#81- Justin McKee, We Are the Caretakers

Justin McKee is a professional rodeo announcer, a cattleman, a communicator and a leader. 

Raised in southeast Kansas, he now has a ranch near Hico, TX, and is a commentator on the Cowboy Channel, as well as announcing numerous rodeos across the nation. In addition, he puts on broadcasting clinics and leadership seminars to help others bring out their best.

https://www.justinmckeenow.com

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
And happy Thanksgiving and thankyou for joining us for episode
81 of Practically Ranching.
I'm Matt Perrier, and we're herethanks to Dalebanks Angus, your
home for practical profitablegenetics since 1904.
This year, I have a lot to bethankful for.
Last Saturday, we had atremendous sale with an

(00:27):
incredible crowd of customersand friends.
Family members and so thank youto everyone who attended or
watched online or bid on orbought bulls and heifers for all
of you who have supported usthrough the year, I can't tell
you thank you enough.
I'm thankful for the weatherwe've had this year and the

(00:47):
market conditions that we'veexperienced through most of
2025.
I'm thankful for my family andmy faith and to live in a
country where I have thesefreedoms.
And today I'm thankful that Igot the opportunity to visit
with this week's guest, JustinMcKee.
I met Justin somewhere around 25years ago at the Linn County,

(01:11):
Kansas Fair and Rodeo, and wehave several mutual friends, but
honestly, until I recorded thisepisode, I didn't know half as
much about Justin as I thought Idid.
You may have heard himannouncing rodeos on the Cowboy
channel or PBR series or even aPRCA rodeo or two in person.
Justin puts on broadcastclinics.

(01:32):
He's a keynote speaker, but it'shis passion for ag producers and
our western lifestyle thatimpresses me the most.
In this episode, we talk aboutfinding your passion.
We talk about involving the nextgeneration of ag producers in
the business and authenticityand destroying sacred cows, and

(01:53):
being a contributor instead of aconsumer.
Honestly, I figured out abouthalfway through this
conversation that Justin isabout as much of a motivational
coach as he is a broadcaster andhe's doggone good at both.
His days, helping his family attheir livestock markets in
southeast Kansas clearly taughthim to hustle.

(02:16):
His time in the FFA program,taught him how to set goals and
to communicate.
And his time as a rodeoannouncer has demonstrated just
how interested the generalpublic is in our way of life.
And we recorded this episodecouple weeks ago, but I think
it's a fitting reminder to bethankful, not just this

(02:39):
Thursday, but always for theopportunities that we have to
live and work as caretakers ofthe land and livestock.
So happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks for listening, and enjoythis conversation with Justin
McKee.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (02:56):
By the looks of things on social media
and cowboy channel andeverything else, I'm shocked
that I got to carve out an hourof Justin McKee's time today to
even talk with you.
You, uh, you're a busy, busyguy.
Most, uh, most of the time.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11- (03:10):
Yeah, thanks.
Thanks for

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (03:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2025 (03:14):
I guess, uh, yes, uh, we keep her
rolling.
And, uh, I'm naturallycaffeinated.
Fortunately, don't require a lotof sleep.
I guess maybe.
I love what I do and, and one ofthe things I tell my, my
broadcast students are in theleadership clinic.
I tell people, man, if you canjust find that passion, that

(03:35):
passion will give you so muchthat you need to be successful.
It'll give you drive, it'll giveyou creativity, it'll give you
energy.
And so, uh, unfortunately I'vekind of become an adrenaline
junkie, I guess, when it comesto that kind of adrenaline.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (03:49):
Well, I'll tell you what, you're
channeling it in a lot of prettygood ways and, um, you, you
touched on a few things.
I guess just.
Give me a rundown'cause I'm sureI don't even realize everything
that you've got going on.
And then we'll kind of figureout how you got to this point
and where it goes from here.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (04:08):
Wow.
Well.
I am, uh, in my sixth year withthe Cowboy Channel, left
northeast Oklahoma up there byCoffeyville, Kansas about six
years ago on a ranch that mywife Jeanie and I put together,
uh, shortly after we got marriedin the, in the nineties.
And, um, we was continuing toadd and build and develop and,

(04:31):
and continue to lease moreplaces around there and never
thought we would leave.
As a matter of fact, my, my onlyregret over the last six years
is I finally built the ultimate,my all time favorite best set of
working pens.
I, I've been studying for yearsand I'm kind of a geek when it

(04:52):
comes to cattle handling, so Ihad alley's.
All the way around four.
I mean, the whole outside, thewhole perimeter was an alley.
Of course there's an alley downthe middle uh, everything was
hydraulic when it comes to thelead up and the squeeze chute
and a double barrel load behindthat.
And, I never thought we wouldleave, but the Cowboy channel

(05:14):
called Patrick Gottsch said, Iwant you to come down here, and
I gave it a, gave it a go forsix months and realized when we
came back from COVID.
shutting down for a couplemonths, if we could survive
COVID, this is long term and Ireally like it.
So into our sixth year, we movedto Hico, Texas, which is about
an hour and a half outside ofFort Worth.
And we, and we, we found anamazingly similar place to what

(05:37):
we had in Oklahoma.
It's even laid out the same.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (05:39):
Cool.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2025 (05:40):
I mean, the traps, the pastures
are all identical.
We're the exact footage off theroad.
It, it's spooky, really, uh,similar this, except this is
actually a lot nicer.
so I'm saying all that to say weleft Oklahoma and moved to Texas
to work for the Cowboy Channelfull time.
the meantime, my hobby is workand, uh, we run about 300 cows.

(06:03):
Still...not on this place.
I've got some guys that help me,but we, um, we retain the
ownership on them through WheatPasture.
We are just finished kind ofgetting the first 40 days on the
weaning process on them, uh, upin, uh, Southern Oklahoma.
we are gonna send in the WheatPasture, sell'em on Superior
mid-March, deliver 1st of May.

(06:24):
And I'm also involved in, uh,what's really been keeping me
busy here lately.
I still announce about a dozenevents live announcing along
with doing a lot of cowboychannel stuff.
But I started this broadcastclinic two years ago and I've
had seven of these things andthat's turned into leadership
conferences for any kind of abusiness and keynote speaking
and a lot of ag conventions.

(06:46):
um, I'm having a blast doingthat.
That's kind of my new seasonhere.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (06:50):
I love diversity in life.
I love ironies and antagonismsand everything else.
And I, when you said that you'rekind of a cattle handling geek,
I wonder how often you'resitting there at that rodeo
announcing and cringing going.
Oh, this could be done a littlebit better.
Oh, there aren't a lot of cattlehandling gurus that are

(07:13):
announcing PRCA radios.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-20 (07:16):
You know, that is a fact.
I'll tell you what bothers methe most is watching the ranch
rodeo in the mugging when theytry to tie a steer and they're
trying to both tie the steer atthe same time, and, and it's
nine outta 10 times.
They do this all they're doingis getting in the way with
proper, uh, gathering of thelegs skills.

(07:38):
You shouldn't need anybodyhelping you out.
And that drives me crazy.
But, uh, yeah, thanks for

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (07:45):
Oh yeah.
I mean, I've been there.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (07:47):
way.
But I, I, I jumped at, jumpedthe gun.
I didn't know we were

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (07:51):
Oh, we're started.
We're from the time I hitrecord.
We're started.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11- (07:55):
Yeah.
Well, Matt, I just wanna saythank you for, asking me to be a
part of this.
I love what you're doing and,and I've been a fan of yours for
a long time, and I've, uh, I'mcertainly a fan of.
Where you come from and theFlint Hills and Eureka is one of
my favorite places on theplanet.
I can't wait to go spend moretimes there.
I watch Mike Wiggins, yourneighbor, Mike Wiggins, post

(08:18):
videos of shipping and receivingand and, and chasing coyotes
with them greyhounds.
I'm like, oh, that's, that'sanother thing I miss from being
up, being up home.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (08:31):
Well, since you're backing up, I'll
back up too, and I'm flatteredthat you even.
Know what it is that we're doinghere.
Um, and I know that you keepclose tabs with the Wiggins
family.
And I, I have to tell you, andyou won't remember this, but the
first time that I actually gotacquainted with Justin McKee was
in Mound City, Kansas, probablysomewhere in the late nineties,

(08:52):
early two thousands.
And I'm actually married to Johnand Candy Teagarden's daughter,
Amy.
And so I met you while you wereannouncing the Linn County
Rodeo.
Like I said, I don't know whenit was you were doing that, but
I'm guessing it was somewherejust after the turn of the
century 2000.
That is,

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (09:13):
when did you guys get

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (09:14):
we got,

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11 (09:14):
seemed like you were

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (09:15):
yeah, I think that's right.
I think that's right.
We got married in November of ohone, and so it may have been a
year or two before that, and Iremembered thinking at the time,
and I didn't grow up.
In rodeo, you know, we went to ahandful as a kid, but, um, your
combination, and we've alreadytalked about all these different

(09:35):
talents that you, and passionsthat you've kind of put together
in a, in a pretty, um, cool way,but, but your combination of, of
voice and enthusiasm andpassion, coupled with just the
right for this guy anyway, theright amount of humor.
Sometimes I think folks in yoursegment of the industry, want to

(09:59):
be more comedian than they areplay by play person or too
focused on the play by play andnot enough humor.
And, and I mean, I think at thattime, 25, 30 years ago, I
thought, man, this guy.
This guy's got something andsomething special and you've
proven exactly that as you'verisen up the ranks in announcing

(10:21):
and then, you know, parlayedthat into your public speaking
and your broadcast clinics andso many other things, it it's
pretty cool to, to watch.
'cause I felt then that you weremaybe a diamond in the rough
and, and of course you moved onfrom Mound City and, and have
gone bigger, bigger places.
Not that, uh, you don't enjoygoing to those too.
But, uh, yeah, it's been cool towatch.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-20 (10:42):
Aw, thank you.
I appreciate that.
I had some good people to lookup to.
of course, FFA is where I owemost all the

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (10:50):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-20 (10:50):
And as I mentioned Mike Wiggins, for
those that are listening thatknow, he and I, um, a

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (10:56):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-20 (10:56):
may not realize that when he was
fresh outta college, he came toLabette County High School in
Altamont, Kansas, and he was myag teacher for three years.
And so we ended up winningstate.
We won the state championship inlivestock judging of my junior
year with Jana Cheney and TravisMcKenzie.
And so we, uh, we had some, wehad some real special times

(11:20):
together and that I, and that hewas a cowboy was just, uh,
fantastic for me at that time,uh, as an ag teacher.
But I also had John Frazier.
Dan Peterson, we had three agteachers.
We had a great ag program there.
And, uh, John Frazier reallyknew how to bring out the, our,
our true potential in, in termsof speaking.

(11:42):
then he encouraged me to run forstate office.
And then, um, the being state,FFA president was really,

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (11:49):
Gosh.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-1 (11:50):
looking back, that no doubt was the, the
greatest stepping stone thatI've had in my whole life.
So I'm very thankful for thatand that that's where the roots
are.
And then Clem McSpaddenannounced our hometown

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (12:05):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-202 (12:05):
in Coffeeville, Kansas and Bonita,
Oklahoma.
And um, I just idolized him.
I was just really taken by whathe was able to do.
Of course, I grew up auctioneerbecause my folks ran the
livestock auction there in SouthCoffeyville and Parsons, Kansas.
So I was behind the microphoneand I'm hungry to be a rodeo
star if I could.
So.
was a perfect combination of, mytwo passions at the time.

(12:29):
And, um, I learned so much fromClem and then I was able to meet
Bob Tallman when I got seriousabout it.
And you take the sincerity ofClem McSpadden and the classy
ability really love the people.

(12:50):
And have that desire to telltheir stories, right from Clem,
he was, you know, Clem was WillRogers nephew and he learned
from Will Rogers.
never thought about this, Matt,this is crazy how, how Clem his
uncle and, and wanted to havethat personality in his approach

(13:12):
and his presentation andsincerity and true Western
knowledge.
Well, I'm, I'm just, I'm, thishas never dawned on me before,
that I'm, that I feel like Imight be the third generation
recipient of Will Rogers stuffthrough Clem here.

(13:32):
But, uh, I just, I studied howhe had handled situations and
made people feel great aboutthemselves and, and especially
just in conversations before therodeo deal.
It was, it was just, justamazing.
uh, then as I watched BobTallman.
the, the, the humor and thespontaneity and the energy, I
don't know if I set a goal earlyon, but I kind of wanted to be a

(13:58):
combination of

matt_2_11-11-2025_10491 (13:59):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2025 (14:00):
I wanted to be somewhere in the
middle.
I wanted to have the energy ofBob Tallman, but I wanted to, to
have that, that classy orator ofClem McSpadden.
And so I feel very comfortablewhere I landed.
Finding and that really was a, areal genuine fit for me.
And, and my hope and goal isthat people see some

(14:24):
authenticity.
That that's what I want'em tosee because that's, we're, as
we're speaking in front ofpeople, in our background, in
our culture, people can sniffout a phony and especially in
the, uh, rodeo announcingbusiness, I guess maybe anything
but.
They can tell if you have notreally been there.

(14:47):
And so that's what I wanted tocapitalize on, uh, my time in
the saddle.
Then marrying Jeanie, I, um,into a rodeo ranching family
and, uh, she really, if I've gotany cowboy skills or
horsemanship at all, it's, it'scome from her.

(15:07):
So was just a real greatcombination.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (15:11):
Well, there's one more similarity that
you and I have, um, or maybe oneof the few because I sure don't
have the voice or the,, uh,diversity in, in, performing and
production and things like that.
But same way, I had a passionfor horsemanship and didn't even
realize it growing up.
And after I met Amy.
And her folks interest inhorsemanship and, and, um, you

(15:35):
know, I went to my first, uh,horsemanship clinic with it,
which I didn't even realize theyhad shortly after she and I got
married with her father John.
And, and, um, yeah, I've justbeen hooked ever since.
The cattle handling deal came asa natural fit for the natural
horsemanship, uh, as well.
And, and, uh, yeah, they gotogether.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-20 (15:53):
the parallels are all over the
place.

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (15:55):
it's the same thing and every one of
those clinicians likes to havetheir little thing that they do
differently than somebody else.
But basically, I mean, um, Ithink it was Ray Hunt that first
said, make the wrong thingdifficult and the right thing
easy.
And

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11 (16:11):
right.

matt_2_11-11-2025_10491 (16:11):
whether it's cattle or horses or,
honestly, I had a elementaryschool teacher one time who
said, you know, it's the samefor teaching kids.
Make the right thing easy andthe wrong thing difficult, and
eventually, hopefully they'llfigure it out.
And, uh, so yeah, that's, thoseare cool things.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11- (16:26):
I'll, I'll add to that, and I share
this almost every time I speak.
I think it's the mostappropriate definition of a true
cowboy.
And that is a true cowboy knowswhat the cow's going to do
before the

matt_2_11-11-2025_10491 (16:39):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (16:40):
he's

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (16:40):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (16:41):
Same goes for horses.
And, um, not that we get itright a hundred percent of the
time, but nobody does that.
And if they say they do, thenthey're not really.
They, they're not an expert at

matt_2_11-11-2025_104917 (16:55):
Yeah.
And, and that's, that's just it.
I mean, you can, you can see itcoming if you'll just look
cattle, horses, people, ifyou'll watch their eyes and
watch what they're likelytelling you before they actually
do it.
Then just figure out, is thatwhat I want?
Or close enough and let'em doit, or no, that's not where I

(17:15):
want'em to go.
And you take a step ahead of'emand let'em know before they bolt
that, nah, that's not the rightanswer.
So, uh, yeah.

squadcaster-da39_2_11-11-2 (17:23):
good idea.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (17:24):
So there's a, another similarity
that as I have been peeling backthe layers of broadcasting and
announcing, one of the, one ofthe things that I found, and,
and this is what I teach mystudents, is have to, to see the
whole picture, the whole arena,everybody in the crowd, every

(17:44):
movement.
Is part of a calculation.
is.
is part of a formula going inyour brain and by every movement
of a pickup man, as every gateman, every movement of the
livestock, every reaction of thecrowd.
You're constantly taking in ofthis information, and that's

(18:08):
what determines what you say.
It could be dozens and dozens ofmoving parts, and that all
should go into this equation todetermine what you say, and
that's the way it is with, withcattle handling.
And you may have a dozen people,a horseback, may have 300 head

(18:30):
of cattle that you're moving,and every step of every person
at every angle, in everyposition of every cow in line.
goes into a formula to determineyou need to be, and I think
that's interesting

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (18:48):
Yeah,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (18:48):
and you gotta make that decision in
a quarter of a second

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (18:51):
yeah.
So how do you do that?
It, it's tough enough whenyou're there in the arena as the
announcer.
How do you do that behind thevideo screen on

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (19:03):
Hmm.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (19:04):
a cowboy channel or, I mean, as
you see changes coming in rodeo,uh, can you do it the same or do
you have to be either in thearena, horseback or up on the
catwalk or whatever the case maybe?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (19:14):
well, again, it's the same principle.
One of the, one of the, one ofthe, um, biggest mistakes that I
learned very early on inbroadcasting television, rodeo
and television you get tolooking what's going on into in
the arena and describing theaction there.

(19:35):
But in fact, that's not wherethe camera's being pointed.
You have got to watch yourmonitor, your TV monitor the
whole time 100% of the time.
it's so easy to get distractedif there's something
extraordinary going on in thearena.
The crowd reaction, you wannalook over the top of the monitor
and then you wanna talk about,oh my gosh, the bull jumped into
the crowd.

(19:55):
You can't do that.
You cannot look off of themonitor.
have to only say what you see onthe monitor, which makes TV
broadcasting that calculation onwhat to say so much easier
because you

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (20:09):
Huh,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (20:10):
as moving near as many moving
parts.
So

matt_3_11-11-2025_ (20:12):
interesting.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (20:13):
the process in a lot of ways.
But it's funny when we bring innew.
Uh, color people and analysts todescribe the action.
It's a hundred percent they goto looking off and, and over the
years I've learned to set'em upfor success ahead of time.
I give them rule number one, donot look away from the monitor.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (20:31):
darn.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (20:32):
ever, ever, everything, everything
that you're looking at will be100% coming from the.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (20:37):
So along those lines, as we've made
or seen this, I think beginningof a move to a commentator of a
sports event; rodeo-- instead oflive viewing, um, on a few of
these big rodeos, like whatyou're doing, uh, where, where

(20:57):
do you see that going from here?
Does it take any of that and youuse the authenticity word--out
of it?
Uh, does it make you job as anannouncer more difficult?
Because now instead of a personseeing you once a year, maybe at
that rodeo.
They're seeing you every weekendand they're hearing some of the
same mannerisms and things likethat.

(21:18):
Does that make that harder?
As a, as a performer, as anannouncer, I mean, take the
whole, the gamut.
I heard a, I heard a, uh,bullfighter one time say that
this cowboy channel is, iswrecking things because I can't
say the same things night afternight after night.
'cause everybody's heard mystuff.
How does it change rodeo?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (21:35):
Yeah.
A barman.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (21:36):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's Well, a barrel man.
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (21:38):
Yeah.
Certainly changing it for themand announcers fortunately I
have been able to, don't get mewrong, I, I, I use a lot of the
same phrases, I hate.
Using the same stuff over andover and over again.
And I, I try to, I try real hardand I'm not always successful,

(22:00):
but I really try hard to befresh and to be innovative and,
and always saying it a differentway.
As, as I was flying all over thecountry, every weekend for the
PBR doing tv, I would sit withpeople on an airplane and they
would ask what I do I would tell'em, I television broadcaster

(22:20):
for bull riding.
And they would frequently ask,so what, what is that?
And what, how do you do that?
I said, it is real simple.
Finally, I came with, with onepatent answer and it was, I
talked about how the cowboy rodethe bull, on the bull, or got
ran over by the bull.

(22:42):
And again, when I go to breakingdown the basics of announcing
that I can teach in in thebroadcast clinic.
That's huge for students toreally understand.
Number one, keep it simple.
And number two, this is what,this is my goal for my students
and for myself.
We gotta have a, we gotta have ahundred different ways, if not a

(23:04):
thousand different ways to saystayed on, we bucked off, got
ran over.
He, he stayed on, he got buckedoff, or there was a wreck.
And so if you can, and that'swhat Bob Tallman has done.
He's, he's, he's got a millionways to say he stayed on, bucked

(23:24):
off, or got ran over,

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (23:26):
And an amazing way to deliver them all.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (23:28):
him.
That's what separated him.
And nobody even knows why he'sgreat.
And I didn't know until Istarted writing this curriculum.
I go to discovering....
Why do we do things?
Why do we get in these ruts?
Why do we keep saying the samethings over and over?
and and that's why this, thisclinic thing, and I don't mean
to keep harping on it,

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (23:47):
No, that.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (23:47):
it has freshened me up in every
way.
It has, it has sharpened me upin every way because I'm really
digging into why, and, and, Ilove doing, I, I love using that
example in a leadership clinicbecause, the worst thing in the
world, especially people fromagriculture, is we live the

(24:09):
definition of insanity.
Which is we keep doing the samething over and over and over
again because granddad did itthis way, but we're expecting
better results when in fact,that is the definition of
insanity, doing the same thingover and over and expecting
different results.
And so that's a big part of mymission, to destroy the sacred

(24:34):
cows in not just rodeo, but inagriculture are holding us back.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (24:40):
So let's talk about a few of those
in ag, because not everybodylistening to this may be a rodeo
fan.
What are those sacred cows inagriculture that we refuse to
innovate and let go of and moveon?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (24:55):
Thank you for asking Matt, because
this is, this is not only my, mynext season in life.
This is not only my mission, butthis is a, a conversation that I
hope to have over the world and,um, I I, I think that a lot of

(25:16):
things are leading up to that.
Here's what we're doing wrong inagriculture.
have not told our story.
We are, there's two things thathold us back from being able to
tell our story.
Number one, we work seven days aweek and it takes every ounce of
energy just to keep surviving inagriculture.

(25:37):
I understand that very well.
And number two, we are broughtup to be humble and not promote
ourselves, which keeps us frompromoting our own product and
the values that have made us whowe are and our work ethic and

(25:59):
our opinion of humbleness.
And the values that we havegrown up in, we've taken it for
granted.
That is the number one thingthat we have missed.
We have taken all this forgranted as I travel these big
cities and work in Fort Worthand Dallas.
I'm constantly reminded now morethan ever that the, the agrarian

(26:23):
lifestyle people of the land.
Have so much to be thankful for,and I've always known that, you
know, we, we should be thankful.
But every day my understandingof how blessed we are grows
deeper and deeper and deeper.
So my message is, let's becomestorytellers.

(26:46):
If it's not, if it's not youpersonally, find the person in
your family or operation.
That knows and can see beautifulscenery that we have all around
us, and I don't care what youroperation looks like, if you've
got five acres and a mobilehome, you're still living the
dream for 99% of the rest of theworld.

(27:12):
That five acres is only a dreamfor most of the world.
But I want us to realize thatwhere we come from is beautiful.
It's spectacular.
The, the, the visual attractionfrom people, let's say in big
cities or east of theMississippi or whatever that

(27:34):
demographic is, that is, that'sliving the same day over and
over and over again every day.
It's the same thing in a verysmall space.
Our wide open spaces areamazing, everywhere I turn
around now I'm seeing the beautyof it the way God intended it to

(27:56):
be on full display.
And I'm seeing the need for usto tell our stories and first of
all, to be a great storyteller.
You, you even need to be a greatstoryteller if you've got a
great visual.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (28:06):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (28:06):
Uh, I, I tell people my, in my
clinics that.
A picture is worth a thousandwords compared to words.
A picture is worth a thousand.
A moving picture, and this iswhat I have up with.
A moving picture is worth amillion words.
Picture is moving or animated,and you've done that in
somebody's mind through yourstorytelling, verbally and

(28:30):
visually.
We've got an audience that'shungry for where we come from
and what we do.
They want to see how we live.
And for all these generations,we have not told our stories
somebody else has told ourstories that wants to tear us
down, that wants to destroy ourlifestyle.
Those are the people that havebeen telling our story, and

(28:53):
that's why we've had a lot ofchallenges.
Well, this is the greatestopportunity in the history of
agriculture.
People appreciate, they'restarting to appreciate where
their food comes from, and theywant to know the people who is
developing this substance oflife that they put in their
mouth every day.
And I love, I don't know whocame up with it, I think it was

(29:14):
an an ancient philosopher, butI'm gonna credit Red Steagall
because red is the one who hassaid, or I've heard him say the
most.
You know, every now and thenyou'll need a banker and maybe a
lawyer.
But every day, three times aday, every single person needs a
farmer or a rancher.
That's what I want to tell urbanAmerica.
I, I feel like maybe I'm notgonna be spending all my time

(29:37):
speaking to ag groups.
That's where I want to go, but Ifeel like my calling is to go to
the urban places and tell thestory that I, I just shared with
you that these are the peoplethat are feeding the world.
They're wonderful, God-fearingpeople the values that they live

by (29:58):
helping neighbors.
Communities.
Communities that are truecommunities is how the rest of
the world should live.
I think we've got the model andI think the next, I think from
now till I'm gone, we're gonnabe telling the story of
agriculture the way it shouldhave been told, and I'm gonna
bring some beautiful sceneryalong the way.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (30:17):
I think.
Do it Well currently.
You will do it well if youchoose to make that move.
But I'd say what you're doingright now, whether it be in the
arena or whether it be puttingon these announcing clinics,
broadcast clinics, um, speakingto ag groups...

(30:39):
hopefully you are in your veryGod gifted way teaching us how
to do it ourselves because youcan't do it.
You can't do it alone.
I, I really believe that ittakes a lot more folks that have
got, I mean, we've all got anincredible video camera in our
pocket, 24 7.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (30:59):
That's, I, I tell my students, I, I tell
everybody at every speech.
Everybody has their owntelevision network, if they're
willing to put in a little bitof work and creativity in their

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (31:10):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (31:10):
On this phone?
Yes.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (31:12):
Yeah.
And that is as authentic as itgets.
Sometimes maybe a little tooauthentic, but as I look at what
is happening all around us andthe interest that folks have in
pick your person, uh, TaylorSheridan,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (31:29):
Mm-hmm.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (31:30):
I mean, all these different folks
that have taken what we say.
Eh, that's not exactly how it isin ranching.
You know that that newborn quoteunquote calf in the opening
episode of Yellowstone thatweighed two and a quarter and
jumped up and ran off two miles,that's not the way it really
works.
Well, guess what?

(31:50):
Those details maybe don't haveto be perfect.
He has captured an interest inthe Western way of life.
Now, maybe a little extra dramaand sex and murder and
everything else that doesn'thopefully happen in highways and
byways of rural America.
But he has captured an interestand proven to me that people

(32:12):
really do want to hear thosestories and they wanna hear'em
from us.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (32:16):
Matt, I got, uh, I am gonna share this
for the first time.
Nobody has me publicly say whatI'm about to say, but I'm coming
off an extreme, uh, unbelievablyweekend at the Hondo Rodeo in

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (32:33):
I saw that.

squadcaster-da39_3_11- (32:34):
Downtown Phoenix Chase Field, where the
Arizona Diamondbacks playprofessional baseball seats.
50,000 people, 45.
40 to 50,000 people.
Indoor baseball facility.
By the way, they sold 90,000tickets and they didn't come for
just the concerts.

(32:56):
They came early for the rodeo.
90% of that crowd was there forthe bareback riding.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (33:01):
I'll be darn.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (33:03):
Last year was the first time they had
this rodeo and I left thereshaking my head, what is going
on here?
Who are these people?
'cause I'm watching the crowd'cause I'm, if they're.
If there's anything that I'm afanatic about, about More Than
Than cow psychology, that is theart of knowing the crowd, the

(33:25):
art of reading, who these peopleare.
I was so frustrated I couldn'tread it.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (33:29):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (33:30):
This was an urban crowd was very
affluently dressed western.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (33:38):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (33:39):
The reactions.
We're not your first timeparticipants, not your hardcore
fans either.
Not a Houston crowd.
They're there for the concert,not a Houston Rodeo

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (33:51):
Right.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (33:51):
They're there for the concert, not a
Pendleton Roundup.
That's a pretty educated crowdsomewhere in the middle.
I'd never seen it before, but Isaw the same dynamics at the
rodeo in San Diego, also on theball diamond where the San Diego
Padres play and these mainstreampeople are crossing over.
And I just figured it out.
They want an experience in theHondo Rodeo, it's called the

(34:15):
Hondo Rodeo Fest, and they'vegot a fan zone of three blocks
of vendors and activations thatare very engaging around that,
that baseball diamond, thatfield, that building that we
were in.
So bands and music and wares andWestern everything.

(34:38):
And it's a festival, thedifferent professional level
rodeos have tried to, what was,oh, it was the er, uh, was ERA
elite anyway, when all the top,uh, contestants got together and
they thought

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (34:56):
and

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (34:56):
their own

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (34:57):
yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (34:57):
showed up because I, in the urban
areas.
It wasn't marketed right.
They were trying to market thestars.
Well, rodeo stars aren't bigenough stars, but the attraction
of a festival, a place wherethey could engage in the western
lifestyle is what's made thisthing as successful and just
figured it out yesterday

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (35:14):
Wow.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (35:15):
because I was leaving the airport and
there's cowboy hats all over theairport in Phoenix, not the hats
we would wear.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (35:22):
Close enough.

squadcaster-da39_3_1 (35:23):
purchased, very affordable hats.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (35:27):
Right.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (35:28):
But these people are coming up and
they're talking to me and I'mtalking to them.
They flew from all over, allaround the world to come to this
rodeo

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (35:36):
Wow.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (35:37):
and, and, and here's what I think's
happened.
Taylor Sheridan, COVID CowboyChannel, people tired of being
lied to by politicians andactors.
They want something real,especially conservative
Christian.

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (35:52):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (35:53):
in urban America.
They're looking for a community.
And thanks to the internet andTaylor Sheridan, they go to
digging in our lifestyle, peoplefrom around the world and
especially in the United States.
And the more they dig, the morethey find out that we are
authentic, the more they findout that this is the audience,
this is the community they'vebeen searching for.

(36:14):
Not to mention all the valuesand quality of the the John
Wayne image of courage anddetermination and grit.
That is so lacking in ourconversation in this new
American way of thinking.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (36:27):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (36:27):
They're finding the real person that
they want to connect with, andthe deeper they go the more they
like it it's real.
Because we are real.
I'm just found this out I knowthat's what's going on.
Nobody's having thisconversation.
You and me are the first onesthat are having this
conversation, and that, again,backs up why we have to be

(36:51):
intentional.
In creating storytellers becausewe've got an audience that's
ginormous.
We are just scratching thesurface right now, agriculture
is on its way up in everysegment.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (37:07):
So if a rodeo fest with all of the
smoke and all the lights and allof the cowboys and athletes and
Unbridled excitement that arodeo and the festival that goes
along with it can provide...ifit can hook them.
Now, how do those of us that doa little less exciting, often

(37:30):
mundane, feeding and caring forthe land and the livestock and
the crops and everything else?
How do we position that withenough excitement?
There's plenty of authenticity.
Nobody's gonna argue that, buthow do we, how do we do it well
enough that somebody cares andis excited about making that

(37:51):
next beef purchase or supportingthat next, um, piece of
legislation that keeps familieson the land instead of them
being turned into the nextsubdivision or whatever.
How, how do we do that?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (38:05):
You just gotta realize, uh, again,
I, I said it earlier, you, firstof all, you gotta realize that
everything around you isbeautiful to

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (38:12):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (38:12):
has never been on a ranch.
You see, that's what we take forgranted.
step.
There's another angle that youcould shoot.
And again, I'm gonna go back toMike Wiggins.
Mike Wiggins has inspired me.
My ag teacher, your neighbor inthe Flint Hills of Kansas is.
Videoing

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (38:32):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (38:33):
those pots pulling in to deliver
cattle, he's videoing thosecattle coming off of those
trucks.
See, that's every day for us.
People have seen, there's peopleall over America that have seen
those trucks with holes in theside all up and down the side of
that, of that trailer, and theydon't even know what's in there.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (38:52):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (38:52):
And then when they see what Mike
post at his ranch, north ofEureka, Kansas.
Oh, those are the

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (39:01):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (39:04):
See the things that we take that is
amazing to them.
And then to see the beauty ofthe hills, the trees, the
creeks, the rivers, the valleys,the cattle coming to a feed
truck.
The dogs working in an alleysaddle, and the horse in the
barn.
When, when it's just coldenough, you can see the breath

(39:25):
that horse.
The, sunsets, the sun rises.
We gotta develop an eye though.
There's gotta be that, thatbasic creativity that, that we
can see.
Oh, that's a beautiful picture.
And I, and I know it can happen'cause I didn't necessarily have
that eye, but I developed thateye through working in

(39:45):
television.
And it's not that, trust me, ifan old cowboy like Mike Wiggins
with, with his worn out flipphone, can.
Capture the images that he'scapturing.
the, the old foundations fromthe limestone original homestead
houses and barn old barns, oldwindmills, uh, water, running

(40:11):
over rocks in a small waterfallin the creek.
A spillway at at a at a lake.
Uh, cattle drinking out of alake.
It's spectacular.
It's just taking the time to seeit, shoot it, post it and grow.

(40:35):
Not gonna happen overnight.
It's a process you just gottakeep developing and growing in
what you see, you film it.
Lighting.
I tell, oh, I've never thoughtof this.
I've got, You're breaking outthe best in me.
I, I, I'm getting all kinds ofnew content,

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (40:52):
That's saying something Justin.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (40:54):
Here's where I got an eye because a lot
of it's about the right light.
You've gotta get the rightangles of the light.
You've gotta have the sun behindyou.
Never shoot into the sub.
You know, I got my guys thattake care of my cows and, and I
have'em send me videos every twoor three weeks so I can get an
eye on'em.

(41:14):
'cause they're four hours awayI'm like, they're shooting into
the

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (41:19):
Get on the south side.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (41:20):
can't see the condition of my animals
here.
Now, lemme tell you where I,where I developed that eye.
For great visuals, taking greatpictures and great videos.
When I was with the PBR, let methink.
I would've, it would've been inthe nineties.
yeah.
probably 96 or seven I got in,uh, the business of raising

(41:42):
bucking bulls.
I wasn't gonna raise the bulls,but I, that's when the
futurities were starting andthere was a high demand for
yearling bucking bulls so theycould go to the 2-year-old f
fraternities.
Well, I'm in the business, man.
I'm, I'm on TV every weektalking about bucking bulls and
such.
And, uh, yeah, I guess it was,would've been end of the two
thousands, 99, 2 thousands, uh,or early two thousands.

(42:04):
I know I've got all theconnections to buy the right
kind of mama cows and to get theright breeding bulls, and so I
maxed that out.
But when I had to market thosecalves, I took individual
pictures like you would your,for your seed stock sale The way
you would light and shoothopefully your bulls as

(42:26):
individuals for your catalog.
That's what I had to do.
I had to go shoot thoseyearlings, posed up, lighting
perfect every ear up in the, youknow, point in the

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (42:36):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (42:37):
head up, chest out, as much width as
and and depth of body as Icould, and I was rolling around.
Literally rolling around out inthe pasture with these bucking
bull calves when they were stillon their mama's, which is kind
of dangerous by the way.
Those mamas will come and getyou.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (42:55):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (42:56):
But I'm out there for hours cheap
camera and trying to get theperfect shot of those yearling
bucking so I could market themindividually.
It was worth it because theywere bringing a lot of money.
I mean, even back then you couldget 2,500 pretty easy for a
prospect, sometimes up to 5,000and more.

(43:18):
So I could spend every morningwhen that sun was right, and
every evening when that sun wasright, out there laying in the
pasture, crawling around on hisbelly, trying to get, to get
those calfs shot.
And I didn't know that until,until just now.
That's where I developed thateye.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (43:36):
And it's those experiences that.
May teach us, we, we may not endup being the perfect livestock
photographer, a professionallivestock photographer, but we
learn something from that thatwe can parlay into something
else.
And I think that's what you'vedone so well.
All these different gigs thatyou continue to stack up on top
of one another.

(43:57):
You pull something that you'dlearn from that FFA state
champion livestock team or beingFFA state president or whatever
the case may be, that you canuse, uh, in your dealings other
places.
So every time I hear ofsomething new that the beef
industry, let's say all ofproduction agriculture is

(44:21):
challenged to adopt, I hear thesame one or two questions from
producers, who's gonna pay me todo it?
And what are the risks?
As we talk about this notion oftelling our story,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (44:38):
Mm-hmm.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (44:38):
often the same question.
I've got a lot of, I've got alot of irons in the fire.
I've got a lot of things on myplate.
How do I have time to do itunless somebody is going to pay
me, quote unquote, to do it?
And what are the risks that Itake?
Something.
I mean, last weekend we had kidsback and we were dragging
calves, fall babies using Nordforks and that process, every

(45:01):
time I take a picture of that orfilm that I know that.
That is a very brief moment ofholding that calf down so we can
give it its vaccinations, we cando what we need to do to make
sure and make it healthier and

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (45:15):
Mm-hmm.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (45:16):
you know, ready for any challenges
that that mother nature throwsat it.
But.
That point, that few secondswhere it's in the forks.
I struggle with whether I shouldshow that on a video because it
looks like it's a littlepainful.
Well, guess what?
It probably is just like it isfor that infant that's got two
nurses and a mom and a dadholding them down as they get
those inoculations, what are therisks?

(45:38):
Short question is what are therisks to putting those types of
things out there, and are theyworth the rewards that we get?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (45:46):
short answer is yes, it's all worth
it.
It's all worth it.
Uh, especially if you're honest.
Oh, at the end of the day inlife and in agriculture and
telling the stories, if you'rejust honest, we, we got nothing
to be ashamed of.
of all, we gotta realize that wehave

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (46:02):
Right.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (46:02):
the lie ourselves, you and me.
People that are really trying todo right

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (46:07):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (46:08):
Our industry and our standard have
believed that lie, we shouldnever question what we're doing
because we're not gonna doanything that's gonna harm that
animal.
But we believe that, oh, this,this looks bad.
So all we gotta do is tell thetruth.
And that's a great opportunityfor education, to slow it down.

(46:28):
I mean, here's what it's gonnacost you.
What here?
Here's the cost, here's thecost.
Time.
Stop.
Stop.
I know, I know we

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (46:38):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (46:38):
to, I know we wanna work 85 an hour
here, but we've gotta stop.
Bring the camera over here.
Get the light behind you.
Let's think about what we'regonna say because words matter.
Try it out.

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (46:54):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (46:54):
me, take one.
Probably need to go in thegarbage.
Let's try it again.
Take two until you get it right.
it might take 10 or 15 goes atit, but it's okay and it's worth
it.
Uh, other than that, it's notgonna.
You know, the risks are notthere

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (47:16):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (47:16):
you, if you tell the story properly.
And, and here's the other thingwe gotta realize.
There's always gonna be peopleagainst us in, in whatever we
do.
And we just can't let thatdetermine our direction and, and
we can't let them detour theaction that we need to take and

(47:37):
the reward, holy cow,

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (47:40):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (47:40):
don't even know how big the reward
could be.
I don't think we've even to seethe direct interaction that
we're gonna have between arancher and a consumer, which is
really what we've, what we'vealways dreamed of.
Now we're too scared to go afterthat.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (47:57):
I would maintain that we have
started that process and some ofwhat we're seeing with$2 and 40
cents fed cattle and 10 and 20and$30 a pound beef at the
grocery store that is flying offthe shelves.
Regardless of what PresidentTrump has said the last, uh, few
weeks or month, I mean.
Folks want that product andthey're willing to pay for it.

(48:20):
And I think there's two thingsthat work there.
I think number one, we'reselling a way better quality
product in the beef industrythan we ever, ever have,
especially 20 and 30 years agowhen we had a hard time giving
the stuff away sometimes.

squadcaster-da39_3_11- (48:33):
product.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (48:35):
That is driving it as much as
anything.
But I think what I, what we'vejust talked about here for the
last 15 minutes, the TaylorSheridan effect, the Justin
McKee effect, the Hondo Rodeoeffect.
This, this return to the Westernlifestyle being in vogue; and
not only being questioned, butbeing mimicked by, you name it,

(49:00):
fashion,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (49:01):
Right.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (49:01):
music, uh, entertainment, all these
different things.
That is transferring into theirone opportunity to have a
physical connection with that 30acre or three acre or 30,000
acre ranch, and that is a steakon the plate

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (49:19):
That's

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (49:19):
and a story that they heard that
connects how that beef got fromthe ranch to the feed yard.
To the retail counter.
And yeah, I, I think we'realready seeing that payment and,
and when I asked you who's gonnapay me for it, it was a little
bit of a philosophical questionbecause I hear that, but I don't

(49:39):
think that we realize that weall are gonna make some extra
jingle because of it.
And, and that story is worthpennies or dollars per pound
when it comes time to sell ourproduct.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (49:52):
It is because they're.
They're gonna be, they're gonnabe up, um, battling each other
as customers to get to yourproduct.
That's what we're gonna see.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (50:03):
Yep.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (50:03):
so I, I love the dynamics and I,
and here's what, here's what Itell people to when I kind of

wrap up my conversation about: get the videos, get the (50:09):
undefined
conversations, tell the stories.
The great storytellers todaywill set their legacy in motion.
The great storytellers will settheir family operation up for

(50:30):
generations of success.
It will last generations, but wedon't have that right now.
We are, I mean, every year we'vebeen decaying the continuation
from one generation to the nextthat, that, that succession rate
has just consistently beendropping.

(50:54):
Nobody talks about that.
You know, I mean, it would,golly, it was rolling in the
eighties and we, we made arecovery, but we're still, we're
still, we slowed that down, butwe're still going the wrong way.
This is, this is the turningpoint that is going to let the
succession of this familyoperation continue if it really

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (51:17):
Yeah.
Yeah, and I think you thinkabout that younger generation
that is coming back now.
It's easy for them to tell thestory.
They've been telling their storyexactly

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (51:30):
Yes.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (51:30):
their lives.
And so how, I guess anotherquestion for you.
How do we as old timers like meor Mike Wiggins, or my father,
or whomever else who have beendriven by

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (51:43):
Mm-hmm.

matt_3_11-11-2025_11 (51:44):
Efficiency for decades and decades and
decades, and you don't under anycircumstance.
Stop what you're doing to take avideo and post the damn thing.
How, how do we allow this nextgeneration who can probably do
it without even having to stopthings, but how do we say, okay,
it's okay.
That's important.

(52:04):
That's, that's maybe almost asimportant as getting the work
done in and of itself.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11- (52:10):
yeah, yeah, that's, that is all so
true.
First of all.
Any process, you gotta recognizethe problem,

matt_3_11-11-2025_11061 (52:19):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (52:20):
I, I think anybody who hears this
conversation can, can agree withmost of the points that we've
made here.
You gotta recognize the problemand then you gotta find the most
qualified person take actionagainst the problem, and that is
somebody younger.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (52:37):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (52:37):
you've gotta sell'em on the vision.
I want you to continue thisoperation.
If you want to continue thisoperation, I'm acknowledging
that we need to tell our storyand I also acknowledge that I
can't be the one to do it.
And you understand the processof stopping and videoing, you

(52:57):
know how to do it.
It is just engaging the nextgeneration, selling them on, on
wanting to continue what we'redoing.
I think it's a pretty easy sale,but I'm, I, I had to chuckle
while you were setting thatquestion up.
Because we don't stop the, onething that that rings louder
than anything that my dad put onme growing up was whatever you

(53:19):
do, especially this is sendingcattle up the alley at the sale
barn when I was in the backsorting and he was in the ring.
You keep that alley full,whatever you do, even if it's
wrong, keep moving.
What?
That, that's what a big part ofmy drive today.
Whatever you do, keep moving.
Even if it's wrong, keep moving.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (53:39):
Yeah.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (53:40):
so, yeah, we're not equipped for
that by nature, but, uh, but Ithink we, I think we gotta stop
and acknowledge and, and, um,have them conversations.
We, we need to take the time tohave that conversation.
With the next generation thatcan take care of business, like
we don't know how.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (53:57):
Yep.
And they're moving probably in alittle different way than we
were taught.
Maybe physically they're notmoving as much, but maybe
they're getting more done asthey're standing there on the
phone.
And, and that's, I, I fightthat.
Uh, but, but.
I'm shining a light on myselfthat sometimes we may have to
figure it out that they'removing just in a different way.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (54:18):
Yep.
They are.
And it, it doesn't, doesn't hurtto stop, mean I had to stop.
I was, hadn't been home threedays in three weeks and was home
today and I had a lot ofmovement to do outside, and came
in here and sat down and hadthis conversation on video and,
and I'm.
And I'm realizing these, this iswhat I do, this is what I want
to do, this is the message thatI want, get out there and, and,

(54:41):
um, and you've got a greatavenue.
This is, I, I'm, I'm just verythankful that you asked me to be
on.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (54:46):
Well, I'm thankful that you made time
for it and could, and becausethis is, this is gonna go down
as one of the great ones and youknow, you said something a
little bit ago, we've got tosell them on the vision.
I guess my final question foryou, Justin, would be how in an
industry that's pretty steepedin tradition-- rodeo, ranching--

(55:09):
you have a lot of vision thatmay often be a little bit,
challenging to the traditionsthat, that we all have here in
the cattle industry, the horseindustry, the rodeo industry.
How do you sell that vision toeverybody around you?
That loves that the, the reasonthey're in this industry is

(55:32):
because of the tradition andthey wish that they were born a
hundred years earlier.
And here you are saying, Hey, weneed to skate to where the puck
is going to be.
We need to be where we're goingto be in 5, 10, 25 years.
How do, how do you balance thatin a, in a world steeped with
that tradition?

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (55:48):
You know, I worked for 20 years out
on the road announcing.
Mainly with the PBR at thattime.
But my whole goal, what drove meat that time was want, I want
to, I wanna pay for some landand um, was my drive.
And then I wanna be able to haveenough land and cattle by the
time I put in my 20 or 25 years,go home and ranch.

(56:13):
Well, that's what I did.
And then the Cowboy Channel,Patrick Gottsch called and I had
to, I had to really dig in deepand think about my impact.
What impact am I having on theworld feeding cows, which is
what I enjoy, raising babies,the whole process compared to

(56:40):
having a platform like theCowboy Channel?
The value I can give to myfellow man is greater, being on
tv.
Now, not everybody's gonna havea chance to be on tv, but again,
they have a TV in their hand.

(57:03):
How are you going to see?
There's two types of people inthis world.
There's consumers and there'scontributors.
Uh, too often we we're lastyears when we realize, I don't
think I contributed enough.
In my lifetime, oh my gosh.
If I had this to go over again,I would.
would give more.

(57:24):
And so the greatest asset wehave is our time and our stories
and in agriculture, ourlifestyle.
And so we are adding value here.
Here's, here's what I believethe Cowboy Channel was created
for.
The Cowboy Channel was createdto add value rural Americans

(57:48):
lives, and I think we've beenvery successful with that.
That's been my mission statementwhen I seen it happen.
When I started hearing peoplecome up to me out on the road
I've never met before, and theysay we love watching the Cowboy
Channel, it's a whole new lifefor us now that we have our
sport, our people to cheer for.
It's radically changed our mind.

(58:09):
We watch it 24 hours a day.
It's the only thing we watch,and I can see the excitement and
their sincerity.
I realize, man, we're addingvalue to people's lives.
Every day, we're adding value.
That's the purpose of life.
Sell the younger generation onthe impact that they can have on
the world.

(58:30):
See, I, other thing I teach isas we talk about being a
contributor, that is the purposeof life.
Man, I wanna change the world.
I wanna be a world changer.
Sometimes our goals aren't bigenough.
I know we just spend our timetrying to survive, but need to
stop and realize what are wereally doing here?

(58:51):
And I'm not talking aboutcontributing money.
None of this stuff, when I saycontribute, I'm not talking
about writing checks.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (58:59):
Right.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-1 (59:00):
telling your story that doesn't cost
anything but a little time.
And I think that's an easy sell.
I think that's a, a greatconcept.
I think.
I think it will, it will createspace for young people to come
back to the family operation.

(59:22):
I mean, so you need a wholemarketing team to do this,
right?
Which could be one person on theteam that's part-time that
you're gonna have a horsebackwhile he's working or she's
working of the time.
I they can still be in betweengetting good shots at the
working chute.

(59:42):
They can still be back therepushing them up to you.
It's, it's a no brainer.
I think, uh, I

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (59:51):
And,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-202 (59:51):
be good

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (59:53):
And, even more powerful when it's
when they're doing it all.
And I think that that adds,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (59:59):
Yes,

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (59:59):
yeah, adds to that authenticity, adds
to that reality.
Um, yeah, it just, it, it allcomes together and is even more
believable when you do it thatway.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (01:00:12):
That's exactly right, and it comes back
to you

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:00:16):
Yes.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (01:00:17):
seeing the value to contribute to
somebody else by telling yourstory, you know that you've
added value.
That's gratification.
That's fulfillment, that ispeace.
And when you get all of that,then you get clarity and then

(01:00:37):
you can hear God's voice easierand you get rid of all the
busyness up there and the worryand, you're more focused on man,
you When, when you tell yourstory and you put it out there
and somebody comments on yourFacebook post and says,"thank
you for giving me somethingbeautiful to look at today," or

(01:00:58):
even better.
"You that I got to spend

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:01:01):
Hm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (01:01:02):
two days at your operation getting
to meet your family.
It changed my life." That'swhat's gonna happen to people
that take this advice and thenyou're gonna go, oh, that's what
I'm here for.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:01:23):
Yep.
Well, sometimes, Justin, and Ihave to really work as the host
of this podcast to, um, tiethings together that we've just
talked about for the last hour.
I got nothing.
That sums it up and sums ourlives out here in rural America

(01:01:44):
up as well as any guest I'vehad.
And so all I've got is thank youfor being here, for doing what
you're doing and all of thedifferent spaces that you're
doing them and reminding us justwhy we do this.
We didn't get in it for themoney it, it may be in the
cattle deal right now, may bepretty profitable, probably more

(01:02:07):
profitable than anybodylistening to this has ever seen,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (01:02:10):
Yes.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:02:11):
But we didn't come into this business
because of that.
We came in for the very reasonsthat you've just outlined.
And I think sometimes we have tobe reminded of those reasons.
And as you've said, the factthat we need to share that and
contribute back to not only ourindustry, but society in
general.
So thank you so much.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (01:02:30):
thing, it'll take

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:02:31):
You bet.
You bet.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (01:02:32):
trying to work this into my
conversation at any event thatI'm announcing, especially at
rodeos.
And, and I think it's, it'svital and, uh, and, uh, it's my
responsibility to remind peoplethat we, the people of
agriculture are caretakers.

(01:02:56):
The land and the caretakerslivestock, we've been chosen by
God who gave us great passion todo whatever it takes leave this
land better than how we foundit, and to give these animals
the best life possible.

(01:03:19):
Why haven't, why haven't you,and I heard that before.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:03:23):
Hmm.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11 (01:03:23):
That's the truth.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:03:25):
Yes, sir.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2 (01:03:26):
That is the truth.
And I'm, I'm embarrassed that Ihaven't, I've had all these
missed opportunities to tellthat over the years, but not
anymore.
And that's changed just thisweek, is I have got to tell
people that we are, we're thepeople that care most about the
land.
We're the people that care themost about the animals.

(01:03:48):
That's it.
It is.
That simple.
I can't wait to tell that story.

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:03:57):
Amen.
Amen.
Well, that, uh, once again youdid it again.
Summed it up perfectly and, uh,yeah,

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-2025 (01:04:05):
I

matt_3_11-11-2025_110612 (01:04:05):
we will.
No, that's, that's what we need.
Those kinds of challenges, thosekinds of thoughts from someone
else.
Oftentimes that's why one of themany reasons we created this
podcast was so that folks whodon't get off the ranch very
often can hear these messagesand be assured that they're in
the right spots and have someways to even do better.

(01:04:28):
Justin, thanks a million forbeing on here and again for all
that you do and, um, this hasbeen a blast for me to record
and I know it's gonna be a blastfor everybody to listen to.
so thank you.

squadcaster-da39_3_11-11-20 (01:04:37):
so.
I've loved it.
I'm, I'm so thankful that youcalled and, and I can't wait to
see, uh, you continue to dogreat work.

matt_3_11-11-2025_1106 (01:04:45):
Awesome.
Thanks a bunch Justin.
Do.
Thanks for tuning in toPractically Ranching, brought to
you by Dalebanks Angus, andthank you again for making our
2025 sale a record- setter forus, 147 yearling and coming
2-year-old Bulls average justover 13,000 ahead in the six
fall heifer yearlings average 9750.

(01:05:07):
If you didn't get a bull throughthe sale, we will have some
private treaty this fall andwinter and then again, uh,
mid-March of next year.
So may God bless you.
Have a happy Thanksgiving andwe'll talk again soon.