh, animal healthcompanies to, as I said,
associations and, and, uh,organizations.

(06:21):
And then in addition to that,uh, consulting business and the
cattleman to cattleman hostingjob.
We also have our own cattleoperation.
Uh, we run about 175 head ofregistered limousine and limflex
cows here in eastern Coloradoand, had our first production
sale this spring with theregistered seed stock.
My wife handles a directconsumer beef business where we

(06:42):
sell, the cattle that don't makebreeding stock as halves,
quarters, and whole beef to, uh,to Consumers up and
downColorado's Front Range.
So that in a nutshell or arather large nutshell is kind of
what keeps me busy.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (06:56):
So of those three fairly time
consuming, uh, jobs, probablyall could be considered full
time, which one is the day job?
And which are the other, whichare the side hustles?
Or is there such a thing?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (07:09):
You know, it's, it's transitioned a
little bit and, and by, uh, bydesign, frankly, um, the, the
reality is, uh, when I grew up,I tell people my career planning
was pretty simple because, uh,when I graduated from college,
there wasn't a home farm to comehome to.
Well, I'd grown up on anirrigated farm and cattle
operation.
Uh, we were some of thestatistics of the 1980s.

(07:29):
And so that sent me down adifferent career path like a lot
of us in the 1980s and 90s.
Yeah.
That said, we got to go makesome money somewhere else.
If we're going to get involvedin production agriculture.
so I took a job in consulting.
My wife had a job in animalhealth for a time, and, uh, we
tried to pocket some money andthen she stayed home to raise
our three children while I triedto hustle, making some money to

(07:49):
try to buy some land, put somecows together.
Now that we have all of our kidsgraduated.From high school and
probably a year away from thelast one graduated from college,
I have been trying toconsciously make the transition
back into more productionbusiness.
now having said that we, wehired a herdsman and so he can
keep the wheels on the bus whileI'm gone.
And, and I don't anticipateshutting down anytime soon in my

(08:12):
consulting business.
Um, I would, I would like tothink that over the next seven,
eight years, I can spend just afew more, few more nights in my
own bed and a few less, seats onairplanes and, um, do that more
in a part time basis than I havethe last 30 some years.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (08:28):
prior to that point, when you came out
of school and, though, wanted toget into production and
agriculture, like so many folksthat do, Lived through the
eighties and we're making thattransition shortly after took a
town job of some kind, eventhough you stayed very connected
to AG.
Prior to that, you know, yourFFA leadership and things like

(08:48):
that.
What, what do you think made itpossible for you to do all these
careers that you're talkingabout?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2 (08:54):
Without question, Matt, it was my, um,
my FFA and, um, to maybe alesser extent 4 H experience.
And I say that because I I thinkof two very, very critical
formative experiences I had, andone was in livestock judging,
uh, starting as a 4 H member.
And I truly believe that thatexperience, helped me develop

(09:17):
some decision making skills andfor some critical thinking
skills and, um, began my publicspeaking skills.
And then I would certainly, uh,you know, credit the National
FFA organization and myinvolvement over time in FFA
for, for doing two things.
Number one, not only developingthose interpersonal
communication and, and, uh,decision making and hopefully

(09:39):
some leadership skills, but, butalso, uh, introducing me to,
folks that really, uh, you know,I have continued to work with.
Work with and be mentored bythroughout my entire life.
The very first job I got withthe agribusiness consulting
company in Indianapolis, uh, wasfrom a man who himself was
national FFA secretary, sameoffice I held about 10 or 12

(10:00):
years before me.
And I had gotten that jobthrough an internship program,
um, through FFA.
And so, uh, so those twoorganizations, uh, played a
pivotal role in, um, in what Ido for a living and I think who
I am today.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (10:16):
Well, they're undoubtedly great
leadership organizations.
And I think most people that arelistening today, either we're
members of either or both, havekids who are members.
In fact, yesterday I sent oursecond and third children, Lyle,
who's a senior and Hannah, who'sa sophomore to the Kansas FFA,
And so they were competing todayand extemporaneous speaking.

(10:38):
And I haven't heard yet how theygot along, but, it is a great
proving ground and, and that's,I guess, one reason I've got you
on here, not just to talk about4-H and FFA, but sometimes I
think we in especiallyproduction ag overlook what is
quite possibly the greatestfringe benefit that we have of

(11:02):
this job.
We look at cash flows and welook at financial statements at
the end of the year and ourbanker asks us some hard
questions and we look at theasset investment, everything,
the return on those assets.
And scratch your head and say,why on earth have we been doing
this for four and five and sixand seven generations in our

(11:23):
family?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024 (11:25):
mhm.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (11:26):
Quite often, I think if we're honest
with ourselves, it's because ofthe opportunities, not that you
have to own land to have kids gothrough an FFA or 4 H program,
but the community and the senseof business sense and work ethic
and everything else, all thoseintangibles that A farm and

(11:47):
ranch bring to the table areinvaluable.
We cannot monetize them.
Well, we can't actually put avalue on them on a financial
statement.
But when we or our kids orwhomever else, just like
yourself, when you said, Hey,the family farm isn't there for
me to come back to anymore, orat least not in a state that I

(12:09):
can make a living.
But what I learned from thefamily farm can go any place.
We're in a time in society that.
I keep hearing....
In fact, I just not 45 minutesago, coming back down the road
from picking up cover crop seedwas listening to a podcast and
they were talking about theinability to recruit volunteer

(12:30):
firemen anymore.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024 (12:32):
Wow.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (12:33):
And I've heard similar discussions,
whether it be online or onpodcasts talking about the fact
that nobody wants to volunteeranymore.
And we're having a hard timefinding volunteers for
everything from a volunteer firedepartment to folks to run for
office.
What, what can we in agricultureand what can.

(12:54):
4 H, FFA, whatever the case maybe do to stem the tide.
Or do we look at it from a, froma capitalistic standpoint and
say, you know what, these kidsare going to be so highly
marketable.
Why would we want to change it?
Are we doomed in terms ofservice is as a friend of mine,
Gordon Hibbard has said before,wrote an essay years ago, is

(13:14):
loyalty dead?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (13:15):
No, I think, I think you asked some
really, really pertinentquestions and, and I think, um,
you know, those extend to, um,to lots of different
organizations, right?
Um, you're both, you and I areboth involved in cattle industry
organizations as well, and maybeFarm Bureau or, or some folks,
farmers Union or, or what haveyou.
And, and I, uh.
I will be speaking to theIllinois Farm Bureau, uh, this

(13:37):
summer, actually one of mykeynotes this summer.
And, um, I'm certain based onour conversation, one of the
things we're going to talk aboutis how do you get people
involved and engaged, right?
Uh, because we are from ageneration, I would argue that
our parents and grandparents hadmore of a, I don't know if it
was a selfless sense of service,if it was a, maybe a feeling of

(14:00):
a duty to serve, uh, maybe abelief that, fundamentally, uh,
they, they, you know, we allstand on the shoulders of
others, right?
the age old concept of, uh,That, uh, you know, when you see
a turtle on a, on a post, onlyone way he got there.
And that was somebody put himthere.
And that's, I think what a lotof us could say you and I

(14:20):
included is that, um, you know,somebody lifted this up and put
us on a post.
And, and at some point in time,we really do owe it to the next
generation to do the same thing.
I think the difference, Matt, isthat.
In, in a generation prior tothis, people were involved not
only to serve, but that wastheir networking opportunity,

(14:43):
right?

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (14:44):
Yeah, I

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (14:45):
going to the local, you know, County
Farm Bureau meeting that nightor the County Cattlemen's
Association meeting or sittingon the FFA Advisory Board, that
was an opportunity to, to seetheir friends, their neighbors,
their, uh, associates to, tolearn what they were doing, uh,
to engage in conversations andanymore because of these cell
phones and texts and, uh,Facebook and social media.

(15:06):
We don't, quote unquote, needthose organizations, um, to
really fill that need in us,although I, I think it's very,
very different you and I sittingdown together versus me texting
you or, or reading a Facebookmessage that I got from Matt,
right?
So I do think that's one of thefundamental issues that's maybe
stopping it, but I think at theheart, it's also just this very

(15:30):
independent, take care ofmyself.
You know, pack our lives so fullthat there's no margin for
anything.
And consequently, um, yeah, ifit doesn't revolve around our
job or our kids, athletic eventsor, uh, church activity, uh, you
know, it, it doesn't get done.
And I'm, I'm fearful of, of whatthe world looks like in that day

(15:52):
and age.
Cause you and I both know thatagriculture, we, we tend to be
a.
Industry that kind of helps oneanother and comes to each
other's aid.
And I hope we never lose that.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (16:02):
I think other non ag Entities and
other, other non ag areas andregions probably lost it before
we did.
And we just didn't recognize it,but you hit the nail on the
head.
I mean, even just one generationabove me, my mom and dad, it's
still.
They're of retirement age,significantly past by most

(16:24):
people's standards, but they'restill going and blowing.
But one of the biggest thingsthat is their social outlet is
that monthly meeting for the sixdifferent organizations that
they're still involved with andquite often leading.
You go to my generation andespecially folks that are 10 to
20 years younger than me.

(16:45):
And that is not a socialnetworking.
That isn't even an opportunityto go get a free meal like it is
for mom and dad.
Um, they, they don't lookforward to the soil conservation
dinner.
They don't look forward to, asyou said, the County Cattlemen's
Association banquet or the NCBAor KLA annual meeting or

(17:06):
whatever the case may be.
Consequently, when you take theSocial value, the networking
value out of that equation.
They see, okay, do I write thischeck for 150 or 250 or 500 for
this organization or not?
Well, if I say, Hey, you know,it gets me an opportunity to go

(17:28):
see some friends that only seeonce a year.
You write the check, not tomention that you've got somebody
lobbying for you in the statecapital or in D.
C.
or you've got legal advice orwhatever the case may be.
That intangible doesn't have asmuch value as the social aspect.
And when we don't use that as asocial aspect, some of these
organizations, let's, Be honest.

(17:50):
They're struggling formembership.
I mean, there's fewer of us tostart with.
And then those of us who arestill working and living on the
land, aren't joiners.
So what do we lose if we losethese organizations and this,
this industry voice?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_13 (18:07):
I think we lose a lot, right?
I mean, the, the, the realityis, um, and, and I feel like I'm
a little bit in ground centralof, um, what, what we see
happening, right?
I mean, there is a ballotinitiative as we speak, Matt, in
Denver, Colorado to, uh, ridDenver of any packing houses,
right?
Now, that's not as big a dealtoday as it once was.

(18:27):
I think there's a one sheeppacking, uh, lamb packing plant
down there that it would be veryconsequential to that.
Uh, but, uh, you know, severalyears ago, we had several
propositions out here, uh, thatwould have literally, if they
would have gone through, wouldhave, uh, made it illegal to AI
cows, to preg check cows, tofertility test bulls.
Um, and this is Colorado.

(18:47):
This is not Connecticut.
This is not even the left coast,California.
This is Colorado.
Okay.
Uh, we we had a governor whodecided to declare meat out day,
you know, the, the year.
And, um, and that's a greatexample that.
Uh, Colorado Cattlemen'sAssociation took a real
leadership role in that.
and, uh, you know, really,really got in the middle of that

(19:07):
and said, we're going to havemeat in day,

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (19:10):
Yeah, that's great.
I loved it.

kevin-ochsner_3_0 (19:12):
interestingly enough now, what has it been
three or four years later?
this spring we had some of thebiggest median events.
Sterling had a big event, Iknow.
I believe Brush had another bigevent.
There were events happening allacross Colorado that I would
tell you were stimulated by thatorganization.
And the members of thatorganization saying, you know
what, we're not going to standfor this.
Uh, we're going to stand up asa, as a, uh, as an industry

(19:34):
segment and let people know inColorado.
That meat is actually good foryou, and that we will not be
having and celebrating a meateating day.
Um, and so that's a greatexample, Matt, of, you know, I
think something that would havebeen very difficult for two or
three people to have done.
But in an organization, we wereable to kind of, you know, take

(19:55):
a stand.
Um, and I think, really benefitthe, the entire industry in
terms of the, the, uh, publicitythat we'd receive from that.
So, so, so we lose that we losethe political clout.
We, I mean, there's no way thatyou and I are going to spend,
you know, all of our days inDenver, Colorado or, or, or
Washington DC, addressing, youknow, issues like we're dealing
with out here with, with thewolves, you know, in, in

(20:17):
Colorado.
Um, and so we have a lot tolose, Matt, if we lose those
organizations.
And I think, at some point intime, we have to recognize it
goes back to your profit lossand balance sheets comment that,
um, the, the end of the day,talk to the talk to hog
producers in California.
Uh, now, you know, if there'sany left

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (20:39):
there are any,

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (20:40):
Yeah.
If there are any, left and, andask the question, I mean, so
what is that worth to have anorganization trying to represent
those interests?
Right.
So that we don't find ourselvesin an uncompetitive position as,
as they have.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (20:54):
So if Put your Agcelerate cap on

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (20:58):
Yeah.
Right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (21:00):
free advice here.
If you're sitting in a room witha bunch of board members for XYZ
farm or ranch organization, whatif I turn the focus back on
them?
What do these ag organizationsneed to do to convince?
I mean, because we have beatenthe, It's the right thing to do.

(21:23):
And if we lose this voice inDenver, Topeka, Columbia,
wherever the case may be, welose our industry," and that
ain't working.
Um, what, what do right?
What, what do we need to offeras, and do we have to just, is
the model broken?
Do we have to change the way welook at these organizations and,

(21:43):
and start a new?
And if so, how?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (21:46):
Yeah, I think there's a couple of
things.
Um, you know, I thinkorganizations have to have to
pause a minute and look at theirfundamental value proposition,
right?
And say, What is it that we're,what is it, and how is it that
we're delivering value to ourmembers?
And then, I think be willing andable to own up to the fact that

(22:06):
there may be some of theseorganizations that, um, maybe
they think producer educationhas been a great value that they
deliver, but in reality, theyare 2nd or 3rd or 4th best at
that.
You know what I mean?
I mean, there are some times andyou and I both been to some
meetings before, I'm sure.
Where we're saying, you know, Iwould have gone two or three
other places and, and heard thissame message about five years

(22:30):
before now.
And this organization is finallygetting around because they
needed somebody on the agenda tocome do a presentation for one
night and they're doing it.
And, and so you don't, you don'tthink of that organization being
an organization that is helpingyou on the cutting edge.
Right.
And so I think that's one thingthat you're going to have to do.
Um, is, is, is think about yourvalue proposition.

(22:52):
I think a second thing, and Ihave shared this, I won't tell
you with what organization, butlocal organization that wanted
me to sit on the board.
And I said, guys, you're goingto have changed your meeting
structure.
And this goes back to my, thisgoes back to some FFA training,

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (23:05):
Mm

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_1 (23:05):
in the sense that, some of these
organizations have a wonderfulway of cramming 30 minutes of
business into a two hourmeeting.
You know what I mean?

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (23:15):
Or two day,

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024 (23:17):
And.
what I told him, I said, youknow, I, I appreciate people
wanting to get together andvisit, but, but there are times
and again, given my schedule anda lot of times my travel
schedule, it's such a thing thatto be involved on that board, I
have to say, all right.
Um, I, you know, if I travel twoor three nights a week and I'm
going to add another night, amonth to being away from home,

(23:39):
is that really valuable, youknow, and am I willing to do
that?
And I guarantee you, I'm notwilling to do that if I feel
like my time's been wasted,right?
And so come in, let's have anagenda, let's get through the
business meeting.
And for those people who havetime that evening to sit around
and visit, fantastic.
And for the rest of us, we didour business.

(24:01):
We know what we are marchingorders for the next month.
Now let's proceed forward.
I sit on another board, uh,Matt, that, um, several years
ago, this was in advance ofCOVID and, um, you know, the
organization was, was kind oflooking at its books and saying,
gosh, you know, this is anational organization that
brings board members together.
And I said, you know, one thingwe could consider is having a

(24:21):
zoom call for one of our threeboard meetings, you know, during
the year, right?
Oh, no, that would not work.
I mean, they were totallyopposed to that.
Well, guess what?
A year later, midst of COVID,everybody figured out how to do
zoom.
And now I sit on that same boardand, um, and, one of the three
meetings we have each year is,is via zoom.

(24:41):
And we've been able to crunchinstead of two days and, you
know, Couple of days travel.
We've been able to crunch thatinto, you know, kind of a, an
extended day meeting.
It's our shortest meeting of theyear, but again, time is of the
essence.
So, so I think taking a look atthe value proposition, I think
looking at, you know, how do wedo business and can we, um, you

(25:02):
know, a lot of these people andyou're a great example, I mean,
you run a big outfit.
And, uh, and I think that wasone of the other comments I was
going to make, Matt.
I don't know if you agree withthis or not, but I do think, I
don't know if it's because ofyou and my expectation or our
generation's expectation abouthow much money we want to make
and what we want, how we want tolive.
But I tend to think that, um, wegenuinely are busier trying to

(25:25):
chase more things than maybe ageneration or two ago.
And, And, we just, We just don'thave that margin.
And so consequently, most of thereally good people, folks want
to get involved in theorganization on boards.
they have a lot of demands ontheir time and I think being
efficient, um, and, and focusedand targeted, uh, getting real
clear...
and this is what I do with someorganizations about what are the

(25:47):
three things you want to moveforward this year?
What are some specific goals?
Get real crystal clear.
Don't try to be all things toall people.
Deliver upon a very prescribedvalue proposition and do it
well.,

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (26:00):
I think that's well said.
And we, we do have mission creepor whatever we want to call.
Sometimes these organizationssee a shiny thing and somebody
else is doing it.
And we always want to addsomething else, but not say,
okay, this thing that we havebeen doing for 47 years.
Is not that important to anyoneand has lost its relevance and

(26:21):
let's move on.
And that's, those are tough.
Let me, I want to go back tosomething you were talking about
the generation before and ourgeneration today, not having
that time.
I don't know if it's just ustrying to make more money and do
more things.
I look at my kids and our familyand all of the extra activities

(26:44):
that they have outside of FFA,you know, it used to be if you
were a three sport letterman,played football in the fall, you
played basketball or something,wrestled in the winter, and you
ran track or golfed or playedbaseball in the spring, and then
in the summer you may go in andlift weights.
For 45 minutes every morning.
Now you have to be on sixdifferent traveling teams and

(27:08):
that's not to mention all theadditional, um, workouts and
things like that.
It's I think that our kids andwe, as parents, cause we're the
ones that get to make thesedecisions.
But I think families have somuch more going on.
I mean, I'd never seen a slantload living quarters trailer for
horses, and I'd sure never seenone for show cattle.

(27:29):
And today that's.
I mean, I'm the oddball thatpulls in with a stock trailer to
one of these shows or, you know,stock events.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (27:37):
That's right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (27:38):
we have spent a lot more time and
money on our kids.
And I think that we've replaceda little bit of our, quote
unquote, service to theindustry, and our social outlet
going to the, you know, local orstate or national ag convention
with going to six or eight or 28stock shows every weekend.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29- (28:00):
Couldn't agree more with you, right,
Matt?
And I think that, we probablyhave to do some self reflection
on that as well, because I thinkit's a little bit of a self
fulfilling prophecy.
What, what kind of kids do wecreate when, when the world has
been centered around them?
Right.
And it's constantly, uh, youknow, I mean, our, our church
had started a little churchplant on Sunday evenings for the

(28:22):
very reason that there's a lotof people that are on club
volleyball or club sports teamthat couldn't come to church on
Sunday morning if they wantedto, because their kids are at
some two day tournament as anexample.
Right.
And, um, you know, I, I, I don'tthink it was the kids that came
up with that.
I think it

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (28:40):
you don't, huh?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_13 (28:41):
I think it was the adults that
thought that would be a greatidea and a wonderful way to get
my kid a leg up so they couldget this full ride scholarship
and, uh, and, and be a, um, youknow, a football superstar
sometime.
Right.
Uh, and I'm not fussing withsports, but I'm saying that when
the world revolves around kidsand that, I do think that that's
a lot of what's happened.
Then those kids grow up and theysay the world revolves around me

(29:03):
and, and no one else.
Right.
And so the, the concept of, um,Leadership is about service and
the Albert Schweitzer quoteyears ago that you always find
happiness if you seek and findhow to serve that.
That kind of concept I think isdead because we have kind of
demonstrated our kids that theyare to be served Not to serve

(29:26):
And so I think I think there isprobably more than we have time
to get through in this thisconversation and Gosh, I mean we
are probably somewhat guilty ofthat ourselves.
Although I I do think we try tocreate some boundaries For
ourselves and our kids and, andsaid, you know, you're going to
have pick and choose and we'vegot some other responsibilities

(29:47):
and, and, um, no, we're not,we're not going to be able to go
to three G internationals thissummer.
Right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (29:54):
And, And when you take that stand as
a parent in that kid's eyes, andof course, That's what parents
have to do sometimes.
But in that kid's eyes, you arethe meanest parent around
because my friend, little Johnnyor little Susie is going to
three or five junior nationals.
And so let's look 20 years downthe road and now we have an

(30:19):
industry populated with ClubVolleyball, Basketball and
Baseball Kids.
Past and stock show kids.
What are they going to be like?
Are they going to be, are theygoing to have this civic
responsibility come full circleand realize what their

(30:39):
grandparents had?
And they don't, I mean, we saw alot of these organizations.
We, you and I talked about thisonce before.
I mean, I didn't look up all ofthem, but 4 H was created in
about 1902, the Rotary Clubsomewhere in 1905, Kiwanis in
1915, the Lions Club in 1917,you know, fast forward, FFA was

(31:00):
mid and late 1920s.
I mean, all these organizationsthat had the sign on the highway
just outside of town saying theymet at such and such cafe on the
second Thursday of every month.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (31:11):
Right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_14121 (31:12):
They're gone.
They're gone.
And we look around at some ofour farming organizations and
our cattlemen's organizations,and either because they've
splintered over one or twopolicy issues or whatever else,
some of them are at risk ofbeing gone.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (31:25):
Right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (31:26):
At what point do we have another
early 20th century, deal whereeverybody comes together and
says, Hey guys, we gotta, wegotta bring some of this stuff
back or, or, or are we justgonna go into the selfish abyss
of independence?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (31:45):
and again, I hope, I hope that we're
not.
And I guess here would be somehopeful, maybe optimistic looks
at that.
I do think there are someorganizations and I can't speak
as much to to sports because ofmy kids were not as involved in
sports, but I do, and I'm veryproud of organizations like FFA
who continue to have a communityservice part of that.

(32:08):
Right.
I mean, um, my daughter is, aspart of her FFA experience,
started an afterschool programfor, uh, Elementary school kids
that would teach in elementaryschool kids about agriculture.
And it was a really, it was oneof the, she would look back at
her high school career and say,that was one of the really
fulfilling, activities of herhigh school career.
And I would argue that was aservice oriented.

(32:29):
What can I do for others kind ofa thing.
so so I'm, I'm hopeful that,there is some of that still
happening in organizations like4 I'm not certain that, um, you
know, when we get into, youknow, Sports and so forth.
I I'm not as familiar with whatkind of, kind of community
services, but I guess I wouldSay, is there a way that in all
the fun that we're having andall the way we helped them to

(32:52):
become better competitors, canwe insert some level of, of, uh,
of training, some level of, um,uh, focus and, uh, and, and put
some value on, um, elementsbeyond just achieving your own
success.
Right.
So that's one piece.
I, I personally, I think wecould get real religious real
quickly.
And I, I do think, uh, you know,that it's core and

(33:16):
fundamental...
either you have a belief that,um, you know, that washing
somebody's feet is, uh, youknow, somebody once demonstrated
what, uh, what service lookslike and what putting others
before, um, himself looks like.
And, and so there's part of

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (33:33):
to, you're safe to talk about him
here.
Very, very safe.
ha.
ha ha ha

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_1 (33:39):
is that I do think, Matt, that
there is a level of which thefurther society moves from the
Judeo Christian belief, uh, itis easier to get very, very self
centered, very selfish andfocused.
Right.
So I think those are, those arethings that are, you know,
pulling against us, but I don'tknow what happens.
And I, and I wonder at times ifit doesn't require some sort of,

(34:04):
or it won't require some kind ofemergency or some sort of a
disaster to pull together.
But going back to our earlierconversation, I guess I'd turn
the question back to you.
You know, you all had someterrible, terrible fires in
Kansas several years ago.
And it was.
Absolutely heartwarming to seethe outpouring of support and to
contrast that against what we'veseen in places like New Orleans,

(34:28):
you know, many years beforethat, the flood, that people
were coming to steal things asopposed to helping people.
Build fences and put things backtogether.
And maybe that's a differencebetween rural and urban.
I hope, I hope we are not headeddown that path of hurricane
Katrina and, and how people act,when there's disasters like
that.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (34:50):
Those, those are tough conversations,
especially today with all of thetertiary discussions of, yeah,
rural versus urban or whateverdescription or whatever bucket
somebody wants to put a group ofpeople into.
Um, but that's why I guess, evenif we just focus on.

(35:12):
and rural communityorganizations.
If we're 30 years behind

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_1 (35:18):
Mm hmm.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (35:20):
that curve, but continue that curve,
what happened, yeah, that, thattrajectory.
what happens if we, and I don'tsee this ever happening, but
what happens if we get to thepoint where we have a fire in
Southwest Kansas and everybodyshrugs their shoulders and said,
well, that's too bad, or likeyou said, worse yet comes in and

(35:41):
gathers up what cattle arewandering.
Aimlessly and goes and sellsthem at the next local sale
barn.
I mean, I, I don't ever see uschanging that, but there is even
in the country roads of, theMidwest, there is, I think a
little less of that.
as you termed it, duty to serve,than what our grandparents had.

(36:03):
And it, it's, it, frankly itscares me.
And, and I think we as, asagrarians and as production
agriculture folks, I think wecan be leaders in this and maybe
bring our urban and suburbanneighbors Back to that mindset.
It's inspiring when they see it,whether it be on Facebook or
whether they, whatever the casemay be, they're fairly awestruck

(36:29):
that there are still people whoare willing to donate tens of
thousands of dollars of feed andhay and fencing materials and
everything else and deliverthem.
I mean, they, they just can'timagine that, but yeah, I don't
know how else besides examplethat we lead that.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (36:43):
And I think that's what I was going
to say.
Part of it is the example weset.
Part of it is, you know, how canwe lift up and pay tribute to
those people who have, you know,I know in some of the work with
Cattleman to Cattleman, it's funto hear stories of, you know,
Some of the leaders that havegone through the ranks and to
hear, it hasn't just been athree year process, you know,

(37:04):
for the last 25 years, theystarted their cattle and
cattlemen's, you know, meetingsand, and to hear what they've
done, and, and the kind ofsupport that they've lent the
organizations, the number ofdays they spent away from their
own operation, uh, trying to, tolobby for and, and speak on
behalf of, Uh, of our industry.
And so to hear those stories, Ithink that's one way we can, you

(37:26):
know, kind of model that if youwill, to the next generation is
to say, hold up this person, andI'm not going to call out any
names, although I could, um,hold up, you know, this person
to say, um, you know, in mycase, my, my son's case, Colin,
this is a great example of, ofan industry servant and, um, you
know, and, and, and look at howhe has impacted and influenced

(37:47):
the industry.
And, uh, maybe that doesn't showup on his balance sheet, uh, but
he is an industry icon.
And, uh, he's an industry iconbecause he was willing to roll
up his sleeves, get involved, dothe hard things, um, you know,
be at those late, late meetingsand sacrifice some time away
from his family to do just that.
And so, you know, maybe there'sa way that, that we can do that.

(38:08):
And I think the other thing thatI would challenge us to is, how
do we get.
More than just, you know, ifit's you or I, or maybe it's our
kids generation, they will cometogether if there are other..
Folks that look like them andact like them are about their
same age.
And so sometimes it's about themass, you know, you, you, you
have one kid that comes and hegoes in...

(38:28):
All he sees is a bunch of grayhairs and he doesn't come home
or he doesn't come back to themeeting again.
But gosh, if there's an eventthat he or she is able to see
some of their peers, they can dothat.
The third thing that I wouldmodel that I do think would be
worthwhile, and I don't know howmany organizations do that.
You're familiar with the YoungCattlemen's Conference in NCBA.

(38:49):
And I'm amazed at the kind oflifelong relationships that are
developed.
So they've gone out, they'vehandpicked a group of people.
They put them on this week longexperience from all across the
country.
And I think then all of a suddenthey develop a camaraderie and a
network and you see those peoplekind of growing and developing
and leading together.

(39:10):
And so I think sometimes gettingpeer groups together, if we can,
if we can kind of, um, plantthose seeds and get those peer
groups together, maybe we have abetter chance of, of keeping
them, you know, tied to thewagon.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (39:22):
I think that's a an excellent and
a lot of these state cattlemenstate farming groups are doing
the same thing because quitefrankly There's a lot more of
those young stockmen and there'sa lot more of those young folks
in agriculture than when you andI, if you were born from the
late 60s to about 1980, youdidn't come home to production

(39:43):
ag or you didn't do itimmediately because either there
wasn't any family farm or ranchto come back to or it was so low
in profitability and opportunitythat you went Yeah, I, and that
was my decision in 1996.
"I I'm not going to bang my headagainst the wall like my folks
have for nothing." And so therearen't very many of us that are

(40:05):
50 something in production ag.
a bunch of 70 year olds andthere's a pile of 20 to 30 or 40
somethings.
And so, yeah, I think, I thinkthat's important.
If I turn the lens back on, onus, on me as a member of these
organizations, you see it, andwithout naming organizations,

(40:27):
heck, it happens.
It's not just NCBA or FarmBureau or it's our local parish
council or church organizationor whatever the case may be.
One issue happens we don't getour way with.
And we go, you know what?
I'm not paying dues next year.

(40:49):
You know what?
I'm going to go to a differentchurch next Sunday.
I'm done.
Has that always been there orare we just that much thinner
skin that we can't accept thewhole and the advantages of that
entire organization, even thoughthere may be one or two or three
things that we don't love.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_13 (41:09):
I think you make a great, great
point, uh, and I, it's one thatI'm frustrated with in
agriculture because, to yourpoint, there's so few of us in,
in the first place, right?
If you talk about 1.7 or 8percent of the population in, in
production agriculture, and, andthen when you start, uh, you
know, dissecting all the thingsthat we could disagree with,
Even within the, the cattlespace is an example.

(41:32):
Um, and then start splinteringthe organizations and, and
nobody has any credibility then,you know?
So, so it's frustrating at timesthat we cannot say, um,"you
know, Matt, I, I disagree withyou here, but I respect you as a
person.
And we are better together thanwe are separate.
don't expect me to throw anymoney towards this particular
campaign or that particularcause, but I'm, I'm going to say

(41:55):
again, hitch the wagon and, andplugged in" because I think, um,
Again, I think it was, is, uh,Franklin's quote.
you know,"Either we all hangtogether or we'll all hang
separately." Um, and that's,that's a quote that I often
recall.
Right.
but I do think that we are in a,in a generation at a time, Matt,
that, I don't know if it's ourimpatience, I don't know if it's

(42:18):
our intolerance, I don't know ifit is the polarization, if it's,
you know, the, the newschannels, I don't know what it
is, uh, that we're amped up and,and, and kind of, you know, get
that attitude that, boy, youreally ticked me off this time
and I'm, I'm gone and gone forgood, right?
Um, that, that happens.
And I do think that there aretimes that, you know, We're all

(42:41):
principled people and, and thereare some boundaries that we
can't cross.
but I think that, um, you know,we, we have a lot of danger in,
again, subdividing what isalready a small industry into
such small portions that wecan't make any headway, right?

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (42:58):
Yeah.
And that's, that's thefrustrating thing.
And of all the organizationsthat I'm a member of.
I can't think of one of themthat I agree with 100 percent
every policy decision, everyteaching, every everything else.
and not to say that we can, youknow, look at it like a buffet

(43:19):
and just pick what we want andthrow out what we don't, to, you
have to support as much as youcan for an organization or a
group or whatever the case maybe.
But what I hate the most is Notsimply the fact that the bulk of
us, and let's just say in thebeef industry, aren't all

(43:40):
members of one organization.
So we send them all of our duesmoney and that organization can
be bigger and stronger andeverything else.
The thing I hate the most is thefact that the folks who disagree
on an issue or two or three withme don't show up to the meeting.
And say why and discuss and letme hear, Hey, there are reasons

(44:01):
that I think that this now theywill turn and say, well, I was
there 15 years ago.
I was there in 1996 andexpressed why it is.
And I'm still POed.
I have a hard time stillaccepting that one, but I do.
And this is where I get sidewayswith some organization
leadership who say, well, wejust don't need everybody to be

(44:23):
members.
Yeah, that might be case, but wedo need varying opinions and
perspectives and outlooks andwhen we don't have those, we
don't make as good a decisions.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2 (44:37):
exactly right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (44:38):
we come to these, we come to some
of these meetings today andthey're over before they started
because everybody just prettywell nods in agreement.
There's nobody back theresaying, Hey, have you thought
about this?
And sometimes you need thatperson back there.
And yet they're no longermembers and no longer, at least
no longer active members.
And, and I think it's dangerous.

(44:59):
I, so, uh, thing, but I, Iwelcome more people into an
organization, whether it be afarming or ranching or ag or
whatever the case may be, notjust because quote unquote, they
need the dues dollars, butbecause they need the input
regardless of how yourperspective is,

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (45:19):
Yeah.
And I, I think that makes agreat, great point.
And again, it goes back to, um,you know, do you want to
surround yourself by people whothink just like you?
right?
Uh, I, I, I use a quote in someof the, um, the strategy work
that I do, uh, that is simply,"none of us are as smart as all
of us." And, and I truly believethat, you know, and I, as I work

(45:42):
with boards, as an example, Iencourage that.
I said here, you know, we're,we're going to get into some
discussions and have someconversations here.
And I expect a difference ofopinion.
Now, I, I expect respect, right?
I think you share your, youropinions in a respectful way.
But I expect people to sharedifferences of opinion and then

(46:02):
for us to be objective enoughand gosh, Matt, again, I hate to
keep harkening back to FFA, butI think one of the things that
really helped me with 4 H andFFA livestock judging, and then
ultimately college, Was that Idid learn that there are kind of
two sides of the equations.
There's criticisms and grants,right?
And, and there's judgment callsand some judgment calls are two
point cuts and some judgmentcalls are seven point cuts.

(46:24):
And, you know, in those twopoint cuts, you need to be open
enough to kind of think in adifferent way.
And then there are eight pointcuts in life that you probably
have to get that one, right?
You know what I mean?
Um, and, and, and not give andtake a lot.
And, and I truly believe Mattthat, that having a set of
people around, uh, in aconference room around a board
table or whatever, that, thathave the level of objectivity

(46:46):
to, to, to listen to, theopinions and, and the, uh, the
beliefs and the, the facts inthe room, and then to make a
calculated decision, right.
And, and then be willing to walkout of that room and say, you
know what?
I was on a different side ofthat equation.
Not even say that, but literallywalk out of the room and know

(47:06):
that Matt quote unquote won theargument today and he got more
votes than I did.
And now as a board member, I'mgoing to support that because
that's what our organizationdecided to do.
And there'll be another day andanother time that I'll have my
quote unquote day in court.
I've told a lot of people, Imean, Turn it directly to the
NCBA.
I don't agree with everythingthat NCBA does, right?

(47:28):
But I know if I don't agree withsomething.
I know how to possibly get itchanged.
And I fundamentally believe inthe process.
I have trust in the process ofbringing an idea to a county
cattlemen's organization andgetting it at the state level
and advancing it to the nationallevel and a very grassroots,
approach, I fundamentallybelieve in that process.

(47:49):
I believe that process works.
I trust that process.
And if I don't like somethingthat happens, um, then I have to
ask myself, Am I, am Idisgruntled or motivated enough
in one way, shape or form to tryto advance my idea because I
know how to do it if, uh, I knowthe process it takes to do it
if, if that's what I want to do.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (48:10):
I look at it the same way, but in
today's, uh, Selfish instantgratification world, that
process that most of ourindustry organizations go
through.
And it's, it's probably the besttime tested way to get the right

(48:30):
decision made on policy isstarting at the grassroots level
and letting your region and thenyour state, and then your big
region or district carry it tothe national, et cetera, et
cetera.
That's probably the only way todo it and truly be grassroots.
But look how quickly I can geton Twitter, Facebook, whatever

(48:51):
the case may be.
Absolutely massacre the peoplewho made that decision without
maybe even being in the room tohear why it was they made that
decision or what.
What discussions took placebefore that policy was brought
and discussed and then lateradopted.
the easy thing to do is jump onand lambast somebody on social

(49:15):
media or comment on someone whoalready has.
And that, that is where mostpeople are joining in.
They're not, it's not the duesthat aren't being paid.
It's the lack of discussion.
Let's have that discussionthat's happening on social
media....
Let's have it three months agoin person and hear all sides.

(49:35):
But we don't get to do it.
And I don't know whose fault itis.
I, I, I think, I think we all,including our industry
organizations.
I think we all share an, aresponsibility.
And I think we all have a dutyto figure out how to fix it.
Individuals included.

(49:55):
Notwithstanding theorganizations themselves.
Um, but we have to all cometogether and say, you know what?
This model is not sustainable.
We talk a lot aboutsustainability in the beef
industry.
We never talk about the factthat the model of our multiple
organizations for a few thousandor tens of thousands of

(50:16):
producers is not sustainable.
and and it's important.
I don't know, I don't have theanswers, but I do know that what
we've been doing for the last 30years.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (50:26):
Not working.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's a, it's a really,really tough question, Matt.
And, and, um, you know, it's,it's interesting because, um,
you know, there are, there areso, so, so many reasons why we
do have to come together withone voice.
There's never been moreimportant, right?
I

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (50:44):
Oh, yeah, for sure.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (50:45):
is.
Because of so much of societyhaving such little understanding
about who we are and what we doand how we approach things.
And because so many decisionsthat we have to deal with on a
daily basis, right, are made bypeople who are uninformed or
uninvolved.
I mean, it just stands to reasonthat we've got to find a way to

(51:05):
collectively come together andto advance ideas forward, right?
Um, I, I'm, you know, moreinterested in probably You know,
that part of us coming together,the reality of, you know, when
it comes to education, forinstance, I do think we all have
to own up to the fact thatpeople get educated different
ways than they once did.

(51:25):
Right.
And so the day and age of acounty extension meeting to go
and learn, um, you know, novelfeeding technology.
Those days are waning, right?
And so there are some thingsthat I do think we have to own
up to and recognize that we'regoing to have to find different
ways.
I'm not saying that thoseorganizations that have educated
people can't continue, butthey're probably going to have
to do it differently.

(51:47):
and that's still a valuable.
You know, value proposition, soto speak, but there are other
things that, that there is, it'sgoing to require people to come
to your point into a room to, tohave a discussion and a debate
and, and to land on the decisionand not to just separate
yourself from that process andgo your merry way.
And then to your point, jump onFacebook and, you know, rant and

(52:10):
rave and see how many likes andshares you get on your comment.
Right?

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (52:13):
Yeah.
Well, it's ironic that we havecome full circle from talking
about not having to be in personat board meetings, and instead
having a Zoom call.
As you were telling me thatstory, I remembered.
A couple of tenures that I hadon our local farm bureau, county
farm bureau organization.
And, um, I was of the samemindset that you were let's,

(52:35):
let's get more efficient.
Let's cut these meetings in halftimewise and number wise.
And when I finally went off theboard, our county coordinator
gave me a coffee mug.
That was my favorite slogan on acoffee mug ever.
I just survived another meetingthat could have been an email

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_13 (52:52):
I like that.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (52:53):
I know I loved it.
And she, she, read me justright.
But.
Saying that for those times whenwe approve the budget and we
approve the expenses for themonth and Those things garbage
in garbage out rubber stamp.
We can probably do that in a lotmore efficient way those times
when we have to decide on majorWatershed moments in the beef

(53:17):
industry on things likemarketing or ID or whatever the
case may be There is incrediblevalue of being in the room
hearing All sides of the issue,talking in the hallways, maybe
coming back six months later atthe next one and hashing it out
again with new information.
There is value in that.

(53:37):
And yet most of these hallwaysand most of these organizations,
meetings and boardrooms andeverything else continue to be a
little less full with everypassing convention.
And I think it's dangerous.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (53:50):
and again, you share just another
quote that I share often in mypresentations, which was
"confronting reality isrecognizing the world as it is
not as you wish it to be, andhaving the courage to do what
must be done, not what you'dlike to do." And, and so I think
that's the, that's the decisionthat we have to make as, um, as

(54:11):
leaders and, and participantsand members of these
organizations is to say, there'ssome of this that, that, that,
you know, the toothpaste is outof the tube and it's never going
to come back yet.
Right?
And so there are some thingsthat have changed and they will
never be the way they were in in1965 when my or 68 when my dad
first became a member I think ofthe young farmers organization

(54:32):
and And and thoroughly, I meanhe he and mom would tell you in
their 20s and 30s, That thatinvolvement young farmers was a
big part of who they were abouttheir social network about how
they were learning new processespractices about Getting to
travel, taking a couple of kidsthat my mom and dad never been
anywhere and they got to go toyou know, lots of different
places.
That's not the case anymore,right?

(54:53):
So those things that werevaluable to them in the late
1960s, early 1970s are notvaluable to you and my son and
daughter, and so we have to, wedo have to reinvent ourselves.
Um, we do have to get, I think,crystal clear on the mission and
purpose and I think more focusedas opposed to more broad.
So if I'm joining theorganization I understand what

(55:14):
you're about and you know whatyou're involved in and Get good
at doing that, right?
I mean,, the national rifleassociation it gets pretty clear
about what they're what they'refocused on as an example, right?
And and so I think there's some,you know Logic to that and then
I think You You know, again, toour conversation earlier, I
think we owe it to ourselves,you know, what are you and I

(55:36):
doing as dads now and movinginto that generation where maybe
our kids and, and at some pointin time, grandkids will look to
us with some, for some wisdom,um, how can we encourage them to
say,"I understand how busy youare.
And I understand how importantthat seems right now, but, um,
but, but recognize that you oweit to yourself.

(55:58):
You owe it to the industry thatyou're making a living in to
give back.", And, um, if wedon't have people like you at
the table, stop and think aboutwho's sitting at the table,
making decisions there, um, youknow, the people who run the
world are the people that showup, right.
And, and we want, we want theright people showing up, I
guess.
Matt is what I'm saying.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (56:18):
In that vein, you talked about
reinventing ourselves.
Who needs to be the re inventor?
Does it need to be theindividual who may or may not be
a member of that organization,or does it need to be the, for
lack of a better word, because Idon't want to hang it on the

(56:40):
elected board or the currentstaff, does it need to be the
culture of that organizationthat has to reinvent itself.
Which, it's a chicken and eggconcept, but which, which has to
drive that?
Who has to be that creator andthat energy behind a
reinvention?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (56:57):
That's a really good question.
That is a

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (57:00):
can't believe I stumped the strategic
planner.
This is a first in 30 years,Kevin.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (57:05):
right.
Not not the case at all.
But yeah, that's a good questionis where what what is the
catalyst of that?
Right, Matt?
And that's a great question.
Um,

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (57:14):
And there's probably no answer, but
I think it's one that we have toconsider, both as people who
have been, might be critical ofour organization or the
organization that we don't wantto be members of.
But I think it also has to bethe question in the boardroom
and in the coffee room or in thestrategic session that you're
helping lead with XYZ farmorganization and say, you What

(57:39):
can we do?
Can, do we need to let bygonesbe bygones and figure out if we
were inventing ourselves?
If it was 19 something and wewere starting this organization
in 2024, what would we do?
Not what have we done, whatwould we do today going forth?

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (57:58):
Yeah, I think I do think the more
you've given me time to thinkabout it.
I mean, I do think that has tobe kind of an internal job.
I think that does have to be atleast initiated in some way,
shape or form by You know, theorganization itself and, and,
and ideally by maybe somemembers that have served in
leadership capacity and have alevel of respect and trust.

(58:19):
And, and that people, peoplerecognize, gosh, here's a person
who has the best interest of theorganization at heart.
And he or she is steppingforward with an idea saying, I
love the organization.
I've been involved inorganizations 30 years, but I
frankly don't think what'sgotten us here is going to get
us there.
And I want to challenge ourorganization because I want this

(58:41):
organization.
I mean, part of my legacy iswrapped up in this organization
and I want this organization tocontinue to thrive and prosper,
uh, in the future.
And so I'm going to challenge,you know, the organization that
it's time to make some changesand it's, it's time to make
changes in terms of either a,our scope and focus, it's time
to make changes in terms of B,maybe we need to think about

(59:01):
getting together with, a coupleof these other organizations.
I mean, I did a cattlemen'smeeting that three counties have
come together.
You know what I mean?
And they talked about how therewas a time when there would be
three different local countycattlemen's organizations.
They decided to come togetherand meld together.
They've been able to do a biggerbanquet and do some things at a
larger scale that made it morevaluable.
So who do we have to, who do wehave to collaborate with, right?

(59:25):
I, I think, uh, you know, havingsome questions about who do we
need as members, right?
Um, you know, in some cases, uh,I've seen boards that I've
worked with put on, uh, nonmembers on their board to just
have some external thinking,right?
I mean, what's the right bankeror the right lawyer or the right
whoever That needs to be on ourboard to kind of challenge us a
little bit, um, to thinkdifferent differently than we've

(59:47):
been thinking as an example, ifwe're just a produce
organization?
So, so, I mean, I, I do thinkit's an internal job, so to
speak, and I do think it couldbest be done by somebody who
has, who doesn't look likethey're just trying to blow up
the organization, right?
I mean, a young, a young, personcomes in and starts blazing new
trails.
And sometimes the, the old guardlooks at that as saying, you

(01:00:10):
know, doesn't get it, not oldenough.
It doesn't know what we've beenthrough, dumb ideas, and
dismisses it out of hand,whereas I think, sometimes if an
organization, you know, beginswith a set of leaders who are,
uh, deeply rooted in thatorganization and proactively
want to change, uh, it's justtrying, challenging trying to
find that, that person or thosepeople to do that, right?

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (01:00:30):
Yeah, no doubt.
And, and we're constantly in astate of change.
That's the only thing constantis change.
and and those, those things arehard.
Change is extremely hard,especially when it's a, in my
opinion, when it's a memberorganization, again, we can talk
churches, we can talk industrygroups, the Lions club, whatever
the case may be.
Those are sometimes, Absolutelythe hardest ones to, to make

(01:00:54):
change in, but yet the ones thatcan be negatively affected when
we don't, and, and I think we'veseen that,

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (01:01:00):
Well, and it's, it's one of those
things, Matt, that again, we, wehave created a very independent
organization.
Culture, very self sufficientculture, um, in America today.
and I do think that, maybe it issome sort of economic challenge
or, you know, global conflictchallenge or something like
that, that brings us alltogether in some sort of massive

(01:01:22):
big war effort.
You'd like to think we don'thave to go through that, right,
Um, in that moment that, thatcauses us to come together and
to see value in one another andto find a level of, whether it
be comfort In, in doingsomething together, and to, to
be able to actually feel, um, asense of self worth that we very

(01:01:42):
rarely feel when we achievesomething alone, when together
we come together as anorganization and we look back
and we said, look what we'vedone, you know, look what we've
done.
I was just with your friends inWorcester, Ohio here a week ago,
certified Angus Beef folks, andI have to tell you, Matt, that I
can never be with thatorganization and not just pause

(01:02:03):
a minute and just be soawestruck at the group of folks,
the American Angus Association,that ultimately founded that and
saw a vision and put thatorganization together and, uh,
and really, you know, absolutelychanged the beef cattle
industry, not just the Angusbreed, I think, but the beef
cattle industry.
Would you agree?

matt_3_05-29-2024_14121 (01:02:24):
Without a doubt, but it's ironic because
it's exactly what you just saidbefore.
It was made not because theywere, and they were,
visionaries.
They were desperate.
You couldn't give an Angus bullaway when they started talking,
and that's, that's a stretch,but the Limousin cattle, and the

(01:02:45):
Gelbviehs, and the Simmental,and Chianina, and Maine Anjou,
and all of these continentalbreeds were coming in, and they
were way higher performance, andthey were way better.
fancier and taller and you nameit.
And the Angus breed had to dosomething.
And instead of sitting theresaying, well, you know, we don't
want those people in our

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-20 (01:03:03):
Right.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (01:03:05):
they said, what do we have to offer?
Well, we have beef quality andwe think that.
USDA's grades changing are goingto negatively impact consumer
demand and so we're going tostay the course and we're going
to find ways that prove ourvalue.
And that's, in a nutshell,that's what we've just been
talking about for the last 57minutes.
I mean, it's, it's finding howyou can add value to your

(01:03:30):
members and if, if it's not howyou were adding value to your
members for the last 75 years.
Maybe we have to change thevalue proposition.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (01:03:39):
And I think that's, that's the
lesson of that, that example ofitself, right?
Is that in 1956, that didn'twork, but

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (01:03:46):
Yeah, no, heck no.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_ (01:03:47):
76, whatever it was, uh, it was an
idea whose time would come basedon the circumstances, but there
was a group of people whocollectively came together and
made that happen.
And that's the power of, uh, oforganizations.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (01:04:00):
Yep.
No doubt.
Kevin, I just, I always enjoyyour, your vision and your way
of going about thinking throughissues.
And, um, I will, if it's okaywith you, I will include your
contact information and awebsite or two if you want.
Uh, that'll let folks get incontact with you if they, if
they.
Want to discuss further or hireyou or whatever else.

(01:04:21):
But no, I appreciate, appreciateyou being on here and everything
you've done for theorganizations with whom I've
been either working for or amember of through the years.
And I know, as you said, whenfolks have the right reasons for
making progress and asking forchange, their heart's in the
right place, and I know yours isin all that you do.

(01:04:41):
So I really, really appreciateyou being on here today.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-2024_13 (01:04:44):
I appreciate that, Matt.
And this has been a funconversation.
Again, um, you've, you've kindof teed up, uh, an issue that so
many organizations face, but Ithink, uh, what we've
demonstrated is just an issuethat's hard to get our hands
wrapped around to say, Oh, sohow do you fix it?
We know something has to bedone, but, uh, I appreciate that
conversation and the stimulationyou've provided me today.

matt_3_05-29-2024_141216 (01:05:05):
you bet you bet.
We'll take care and we'll, uh,we'll talk with you down the
road, Kevin.

kevin-ochsner_3_05-29-202 (01:05:09):
Thank you, Matt.

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