February 10, 2026 • 57 mins
Dr. Tom Carr is Professor Emeritus of the University of Illinois. After Serving on the faculty for 36 years as a Meat Scientist and Professor, he and his wife now make their home in his hometown of Medicine Lodge, KS.
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Episode Transcript
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matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (00:05):
Hi there, and thanks for joining me
for episode 84 of PracticallyRanching.
I'm Matt Perrier, and we're herethanks to Dalebanks Angus, your
home for practical profitablegenetics since 1904.
If you're in the market forbulls this spring, we'll sell a
nice group of about 80 yearlingand coming two year olds at
private treaty starting inmid-March.
(00:27):
For info and prices on thebulls, email me at Matt
mattperrier@dalebanks.com andwe'll get you the list as soon
as we can in early March.
This week, I got to visit withDr.
Tom Carr.
Dr.
Carr is a professor emeritus ofmeat science from the University
(00:49):
of Illinois.
And while Dr.
Carr spent 36 years on thefaculty there at U of I, he's a
native Kansan, and he came backto his hometown of Medicine
Lodge upon his retirement in2010.
You know, he spent a, a lifetimehelping producers produce better
(01:09):
beef and pork.
He instructed countless studentsin meat science and he coached
meats judging and evaluationteams.
He's led research, he's taught,he's coached, and most of all,
he's given back to those whoneed it.
You know, through all theseepisodes, I get to talk with
(01:30):
some pretty smart folks.
Pretty visionary folks.
Hardworking folks.
Kind folks.
Dr.
Carr is all of those rolled intoone?
You know, I mentioned in thepodcast that I've had multiple
listeners suggest Tom as aguest, and after hearing him
recount his career and all thelives that he's touched, it
(01:52):
became pretty evident why Ithink that everyone who knows
Dr.
Carr loves Dr.
Carr.
We talk about several obviousmeat science topics.
We share a few stories aboutjudging teams, but this is one
of those episodes that remindsme that even though learning and
and doing are really important,it's the people in our lives
(02:17):
that really make the difference.
Guys like Tom Carr not onlyshare knowledge, they share
their heart with everybodyaround them.
Most of us have people who wereinstrumental in our
achievements.
Mm-hmm.
And Dr.
Carr recognized that prettyearly in life and he continues
to try and pay that back withhis service to his community and
(02:38):
to the meat industry.
He learned by folks' example,and now he's that example for
the rest of us.
He reminded me of the importanceof, of service to those around
us, and I hope you'll feel thesame as you hear this
conversation with Dr.
Tom Carr.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (02:58):
We had a little bit of snow 10 days
ago and about four, maybe fiveinches.
but that's all we have had, uh,December, January's extremely
dry and, uh, we had no moisturereally in December.
So that's a little disconcertingto us,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:16):
Yeah.
As you know, uh, as a BarberCounty resident and let's see, a
Barber County native.
Right.
If
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (03:23):
right?
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:24):
back
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (03:24):
Yep.
Yes, yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:26):
not the first time in history that
Medicine Lodge has been dry.
Right.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (03:29):
No, it's usually, uh, pretty normal.
I'm afraid to say.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:34):
So that's a, that's a pretty good
lead in for kind of the fullcircle that you have completed.
We'll touch, uh, we'll talk alittle bit more here about your
time there at Animal Sciencesand Industry at U of I, uh,
later on.
But you're back in ruralAmerica, rural Kansas.
What brought you there as aretired professor?
(03:54):
Emus of, Florida or Arizona orsomeplace.
A little, uh, more temperate.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (04:02):
That, that's an excellent question and
a, as you well know, being,being a native and, and, and,
uh, being of the land, mybrother and I still co-own our
small family ranch betweenMedicine Lodge and Cold Water.
And we've only got about athousand acres, but, uh, uh, the
(04:26):
land is always a draw.
And, uh,, when my wife and I,made the decision, uh, to move
back, it was to get back to theranch.
uh, dad died in 1987 and I hada, a second cousin that rented
our ranch and then rented my,uh, my aunt's ranch across, the
(04:49):
road.
And, uh, and started about 1988.
And so that same family, eventhough the original, gentleman
rancher that, that, uh, rentedthe land passed away, his
daughter and son-in-lawcontinued to ranch.
So we've had the same familyrenting the ranch, uh, since
(05:11):
1988, which is kind ofunbelievable when you think
about it.
And, and, uh, we were having,Red cedar problems and, being in
Illinois, my brother living in,uh, Olathe, we weren't here that
much.
We'd get back for maybeChristmas or Thanksgiving and
really didn't see the Cedarcreep that was coming into the
(05:36):
ranch.
And, uh, had some real, veryclose neighbors that, uh, told
us about a,, a project, anorganization that could provide
funding for removal of Cedars.
And, uh, so we signed up to dothat in about 2005.
But the long story of it is, youknow,, wanting to get back to
(06:01):
the ranch.
And it just, you know, it justdrags you, it drags you back.
And, my wife was willing to dothat.
So, uh, we made the decision todo that.
And I retired in August of 2010.
My family owned a house here on,on Main Street, when dad came
back from World War II in 45,uh, my grandparents moved from
(06:26):
the ranch in and bought thishouse on Main Street, uh, in 46.
And so we've had that house inour family since, since 1946.,
Mom and dad and my brother and Ilived out on the ranch while my
grandparents lived in town, and,and my brother and I maintained
that, that old house.
And when I came back, my brothersaid, buy my part out.
(06:48):
He said, demolish that house andbuild a new one.
And so, uh, when we moved backto Medicine Launch, we were
known as a couple that built anew house on Main Street.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (07:00):
Well, that's, that's not, um, probably
too surprising, uh, in, in smalltowns when somebody comes in and
does something significant, uh,everybody notices.
I'm still chuckling over thefact that it was the Eastern red
cedar that brought you back toMedicine Lodge.
That's, that's, that's my storyand I'm sticking to it.
You wanted to, to get on top of,uh, uh, cedar removal and so you
(07:24):
just, that was, that was yourretirement gig.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (07:27):
Yeah, well my, my poor wife, uh, we,
we came, when we moved back, ourdear neighbor to the south of us
said, Hey, how about putting,uh, a 3.2 mile new fence and
share it 50 50 on the south sideof the ranch?
And I said, I'm all for that.
But the problem was we havemassive cedars growing in the
(07:51):
fences all the way around our,our perimeter of 6.2 miles.
So, my wife, I told my wife, Isaid, well, we're gonna start
cutting cedars out of thefences.
And we started in March of 2011.
And my Lord, it took us a year,year and a half.
You know,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:10):
You
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (08:10):
to get that job done before we
could really start to build anew, perimeter fence on our
south side.
You know, that was quite anundertaking.
She didn't bargain for that.
But bless her heart, she helpedme the whole time.
And, uh, so, uh, we got that jobdone.
But, uh, I tell you, there'snothing, Cedars just puts the
(08:33):
fear of God in me.
We drive by, we both look ateach other and think we need to
grab a chainsaw and run outthere and get'em.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:39):
Yep.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (08:39):
yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:40):
uh, not probably every retiree has,
uh, saved everything they couldfor four or five decades just so
they could come home and cutcedars for the rest of their,
uh, retirement.
But that's great.
I think that says a lot about,about you and your work ethic
and your tie to the land, and,um, probably would any student
(09:00):
or um, uh, team member oranybody else that worked with
you there at U of I probablycould say that they saw the same
work ethic back then too.
tell us a little bit about that,uh, professional career you
know, and, and even yourschooling back to undergrad and
master's and, and, um,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (09:16):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (09:16):
PhD work and, and what took you to
university of Illinois.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (09:19):
Right.
Well, as, as you well know, fourH had a unbelievable impact in
my life.
And, uh, when we had the.
Uh, he started in four H at, Ithink age eight, something like
that.
And, uh, had several young men,uh, that, uh, went to K State
(09:45):
right after they got outta theservice, whether it was Korea,
world War ii, whatever it mightbe, and, and came back to the
ranches.
And two or three of those guys,uh, really jumped in and
volunteered in, in, in teachingand coaching, livestock judging.
And at that point in time, wehad a tremendously good
(10:07):
extension agent who was allabout educating the kids.
And so us kids in the, in the,the fifties, early sixties, had
the opportunity to, to be oncounty, livestock judging teams,
range judging teams, landjudging teams that basically
(10:29):
were in national contests and,and it was a, an emphasis by our
extension programming in ourcounty.
And, uh, that had a tremendousimpact on me.
And so in livestock judging ofcourse, we got acclimated to Don
Good and Miles McKee at all thelifestyle judging contests,
(10:53):
regional district, whatever itmight be, state contest.
And so, you know, Kansas Statewas, uh, the place to go.
And I was the first of ourfamily ever to go to college.
And mom and dad, you know, thatthat was their thing, is to make
sure both of us, uh, got tocollege.
(11:18):
And so we did that.
And, uh, when I went to K State,As an undergrad, uh, one of my
goals was, to, uh, be on thelivestock judging team.
We did not have meats judging infour H in Barber County at that
point in time, althoughobviously meets judging in four
H was in Kansas, but we didn'thave it in Barber County.
(11:40):
So I never got indoctrinated orintroduced to me judging or, or
meets until I took, you know,the introductory meat science
class.
And just so happened, a new,professor had joined K State
about that time named Dr.
Dell Allen.
And uh, so I kind of got inthrough enthused with, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_0958 (12:02):
smallest
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (12:03):
the meat side of things and, uh.
Dell asked me if I would comeout for the judge team.
Well, I did that as a juniorrather than as a sophomore.
And some of the guys, I had tobe in FarmHouse fraternity, and
some of the guys were on themeets team and said, you need to
do this.
And so, uh, I, I did and, reallygot into it.
(12:26):
I, uh, kind of an interestingstory.
I, that made me, a little behindas far as my wanting to be on
the livestock judging team.
And so I should have graduatedin, in, in the spring of 68.
And, uh, I came home and tolddad, I said, dad, I, I said, I,
I wanna be on the livestockjudging team, and I'll have to
(12:48):
go an extra semester.
And he said, well, that's okay.
He says, you just trot yourselfright down to the bank and
borrow the money.
And so I, I did that and uh, youknow, at that point in time,
those loans for student loans,unbelievably low interest rate,
I don't know whether it was 2%,something like that.
(13:08):
And so I come out and, and, uh,he said, well, how did it go?
And I said, really good.
I said, I, I borrowed$500 forsuch and such and told him
interest.
He says, my God.
He says, why didn't you borrowmore money?
I was terrified.
Anyways, the beginning, youknow.
(13:28):
So anyway, I did that and was onthe livestock judging team then,
uh, in, in 68.
And we had great success on thatteam and uh, uh, it was a great
experience.
And then Dell came back andsaid, Hey.
Would you think you'd beinterested in possibly getting a
master's degree?
(13:49):
And, uh, I said, yes, I would dothat.
Dad and I had had a very frankdiscussion.
My whole plan was to go back tothe ranch, but he and granddad
were in a partnership.
And at that point in time, theywere through land.
We owned and, and, and rented,was running about, uh, 3,700
acres and had a cow herd ofbasically about 150 cows and
(14:12):
farmed about 500 acres.
The rest being pasture.
But he says, you know, there's,there's not enough room for both
of us.
And he said, you need to findsomething to do for a while.
So I had that discussion beforeDell had asked me about possibly
going on to grad school, and Isaid, yes, I'll do that.
And helped with coaching the,the hi his judging teams at that
(14:35):
point in time and had uh, uh,really good experience in grad
school there.
Uh, had the opportunity to go toOklahoma State University, uh,
serve as a halftimeinstructorship while going on to
get my PhD under Lowell Walters,uh, at Oklahoma State.
And, finished that up and had agreat experience coach four
(14:56):
meets judging teams at oh state.
And then had the opportunity togo to the University of Illinois
assistant professor in ateaching and extension position.
And, responsibility of coachinga lot the me judging team and
co-coaching and meat animalevaluation team.
And did that for 36 years.
(15:18):
So that's, that's kind of the,the nuts and bolts of it.,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (15:22):
I'd say that's a lot and, pretty
impressive path and, and onethat's not atypical of a lot of
judging team coaches of, ofemulating some coach that had a
big influence on them.
And I, I love that story ofthose gentlemen who came back
after serving their country inKorea or World War II even
(15:43):
before that.
Um, and then continued to serveby coaching you all as as youth,
4- H teams.
And that too, you have emulated,have you not?
Because I remember my kids whowere judging for Greenwood
County's meats team came backfrom a state contest probably,
yeah, it's been six or eight,maybe 10 years ago.
(16:03):
And Barber County had, hadbeaten them or, or given'em a
run or something.
And I said, well, who's, who'scoaching Barber County's four H
team?
Because Lyle and Vid had, they,their team had had quite a bit
of success and Hannah's as well.
And, and they said some guythat's a retired meats judging,
collegiate meets judging coachfrom Illinois or someplace.
(16:25):
And I'm like, Dr.
Tom Carr is back in thebusiness.
That's a, that's a fun fullcircle moment too.
Are you still helping coachthose 4- H teams?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (16:34):
Yes, I am.
I am.
Uh, and, and we got, I guessit'd been about 2011.
Uh, Tim Marshall was ourextension agent at that point in
time, and he came to me andsaid, Hey, would you be
interested in helping start, uh,four H me judging team?
And, and of course I said, yes,I, I would certainly be willing
(16:55):
to help and assist with that.
So we've been at it for a while.
you know, it's, it's interestingthat those, those first kids
that I had now, uh, you know,,majority of them are, are
married or getting married.
A couple of'em have kids and,it's, it's so neat to see them
now, contributing to, uh, thelivestock and meats industry and
(17:17):
succeeding and all that goodstuff.
But, uh, yes, it's, it's been,it's been fun and it's, it's
challenging, Matt.
There's so many things that, uh,uh, you know, tear at the kids'
interest and, I tell you thebiggest problem we have and in,
I don't know if Carla has thesame problems in Greenwood
(17:39):
County or not, but, uh, sportsjust eats us up.
And, uh, uh, it, it's, it'stough to balance, all the time
requirements and everything thatthe kids are involved in and,
and find time.
And as you well know, in 4- Hmes judging and retail
identification, it's a lot ofwork.
(18:00):
It's a lot of memorization andthere's a lot of kids that just
will not spend that much timetrying to develop some level of
excellence.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (18:10):
Yeah, after, after having four kids,
thus far go through thatprogram.
Yeah.
It is a huge time commitment anda huge, uh, just commitment in
general.
And your comment about, sportsschedules getting in the way is
100% valid in Greenwood Countyas well.
And, and that's something that,our family and that our kids
(18:33):
coaches, Carla and Jeanna havestruggled with.
And, and, um, if you ask ourkids sports.
Team coaches, they think that,uh, meats and livestock judging
is a real drag on, on the kids'schedule too, because it doesn't
allow them to be on every summerteam.
And, you know, all of these, uh,it takes'em away during the
(18:54):
season sometimes for contestsand workout trips.
And so, yeah, I think as welook, and this is probably an
entire podcast in and of itself,but as we look at kids club ball
teams, and I would even throwin.
and whatever the case may be,it's a different world that we
live in today as parents and thelevel of commitment that is
(19:17):
expected and, and, and thespecialization that is expected
by a lot of coaches and a lot ofsports, uh, in general.
And it doesn't allow kids tohave what I consider a fairly
well-rounded, um, very broadspectrum upbringing so that they
can judge on the meats team andthey can also do, um, three
(19:39):
sports and they can also have apart-time job and they can also,
you know, go on the 4- HWashington focus trip to DC in
the summer for 10 days or
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (19:49):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (19:49):
be.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (19:50):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (19:50):
All those get pushed to the back
burner.
And I think it's unfortunate.
Uh, yes, our kids may be betterin a sport or two because of it,
but I don't know for sure thatwe're getting better at life
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (20:02):
Amen.
Yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:03):
not
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (20:03):
I,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:05):
too
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (20:05):
yep, I agree with you a hundred
percent.
And it, it, it is reallychallenging.
I, you know, to,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:11):
You know?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (20:12):
uh, because there, it is a sa
whichever way you go, it's asacrifice.
And, and, uh, but, uh, it'sreally difficult for a kid to be
able to do both.
And we had a young man, uh, and,and you may know him, uh.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:27):
You know.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (20:27):
Callan Smith that, was just on our 4- h
uh, meets team, and I think hemight've been on the state, uh,
team with, with your daughter ormaybe your son, I'm not sure
which.
But anyway,, he was able to, tokind of balance it as far as
high school sports is concerned,uh, with being on the, the state
(20:49):
team and representing Kansas,you know, at the national
contest.
But it was a challenge eventhen.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:55):
No doubt.
And, and some would even saythat judging has taken to a,
been taken to a new level.
I know when I was judging, uh,at, in 4- H, we'd go to one or
two contests a year, and maybeit was just because Greenwood
County wasn't as competitivethen as maybe we are now.
But, there wouldn't be many, ifany workouts.
There sure wouldn't be any, um,week two, week long, there
(21:18):
wasn't an all-star state teamthat I knew of.
And so that's been taken to anew level as well.
And, and
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (21:24):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095 (21:25):
everybody could probably throw rocks at
the other activity that's takingfrom quote unquote their focus.
But, uh, yeah, it is, it, it's alot.
And, and I, I mean, stillmaintain that it's excellent for
the kids, whether that is theirfocus or that is something that
they somehow squeeze in betweenacademics and other sports teams
(21:46):
and, and work and life ingeneral.
Um, the busiest kids aregenerally the most successful
kids,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (21:53):
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (21:53):
I,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-0 (21:53):
Without question.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (21:54):
and I see it all the way through
adulthood.
They learn to prioritize theirtime and they learn to put
priorities on what's mostimportant.
And they know that they're gonnahave some adversity in the other
areas, maybe from challenges andcoaches and things like that.
But, uh, yeah, I, I think it's agood life lesson for'em to
balance all those.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (22:12):
Yep.
Very definitely.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (22:13):
And, you know, along those lines, I
even think as I see folks thathave achieved success, whether
it be in production,agriculture, and on volunteer
boards or even, uh, agribusinessor doctors and lawyers and
bankers and everything else,these kids that grew up on some
type of a competition team meatsjudging livestock, judging
(22:36):
range, land judging, whateverthe case may be, it seems like.
Either they have thecommunication skills that get
their foot in the door and getthat job, or they have the
decision making skills to letthem excel, but that's a common
thread, and I think a lot ofpeople that are listening to
(22:56):
this podcast are probablynodding their head in agreement
because they participated on oneof those teams, if not several.
What is it, what's the specialsauce that, whether it be
collegiate or even 4- H and FFAjudging team kids have and learn
that develops them into, forlack of a better word, more,
(23:20):
service oriented and, and, uh,more effective contributors to
society as they go forth.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (23:26):
That's a really good question.
You know, and I, and, and as Ilook back and, and you've
already identified, some of thecharacteristics of, of those
individuals that go through ajudging experience, I think one
of the, the, the biggest,attributes is for most, I think
(23:48):
it teaches self-discipline.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (23:51):
Uh.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (23:51):
know, time management becomes a, a, a
huge factor, uh, especially forthose kids that are
participating in on collegiateteams and everything they've got
going on with academics andother clubs responsibilities and
things like that.
Trying to, organize, their time.
(24:12):
That, that's a huge lesson tolearn there and, and.
that takes, self-discipline.
You, you have got to prioritizethings which is a huge lesson to
learn.
And then after you go throughthat process and, and you look
back and it might take a fewyears, but you look back and,
(24:33):
and say, wow, I gained an awfullot out of that experience, then
it's payback time.
I think that person comes to thepoint where, you know, uh, I
need to give back this, this hasmade me a, a successful person
in, in, in this career or thatcareer.
I've gained so much from that.
Uh, I need to give back.
(24:55):
And I think that's where theservice part, comes back, you
know?
And, uh, mine started, like Isaid initially, and I get pretty
emotional about it.
It was 4- H, uh, uh, I wouldnever.
Uh, be successful in what I haddone if it hadn't been for those
(25:15):
initial experiences, you know,and we had parents, uh,
volunteers that, that gave oftheir time and effort, great
county agents, people that werewilling to sacrifice their time
for kids.
And, uh, that, that just had atremendous impact on my life.
(25:36):
And I had great, obviously greatsupport from my parents.
But it, it was others that alsowere very impactful as far as 4-
H leaders and teachers andcoaches and so forth, you know?
And so, uh, I, I felt a, a greatresponsibility in trying to pay
that back.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (25:57):
Well, I'm told that, and I think I may
have even had a podcast guestthat would've been the result of
this.
But when you were at theUniversity of Illinois, did you
not kind of serve the industryby maybe casting a little wider
net and working with some kidsmay not have grown up on a farm
or ranch in rural Illinois or,or even the rural Midwest, but
(26:21):
maybe came out of an urban orsuburban area and get them into
and interested in the meatscience field, the animal
science field, and maybe morespecifically the meats judging
team.
and how did that, I guess, playinto that, paying it back that
you mentioned there before?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (26:40):
Well,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (26:41):
Um.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (26:41):
very definitely.
We had young people that, thatenrolled the University of
Illinois in Department of AnimalScience with like many, their
major goal to get to vet school.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (26:54):
Okay,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (26:55):
so we had a significant number of
kids coming out of the collarcounties of Chicago, and other
urban areas that hadtremendously good high school
preparation in the biologicalsciences.
And so, uh.
They would come in and major inanimal sciences because that was
(27:16):
probably the best way of gettinginto vet school.
And initially my meat scienceintroductory meat science course
was required of all animalscience majors in the
department.
And so, through that I was ableto attract a fairly significant
(27:38):
number of kids that had urbanbackgrounds, non-ag backgrounds,
kind of get them turned on alittle bit.
And they would come out for themeet team.
And because of theirintelligence as well as their
biological science background,many of those when either if
they didn't go on to vet school,they went on to graduate school
(28:00):
in meat science or, or mentnutrition or that type of thing,
and maintained them within the,the animal science department.
So, uh, and, and, uh, Matt, thething is concerning you, that
is, you know, as I was leaving,uh, in, in, in 2010, I was also
(28:21):
undergraduate teachingcoordinator for the department,
for a number of years.
And so I had the opportunity,which was fantastic, uh, to
interact with many parents andtheir kids as they were coming
to visit the University ofIllinois, possibly a place to
come for college.
And, uh, I enjoyed that verymuch.
(28:43):
But, you know, uh, it got to thepoint where, at the U of I, it
was 80% women,
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (28:50):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (28:51):
men in the Department of Animal
Sciences.
And, uh, it was probably, youknow, and the majority of that
obviously were from urban areas.
So, you know, the great thingabout'EM is many of them were
pretty open-minded to othercareer avenues in animal science
(29:13):
once they got in and got theirfeet wet and say,"wow, there's a
lot of stuff here." You know?
Uh, and so, you know, uh,subliminally, my, my, my goal
was to convince them, you know,not to go on to vet school, but
to go to become animalscientists, meat scientists, and
go on to graduate school, whichmany of them did.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (29:36):
Well, I'm sure you probably weren't on
the Christmas card list from thedean of the vet school, but, uh,
I would say that there would belots of folks highly indebted to
you.
I, I, the podcast I wasmentioning was Diana Clark,
possibly one of your
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (29:52):
Uh, very definitely, yes, very
definitely.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (29:55):
she would've been, we had a podcast
with her, gosh, three or fouryears ago, first season I think
of, of this podcast.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:03):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:03):
she mentioned that, that that was
her course exactly as you kindof described, and that you, you,
um, kind of changed that course.
And, and she's tickled pink thatyou did, I think
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:14):
Yeah, yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:15):
days anyway,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:16):
yeah.
She's, she's a, she's a greatgal and, and her husband, of
course, he came from SouthernIllinois and he wa came from a,,
an Angus background.
And so, uh, but it was the meatsjudging team and that, that type
of thing that got'em together.
So, uh, you know, that was aplus there.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:34):
chart, chart career paths, but you're a
matchmaker as well.
So that,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:38):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_0 (30:39):
impressive.
So jumping forward, and we cancome back, we could talk about
judging teams and meat scienceall day long.
Um, today there's a, there's atopic that's fairly front
burner, uh, on a lot of people'sminds, especially in the meat
science community, and that isthe yield grade equation, uh,
(31:02):
that USDA uses to estimateretail yield and cutability of
carcasses.
Um, you stayed up on some of thechanges that they are talking
about and some of the researchthat, is being done?
Texas Tech would be leadingthat, of
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (31:15):
Yes.
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (31:16):
or is that, is that
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (31:18):
So that something you still
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (31:19):
on?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (31:20):
Yes, I, I, I, I do.
And, uh, my wife and I still goto our, uh, the national
Meetings of American MeatScience Association, which is
called the Reciprocal MeatConference.
And, uh, we have continued toattend them.
And, and, and part of thatreason is to try to try to stay
(31:40):
abreast a little bit of whatsome of the research is going on
and doing.
And yeah, Dale Woerner and, andthe guys at Tech have done a, a
great job in trying to, uh, Iguess you would say modernize.
Uh, our yield grading system,uh, to make it a more accurate
predictor of the composition of,uh, of beef carcasses.
(32:03):
And, uh, you know, I thinkresearch has indicated that, uh,
our current methodology, doesn'tdo as accurate a job as it it
should in, in estimating thecomposition of beef.
So I, I'm all for this, new,research efforts that are being
made and, and trying toidentify, methodology in the
(32:28):
cooler that'll work as far as,uh, you know, the actual
industry is concerned, onlinegrading and that type of thing,
and, and doing a more accuratejob of predicting.
And so, uh, I think there's,there's still a lot of work to
be done in that area, but, uh,they are moving forward and I,
I, I think the, the beefindustry recognizes that, we
(32:50):
need something that is moreaccurate than what we're
currently using.
Obviously our cattle have,there's been a lot of, changes
in, in the cattle that we, Breedand feed.
Over the years since, I guessthat would've come out about
1965 as far as our USDA yieldgrades are concerned somewhere
(33:11):
in there.
So I think it's, it's, it's anecessary thing that has, has,
has finally reached the levelwhere the, the whole industry
says, yep, we gotta do somethinghere.
so I, I appreciate the, theeffort that, that Texas Tech and
others are making in that, thatarena.
And I look forward to ourmeetings here in June to see, to
(33:33):
get an update on, on what youknow has happened this past
year.
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095 (33:39):
committee is doing a lot of work, as is
Texas Tech and the otherparticipating researchers.
And yeah, it's time, it's time.
The cattle have changed.
Um, uh, the management haschanged, genetics have changed,
and we've gotta do as good a jobwith the technologies that we
have today to make sure thatwe're better estimating that, in
my opinion, and I know it's notgonna be easy anytime we make a
(34:01):
change that affects the way wemarket and merchandise and value
cattle, um, there are somegrowing pains and obviously
there's some logistical changesin the plants and things like
that, that we'll have toconsider as well.
But yeah, we've gotta, probablygotta do a better job than what
we're doing with 60-year-oldequations and, and cattle that
(34:23):
are vastly different than theywere in the,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (34:25):
Yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:25):
early mid sixties when that work was
done.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (34:27):
very definitely.
You know, it worked well for awhile, that's for sure, and,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:32):
sure.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (34:32):
and made us well aware of, of the
problems we had from acompositional standpoint.
But, uh, it, it's time tomodernize.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:41):
So that's a change that we've seen
cattle types and breeds andcutability and, and muscling and
things like that.
Um, through your meat sciencecareer, what would you say would
be the top one, two, maybe threethings that you saw change from
when you went to K State andmaybe got started that, meat
(35:04):
science path in the late sixtiesuntil you retired 10 or 15 years
ago?
What, what have you seen thatwould be the biggest items?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (35:12):
Well, you know, if, if we're, if we're
looking at the beef industry,the beef cattle industry, I, I
would say one of the majortransformations that we've seen
is, the tremendous change in, inthe quality.
Of our beef, you know, uh, nowthe percentage of cattle that
are, are grading prime is, is,uh, amazing compared to really
(35:37):
just 20 years ago, you know, we,we, we evolved and, and all of a
sudden we had the continentalbreeds making tremendous impact
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (35:45):
running them
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (35:46):
on the composition of our cattle,
trimming them up and makingheavier muscle and everything.
But, we lost marbling if youcompared it to a straight bred
Angus or shore horn, or it maybe in some cases even the
herford and, uh, throughgenetics and, and feeding, we've
seen tremendous evolution in,in, in the increase in marbling
(36:08):
and, the eating quality of ourmeat.
Uh, I think that's been a hugeplus.
I think, you know, I, I am, I'ma big, beef eater and, uh,, the
improvement in palatability ofour beef is, is amazing.
We dad always, we had an oldJersey Hereford was our milk cow
(36:30):
jersey, Hereford Cross, and,,her offspring was what we
consumed after he'd feed it out.
And we never, never had a toughpiece of meat that jersey
influence and marbling in thatold herford.
Uh, we had a lot of marbling in,in, in our meat.
And, so I, I grew up.
(36:52):
Not knowing really what, whattough meat was.
And, and then when I got awayfrom home and started selecting
beef or going to a retail storeand, and, and buying beef, Hey,
there's some inconsistency here.
You know, every once in a whileyou'd get one that, that, uh,
(37:12):
was tougher than shoe leather.
So I think we have made greatinroads, uh, in improving the
palatability of our beef.
And I'd say that's been a realplus in our industry that, that
I have seen.
And,, and I saw it so much inthe pork industry, we, we, the
though pendulum swings from oneside to the other, uh, in, in
(37:35):
the seventies and in pigs, wewere really concerned with PSE
and, and we were moving fromreal fat hogs to super lean
pigs.
And all of a sudden, uh, we hadpalatability problems in, in the
pork industry.
And so, you and I think we'veimproved there a bunch also.
(37:58):
And, uh, but, but, becomingaware, I guess Matt, on the
consumer side, has been anevolution in, in our industry,
in the meat industry, in the, inthe, the whole, the whole
livestock industry.
And recognizing that if we aregonna sell a product, uh, it
(38:19):
better be consistent and itbetter be palatable.
And to me, the amazing evidenceof that is that we're consuming
beef at ungodly prices rightnow, and the consumers are still
doing it.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (38:37):
Yeah.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (38:38):
it just, it just blows my mind how
this market has hung in therewith the price, uh, of beef.
My wife and I bought a quarterfrom one of our 4- Hs.
And not too long ago, you know,and by the time I calculated out
what that cost and everything,holy cow, you know, what have we
done here, dear?
(38:58):
But, you know, uh, we went aheadand, and, and did it and are
enjoying that beef.
But, that's the amazing thing tome.
And, and,
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (39:07):
random.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (39:07):
you know, uh, so I think our, our,
our cattle producers.
Everybody in between isrecognizing, Hey, the consumer
is king and we need to make sureour product is predictable and
repeatable and is satisfying.
And I think it is not thatwe're, we're, we're at the apex
(39:29):
yet, but, uh, uh, we've been trmade tremendous progress in that
area and in, in producing aproduct.
And, and I guess the, the bigthing is recognizing a, as an
industry that we have got toproduce a product
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (39:45):
These
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (39:46):
that, uh, uh, consumers will come back
and, and pay these wild pricesfor in which they are doing.
You know, and a lot of that goesback to, our advertising, you
know, uh, supporting research,advertising, all of that, is
critically important to that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:04):
Yeah, there's, there's no doubt.
Um, just in my time in the beefindustry, the, as you called it,
consumer awareness, our thatwith that consumer in mind have
made a huge difference.
And I think marketing andputting money to incentivize us
doing those things, not just
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:25):
Yeah, yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:25):
right thing to do, has been, has been
critical as well.
Obviously.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:29):
yeah.
There's no, no question.
That
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:30):
What, what is an area maybe that we
still need to work on or maybewe need to work on now because
of, as an unintended consequenceof, of, some gains that we've
made in quality and things likethat from a meat science
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:45):
yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:45):
Is there something that's looming
out there that we have to beaware of and, and address fairly
soon?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (40:53):
You know, that's a good question.
I,, I probably have been farenough away from it that I'm,
I'm not fully, aware of, the bigproblems that we're, that may be
in, in front of us from, from ameat science standpoint, one of
the things that has always, thathas blown me away, and we're
looking at beef here primarily,but it's also in, in the swine
(41:16):
industry, is, uh, these endpointlive weights that we have, the
industry has gone to, you know,the cattle are, are, are so
heavy now.
Uh, merchandising at, you know,1500 pounds.
I go down to, uh, we've got anew little, uh, beef processor,
(41:39):
here in Medicine Lodge and, uh,a new plant.
And, you know, they're, they'relooking for, for, cattle or, or
carcass weights.
That would be, you know, maybemore in that carcass weight of,
850 pounds.
We go to our big process.
There's a good grief, there's,you know, rail after rail over a
(41:59):
thousand pounds, and that'salways been one thing that has
concerned me, bothered me alittle bit.
I fully appreciate, the packersputting their expenses over a
greater tonnage of beef.
I, I understand that.
And, and, and that type ofthing.
But I, I just, you know, I, Iwonder, is there going to be a
(42:22):
point where we reduce the numberof elephants that we raise?
I, you know, I, I, I, that's myconcern is how far are we going
to go, for, you know, as far asthe cow herd size is concerned,
and I'm talking about, uh, sizeof cows and the efficiency
(42:44):
involved and, and that type ofresearch, genetics involved and,
and, and heavier cattle beingable to handle things in a
feedlot situation or the stressof heat and cold and all of that
kind of a thing.
Have it gotten too big, youknow, those are things that,
that I just wonder on, on thesideline and, and whether we're
(43:08):
dealing with that question.
Maybe it's not a problem, but,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (43:12):
I, I share your concern and I, I
believe that it is a problempersonally.
But in a time you just talkedabout, we continue to see
consumer demand at all timehighs.
They can't get enough of theproduct that we have, and we
continue to not rebuild the cowherd domestically.
(43:33):
And so think the market is justsaying, we're gonna do whatever
we can to get every ounce ofbeef that we can to these
consumers.
And, yeah, it, it opens, in myopinion, it opens a.
Pandora's box of unintendedconsequences, whether we're
talking about cow size or uh,animal welfare in the feed yard
(43:53):
with these bigger cattle on thesame skeleton and, and you know,
visceral organs.
There's all kinds of challengesthat I think that causes, but I
will share with you, and I don'tthink that this is, uh,
confidential, but.
A processor whom we delivercattle to occasionally just sent
(44:15):
out a letter yesterdayannouncing that heavyweight
discounts, uh, the thresholdthat used to be a 4% allowance
for, uh, 1100 to 1,150 poundcattle is now gonna move up to a
17.5% threshold.
Um, they're gonna decrease thediscount on those, I mean, 1100
(44:36):
to 1,150 pound carcasses.
not that old.
I don't feel, and I rememberwhen 1100 to 1,150 pound live
weights not uncommon as anaverage a pen of cattle coming
outta the feed yard.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (44:53):
Yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (44:54):
and in a mere 30 years, we've moved
that to the threshold that we'rewilling to take, 17.5% meeting
that because we're trying to getas many pounds per hook, per
carcass, per head outta the feedyard, however you wanna look at
it.
Um, yeah, there's, there's boundto be some fallout from things
(45:18):
like that, but yeah, I think themarket is telling us that at
least for now, at least for now,it is not going back the other
way.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (45:25):
Yeah.
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (45:26):
So it, it will be, yeah, it will be
interesting to see kind of howthe industry digests that and,
and, what happens from here.
But yeah, there are, I thinkthere are going to be necessary
changes to management and tobreeding programs and everything
else in order to do this andstill keep cows that can survive
in the Red Hills of BarberCounty and, and, uh, the Flint
(45:49):
Hills and really any place wetalk about
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (45:51):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (45:52):
of, maybe, maybe some spots that are
right next to a, uh, an ethanolplant or a grain facility or
something that can feed them alittle bit more energy and
calories than what we can onNative Range most places.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (46:04):
Yeah.
I mean, that'd be a huge problemhere in county.
There's no question about that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (46:09):
Yep.
So I had, uh, it's interesting,I've had a couple different
podcast listeners, that made asuggestion for a podcast guest.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (46:22):
Sorry about that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (46:23):
About that.
Nope, you're good, you're good.
I'm just impressed that, uh,here you consider yourself
retired in quiet, uh, calmBarber County, Kansas, and yet
you get as many phone callsduring a podcast interview as,
uh, as some of the most highlycompensated execs that I've had
on here.
So obviously you're a busy guy,Dr.
(46:44):
Carr.
I love it.
I love it.
In that regard, you have beenrequested as a guest by multiple
listeners of this podcast, uh,un unconnected.
I might add that, that alllobbied for your inclusion on
here and, and rightly so.
I asked are there any goodstories that I need to bring out
(47:05):
and make sure he tells?
And one of'em said, I don't knowif this is true, but I don't
think he owned his own personalvehicle when he was at U of I.
He always took public transit towork.
And is that, be close?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (47:19):
Well, no, you, you,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (47:21):
No, you, you,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (47:21):
you are exactly right.
Uh, we, we made the decision.
Champaign Urbana had a greatmass transit, district bus
system.
And, uh, I could get, I couldget within a block and a half of
the meat lab.
So my wife and I made adecision, uh, we'll just have
one vehicle and, I rode the bus.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (47:45):
Back
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (47:46):
To work and being 50% extension
state specialists and meats.
Uh, we had a re, especially inthe, in the seventies and
eighties, we had a, uh, a reallyvibrant extension, program in
animal sciences and withregional, specialists and, and
(48:08):
state specialists.
And, we were, we held a lot ofmeetings out in the state.
And so between being a meatjudging coach.
Extension specialist.
Uh, I spent about half my timeand it seemed like an estate
vehicle.
So between the bus system andhaving a state vehicle going to
(48:30):
extension meetings, I didn'thave to worry about another
vehicle
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:34):
That's
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (48:34):
to work.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:36):
Have you, uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (48:37):
Well have you, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:37):
gotten the mass transit system in, uh,
medicine Lodge up and running?
Or have you had to buy a, buy acar or a truck now?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2026 (48:46):
a new pair of tennis shoes and
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:49):
Atta boy.
There you go.
Well, that's, uh, that savessome pennies, so you could buy a
better chainsaw for cuttingthose, uh, those cedars down
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (49:01):
you know, it, it, it, it, it's
amazing really how much it didsave us and, uh, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (49:07):
yeah.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:08):
it was well, well worth it.
matt_1_02-05-2026_0958 (49:09):
suburban America.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, uh, that's a huge costthat of us have on a bottom
line, especially if we have anyextra vehicles sitting around
when we figure in, especiallytoday, insurance and everything
else.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:21):
Oh my, yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (49:22):
was interesting.
I was expecting some very, verypointed meat science type of a
question that I needed toinquire about, and instead they
said, I don't think he owned apersonal vehicle.
We had more.
Yeah.
Well, that's, that's good.
And it makes it, it made sensethen, and, and probably even
more so today.
(49:42):
Any other great stories ormemories, whether it be from,
coaching meets teams or teachingor just industry extension work
that, uh, that you have, thatyou think would with listeners?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:55):
I, I, I had one, just an amazing
thing happen to me.
Uh, in, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (50:02):
Uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (50:02):
1986, uh, I got a phone call from a,
the Wall Street Journal.
An editor of the Wall StreetJournal and he said, I wanna do
a story, on meats judging.
He said, I called, uh, the, uh,livestock and meat board and
they said for me to contact youand said, we wanna do it with a
(50:26):
university that has had somesuccess in this
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (50:30):
in this
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (50:31):
thing called meat judging, but is
also, is involved in NCAAathletics.
And I, I said, well, I said, youknow, uh, we're not too good in
football right here at the U ofI.
At that point in time, I said,uh, uh, you might wanna, you
might wanna check with theUniversity of Nebraska or
(50:51):
something like that.
And he said, well, no.
He said, we, he said, I was toldI really needed to talk to you.
and I thought this was, this wasgotta be a joke.
And, and so anyway, he said, we,we exchanged numbers and stuff.
And he said, I'd like to, I'dlike to, to be at a contest with
you.
(51:11):
Go to go to the, the, thecontest and kind interact with
your team and stuff.
Are you crazy?
And, and so anyway, uh.
we signed off and I thoughtthat'd be the end of it.
Well, he called and said, uh,this was in the spring semester
and we didn't start, I didn'tstart my judging teams till the
spring semester, and we would goto a couple spring contests, you
(51:35):
know, just kind of get our feetwet.
And, uh, we went to, to thatpoint in time, the, the Great
Plains invitation, which washeld in, in, at Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, and, go to thesoutheastern contest that would
be in the southeastern part ofthe state in, uh, country in
April.
So, anyway, I'll be danged in,uh, February, this guy calls
(51:59):
back up and he says, youremember me?
I said, well, yeah.
And, and, and so make a longstory short, he, he goes and,
and meets us, flies in to SiouxFalls, South Dakota, and he kind
of goes with his contest.
Of course, we're just started,this is our first contest.
I, we may have been dead asslast, I don't remember.
(52:22):
And, uh, anyway, he, he does astory and, uh, I'm driving from
picking some pork carcass dataup, from, a, uh, packing plant
in Illinois.
And I'm listening to WLS.
And all of a sudden this guycomes on and says, you know, can
you believe this in the WallStreet Journal, and, uh, son of
(52:46):
a Gun, they had done a pencilcaricature of me with my hard
hat on frock on in the middle ofa beef cooler and had written
this story and matt, you cannotbelieve what all I heard
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (53:04):
I heard.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (53:06):
from, from, from that, you know?
And I find out, well, it's thefirst time a faculty member at
the U of I had been on the frontpage of Wall Street Journal and
I, I even got a phone call from,uh, from the football coach at
that point in time.
'cause I made a statement thatwe probably won more contest
(53:26):
than the football team had.
And, and, uh, so anyway, uh, it,it was, uh, something I never
dreamed would be such a, a bigdeal as it was.
And, uh,, got a lot of, uh, Iguess you'd say positive
publicity, you know, out ofthat.
(53:46):
But, uh, it did, uh, elevateintercollegiate meat judging.,
Somewhat, you know, because ofthat, that, that one article.
And, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (53:56):
uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (53:57):
but, uh, I was shocked.
I said, and I about wrecked thecar as I was driving, you know,
with this guy came over the, theradio and said, can you believe
this?
And then I got into the officeand, and my secretary said, my
golly.
He says, this phone's beenringing off the hook.
Said everybody in the world'strying to get ahold of you.
And it was quite the deal.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (54:19):
and in 1986, obviously you weren't
carrying a cell phone and so youdidn't know anything about it,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (54:24):
No.
Had had no, no idea till Ipulled into the, to the meat lab
that there was anything going onat all, you know, and, but it
was, it was front page of theWall Street Journal.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (54:38):
Well, that's, that's awesome.
And, and you know, even intoday's day and age with social
media and, and everybody havinga camera and a, opportunity to,
know, within seconds putsomething out there for the
world to see.
I, I think we have to recognizethose opportunities and, and you
obviously have through youryears whether it be working with
(54:58):
4- H kids now, uh, whether it bebeing a four H kid back in the,
uh, in the fifties and sixties,or even in between time when you
were there at U of I and workingwith kids of all different areas
and backgrounds and everythingelse, that opportunity to, as
you said, elevate meats judgingor elevate farming and ranching,
(55:21):
or elevate agriculture or evenourselves.
I, I think those are times thatcan't be missed.
And,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (55:27):
Yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (55:27):
up without the least, understanding
of why.
But doing the things that you'vedone through the years, I think
give, give a perfect opportunityfor us to put that best foot
forward because that's a storythat people are wanting to hear
and.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (55:42):
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (55:43):
better to tell it than than folks like
you and, and, producers here inagriculture,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (55:47):
Yeah.
You know, I, I, I follow acouple of, PO podcast.
Janeal Yancy mom at the meetcounter does a really neat job
of, of answering consumerquestions.
And of course, she is a meatscientist at the University of
Arkansas.
But, uh, and she got her PhD atat, at k State and, and does a
(56:09):
wonderful job.
And then, Brandy Frobose, youknow, I, in her buzzards beat,
uh, I really enjoy.
Following her and she gets in,she gets some pretty caustic
comments from others as she,tries to promote, uh, beef and
agriculture and in the rightway.
(56:31):
And, you know, I, I celebratethose young people that, that
have the guts to step out thereand, and, and to do that.
And it, it is just likeyourself, you know, uh, telling,
telling the story, and there's alot of negative stuff out there
that, that has to be, uh,combated.
And, and, uh, if you do it in a,in a right, right way, I think
(56:54):
we can make some great inroadsas far as educating our, our,
our public is concerned.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (57:01):
Yep.
I, I agree wholeheartedly andthat's a big part of why we're
doing it so I appreciate youbeing on here today, Dr.
Carr.
This has been a fun discussionand one I know that a lot of
folks are gonna enjoy andappreciate and relate to as
well.
So thanks for your time and um,you better get back out there
and cut a few more cedars inthis good warm February weather.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (57:21):
Yep.
It, it's always a battle.
It's a continual battle.
But, but Matt, thanks a bunchfor this opportunity and uh,
please tell your dad, Tom, forme.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (57:32):
it.
Thanks a bunch.
thanks for tuning in toPractically Ranching, brought to
you by Dalebanks Angus.
All the best to you and yourfamily.
May God bless each of you andwe'll talk again soon.
I.
Hi there, and thanks for joining me
for episode 84 of PracticallyRanching.
I'm Matt Perrier, and we're herethanks to Dalebanks Angus, your
home for practical profitablegenetics since 1904.
If you're in the market forbulls this spring, we'll sell a
nice group of about 80 yearlingand coming two year olds at
private treaty starting inmid-March.
(00:27):
For info and prices on thebulls, email me at Matt
mattperrier@dalebanks.com andwe'll get you the list as soon
as we can in early March.
This week, I got to visit withDr.
Tom Carr.
Dr.
Carr is a professor emeritus ofmeat science from the University
(00:49):
of Illinois.
And while Dr.
Carr spent 36 years on thefaculty there at U of I, he's a
native Kansan, and he came backto his hometown of Medicine
Lodge upon his retirement in2010.
You know, he spent a, a lifetimehelping producers produce better
(01:09):
beef and pork.
He instructed countless studentsin meat science and he coached
meats judging and evaluationteams.
He's led research, he's taught,he's coached, and most of all,
he's given back to those whoneed it.
You know, through all theseepisodes, I get to talk with
(01:30):
some pretty smart folks.
Pretty visionary folks.
Hardworking folks.
Kind folks.
Dr.
Carr is all of those rolled intoone?
You know, I mentioned in thepodcast that I've had multiple
listeners suggest Tom as aguest, and after hearing him
recount his career and all thelives that he's touched, it
(01:52):
became pretty evident why Ithink that everyone who knows
Dr.
Carr loves Dr.
Carr.
We talk about several obviousmeat science topics.
We share a few stories aboutjudging teams, but this is one
of those episodes that remindsme that even though learning and
and doing are really important,it's the people in our lives
(02:17):
that really make the difference.
Guys like Tom Carr not onlyshare knowledge, they share
their heart with everybodyaround them.
Most of us have people who wereinstrumental in our
achievements.
Mm-hmm.
And Dr.
Carr recognized that prettyearly in life and he continues
to try and pay that back withhis service to his community and
(02:38):
to the meat industry.
He learned by folks' example,and now he's that example for
the rest of us.
He reminded me of the importanceof, of service to those around
us, and I hope you'll feel thesame as you hear this
conversation with Dr.
Tom Carr.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (02:58):
We had a little bit of snow 10 days
ago and about four, maybe fiveinches.
but that's all we have had, uh,December, January's extremely
dry and, uh, we had no moisturereally in December.
So that's a little disconcertingto us,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:16):
Yeah.
As you know, uh, as a BarberCounty resident and let's see, a
Barber County native.
Right.
If
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (03:23):
right?
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:24):
back
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (03:24):
Yep.
Yes, yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:26):
not the first time in history that
Medicine Lodge has been dry.
Right.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (03:29):
No, it's usually, uh, pretty normal.
I'm afraid to say.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (03:34):
So that's a, that's a pretty good
lead in for kind of the fullcircle that you have completed.
We'll touch, uh, we'll talk alittle bit more here about your
time there at Animal Sciencesand Industry at U of I, uh,
later on.
But you're back in ruralAmerica, rural Kansas.
What brought you there as aretired professor?
(03:54):
Emus of, Florida or Arizona orsomeplace.
A little, uh, more temperate.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (04:02):
That, that's an excellent question and
a, as you well know, being,being a native and, and, and,
uh, being of the land, mybrother and I still co-own our
small family ranch betweenMedicine Lodge and Cold Water.
And we've only got about athousand acres, but, uh, uh, the
(04:26):
land is always a draw.
And, uh,, when my wife and I,made the decision, uh, to move
back, it was to get back to theranch.
uh, dad died in 1987 and I hada, a second cousin that rented
our ranch and then rented my,uh, my aunt's ranch across, the
(04:49):
road.
And, uh, and started about 1988.
And so that same family, eventhough the original, gentleman
rancher that, that, uh, rentedthe land passed away, his
daughter and son-in-lawcontinued to ranch.
So we've had the same familyrenting the ranch, uh, since
(05:11):
1988, which is kind ofunbelievable when you think
about it.
And, and, uh, we were having,Red cedar problems and, being in
Illinois, my brother living in,uh, Olathe, we weren't here that
much.
We'd get back for maybeChristmas or Thanksgiving and
really didn't see the Cedarcreep that was coming into the
(05:36):
ranch.
And, uh, had some real, veryclose neighbors that, uh, told
us about a,, a project, anorganization that could provide
funding for removal of Cedars.
And, uh, so we signed up to dothat in about 2005.
But the long story of it is, youknow,, wanting to get back to
(06:01):
the ranch.
And it just, you know, it justdrags you, it drags you back.
And, my wife was willing to dothat.
So, uh, we made the decision todo that.
And I retired in August of 2010.
My family owned a house here on,on Main Street, when dad came
back from World War II in 45,uh, my grandparents moved from
(06:26):
the ranch in and bought thishouse on Main Street, uh, in 46.
And so we've had that house inour family since, since 1946.,
Mom and dad and my brother and Ilived out on the ranch while my
grandparents lived in town, and,and my brother and I maintained
that, that old house.
And when I came back, my brothersaid, buy my part out.
(06:48):
He said, demolish that house andbuild a new one.
And so, uh, when we moved backto Medicine Launch, we were
known as a couple that built anew house on Main Street.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (07:00):
Well, that's, that's not, um, probably
too surprising, uh, in, in smalltowns when somebody comes in and
does something significant, uh,everybody notices.
I'm still chuckling over thefact that it was the Eastern red
cedar that brought you back toMedicine Lodge.
That's, that's, that's my storyand I'm sticking to it.
You wanted to, to get on top of,uh, uh, cedar removal and so you
(07:24):
just, that was, that was yourretirement gig.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (07:27):
Yeah, well my, my poor wife, uh, we,
we came, when we moved back, ourdear neighbor to the south of us
said, Hey, how about putting,uh, a 3.2 mile new fence and
share it 50 50 on the south sideof the ranch?
And I said, I'm all for that.
But the problem was we havemassive cedars growing in the
(07:51):
fences all the way around our,our perimeter of 6.2 miles.
So, my wife, I told my wife, Isaid, well, we're gonna start
cutting cedars out of thefences.
And we started in March of 2011.
And my Lord, it took us a year,year and a half.
You know,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:10):
You
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (08:10):
to get that job done before we
could really start to build anew, perimeter fence on our
south side.
You know, that was quite anundertaking.
She didn't bargain for that.
But bless her heart, she helpedme the whole time.
And, uh, so, uh, we got that jobdone.
But, uh, I tell you, there'snothing, Cedars just puts the
(08:33):
fear of God in me.
We drive by, we both look ateach other and think we need to
grab a chainsaw and run outthere and get'em.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:39):
Yep.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (08:39):
yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (08:40):
uh, not probably every retiree has,
uh, saved everything they couldfor four or five decades just so
they could come home and cutcedars for the rest of their,
uh, retirement.
But that's great.
I think that says a lot about,about you and your work ethic
and your tie to the land, and,um, probably would any student
(09:00):
or um, uh, team member oranybody else that worked with
you there at U of I probablycould say that they saw the same
work ethic back then too.
tell us a little bit about that,uh, professional career you
know, and, and even yourschooling back to undergrad and
master's and, and, um,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (09:16):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (09:16):
PhD work and, and what took you to
university of Illinois.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (09:19):
Right.
Well, as, as you well know, fourH had a unbelievable impact in
my life.
And, uh, when we had the.
Uh, he started in four H at, Ithink age eight, something like
that.
And, uh, had several young men,uh, that, uh, went to K State
(09:45):
right after they got outta theservice, whether it was Korea,
world War ii, whatever it mightbe, and, and came back to the
ranches.
And two or three of those guys,uh, really jumped in and
volunteered in, in, in teachingand coaching, livestock judging.
And at that point in time, wehad a tremendously good
(10:07):
extension agent who was allabout educating the kids.
And so us kids in the, in the,the fifties, early sixties, had
the opportunity to, to be oncounty, livestock judging teams,
range judging teams, landjudging teams that basically
(10:29):
were in national contests and,and it was a, an emphasis by our
extension programming in ourcounty.
And, uh, that had a tremendousimpact on me.
And so in livestock judging ofcourse, we got acclimated to Don
Good and Miles McKee at all thelifestyle judging contests,
(10:53):
regional district, whatever itmight be, state contest.
And so, you know, Kansas Statewas, uh, the place to go.
And I was the first of ourfamily ever to go to college.
And mom and dad, you know, thatthat was their thing, is to make
sure both of us, uh, got tocollege.
(11:18):
And so we did that.
And, uh, when I went to K State,As an undergrad, uh, one of my
goals was, to, uh, be on thelivestock judging team.
We did not have meats judging infour H in Barber County at that
point in time, althoughobviously meets judging in four
H was in Kansas, but we didn'thave it in Barber County.
(11:40):
So I never got indoctrinated orintroduced to me judging or, or
meets until I took, you know,the introductory meat science
class.
And just so happened, a new,professor had joined K State
about that time named Dr.
Dell Allen.
And uh, so I kind of got inthrough enthused with, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_0958 (12:02):
smallest
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (12:03):
the meat side of things and, uh.
Dell asked me if I would comeout for the judge team.
Well, I did that as a juniorrather than as a sophomore.
And some of the guys, I had tobe in FarmHouse fraternity, and
some of the guys were on themeets team and said, you need to
do this.
And so, uh, I, I did and, reallygot into it.
(12:26):
I, uh, kind of an interestingstory.
I, that made me, a little behindas far as my wanting to be on
the livestock judging team.
And so I should have graduatedin, in, in the spring of 68.
And, uh, I came home and tolddad, I said, dad, I, I said, I,
I wanna be on the livestockjudging team, and I'll have to
(12:48):
go an extra semester.
And he said, well, that's okay.
He says, you just trot yourselfright down to the bank and
borrow the money.
And so I, I did that and uh, youknow, at that point in time,
those loans for student loans,unbelievably low interest rate,
I don't know whether it was 2%,something like that.
(13:08):
And so I come out and, and, uh,he said, well, how did it go?
And I said, really good.
I said, I, I borrowed$500 forsuch and such and told him
interest.
He says, my God.
He says, why didn't you borrowmore money?
I was terrified.
Anyways, the beginning, youknow.
(13:28):
So anyway, I did that and was onthe livestock judging team then,
uh, in, in 68.
And we had great success on thatteam and uh, uh, it was a great
experience.
And then Dell came back andsaid, Hey.
Would you think you'd beinterested in possibly getting a
master's degree?
(13:49):
And, uh, I said, yes, I would dothat.
Dad and I had had a very frankdiscussion.
My whole plan was to go back tothe ranch, but he and granddad
were in a partnership.
And at that point in time, theywere through land.
We owned and, and, and rented,was running about, uh, 3,700
acres and had a cow herd ofbasically about 150 cows and
(14:12):
farmed about 500 acres.
The rest being pasture.
But he says, you know, there's,there's not enough room for both
of us.
And he said, you need to findsomething to do for a while.
So I had that discussion beforeDell had asked me about possibly
going on to grad school, and Isaid, yes, I'll do that.
And helped with coaching the,the hi his judging teams at that
(14:35):
point in time and had uh, uh,really good experience in grad
school there.
Uh, had the opportunity to go toOklahoma State University, uh,
serve as a halftimeinstructorship while going on to
get my PhD under Lowell Walters,uh, at Oklahoma State.
And, finished that up and had agreat experience coach four
(14:56):
meets judging teams at oh state.
And then had the opportunity togo to the University of Illinois
assistant professor in ateaching and extension position.
And, responsibility of coachinga lot the me judging team and
co-coaching and meat animalevaluation team.
And did that for 36 years.
(15:18):
So that's, that's kind of the,the nuts and bolts of it.,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (15:22):
I'd say that's a lot and, pretty
impressive path and, and onethat's not atypical of a lot of
judging team coaches of, ofemulating some coach that had a
big influence on them.
And I, I love that story ofthose gentlemen who came back
after serving their country inKorea or World War II even
(15:43):
before that.
Um, and then continued to serveby coaching you all as as youth,
4- H teams.
And that too, you have emulated,have you not?
Because I remember my kids whowere judging for Greenwood
County's meats team came backfrom a state contest probably,
yeah, it's been six or eight,maybe 10 years ago.
(16:03):
And Barber County had, hadbeaten them or, or given'em a
run or something.
And I said, well, who's, who'scoaching Barber County's four H
team?
Because Lyle and Vid had, they,their team had had quite a bit
of success and Hannah's as well.
And, and they said some guythat's a retired meats judging,
collegiate meets judging coachfrom Illinois or someplace.
(16:25):
And I'm like, Dr.
Tom Carr is back in thebusiness.
That's a, that's a fun fullcircle moment too.
Are you still helping coachthose 4- H teams?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (16:34):
Yes, I am.
I am.
Uh, and, and we got, I guessit'd been about 2011.
Uh, Tim Marshall was ourextension agent at that point in
time, and he came to me andsaid, Hey, would you be
interested in helping start, uh,four H me judging team?
And, and of course I said, yes,I, I would certainly be willing
(16:55):
to help and assist with that.
So we've been at it for a while.
you know, it's, it's interestingthat those, those first kids
that I had now, uh, you know,,majority of them are, are
married or getting married.
A couple of'em have kids and,it's, it's so neat to see them
now, contributing to, uh, thelivestock and meats industry and
(17:17):
succeeding and all that goodstuff.
But, uh, yes, it's, it's been,it's been fun and it's, it's
challenging, Matt.
There's so many things that, uh,uh, you know, tear at the kids'
interest and, I tell you thebiggest problem we have and in,
I don't know if Carla has thesame problems in Greenwood
(17:39):
County or not, but, uh, sportsjust eats us up.
And, uh, uh, it, it's, it'stough to balance, all the time
requirements and everything thatthe kids are involved in and,
and find time.
And as you well know, in 4- Hmes judging and retail
identification, it's a lot ofwork.
(18:00):
It's a lot of memorization andthere's a lot of kids that just
will not spend that much timetrying to develop some level of
excellence.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (18:10):
Yeah, after, after having four kids,
thus far go through thatprogram.
Yeah.
It is a huge time commitment anda huge, uh, just commitment in
general.
And your comment about, sportsschedules getting in the way is
100% valid in Greenwood Countyas well.
And, and that's something that,our family and that our kids
(18:33):
coaches, Carla and Jeanna havestruggled with.
And, and, um, if you ask ourkids sports.
Team coaches, they think that,uh, meats and livestock judging
is a real drag on, on the kids'schedule too, because it doesn't
allow them to be on every summerteam.
And, you know, all of these, uh,it takes'em away during the
(18:54):
season sometimes for contestsand workout trips.
And so, yeah, I think as welook, and this is probably an
entire podcast in and of itself,but as we look at kids club ball
teams, and I would even throwin.
and whatever the case may be,it's a different world that we
live in today as parents and thelevel of commitment that is
(19:17):
expected and, and, and thespecialization that is expected
by a lot of coaches and a lot ofsports, uh, in general.
And it doesn't allow kids tohave what I consider a fairly
well-rounded, um, very broadspectrum upbringing so that they
can judge on the meats team andthey can also do, um, three
(19:39):
sports and they can also have apart-time job and they can also,
you know, go on the 4- HWashington focus trip to DC in
the summer for 10 days or
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (19:49):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (19:49):
be.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (19:50):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (19:50):
All those get pushed to the back
burner.
And I think it's unfortunate.
Uh, yes, our kids may be betterin a sport or two because of it,
but I don't know for sure thatwe're getting better at life
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (20:02):
Amen.
Yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:03):
not
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (20:03):
I,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:05):
too
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (20:05):
yep, I agree with you a hundred
percent.
And it, it, it is reallychallenging.
I, you know, to,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:11):
You know?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (20:12):
uh, because there, it is a sa
whichever way you go, it's asacrifice.
And, and, uh, but, uh, it'sreally difficult for a kid to be
able to do both.
And we had a young man, uh, and,and you may know him, uh.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:27):
You know.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (20:27):
Callan Smith that, was just on our 4- h
uh, meets team, and I think hemight've been on the state, uh,
team with, with your daughter ormaybe your son, I'm not sure
which.
But anyway,, he was able to, tokind of balance it as far as
high school sports is concerned,uh, with being on the, the state
(20:49):
team and representing Kansas,you know, at the national
contest.
But it was a challenge eventhen.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (20:55):
No doubt.
And, and some would even saythat judging has taken to a,
been taken to a new level.
I know when I was judging, uh,at, in 4- H, we'd go to one or
two contests a year, and maybeit was just because Greenwood
County wasn't as competitivethen as maybe we are now.
But, there wouldn't be many, ifany workouts.
There sure wouldn't be any, um,week two, week long, there
(21:18):
wasn't an all-star state teamthat I knew of.
And so that's been taken to anew level as well.
And, and
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (21:24):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095 (21:25):
everybody could probably throw rocks at
the other activity that's takingfrom quote unquote their focus.
But, uh, yeah, it is, it, it's alot.
And, and I, I mean, stillmaintain that it's excellent for
the kids, whether that is theirfocus or that is something that
they somehow squeeze in betweenacademics and other sports teams
(21:46):
and, and work and life ingeneral.
Um, the busiest kids aregenerally the most successful
kids,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (21:53):
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (21:53):
I,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-0 (21:53):
Without question.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (21:54):
and I see it all the way through
adulthood.
They learn to prioritize theirtime and they learn to put
priorities on what's mostimportant.
And they know that they're gonnahave some adversity in the other
areas, maybe from challenges andcoaches and things like that.
But, uh, yeah, I, I think it's agood life lesson for'em to
balance all those.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (22:12):
Yep.
Very definitely.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (22:13):
And, you know, along those lines, I
even think as I see folks thathave achieved success, whether
it be in production,agriculture, and on volunteer
boards or even, uh, agribusinessor doctors and lawyers and
bankers and everything else,these kids that grew up on some
type of a competition team meatsjudging livestock, judging
(22:36):
range, land judging, whateverthe case may be, it seems like.
Either they have thecommunication skills that get
their foot in the door and getthat job, or they have the
decision making skills to letthem excel, but that's a common
thread, and I think a lot ofpeople that are listening to
(22:56):
this podcast are probablynodding their head in agreement
because they participated on oneof those teams, if not several.
What is it, what's the specialsauce that, whether it be
collegiate or even 4- H and FFAjudging team kids have and learn
that develops them into, forlack of a better word, more,
(23:20):
service oriented and, and, uh,more effective contributors to
society as they go forth.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05 (23:26):
That's a really good question.
You know, and I, and, and as Ilook back and, and you've
already identified, some of thecharacteristics of, of those
individuals that go through ajudging experience, I think one
of the, the, the biggest,attributes is for most, I think
(23:48):
it teaches self-discipline.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (23:51):
Uh.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (23:51):
know, time management becomes a, a, a
huge factor, uh, especially forthose kids that are
participating in on collegiateteams and everything they've got
going on with academics andother clubs responsibilities and
things like that.
Trying to, organize, their time.
(24:12):
That, that's a huge lesson tolearn there and, and.
that takes, self-discipline.
You, you have got to prioritizethings which is a huge lesson to
learn.
And then after you go throughthat process and, and you look
back and it might take a fewyears, but you look back and,
(24:33):
and say, wow, I gained an awfullot out of that experience, then
it's payback time.
I think that person comes to thepoint where, you know, uh, I
need to give back this, this hasmade me a, a successful person
in, in, in this career or thatcareer.
I've gained so much from that.
Uh, I need to give back.
(24:55):
And I think that's where theservice part, comes back, you
know?
And, uh, mine started, like Isaid initially, and I get pretty
emotional about it.
It was 4- H, uh, uh, I wouldnever.
Uh, be successful in what I haddone if it hadn't been for those
(25:15):
initial experiences, you know,and we had parents, uh,
volunteers that, that gave oftheir time and effort, great
county agents, people that werewilling to sacrifice their time
for kids.
And, uh, that, that just had atremendous impact on my life.
(25:36):
And I had great, obviously greatsupport from my parents.
But it, it was others that alsowere very impactful as far as 4-
H leaders and teachers andcoaches and so forth, you know?
And so, uh, I, I felt a, a greatresponsibility in trying to pay
that back.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (25:57):
Well, I'm told that, and I think I may
have even had a podcast guestthat would've been the result of
this.
But when you were at theUniversity of Illinois, did you
not kind of serve the industryby maybe casting a little wider
net and working with some kidsmay not have grown up on a farm
or ranch in rural Illinois or,or even the rural Midwest, but
(26:21):
maybe came out of an urban orsuburban area and get them into
and interested in the meatscience field, the animal
science field, and maybe morespecifically the meats judging
team.
and how did that, I guess, playinto that, paying it back that
you mentioned there before?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (26:40):
Well,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (26:41):
Um.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (26:41):
very definitely.
We had young people that, thatenrolled the University of
Illinois in Department of AnimalScience with like many, their
major goal to get to vet school.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (26:54):
Okay,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (26:55):
so we had a significant number of
kids coming out of the collarcounties of Chicago, and other
urban areas that hadtremendously good high school
preparation in the biologicalsciences.
And so, uh.
They would come in and major inanimal sciences because that was
(27:16):
probably the best way of gettinginto vet school.
And initially my meat scienceintroductory meat science course
was required of all animalscience majors in the
department.
And so, through that I was ableto attract a fairly significant
(27:38):
number of kids that had urbanbackgrounds, non-ag backgrounds,
kind of get them turned on alittle bit.
And they would come out for themeet team.
And because of theirintelligence as well as their
biological science background,many of those when either if
they didn't go on to vet school,they went on to graduate school
(28:00):
in meat science or, or mentnutrition or that type of thing,
and maintained them within the,the animal science department.
So, uh, and, and, uh, Matt, thething is concerning you, that
is, you know, as I was leaving,uh, in, in, in 2010, I was also
(28:21):
undergraduate teachingcoordinator for the department,
for a number of years.
And so I had the opportunity,which was fantastic, uh, to
interact with many parents andtheir kids as they were coming
to visit the University ofIllinois, possibly a place to
come for college.
And, uh, I enjoyed that verymuch.
(28:43):
But, you know, uh, it got to thepoint where, at the U of I, it
was 80% women,
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (28:50):
Mm-hmm.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (28:51):
men in the Department of Animal
Sciences.
And, uh, it was probably, youknow, and the majority of that
obviously were from urban areas.
So, you know, the great thingabout'EM is many of them were
pretty open-minded to othercareer avenues in animal science
(29:13):
once they got in and got theirfeet wet and say,"wow, there's a
lot of stuff here." You know?
Uh, and so, you know, uh,subliminally, my, my, my goal
was to convince them, you know,not to go on to vet school, but
to go to become animalscientists, meat scientists, and
go on to graduate school, whichmany of them did.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (29:36):
Well, I'm sure you probably weren't on
the Christmas card list from thedean of the vet school, but, uh,
I would say that there would belots of folks highly indebted to
you.
I, I, the podcast I wasmentioning was Diana Clark,
possibly one of your
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (29:52):
Uh, very definitely, yes, very
definitely.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (29:55):
she would've been, we had a podcast
with her, gosh, three or fouryears ago, first season I think
of, of this podcast.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:03):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:03):
she mentioned that, that that was
her course exactly as you kindof described, and that you, you,
um, kind of changed that course.
And, and she's tickled pink thatyou did, I think
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:14):
Yeah, yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:15):
days anyway,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:16):
yeah.
She's, she's a, she's a greatgal and, and her husband, of
course, he came from SouthernIllinois and he wa came from a,,
an Angus background.
And so, uh, but it was the meatsjudging team and that, that type
of thing that got'em together.
So, uh, you know, that was aplus there.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (30:34):
chart, chart career paths, but you're a
matchmaker as well.
So that,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (30:38):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_0 (30:39):
impressive.
So jumping forward, and we cancome back, we could talk about
judging teams and meat scienceall day long.
Um, today there's a, there's atopic that's fairly front
burner, uh, on a lot of people'sminds, especially in the meat
science community, and that isthe yield grade equation, uh,
(31:02):
that USDA uses to estimateretail yield and cutability of
carcasses.
Um, you stayed up on some of thechanges that they are talking
about and some of the researchthat, is being done?
Texas Tech would be leadingthat, of
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (31:15):
Yes.
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (31:16):
or is that, is that
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (31:18):
So that something you still
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (31:19):
on?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (31:20):
Yes, I, I, I, I do.
And, uh, my wife and I still goto our, uh, the national
Meetings of American MeatScience Association, which is
called the Reciprocal MeatConference.
And, uh, we have continued toattend them.
And, and, and part of thatreason is to try to try to stay
(31:40):
abreast a little bit of whatsome of the research is going on
and doing.
And yeah, Dale Woerner and, andthe guys at Tech have done a, a
great job in trying to, uh, Iguess you would say modernize.
Uh, our yield grading system,uh, to make it a more accurate
predictor of the composition of,uh, of beef carcasses.
(32:03):
And, uh, you know, I thinkresearch has indicated that, uh,
our current methodology, doesn'tdo as accurate a job as it it
should in, in estimating thecomposition of beef.
So I, I'm all for this, new,research efforts that are being
made and, and trying toidentify, methodology in the
(32:28):
cooler that'll work as far as,uh, you know, the actual
industry is concerned, onlinegrading and that type of thing,
and, and doing a more accuratejob of predicting.
And so, uh, I think there's,there's still a lot of work to
be done in that area, but, uh,they are moving forward and I,
I, I think the, the beefindustry recognizes that, we
(32:50):
need something that is moreaccurate than what we're
currently using.
Obviously our cattle have,there's been a lot of, changes
in, in the cattle that we, Breedand feed.
Over the years since, I guessthat would've come out about
1965 as far as our USDA yieldgrades are concerned somewhere
(33:11):
in there.
So I think it's, it's, it's anecessary thing that has, has,
has finally reached the levelwhere the, the whole industry
says, yep, we gotta do somethinghere.
so I, I appreciate the, theeffort that, that Texas Tech and
others are making in that, thatarena.
And I look forward to ourmeetings here in June to see, to
(33:33):
get an update on, on what youknow has happened this past
year.
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095 (33:39):
committee is doing a lot of work, as is
Texas Tech and the otherparticipating researchers.
And yeah, it's time, it's time.
The cattle have changed.
Um, uh, the management haschanged, genetics have changed,
and we've gotta do as good a jobwith the technologies that we
have today to make sure thatwe're better estimating that, in
my opinion, and I know it's notgonna be easy anytime we make a
(34:01):
change that affects the way wemarket and merchandise and value
cattle, um, there are somegrowing pains and obviously
there's some logistical changesin the plants and things like
that, that we'll have toconsider as well.
But yeah, we've gotta, probablygotta do a better job than what
we're doing with 60-year-oldequations and, and cattle that
(34:23):
are vastly different than theywere in the,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (34:25):
Yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:25):
early mid sixties when that work was
done.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (34:27):
very definitely.
You know, it worked well for awhile, that's for sure, and,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:32):
sure.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (34:32):
and made us well aware of, of the
problems we had from acompositional standpoint.
But, uh, it, it's time tomodernize.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (34:41):
So that's a change that we've seen
cattle types and breeds andcutability and, and muscling and
things like that.
Um, through your meat sciencecareer, what would you say would
be the top one, two, maybe threethings that you saw change from
when you went to K State andmaybe got started that, meat
(35:04):
science path in the late sixtiesuntil you retired 10 or 15 years
ago?
What, what have you seen thatwould be the biggest items?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (35:12):
Well, you know, if, if we're, if we're
looking at the beef industry,the beef cattle industry, I, I
would say one of the majortransformations that we've seen
is, the tremendous change in, inthe quality.
Of our beef, you know, uh, nowthe percentage of cattle that
are, are grading prime is, is,uh, amazing compared to really
(35:37):
just 20 years ago, you know, we,we, we evolved and, and all of a
sudden we had the continentalbreeds making tremendous impact
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (35:45):
running them
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (35:46):
on the composition of our cattle,
trimming them up and makingheavier muscle and everything.
But, we lost marbling if youcompared it to a straight bred
Angus or shore horn, or it maybe in some cases even the
herford and, uh, throughgenetics and, and feeding, we've
seen tremendous evolution in,in, in the increase in marbling
(36:08):
and, the eating quality of ourmeat.
Uh, I think that's been a hugeplus.
I think, you know, I, I am, I'ma big, beef eater and, uh,, the
improvement in palatability ofour beef is, is amazing.
We dad always, we had an oldJersey Hereford was our milk cow
(36:30):
jersey, Hereford Cross, and,,her offspring was what we
consumed after he'd feed it out.
And we never, never had a toughpiece of meat that jersey
influence and marbling in thatold herford.
Uh, we had a lot of marbling in,in, in our meat.
And, so I, I grew up.
(36:52):
Not knowing really what, whattough meat was.
And, and then when I got awayfrom home and started selecting
beef or going to a retail storeand, and, and buying beef, Hey,
there's some inconsistency here.
You know, every once in a whileyou'd get one that, that, uh,
(37:12):
was tougher than shoe leather.
So I think we have made greatinroads, uh, in improving the
palatability of our beef.
And I'd say that's been a realplus in our industry that, that
I have seen.
And,, and I saw it so much inthe pork industry, we, we, the
though pendulum swings from oneside to the other, uh, in, in
(37:35):
the seventies and in pigs, wewere really concerned with PSE
and, and we were moving fromreal fat hogs to super lean
pigs.
And all of a sudden, uh, we hadpalatability problems in, in the
pork industry.
And so, you and I think we'veimproved there a bunch also.
(37:58):
And, uh, but, but, becomingaware, I guess Matt, on the
consumer side, has been anevolution in, in our industry,
in the meat industry, in the, inthe, the whole, the whole
livestock industry.
And recognizing that if we aregonna sell a product, uh, it
(38:19):
better be consistent and itbetter be palatable.
And to me, the amazing evidenceof that is that we're consuming
beef at ungodly prices rightnow, and the consumers are still
doing it.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (38:37):
Yeah.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (38:38):
it just, it just blows my mind how
this market has hung in therewith the price, uh, of beef.
My wife and I bought a quarterfrom one of our 4- Hs.
And not too long ago, you know,and by the time I calculated out
what that cost and everything,holy cow, you know, what have we
done here, dear?
(38:58):
But, you know, uh, we went aheadand, and, and did it and are
enjoying that beef.
But, that's the amazing thing tome.
And, and,
matt_1_02-05-2026_09582 (39:07):
random.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (39:07):
you know, uh, so I think our, our,
our cattle producers.
Everybody in between isrecognizing, Hey, the consumer
is king and we need to make sureour product is predictable and
repeatable and is satisfying.
And I think it is not thatwe're, we're, we're at the apex
(39:29):
yet, but, uh, uh, we've been trmade tremendous progress in that
area and in, in producing aproduct.
And, and I guess the, the bigthing is recognizing a, as an
industry that we have got toproduce a product
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (39:45):
These
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (39:46):
that, uh, uh, consumers will come back
and, and pay these wild pricesfor in which they are doing.
You know, and a lot of that goesback to, our advertising, you
know, uh, supporting research,advertising, all of that, is
critically important to that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:04):
Yeah, there's, there's no doubt.
Um, just in my time in the beefindustry, the, as you called it,
consumer awareness, our thatwith that consumer in mind have
made a huge difference.
And I think marketing andputting money to incentivize us
doing those things, not just
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:25):
Yeah, yeah,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:25):
right thing to do, has been, has been
critical as well.
Obviously.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:29):
yeah.
There's no, no question.
That
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:30):
What, what is an area maybe that we
still need to work on or maybewe need to work on now because
of, as an unintended consequenceof, of, some gains that we've
made in quality and things likethat from a meat science
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (40:45):
yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (40:45):
Is there something that's looming
out there that we have to beaware of and, and address fairly
soon?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (40:53):
You know, that's a good question.
I,, I probably have been farenough away from it that I'm,
I'm not fully, aware of, the bigproblems that we're, that may be
in, in front of us from, from ameat science standpoint, one of
the things that has always, thathas blown me away, and we're
looking at beef here primarily,but it's also in, in the swine
(41:16):
industry, is, uh, these endpointlive weights that we have, the
industry has gone to, you know,the cattle are, are, are so
heavy now.
Uh, merchandising at, you know,1500 pounds.
I go down to, uh, we've got anew little, uh, beef processor,
(41:39):
here in Medicine Lodge and, uh,a new plant.
And, you know, they're, they'relooking for, for, cattle or, or
carcass weights.
That would be, you know, maybemore in that carcass weight of,
850 pounds.
We go to our big process.
There's a good grief, there's,you know, rail after rail over a
(41:59):
thousand pounds, and that'salways been one thing that has
concerned me, bothered me alittle bit.
I fully appreciate, the packersputting their expenses over a
greater tonnage of beef.
I, I understand that.
And, and, and that type ofthing.
But I, I just, you know, I, Iwonder, is there going to be a
(42:22):
point where we reduce the numberof elephants that we raise?
I, you know, I, I, I, that's myconcern is how far are we going
to go, for, you know, as far asthe cow herd size is concerned,
and I'm talking about, uh, sizeof cows and the efficiency
(42:44):
involved and, and that type ofresearch, genetics involved and,
and, and heavier cattle beingable to handle things in a
feedlot situation or the stressof heat and cold and all of that
kind of a thing.
Have it gotten too big, youknow, those are things that,
that I just wonder on, on thesideline and, and whether we're
(43:08):
dealing with that question.
Maybe it's not a problem, but,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (43:12):
I, I share your concern and I, I
believe that it is a problempersonally.
But in a time you just talkedabout, we continue to see
consumer demand at all timehighs.
They can't get enough of theproduct that we have, and we
continue to not rebuild the cowherd domestically.
(43:33):
And so think the market is justsaying, we're gonna do whatever
we can to get every ounce ofbeef that we can to these
consumers.
And, yeah, it, it opens, in myopinion, it opens a.
Pandora's box of unintendedconsequences, whether we're
talking about cow size or uh,animal welfare in the feed yard
(43:53):
with these bigger cattle on thesame skeleton and, and you know,
visceral organs.
There's all kinds of challengesthat I think that causes, but I
will share with you, and I don'tthink that this is, uh,
confidential, but.
A processor whom we delivercattle to occasionally just sent
(44:15):
out a letter yesterdayannouncing that heavyweight
discounts, uh, the thresholdthat used to be a 4% allowance
for, uh, 1100 to 1,150 poundcattle is now gonna move up to a
17.5% threshold.
Um, they're gonna decrease thediscount on those, I mean, 1100
(44:36):
to 1,150 pound carcasses.
not that old.
I don't feel, and I rememberwhen 1100 to 1,150 pound live
weights not uncommon as anaverage a pen of cattle coming
outta the feed yard.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (44:53):
Yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (44:54):
and in a mere 30 years, we've moved
that to the threshold that we'rewilling to take, 17.5% meeting
that because we're trying to getas many pounds per hook, per
carcass, per head outta the feedyard, however you wanna look at
it.
Um, yeah, there's, there's boundto be some fallout from things
(45:18):
like that, but yeah, I think themarket is telling us that at
least for now, at least for now,it is not going back the other
way.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (45:25):
Yeah.
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (45:26):
So it, it will be, yeah, it will be
interesting to see kind of howthe industry digests that and,
and, what happens from here.
But yeah, there are, I thinkthere are going to be necessary
changes to management and tobreeding programs and everything
else in order to do this andstill keep cows that can survive
in the Red Hills of BarberCounty and, and, uh, the Flint
(45:49):
Hills and really any place wetalk about
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (45:51):
Yeah.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (45:52):
of, maybe, maybe some spots that are
right next to a, uh, an ethanolplant or a grain facility or
something that can feed them alittle bit more energy and
calories than what we can onNative Range most places.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (46:04):
Yeah.
I mean, that'd be a huge problemhere in county.
There's no question about that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (46:09):
Yep.
So I had, uh, it's interesting,I've had a couple different
podcast listeners, that made asuggestion for a podcast guest.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (46:22):
Sorry about that.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (46:23):
About that.
Nope, you're good, you're good.
I'm just impressed that, uh,here you consider yourself
retired in quiet, uh, calmBarber County, Kansas, and yet
you get as many phone callsduring a podcast interview as,
uh, as some of the most highlycompensated execs that I've had
on here.
So obviously you're a busy guy,Dr.
(46:44):
Carr.
I love it.
I love it.
In that regard, you have beenrequested as a guest by multiple
listeners of this podcast, uh,un unconnected.
I might add that, that alllobbied for your inclusion on
here and, and rightly so.
I asked are there any goodstories that I need to bring out
(47:05):
and make sure he tells?
And one of'em said, I don't knowif this is true, but I don't
think he owned his own personalvehicle when he was at U of I.
He always took public transit towork.
And is that, be close?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (47:19):
Well, no, you, you,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (47:21):
No, you, you,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (47:21):
you are exactly right.
Uh, we, we made the decision.
Champaign Urbana had a greatmass transit, district bus
system.
And, uh, I could get, I couldget within a block and a half of
the meat lab.
So my wife and I made adecision, uh, we'll just have
one vehicle and, I rode the bus.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (47:45):
Back
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (47:46):
To work and being 50% extension
state specialists and meats.
Uh, we had a re, especially inthe, in the seventies and
eighties, we had a, uh, a reallyvibrant extension, program in
animal sciences and withregional, specialists and, and
(48:08):
state specialists.
And, we were, we held a lot ofmeetings out in the state.
And so between being a meatjudging coach.
Extension specialist.
Uh, I spent about half my timeand it seemed like an estate
vehicle.
So between the bus system andhaving a state vehicle going to
(48:30):
extension meetings, I didn'thave to worry about another
vehicle
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:34):
That's
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (48:34):
to work.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:36):
Have you, uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (48:37):
Well have you, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:37):
gotten the mass transit system in, uh,
medicine Lodge up and running?
Or have you had to buy a, buy acar or a truck now?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2026 (48:46):
a new pair of tennis shoes and
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (48:49):
Atta boy.
There you go.
Well, that's, uh, that savessome pennies, so you could buy a
better chainsaw for cuttingthose, uh, those cedars down
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (49:01):
you know, it, it, it, it, it's
amazing really how much it didsave us and, uh, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (49:07):
yeah.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:08):
it was well, well worth it.
matt_1_02-05-2026_0958 (49:09):
suburban America.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, uh, that's a huge costthat of us have on a bottom
line, especially if we have anyextra vehicles sitting around
when we figure in, especiallytoday, insurance and everything
else.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:21):
Oh my, yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (49:22):
was interesting.
I was expecting some very, verypointed meat science type of a
question that I needed toinquire about, and instead they
said, I don't think he owned apersonal vehicle.
We had more.
Yeah.
Well, that's, that's good.
And it makes it, it made sensethen, and, and probably even
more so today.
(49:42):
Any other great stories ormemories, whether it be from,
coaching meets teams or teachingor just industry extension work
that, uh, that you have, thatyou think would with listeners?
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-202 (49:55):
I, I, I had one, just an amazing
thing happen to me.
Uh, in, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (50:02):
Uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (50:02):
1986, uh, I got a phone call from a,
the Wall Street Journal.
An editor of the Wall StreetJournal and he said, I wanna do
a story, on meats judging.
He said, I called, uh, the, uh,livestock and meat board and
they said for me to contact youand said, we wanna do it with a
(50:26):
university that has had somesuccess in this
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (50:30):
in this
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (50:31):
thing called meat judging, but is
also, is involved in NCAAathletics.
And I, I said, well, I said, youknow, uh, we're not too good in
football right here at the U ofI.
At that point in time, I said,uh, uh, you might wanna, you
might wanna check with theUniversity of Nebraska or
(50:51):
something like that.
And he said, well, no.
He said, we, he said, I was toldI really needed to talk to you.
and I thought this was, this wasgotta be a joke.
And, and so anyway, he said, we,we exchanged numbers and stuff.
And he said, I'd like to, I'dlike to, to be at a contest with
you.
(51:11):
Go to go to the, the, thecontest and kind interact with
your team and stuff.
Are you crazy?
And, and so anyway, uh.
we signed off and I thoughtthat'd be the end of it.
Well, he called and said, uh,this was in the spring semester
and we didn't start, I didn'tstart my judging teams till the
spring semester, and we would goto a couple spring contests, you
(51:35):
know, just kind of get our feetwet.
And, uh, we went to, to thatpoint in time, the, the Great
Plains invitation, which washeld in, in, at Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, and, go to thesoutheastern contest that would
be in the southeastern part ofthe state in, uh, country in
April.
So, anyway, I'll be danged in,uh, February, this guy calls
(51:59):
back up and he says, youremember me?
I said, well, yeah.
And, and, and so make a longstory short, he, he goes and,
and meets us, flies in to SiouxFalls, South Dakota, and he kind
of goes with his contest.
Of course, we're just started,this is our first contest.
I, we may have been dead asslast, I don't remember.
(52:22):
And, uh, anyway, he, he does astory and, uh, I'm driving from
picking some pork carcass dataup, from, a, uh, packing plant
in Illinois.
And I'm listening to WLS.
And all of a sudden this guycomes on and says, you know, can
you believe this in the WallStreet Journal, and, uh, son of
(52:46):
a Gun, they had done a pencilcaricature of me with my hard
hat on frock on in the middle ofa beef cooler and had written
this story and matt, you cannotbelieve what all I heard
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (53:04):
I heard.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (53:06):
from, from, from that, you know?
And I find out, well, it's thefirst time a faculty member at
the U of I had been on the frontpage of Wall Street Journal and
I, I even got a phone call from,uh, from the football coach at
that point in time.
'cause I made a statement thatwe probably won more contest
(53:26):
than the football team had.
And, and, uh, so anyway, uh, it,it was, uh, something I never
dreamed would be such a, a bigdeal as it was.
And, uh,, got a lot of, uh, Iguess you'd say positive
publicity, you know, out ofthat.
(53:46):
But, uh, it did, uh, elevateintercollegiate meat judging.,
Somewhat, you know, because ofthat, that, that one article.
And, uh,
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (53:56):
uh,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (53:57):
but, uh, I was shocked.
I said, and I about wrecked thecar as I was driving, you know,
with this guy came over the, theradio and said, can you believe
this?
And then I got into the officeand, and my secretary said, my
golly.
He says, this phone's beenringing off the hook.
Said everybody in the world'strying to get ahold of you.
And it was quite the deal.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (54:19):
and in 1986, obviously you weren't
carrying a cell phone and so youdidn't know anything about it,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-20 (54:24):
No.
Had had no, no idea till Ipulled into the, to the meat lab
that there was anything going onat all, you know, and, but it
was, it was front page of theWall Street Journal.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (54:38):
Well, that's, that's awesome.
And, and you know, even intoday's day and age with social
media and, and everybody havinga camera and a, opportunity to,
know, within seconds putsomething out there for the
world to see.
I, I think we have to recognizethose opportunities and, and you
obviously have through youryears whether it be working with
(54:58):
4- H kids now, uh, whether it bebeing a four H kid back in the,
uh, in the fifties and sixties,or even in between time when you
were there at U of I and workingwith kids of all different areas
and backgrounds and everythingelse, that opportunity to, as
you said, elevate meats judgingor elevate farming and ranching,
(55:21):
or elevate agriculture or evenourselves.
I, I think those are times thatcan't be missed.
And,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (55:27):
Yes.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (55:27):
up without the least, understanding
of why.
But doing the things that you'vedone through the years, I think
give, give a perfect opportunityfor us to put that best foot
forward because that's a storythat people are wanting to hear
and.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (55:42):
Yep.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (55:43):
better to tell it than than folks like
you and, and, producers here inagriculture,
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05- (55:47):
Yeah.
You know, I, I, I follow acouple of, PO podcast.
Janeal Yancy mom at the meetcounter does a really neat job
of, of answering consumerquestions.
And of course, she is a meatscientist at the University of
Arkansas.
But, uh, and she got her PhD atat, at k State and, and does a
(56:09):
wonderful job.
And then, Brandy Frobose, youknow, I, in her buzzards beat,
uh, I really enjoy.
Following her and she gets in,she gets some pretty caustic
comments from others as she,tries to promote, uh, beef and
agriculture and in the rightway.
(56:31):
And, you know, I, I celebratethose young people that, that
have the guts to step out thereand, and, and to do that.
And it, it is just likeyourself, you know, uh, telling,
telling the story, and there's alot of negative stuff out there
that, that has to be, uh,combated.
And, and, uh, if you do it in a,in a right, right way, I think
(56:54):
we can make some great inroadsas far as educating our, our,
our public is concerned.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (57:01):
Yep.
I, I agree wholeheartedly andthat's a big part of why we're
doing it so I appreciate youbeing on here today, Dr.
Carr.
This has been a fun discussionand one I know that a lot of
folks are gonna enjoy andappreciate and relate to as
well.
So thanks for your time and um,you better get back out there
and cut a few more cedars inthis good warm February weather.
squadcaster-dgfg_1_02-05-2 (57:21):
Yep.
It, it's always a battle.
It's a continual battle.
But, but Matt, thanks a bunchfor this opportunity and uh,
please tell your dad, Tom, forme.
matt_1_02-05-2026_095820 (57:32):
it.
Thanks a bunch.
thanks for tuning in toPractically Ranching, brought to
you by Dalebanks Angus.
All the best to you and yourfamily.
May God bless each of you andwe'll talk again soon.
I.
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