#86 - Mark Gardiner, Going Forward Is All We Know

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Mark Gardiner is CEO of Gardiner Angus Ranch, Ashland, KS.

In this episode, we talk about the many challenges that wildfires have brought to Mark's region. Mark shares ways that they have overcome these challenges and grown stronger as a result.

Episode Transcript

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (00:05):
Thanks for joining us for episode 86 of
Practically Ranching.
I'm Matt Perrier and althoughour sponsor is was, and likely
always will be, Dalebanks Angus.
This week I'm joined by someonewho a lot of you might call a
competitor of mine.

(00:26):
I am gonna call him my friend,Mark Gardiner, CEO of Gardner,
Angus Ranch, near Ashland,Kansas.
You know, um, this year I toldmyself that I was gonna have
more of a structured plan tothese podcast episodes, and I
had it charted out from nowuntil next November, December.

(00:49):
The topics and potential guestsand everything was right down to
the last detail and then thelast eight days occurred and I
inserted a couple in here that Inever planned to have,
especially with the topics ofwildfire.
You know, last week, I got toquickly have a conversation with

(01:12):
Kendall Kay about, uh, how wecould help while the fires were
still going actually there insouthwest Kansas and the
panhandle of Oklahoma and meetsome of those immediate needs
for fire relief.
And then this week I get thechance to visit with Mark
Gardiner about a little morephilosophical viewpoint.

(01:34):
Kind of the whys and the hows ofthe fire and rebuilding efforts
even into folks' responses tothis tragedy both near and far.
It's a great conversation, andI'm not gonna spoil too much of
it, but I do want to warn youabout a couple things.
Mark Gardiner's mind operates atan extremely high level and in

(01:59):
rapid fashion, and as much as Ilove interacting with folks that
are this quick and this smart,I'm not always great at keeping
the conversation on the rails.
And so we may weave around and Imay leave a few of these, uh,
conversations dangling outthere.
So if I lost you, I'm sorry,that was my bad.

(02:20):
The other thing is everybodywho's ever seen or heard from or
read about or met, Mark Gardinerknows that Mark's pretty
decisive.
He's really well read.
He asks a lot of questions offolks that he trusts.
He puts in a lot of thought.
Then he makes his decision andhe goes forth pretty black and

(02:42):
white.
It's why he's been able to buildthe impressive company and
organizations and, and so manyother things that he's built.
But those of us who know himwell know.
There's also a bit of anemotional side and it doesn't
come out very often, but timeslike the last eight days.

(03:04):
Can bring that side out.
And, um, when that happens, markhas a bit of a unique tendency.
He starts talking about KansasState University in some form or
fashion.
He'll talk about the footballteam or the coach, or he'll give
you a few lines of our almamater.
So if those folks who areoutside of our borders hear a

(03:28):
quick mention of a footballcoach or the alma mater or
something like that.
Don't be confused.
It's one of the many things thatmake Mark, Mark.
You know what?
As I'm recording thesepodcasts,.
I'll jot down a quote that Ithink will be really cogent or
worth repeating or using asmaybe the episode title.

(03:49):
I'll generally get two or threeof these from most of our
guests.
Folks, I wish you could see mynotes from this one.
They are crammed full of nuggetsof wisdom and practical
observations and quotes thatMark delivered.
Some of'em are Henry's, some of'em are ones he's read.
Some of'em may be from theBible, but they're all really,

(04:14):
really invaluable.
You know, I, I've known Marksince I was a kid.
I've considered him a dearfriend since the late nineties.
He's one of these guys thatchallenges me and he makes me
think, and he encourages mycuriosity, and he inspires me to
be a better leader, a bettercattleman, and just a better

(04:36):
person.
Do we always agree oneverything?
No, probably not, but that's oneof the things that I love most
about folks like Mark.
For all his success, Mark hasbeen faced with plenty of
adversity through the years.
He doesn't dwell on it.
He doesn't want sympathy.
And in this episode we get tohear his family's perspectives

(04:59):
on how to move on fromchallenges like wildfires.
You know, like Mark says,"goingforward is all that I know." I
loved having this conversation.
I hope you love hearing it asmuch as I loved recording it.
And, uh, let's give a listen toMark Gardiner.

(05:19):
Well Mark, thanks for being withme today.
I, I think all of us use theterm, how are you?
Um, and often don't mean it, butthis time I think everybody
wants to know,"how are you?"

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (05:34):
You know, actually, Matt, I'm quite
good Um, you know, circumstancesis not gonna take away our joy.
Uh, this is our path, and, uh,you know, it's uh, our job, to,
to navigate.
Through it and, you know, andwe'll talk a lot about all the
things that have happened butyou know, people react

(05:56):
differently.
And, uh, you know, Our reactionis we've, uh, been trained for
chaos, most of my life, as mostranchers have.
And so we handle triage.
Very well.
And, And, we've had experiencein these things before,
unfortunately.
But that being said, I mean it'sa part of where we live and who

(06:17):
we are, um, and so we're doingexcellent and we, we, hope to to
provide, uh.
Not only an example, but a hope.
And, and like I said, peoplereact differently.
There's some people that arecrippled and brought to their
knees, and that's okay.
You know, they don't know whatto do next and I don't pretend

(06:37):
that I know what to do next, butI put one foot in front of the
other.
And so we, we do that.
But how you react is not, um, isnot good or bad.
And I, And I see my reaction, asa big part of my training from
my mother and father.
And, uh, you know, this is, thisis our reality, this is what we
do, and we go forward.

(06:58):
And so, uh, I, I've made jokeswith several friends, that, you
know, the Lord doesn't

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (07:05):
give us more,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (07:06):
than we can handle,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (07:07):
but I have,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-20 (07:08):
looked up occasionally and said,
really?
And so, okay.
I got you.
Let's go.
And, but, but we're good.
We're good.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (07:16):
I've looked up scripture.
I have searched both in my heartand above and online and tried
to find those words.
But there's so many differenttimes.
I mean, if we're gonna, if we'regoing to talk, in biblical
sense, I mean, look at David,look at Paul, look at Moses.
All of these guys were asked todo things that they knew they

(07:40):
couldn't do on their, on theirown.
And, uh, they reached out.
And they reached up and Hecontinues to provide and will
for you all too.
And I know you're a man offaith, and, and so many in our
industry are, and honestly, justlike you said, with all the
trials and tribulations thatwe're faced with, I don't know

(08:00):
how we'd get through it without,and so, yeah, and there are
plenty of people that are sayingprayers for you as well.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (08:06):
How, I mean, and we received them and
that's how you walk your faithis we don't know why, but we
know this is our path.
And you mentioned Paul, and youthink about Philippians and you
know, I won't get it right'causeI'm not biblically as literate
as I would like to be.
But you know, he was in jail andThey and he didn't let his
circumstances rob his faith.

(08:28):
And, and uh, you know, i'll getemotional at some point when we
talk about, you know, losing thecows.
But, uh, we're still here.
And we're still here for areason.
And so we're very Cognizant.
Of that fact.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (08:41):
Yep.
Well, that question why that youjust mentioned, um, we all ask
ourselves that, I had a fewpeople ask me that nine years
ago when the Starbuck fire camethrough, which was, you know, a
year after the Anderson Creekcame through, a mere, what, 30,
45 miles away from you all?

(09:01):
And there were a few utterancesof why, but I've heard it more
this time than I ever hadbefore.
And you know, the armchairquarterbacking that that
happens, you know, how couldthis, how could this happen
twice in less than a decade?
And Henry never had to deal withthis and et cetera, et cetera.

(09:22):
And it's like, you know, I guessthe same thing could be asked
here in Eureka, Kansas, we hadtwo tornadoes in three summers
and they did a perfect X rightthrough the middle of town and,
and just tore out house afterhouse after house.
And everybody said, why?
I mean, natural disasters kindof work like that I think
sometimes.
And as you said, we may betested, but not tested beyond

(09:44):
our means if we have that faith.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (09:46):
And,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (09:47):
when I think about the,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (09:48):
in Eureka or, or in Oklahoma

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (09:51):
yeah.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2 (09:52):
Friends near Oklahoma City that their
house got hit twice, you know,and you're almost like.
You know, I don't wanna say theword embarrassed, but you know,
you said Henry didn't deal withit.
I'm 65 years old now, so I'malmost grown up.
But all that being said we'vehad wildfires my entire life

(10:15):
every single year, just not tothis magnitude.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (10:18):
Right.
And so when

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (10:19):
you, you hear the arm chair
quarterbacks, and you thinkabout, well, you need to have
fire breaks and burns and backburns and, and mow these.
We've done all that Okay?
And we continue to do all thatthere, there is a reason that it
hits this area just like the,the tornado belt.
And there's a reason, I mean,you can burn the flint Hills,

(10:42):
more efficiently and safer thanwe can because they're the flint
Hills, there's rock underneaththere.
There's Also more rain

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (10:49):
Mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_09 (10:50):
A reason we don't burn out here in
the Sandhills of southwestKansas as much.
We've done some things, we'llcontinue to do some things.
There's a reason that theSandhills of Nebraska doesn't.
Do it,

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (11:02):
mm-hmm.
You

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (11:03):
and and I hear the armchair
quarterbacks say, well, youknow, if they'd treated the
ground right and this and that,well, part of it is being a
steward of the land and, youknow, not taking all the grass,
and so you leave that cover.
And I, I challenge those folksthat, I mean, if you're gonna,
think that way.
Think back to the 1930s and thedirty thirties.

(11:24):
If we farm it all up betweenhere and Wichita, see how that
works for you?
It'll just blow away.
And So, uh, I really, reallybelieve that what we have
learned, I mean the, the goodside about this fire is Eva and
I were gathering cattle and therest of our crew, you know, I
kind of teased her and joked I.
Who to think thought we'd get todo this

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (11:46):
wise.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (11:46):
You know, this

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (11:47):
Yeah.
Same way.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (11:48):
And I've, you know, last time, I
mean, I have my, tears and Ihave.
My moments, but you think about,you know, we lost a lot of
cattle, but we lost, two thirdsless than last time because we
got 600 head moved outta harm'sway.
And the ones we didn't get movedoutta harm's way were just too
far from anywhere safe to getto.

(12:10):
We, we went through those areasand that's where we got hit in
some times and had somechallenges'cause we were trying
but we had further to go withthat.
And so I think when you look atum, where we live, I mean, i've
had people go why don't you growcorn

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (12:27):
that

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (12:27):
why don't you, you know, have row
crops.
It doesn't rain out here.
And so there's a reason for thatand and, uh, i'm gonna tell Lyle
Perrier this someday, but Iremember a conversation you and
I had, oh, maybe whenever youcame home from American Angus
and you called me in May of thatyear, and so don't you edit this

(12:50):
out'cause this is good stuff.
But you

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (12:52):
in

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (12:53):
"how in the, world, how in the world
have you been able to survivewith your dad?
All these years?" And I said,what's going on, Matt?
He said, well, Tom won't let medo anything.
I mean, Every time I saysomething, he, he tells me all
the reasons I can't.
I start laughing and you go,what's so funny?
And I go, well, I was the sameway with Henry.
I was gonna show him the wholeworld and everything.

(13:14):
I said, remember this...
they're still there for a reasonbecause they're pretty good at
what they do.
You gotta get a better plan.
And so we're, we continue toevolve with our plan.
We had a fire action plan and wekicked into place and, and, it's
so much better than last time.
And, and that may be, that's notso much from our plan as it is

(13:36):
from, from the path of the fire.
It didn't, it didn't obliteratethe whole county, just the south
half of the

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (13:43):
yeah.
Yeah.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (13:44):
Uh, but i, I smile about that.
And, you know, these challengesand these opportunities to learn
and get better, you know, that'sour charge.
That's our path, and that's whatwe'll do.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (13:57):
Yeah.
It's, there are so many lessonshere.
There were so many lessons at inthe Starbuck fire, and there are
so many lessons in everything wedo.
This one is out there foreverybody to see and,, but yeah,
as long as we're learning fromthose challenges, from those
problems, from those things thatare dealt, I, I think that's how
we're supposed to move forward.

(14:18):
You, you mentioned conservationpractices and, and that's a
paradox that is, eithertroubling or fascinating to me
as we look at things here in theFlint Hills as you look at
things out that way.
If we're doing right to try toimprove the resources on these
ranches, we're leaving moreground cover, we're leaving

(14:41):
more, uh, leftover forage andwe're rotating through those
pastures and giving them somerest and, and things that we
never even thought of 30 and 50years ago.
And yet when we do that, when wetalk about wildland fire is not,
is it's no longer soil cover orimproving health or wildlife

(15:04):
habitat or any of these thingsthat we may be doing it for it's
fuel.
Period.
End of story.
And so the paradox to me is thebetter we do as farmers and
ranchers, no-till practices,leaving all this wheat stubble
and corn fodder and, andeverything else out there on the
ground.
The more prone to big fires weare, and we see it here in the

(15:28):
Flint Hills, even though we burnon a regular basis every year to
three, five years.
But last year with all the rainthat we had, with all the rain
that you had, yeah, we wereblessed with a lot of forage,
but we're also sitting on aTinder box.
And if the wrong conditionshappen like they did last
Tuesday, there's no beating itdown.

(15:48):
Like if we'd overgrazed it, likeif that was a tilled field with
not a stand of, of, uh, wheatstubble, that that would just go
out on its own.
Now we gotta fight it.
Again, that, that's one of thoseironies or paradoxes that is
challenging to deal with.
'Cause we hopefully areaddressing one problem and yet
sort of causing another.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (16:08):
But I think that the word paradox is
perfect in that that's what wedo in that, there's a conundrum
or whatever word we want to usefor that is, um, being good
stewards.
And, you, you leave cover, youdo all those things the no-till.
And you know, I will say that,we have, uh.

(16:29):
Families in our area that lostcattle too.
That because they don't have aslarge a area to be able to
rotational graze the way we do.
We both know the way you make aliving is harvesting pounds of
beef off of this

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (16:43):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (16:44):
And even Places that had much less
fuel, they burn up too.
And so when you get, uh, the redflag warning and you get, 70
mile an hour winds and, and youget, that challenge of that
going across there and you, you,think about this and I, I'm
hearing it's approaching, it'scertainly.
Over 300,000.

(17:04):
I've heard some quotes of400,000 acres, which that's an
improvement from the millionacres of the, of the Starbuck
fire, but you know, during, Imean, it extends 90 miles, but
it's 44 miles across.
For where the fire is.
And so how do you get out of theway of that?

(17:24):
And and you don't you you haveto, you have, to be prepared and
you have to move and, but I Ithink that paradox is not going
to change.
I told you, you know, Henrynever dealt with that on this
scale, and we've done it twicenow in nine years.
you think back to the NativeAmericans, and it's just from

(17:45):
history that I've but theywould, would set fires out here
to get the buffalo, to come inthose areas.
But timing of that is what's sokey

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (17:57):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (17:58):
Much like us, you know, the poor
folks in Russell County,whatever around Christmas a
couple years ago, if and when itrains and it will rain.
We're almost to the growingseason.
They weren't, they had a

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (18:10):
long time.
Yeah.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (18:11):
And so I think there's all kinds of,
of opportunity and blessings to,to come from this, but my point
to the experts that, you know,there were embers landing in
Wichita, Kansas,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (18:25):
oh yeah.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (18:26):
You know when, and the, the
difference between this fire andlast fire we were surrounded by
fire last time and the wind keptswitching direction and we
thought the fire was out in manytimes to the west of us when it
started up again, but or way.
Far east.
And Ember would shoot severalmiles in that wind and start a
new fire.
And, and so we're 170 miles fromthe Wichita airport.

(18:50):
So if it the embers can land inWichita, Kansas, they can
certainly, uh, cause fireelsewhere.
So.
it's where we live.
It's the environment.
We have to learn to deal withit.
We continue to learn to dealwith that.
uh, just say it's a, it's acatastrophic event.

(19:10):
Uh, and, uh, we, we be preparedas much as we possibly.
Can.
But I got a text from a,conservationalist that i've
worked with, and said, well, I'mgonna come and teach you how to
make this not happen.
Again.
And, uh,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (19:24):
sign me up too.
While, while he's at,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (19:26):
Yeah.
Well, uh, you know, I thought oflots of responses'cause I tried
to answer all my messages and mybest response was no response.
So we'll continue to learn,we'll continue to learn from
that person too.
But there's no one easy answerthere.
There just isn't.
And that's because that's theenvironment we live in.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (19:46):
Well, I'm guilty as, as you are of
asking why you were brought upto ask why and think through
things and figure out if thereis an answer to that.
Sometimes there's not, but ifthere is, what can we do?
Um, and I've wanted to have youon as a podcast guest for a long
time and, and all of thedifferent things that you've

(20:07):
helped create and start andimprove in our industry all
started with the question"why?"And so I asked it too.
I asked it a week, well, a dayafter the fire started, of a
buddy of mine who's prettyknowledgeable in terms of fire,
volunteer fireman, has served ona lot of different types of

(20:27):
crews in a lot of differenttypes of areas.
And he said, um, it's prettysimple.
He said, wind.
I said, and my question was notwhy did it happen in Ashland,
but why do we have these happenso much more often today?
The size and scale and scope.
Anderson Creek, Starbuck, fourCounty, now Ranger Road and so

(20:50):
many others just in Kansas.
And he said, yeah, it's wind.
He said, there's data that showswe've been tracking red flag
days for decades and decades anddecades, and the number that
we've had in the last decade hasincreased and they're talking
about the number in the nextdecade increasing again.

(21:10):
And so we don't need to makethis about climate change.
I've said it before on here.
I believe the climate ischanging.
I just don't think that we havemuch, if anything, to do with it
as man, but.
The climate has changed formillennia.
I think we're in a time, maybespecifically in this area of the
plains, that we see more windydays.

(21:35):
We see, I mean February, mygoodness, we've hardly had a
winter except for the first fewdays, maybe of February.
And so there's so many thingshere that are completely out of
our control, at least in theshort, short term.
And so when you look at thingslike that, uh, whatever, you all
had seven or eight or 9%humidity, which I just can't
even fathom it being that drycoupled with 50 to 75 mile an

(21:59):
hour winds.
Um, yeah, things that probablyhappen every day.
Smoldering embers from alandfill or sparking power lines
or whatever the case may be, aregoing to take root and blow
those embers down.
And yeah, there you go.
Now you've got a wildfire that'soutta control.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-20 (22:19):
'Cause when You said, you know, your
fireman friend talked aboutwind, we have spent my entire
life Joking.
About people come out here andthey blow their hats off and
they go, is

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (22:29):
always windy.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (22:30):
This?
And we are like, uh, usuallyit's a little worse.
So, and, uh, climate's evolve.
People evolve, uh, environmentsevolve.
I'm sitting right where, youknow, many, many thousands,
millions of years ago.
Was, was underwater.
It

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (22:50):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (22:50):
It was the bottom of the sea.
And so, you know, you can callit climate change, or climate
evolution.
I think we go through cycles.
And, you know, I mean, we allremember.
Kind of from 2011 to to 14,where 2011 we had three inches
of rain the entire year.

(23:11):
No bigger than 50 hundreds at,at any one time versus.
You know, I can't think of hisname.
He's really good.
And, uh, you know, he's the, theNCBA weatherman.
I remember two years ago, ithadn't rained yet, and I was on
a program in texas.
And he was saying, well, we'regonna be average and, you know,

(23:32):
April's our best month.
And he was saying that in April.
And I going, well, you know, ithasn't been too good yet.
And then then it started rainingin May, and last year was the
same way.
It hadn't rained at all tillMay.
And, you know, normal years, 18inches of rainfall.
And I'll give the quote onnormal normal's, a setting on a
dryer, you know, and I got thatfrom my friend Rex McCloy.

(23:55):
There's just life.
There is no normal, well, 18 is,is our average, but last year,
I, I still can't fathom it, youknow, from May, until november.
Through November.
We got 34 inches of rain.
And that doesn't happen.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (24:12):
Wow.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (24:13):
Did.
I was worried about the fuelload and I, you know, I put
cattle in those areas and we didmore mowing and, and more
preparation than we've ever donebefore.
But, uh, the Great Plains ofKansas, the reason the Great
plains of Kansas and thePanhandles and all that is um,

(24:33):
grass in general is the bestthing to have here and so, uh,
wind low humidity uh, somemistakes that are made on, on
how we're gonna dispose of some,some, uh, landfills.
You know, we knew this wascoming for a week.
And, uh, I actually was inManhattan, as you know, last

(24:56):
week, and I had an early morningbreakfast with what we'll call
Uncle Larry Corah.
And he said, how's this, how'sthat?
I said, we gotta get through.
today.
And my son Quanah is going toschool there now for this one
year.
And he goes, I cannot believeyou just said this morning as he
rushed out.
Here that evening.
I can't believe you said wegotta get through this day.
And it's kind of like I talkabout Henry, it is like, you

(25:18):
know, the older I get, thesmarter Henry

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (25:20):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (25:21):
It didn't take a brain surgeon.
We had to get through this day.
And, and we did get, through theday, but um, we had some
challenges because of, of whathappened.
And, and so we go forward.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (25:35):
As you talk about that day.
Um, it takes me back there, Iguess it was a week ago today.
That's hard for me to believe,but you called me that morning
because my son had gotten tovisit with you the evening
before during the scholarshipinterview.
And, uh, I was tagging weighingcalves and I couldn't get to my
phone.
And so I'll keep that voicemailthat you left'cause it was very

(25:58):
kind.
But what was about to happenthat neither of us knew.
Um, I'll, I'll keep that for along time, if not forever.
And.
I turned around and texted you.
Now, the text didn't go outbecause I, I'm not sure I was at
a range or something, but,basically thanked you and then
two or three hours later camehome at lunch, turned on the

(26:22):
Wichita News, and they had thislittle bitty flame, northeast of
Beaver, Oklahoma.
And, um, I just immediately saida prayer and texted you and
said, we're praying for you,knowing where that had to be
going.
And little did I know just howquickly and how devastating it
would be once again.

(26:43):
But yeah, I mean, that's, that'swhere you live.
That's where it's almost, um, Ihate to say inevitable, but it,
it is likely enough given thecountry where we are, where you
are and, and, and operate, uh,with the fuel load and the wind
and the humidity that yeah,those things are gonna happen.

(27:04):
So.
I'll ask you, same thing thateverybody else has.
Um, what do you do differentgoing forth?
Is there anything that you canput a handle on?
Because you all, you said youput into action and clearly did
what you learned as far asgetting cattle out of the way
and saved hundreds and, and alltotal with every, all your

(27:25):
neighbors thousands of cattle,probably from devastation, uh,
because of what you learned inthe Uck.
What else?
Um, is there anything that jumpsto mind now that you know, hey,
this is what we could do, or,because you don't wanna say, I
don't want to grow grass like wedid ever again, because that's
kind of nice to have that.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (27:46):
Hmm.
Well, I think we have to.
Stay curious.
We have to keep learning and wehave to keep working.
Um, this will sound, I'd like tomake fun of myself as Mark Smart
Gardiner because I screw up on adaily basis, but

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (28:04):
ditto.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_09 (28:05):
I don't want to say there's, we
did pretty well.
and That sounds stupid.
We did pretty well.
And it's, uh, like I said, Ijoked with Eva, like, who'd have
thought?
I mean, and and I texted some ofmy friends and neighbors that
got hit hard.
I go, perspective equals, um,this isn't as bad as last time.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (28:27):
Yep.
And

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (28:27):
not and, but it's still devastating,
And so I think we, continue todo what we have done.
We'd be cognizant of that.
We, but can't do it the, theexact same way that other areas
even of Kansas do it.
so, and I.
I am floundering because I don'tknow at this point what we do

(28:54):
that much.
Different than what we havedone.
You know, we, you know, lasttime those circumstances came
together and that was the onlytime in my life they'd ever come
together and they'd never comethat way together for my dad who
you know, lived to be almost 84years of age.
And so he had never seen that.

(29:15):
So the coincidence of those samecircumstances happening again in
this, um, nine years later isunfortunate, but it happened.
But I don't know what we dodrastically different.
You know, the, the firedepartments have been doing, you

(29:36):
know, burning those fire guards.
Ever since.
I mean, one of the big things,on the Starbuck Fire, it jumped
Highway 2 83.
Well, if we had just done this,this, and this, well, they've
burned those fire guards everyyear since then, and we've done
different places on the ranchand it's, it's easier for us to
be more efficient and franklysafer to mow.

(29:59):
So we, we have mowed those areasand, and, but i'm using a lot of
words to say we'll keep workingto get better.
We did do better, um, we willget better, but I don't know
that we can drastically change alot of things because we can't
start burning those Sandhillscompletely and, and removing all

(30:19):
the cover.

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (30:20):
Mm-hmm.
And that brings the

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (30:21):
whole new, uh, challenges and, you
know, we've got ruminantanimals, I can get, get to
talking about stuff.
I like to talk about that,convert this grass.
Into the greatest tastingprotein in the world to feed the
world.
And That's what we do.
So Part of what we do, being sogood at that and being stewards
of the land, and I believe weare stewards of the land, Henry

(30:43):
Gardiner would've been so proudof this, grass and, and we were
too um, and proud of the coverand proud of how we and the
rotational grazing all thosethings that.
That he was doing way back when.
Well, we do it better now

matt_1_02-24-2026_0920 (30:56):
because,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (30:57):
uh, uh, we know how to do it better
and, and we have a little moreresources and a little more
education than he had at thattime.
I don't know specifically whatwe will do differently.
We will keep examining thosethings, but.
But our community and ourcommunity of Southwest Kansas

(31:17):
and both Panhandles, we didpretty well.
'Cause we've got experience.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (31:21):
Yep.
You know, in the wake of thefire last week, I, I broke my
social media rule and, and myrule for myself is never read
the comments

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (31:37):
My brother, his, his, nephews and
son, were telling the commentsbecause he got roasted.
For this or that.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (31:44):
Oh gosh.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (31:44):
him be the, the voice.
But I was like, don't take itpersonally.
You wouldn't believe that.
Well, he does know all thethings i've been called.
And this and that.
And so, um, I go, you know.
That's not who we are.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (31:57):
Our job is to tell the truth.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (31:59):
And to to seek the truth.
And everybody's an expert.
I mean, people are gonna tellyou how to breed cattle, tell me
how to breed cattle.
They're gonna tell us how to dothese things and, and we're both
doing the best we can to fit oursituation.
But I wanna hear about your.
Broken rule or reading thecomments on social

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (32:17):
I'm, I'm not quoting any of'em back,
but the more I read, the morefurious I got and, and you know,
I haven't seen maybe on purpose,maybe God didn't want me to
before this podcast, and I hopemy curiosity doesn't get the
better of me and make me goback.
I haven't seen you or Greg getroasted and, and, uh, if, if I
do, um, I'm gonna break rulenumber two and that's never

(32:41):
leave a comment

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (32:43):
Yep.
Yep.

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (32:43):
Because I'll be hard pressed not to
respond.
But the ones that hit me rightoff the bat were the Wichita
News stations who had a pictureof the fire and had hundreds of
comments below it, and everybodyhad a political slant on why
this was happening or areligious slant on why this was

(33:05):
happening or all of the answers.
And I'm like, what do thesepeople do?
How, while the flames, I don'teven think the flames had gotten
to Clark County.
Sure.
Hadn't gotten to Ashland yet,and people are already saying
the things they're saying.
I saw one post, this wasn't eventhe comments, but one post.
So this would've been a Facebookfriend of mine who might or

(33:28):
might not any longer be aFacebook friend of mine, but he
had a, he shared a post of somenews agency and took it upon
himself to blame this fire onthe current administration and
their stance on climate change.
And I'm like,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-20 (33:48):
fault.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (33:49):
I knew it.
You know, first off.
Too soon.
Um, second of all, I am not surethat things work quite that
quickly.
Uh, even in an administrationthat gets things done fairly
quickly.
Uh, and, and so, you know, butsome of'em even came from within
our own industry and our owncommunities and, and those are

(34:13):
the ones that just absolutelyslay me.
And, and not to take us up toooff course, but it's not just
the Ranger Road fire.
It's not just decisions thatwere made southwest of Ashland,
Kansas, or in Beaver, Oklahoma,burning landfill stuff.

(34:34):
Whatever the case may be, it'severywhere.
And the way that we communicate,hidden behind a screen as a
keyboard cowboy with no fear forconsequences of what we say or
do.
On somebody else's life.
And, and, and it's dangerous.
I mean, I've seen it in ourschool system recently.

(34:55):
I've seen it in different,member driven organizations.
Things get so personal soquickly and blame gets assigned
without knowing all the nuancedthings that went into responses
or decisions or whatever thecase may be.
And, maybe to take a little moreglobal approach to our

(35:16):
discussion here, what do we doabout that?
I mean, you've fixed a lot ofthings through your career.
Value-based marketing andprofitability, demand growth,
all these things in the beefindustry.
How do we fix the simple thingof society not wanting to sit
down face to face and have aconversation and just have this
one-sided blame game.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (35:38):
Well, again, I can quickly say I
probably don't know that, and Idon't know if you're going to to
this'll be filmed, but thesethings right here.
They're a blessing and a curseand I'm holding up my cell phone

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (35:50):
yep.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (35:50):
and

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (35:51):
And

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2 (35:52):
whether it's Ava Perrier or Lyle
Perrier, you know, creedCaldwell, the next generation,
Quanah Gardiner.
Cole, Ransom, Jack, Abilene.
You know, you think about Henryand Tom, they were pretty good
about getting the work done andthey're still pretty good about
getting the work done and we aretoo.

(36:13):
Uh, Henry's saying that I liketo quote his.
know,"we can't fix the windmill'cause we're too busy hauling
water." Come on, mark.
Connect the dots.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (36:23):
Yep.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (36:24):
The aVAs and Quanah's of the world
they gotta go out there.
and They have to communicate.
and I think it's no differentthan how you and I have lived
our lives.
We have a network of people, Ihave a network of people and
that I don't make a decisionwithout.
What do you think about this?
And you visited with Kendall Kaylast week and, and that was

(36:47):
wonderful.
And I mean he, Kendall Kay,Randall Spare, you know, Kirk
Gray, I mean, on and on and on,and out.
You know, Steve Hunt, I'll leavepeople out, but I think.
You know, we've had thespeakership that so many people
put together to honor Dad, andit's been wonderful.

(37:07):
But I got roasted over thedifferent speakers and that's
okay.
You know, it is like, oh.
You're promoting this, you'repromoting that.
No, I'm promoting discussion,you know, and the, the World
Wildlife Fund, or they camethrough and I remember them
bringing'em through before wehad'em, uh, Jason Clay, be the
speaker, and they go, what areyou afraid of?

(37:28):
And I'm like, you, know, you'rea tree hugger that wants to put
me out of business.
And I was a little bit joking,but not totally.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (37:35):
Yeah.
But

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (37:36):
go, if we're sitting at the same
table, and we're talking, andthat's a little bit like with
the caustic nature.
Of Democrats versus

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (37:44):
mm-hmm.
You know,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (37:45):
we're probably both pretty.
Much centrist.
And you know, I mean, i'm prettyconservative on most things, but
I'm pretty liberal on, oneducation and helping people
that need help and all that.
But I think back often matt, towhat I would call the greatest,
generation, you know, of WorldWar ii, where I still think of

(38:05):
Tom Perry and Henry Gardner aspart of that greatest
generation.
You know, uncle Larry, Corah,Bob Dickinson i'm talking about
Kansas Legends here.
Which are agriculture.
Legends in America.
Well, let's, let's talk aboutthis.
And I always tease Larry Corah,he's got the voice of God, you
know, but when I hear UncleLarry Cora's voice, I think

(38:27):
everything will be okay.
And, but let's.
Sit down and let's talk about itand let's think about these
things and let's work to getbetter.
But, But hiding behind a phoneor a keyboard and not having
interaction.
And this is uh, ironic, I guessI would say I was supposed to be
on my way to the PennsylvaniaCattleman's Association to be

(38:47):
their speaker uh, last Friday.
And I was disappointed Icouldn't do that.
And of course, you spent time inPennsylvania

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (38:57):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (38:59):
Very gracious and, and, very
understanding.
You know, and i've had, youknow, when we interviewed those
students the other day, they'll,I'll say, what questions do you
have for me and, well, why doyou go out and about Why do you
do this?
And I'm go, my name's Mark fromAshland.
And, and we're just people.
And the people on the other sideof the table are just people

(39:20):
too.
They, they wanna feed their,family, they wanna raise their
kids.
They want to, to be safe, Theywant, to be healthy.
But all those things are hard.
To achieve if you're not outthere where somebody can touch
you and see you and, uh, youknow.
It's, it's just so imperativethat we have these interactions,

(39:42):
and, and I joke with the nextgeneration, you know, you know,
you talk about having podcastsabout what we do for a living,
and I wanna do that someday too.
But i've done two senate ag.
Hearings and been before theDepartment of Justice, and I got
death threats, Matt,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (39:59):
oh gosh.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (40:00):
Of saying, I don't, want government
mandates, I don't want, to losevalue-based pricing.
And I'm not saying we don'thave, problems.
I'm saying that we need to sitat the table and figure out
those problems, ourselves andnot the government.
Isn't, I mean, I think I readsomewhere that, uh, the
government's good at one thingand, and that may be the

(40:23):
military okay.
But, but coming.
In and fixing a business, oreven mandating, I mean, we know
what we have to do with the LDPand the fencing and all the,
there's certain rules that have.
to be followed in this nextstep.
So, to answer your question.
humans have to interact.
Humans have to care.
And one of those studentinterviews, um, and I use this

(40:47):
in all my presentations nowbecause when I make fun of Mark
"Smart" Gardiner...
all I ever wanted to do, Mattwas stay home.
I wanted to be with the cattle,I wanted to be with the horses,
you know, but Henry Gardinermade me go off to school.
You're gonna learn all thesethings.
And you're gonna do thesethings, and, and I, learned a
lot.

(41:07):
But the biggest thing I learnedand what this student told me
and put it into words, so, well,everybody loves the animals.
I love the animals.
But every animal is connected toa human.
So we have to make sure thehumans succeed so we can, can
help the animals.
succeed.
And I, I really.
Really believe that.
So I think we, we, you know,it's okay to disagree and I

(41:31):
think we've lost that art in thediscussion because when we
disagree, we get to a betterplace.
And some would say that'scompromise.
And, you know, compromise is notall, bad.
I'm never all, right or allwrong.
And so I don't, I think we'velost some of that uh, with all
the technology, you know, you'reold enough to remember when you

(41:54):
came in at night, you answeredall your phone calls at night or
early in the morning or noon.
'Cause everybody, those are theonly three times they could get
you.
Well now, I mean, I'm not gonnaanswer this.
If my arm is in a cow and Ican't get, to it.
I will answer you when I can,but it becomes so immediate that
we have to do it so quickly.
That maybe we don't communicateas well as we did.

(42:17):
Even with the landlines, letalone writing letters to each
other.
We have to sit down and havehuman interaction, um, and have
discourse and disagreement toget to a better place.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (42:30):
What gets us to that place?
What, what?
I mean, do we have to contin?
I mean, do we take everybody'sphones away?
Because I agree.
I agree wholeheartedly.
It's why, and I've said ithowever many episodes we've had,
I've probably said it almostevery episode.
It's why I started this goofything called the podcast because
I, I came back after givingsocial media up for Lent about

(42:51):
three or four or five years ago,however long this thing's been
going, and we were in the midstof the post COVID I challenges
within the beef industry.
And we had too many cattlebacked up and not enough people
processing'em at the plants.
And, uh, guess what?
Yeah.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (43:05):
death threats from.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (43:06):
Oh, there you go.
And, and, and, and so myresponse was, we can't talk
about this on Facebook throughcomments and a post.
And so we're gonna have hourlong discussions about these
really critical issues.
Usually probably going to bepertaining to marketing.
Lo and behold, I mean obviouslyI fixed everything because now

(43:27):
we're seeing the best, the besttimes in the

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (43:30):
did.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (43:31):
In right, right.
But I haven't gotten very manypeople that wanna talk about the
woes of the market over the lasttwo or three years for some
reason.
But I, I still believe, I stillbelieve we have to do things,
whether it be face to face orsomething, that enough people
can hear people disagree, pointout the reasons that they do,

(43:52):
and then come to anunderstanding.
Maybe, maybe there's acompromise, maybe there's not.
Maybe it's just okay.
I at least understand now whyMark Gardiner thinks that we
should be able to value cattlethe way the a grid does.
Now I understand.
Now I get it.
And, and but you see a one-sidedFacebook post and you may not,

(44:14):
you may send a death threatinstead.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (44:16):
And, and, and that's so true.
And I have horse trainer friendsand one of'em told me one time,
you know.
Somebody brought him a horse andthey do this, this, and this,
and, uh, he just handed thereins back to him and said, show
me.
I, I can't understand.
Unless you show me.

(44:36):
And That's a little, bit whatwe're here now as far as, you
know everybody telling us how weshould have done it well, we've
lived this life.
And we're learning and we'reexperiencing it.
And I will, I mean, I'll stepback a little bit on the
podcast.
I love your podcast.
'Cause and, and I feel likewe're good enough friends, and I
know you pretty Well, but youhave fascinating guests that I

(44:59):
wanna learn from.
And I think it's that curiosityand I can't remember my dad on.
Am Jam when we were, deliveringbulls and stuff.
I mean, he, dr.
Laura and I can't remember, Imean, he loved listening to
those talk shows, and he, hewould stay up late at night
'cause he was kinda learn.
I mean, he, would, he would nerdout.
On all the differentinformational podcasts now and,

(45:22):
i do too.
You know and, you know, I, Istole this who stole this from
somebody else, but even theStarbuck fire or the, what do we
call it?
The ranger, Road Fire.
Now I gotta get my terminology,you know, but I got this from a
rodeo clown who I don't knowwhere he got it from.
You know, everybody wants tofocus on the outcome.

(45:44):
The process is the prize.
The journey is the prize.
The path is the prize, and so.
What you do on a podcast whereyou, I mean, when I say
face-to-face, we need to havethese discussions and, and your
guests and, and other guests, ofother podcasts that I find indus
interesting.
They help, me think, and theni'll.

(46:05):
Call this this group of peoplethat I trust.
We'll just keep it in ClarkCounty, I'll call Kendall Kay
and Randall Spare.
What do you think about this,you know, I ask kendall Kay all
the time about my riskmanagement.
'cause we buy a lot of customercattle now.
Well, my best risk, managementis using my resources to back
them up by putting a lot ofpounds on with cheap gain,

(46:27):
whether it's wheat or grass.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (46:28):
So

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (46:29):
I'm off.
in the weeds over here on thosedetails.
But I think this access toinformation, again, back to this
phone, i tell kids.
I go, this is wonderful.
I mean, you're also old enoughto remember the very first or
the early sire evaluationreports

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (46:44):
Oh yeah.
American an

mark-gardiner_1_02- (46:45):
Association that, know, it used to be Merry
Christmas, they come aroundChristmas and then they came
twice a.
Year.
God, we were going, rollingthen.
And you know, now it's weekly.
It's so easy now that peopleforget to, to do the process, to
be able to get, you know, get toa better place.
And so I think we're trying todo that, and this is all so new

(47:08):
and all so fast that That we're

matt_1_02-24-2026_0920 (47:12):
learning

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (47:12):
as we go.
And I think the experience.
Allows us to get better.
You know?
I mean, i'm getting nonstop.
Texts and emails and callsduring the fire.
You know, that fire anywhereclose to you.
Yep.
You know, and you know, so you,you do what you can, but it,
it's instantaneous.
So we probably don't have thetraining.

(47:34):
It's a little bit like me on acomputer.
I'm better than I used to be,but I had zero, computer
classes.
Okay.
So I think that's part of that.
Evolution.
But I go back to the studentfrom Kansas State that said, uh,
you know, every, everybody lovesthe animals.
Everybody loves these things,but they're all connected to a

(47:57):
human.
So we've gotta make sure thehumans succeed.
And that's whether we agreepolitically.
I mean, we do live in thegreatest country in the world,
and we do live on, on thegreatest planet in the universe
of.
Because this is right here,right now this is where our feet
are.
And so what, and I look in themirror all the time.
It's like you know, that's mybiggest shortcoming.

(48:19):
And so we, we have to to, beaccountable and we have, to, I
mean, I look in the mirror and Isay, what could I, do better?
And well, my best friends calledme and I gotta be careful here
i'll have start talking about KState and calling Klein.
But yeah, here I go.

(48:42):
I can still see those cows.
And Collin Klein's gonna do agreat job and we're excited
about that.
And, but I can still see thosecows, and I can see the cows
from, the other day.
But we say, you know, like Isaid last time I said, this time
we're gonna focus on the living.
We're gonna go forward, we'regonna get better.

(49:04):
And, uh, and we're gonna learn.
And that's that curiosity andthat journey.
And, you know, well, I know aspot that allow full.
well.
We're still here for a reason.
Matt, and I won't get into thedetails, but both times, uh, it
would've been pretty easy forcertainly me not to be here, but

(49:26):
the hand of God was on myshoulder both times and, and
he's like, there's more work todo.
So I think all these things,these discussions, and I've been
pretty quiet.
Like I said, Greg has been the,the voice because, uh, he was
more accessible at that timeand.
I think he did a great job.
But now that we have things, um,we're full steam ahead.

(49:49):
That's the only thing I know youknow, we've got the cattle and
and safety and we shipped all ofour customer cattle to to the
feed lots.
We put all of our grass cattleon, the wheat, so we're good for
a bit.
On that, but you know, we'resemen testing bulls.
We're trying to finish up theApril catalog, we're getting

(50:09):
ready for the May catalog.
I mean, life goes on.
And so and that's, that's, youknow, our devastated neighbors,
it's the same thing.
And so we need to make surethat, um, that life goes on.
For them and we, you know, gettheir cattle replaced, get their
infrastructures replaced.
But, you know, this is, I mean,I said it about the Starbuck

(50:32):
fire and I'll say it about thisfire.
This has been the biggestblessing of my life.
'cause all that outside of the,cows is just stuff.
Okay.
Uh, i'm sitting in my house athome.
I couldn't do that.
last time.
Okay.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (50:45):
Yep.
And so

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (50:46):
all these things are part of the,
the process and, uh, you know,when we get.
You know, I I say tom and Henry,so much, but I always joke it
was like, I sure like to be thekid a lot better than being the
grownup.
It's, uh, you know,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (51:03):
I

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (51:03):
to be the adult.
I have to be the one that'sstrong.
And when I called my friend andsaid, I let the cows down again,
and, you know, we set a prayertogether, he said it for me.
And it's like, you didn't, youknow, um, it was, that was the
path and that that's what, whathappened and now we, uh, picked

(51:23):
the best path forward.
and We don't, we don't know the.
Answers to why, but we do knowthe answers to, uh, one foot in
front of the other and we getbetter.
I.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (51:38):
And that's, that's so hard for
humans.
I mean, because, we are curious.
We are wanting to do everythingthat God put us on this earth to
do and to be the best versionsof ourselves and, and make these
decisions.
And, you know,"we're cowboys.
We wanna be independent.
We don't need anybody's help."And yet, in times like this,

(52:04):
maybe that is the why.
Maybe it's because--in myopinion, and most people
listening to this podcast, Ithink--maybe that is God
reminding us, coaxing us toremember that, that it is His
plan.
There is a reason, and somedaywe hope that we will get to see

(52:24):
that plan in its full glory.
But for right now, we just haveto trust and we have to have
faith, and we have to turn toHim, and we have to pick others
up and do everything we can forour neighbors and all of the
things that you've just talkedabout and that you've just done
over the last week, and willcontinue to do.
And, and yeah, it's not easy.
It's, it's very hard.

(52:47):
And you're right, uh, therewould be a lot of people that,
in your shoes nine years ago,wouldn't have been able to
regroup and build back andprobably just about get to the
point where you were built backand then see this again.
But you did it.
And as you just said, there'smore work to do.

(53:09):
And that's, that's your family'smantra.
That's what I've always seenfrom and maybe it's everybody in
Clark County.
You used to be the only guy Iknew in Clark County.
And, um, thanks to, uh, yournetwork and introducing me and
Starbuck Fire and so many otheropportunities I've gotten to

(53:29):
meet a lot of others.
And there must be something inthe water out there.
I mean, you all are strongfolks, you are visionary folks
and maybe that's part of thereason that this is the way that
you iron sharpens iron.
This is the way you get strongerand even better.
And, and I think that we have torecognize the things we can
learn from afar from folks likethose in Southwest Kansas and

(53:55):
Oklahoma Panhandle, and so manyareas that have had to, had to
face these things.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (54:00):
Well, I think that's so well said.
And I concur wholeheartedly, andI think most people in our
industry do.
I'm often reminded, uh.
You know, I thank God for thestrength to be thankful

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (54:13):
Every day

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (54:15):
for the good days and the bad ones
alike.
'cause we learn from

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (54:18):
Mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (54:19):
And I've said over and over and over
again, we get to be here and weget to do this and we're
thankful.
And I, I think if anything else,uh, you know, you look in the
mirror and and what is yourpurpose?
You know, or you, you, listen tothe lord, what is your purpose?
And, and, uh, I believe mypurpose, is to, uh, hopefully be

(54:43):
a good example, but to, to sharethese things, and, you know,
obviously i reached out to you'cause I think we should
communicate and, and communicatehope and opportunity in the
future.
But I think, uh, to, to do that,and to to give those that it may
hit them a different way.

(55:05):
I mean, Agriculture doesn't knowanything else.
And I would suggest most humansdon't know anything else other
than to get back up and startover again.
And, you know, Greg had Justsaid two weeks ago,"you know, we
almost got our numbers builtback, and the cow herd." And,
um, so it's okay.

(55:26):
It's, uh, we'll, we'll do itagain.
And, but I, I just think it's soimportant to remember that, that
we're really, really fortunateand really, really thankful to
be able to, to live this life.
I've listened enough of yourpodcast, uh, you know, I mean,
is it a lifestyle or is it abusiness?

(55:46):
Well.
We need it to be both, but weprobably choose it more for, the
way to one, it's what we know.
Two, it's what we do.
But the biggest reason isbecause it's the way we want to
raise our families.
It's uh, what, we are able to dofor the next generation.
And I mean, whether it's Eureka,Kansas or Ashland, Kansas, I'm

(56:09):
excited about, we've got moreyoung people and I graduated
high school.
In 1979.
There are more young people backhere now than any time in my
lifetime.
You know, the twins have, Imean, I was from a class of 35.
They were from a class of 18 and

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (56:29):
almost

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (56:29):
half of their classes here, they're
either ranchers or veterinariansor nurses or bankers.
You know, this is a pretty good,I mean, pretty good place to
raise a family and so I just amso thankful and so.
Um, pleased that we get to dothis and we get to be here.
And, you know, I remember peoplecoming here and they say, and

(56:55):
we're a long ways from anywhere.
And I kind of like that'causethat's, that's what I like.
But they go, what, what in theworld do you do here.
And I say Everything I everdreamed of.

matt_1_02-24-2026_0920 (57:06):
Remember awesome.
And I think all the neighborswould agree and times like this,
that may be harder to see, butlooking back, it's, it's what,
it's what draws you even closerto the land and to each other,

(57:30):
and to your faith and to yourfamily.
And, and that's, I think that's,again, we keep asking why that
may be another formulation ofthat answer to why, um, because
you don't, you don't learn thoselessons on concrete.
You may, but it's not gonna lookthe same.

(57:51):
And there's, you're not going tohave that tie to His creation
and to nature and to the goodand the bad and the ugly.
But, but it is something that,um, is part of that lifestyle,
is part of that livelihood and,and one that we probably can't
recreate,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (58:09):
but that, think about the US after 9
1 1, and that spirit of we'reall in this together.
And, and you know, I thinkRandall Spare was telling me
this, or somebody was, but lasttime it was like the bomb had
been dropped on all of us andwe'd all been obliterated.
And, uh, I call her Katie Giles,but it's Katie Giles Shaw,

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (58:34):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (58:35):
You know, Matt, we moved 500 head of
cattle on.
On Thursday, we had to move allthe cattle outta the way on
Tuesday.
Ship those to make room forthose.
But because of our neighbors, Imean, I mean There.
Were, there were 14 trucks andtrailers.
We moved them from, from, 10different pastures.

(58:55):
All over the ranch and you know,and Katie picked up Eva and I
and hauled us back several milesso we didn't have to ride there.
And I go, did you get hit?
And she's like, no, I kind offeel guilty about that.
I go, well, don't

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (59:09):
yeah, because they got

mark-gardiner_1_02- (59:10):
obliterated last time.
But

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (59:11):
exactly that,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (59:12):
that, so much.
And you know, and a lot of myfriends, and neighbors, I just
text'em and say, hang in thereand, and every single one of'em,
and they got blasted and theygo, eh, we're okay.
We'll go forward because they'restill, there.
But I think whether it's 9 1 1and the way the US was for a
long, period of time, and Ithink you know.

(59:33):
The things that we worry aboutmarkets and rain and policy.
And, and it's back to, you know,I talked.
About last time losing the houseand I just lost stuff.
I'd like to have some of thosepictures back, but, but we still
got those memories.
But when you think this timeabout half of the county could
have help the other half of the

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (59:53):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (59:54):
That spirit of, of home and community
is real and it's alive and it, iI think that is a very, good
point that that's part of thereason why, is to remind us why
we are here, we're to, to, uh,be stewards of all this but also
um, to take care of each otherand and.

(01:00:17):
Show the next generation, youknow, we keep talking about
Henry, or I keep talking aboutHenry and

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (01:00:22):
Mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (01:00:22):
You

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:00:23):
know,

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (01:00:23):
or you know, the generations before
that, I mean, I, I can look outmy window here in three miles
away.
Is where my granddad was born ina dugout, a hole in the ground.
Now They lost that place andseveral other places, but that
place was three miles away.
They, they chose to stay herebecause this is their home.
This is their community.
Somebody said to.
Me, why don't you relocate?

(01:00:45):
And I go, I do not understand.
This is my, home.
This is my family.
This is our ranch and this iswhere we're gonna be.
And, uh, that won't change.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:00:58):
Yep.
I said that I had to look thisup because I, like you am, am
not as, astute at memorizingscripture, but, um, I looked
this up this morning.
I was tagging calves and, andkind of getting my head right
for this podcast.
Proverbs three verses five tosix.

(01:01:22):
Trust in the Lord with all yourheart and lean not on your own
understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he will make your path
straight.
I mean it once again, the greatCreator, um, says it best.
And I think that that wrapseverything up into a nutshell.

(01:01:44):
I mean, it's, it takes a certainamount of trust.
Um,, We can't always understandit, uh, as much as the gardener
or the Perrier or any otherfamily that is constantly
asking, how do we do thisbetter?
How do we do this moreeffectively and more
efficiently?
Every once in a while we have tojust lean on Him.

(01:02:04):
And I think thing times likethis probably prove it as much
as anything we still can learn,but sometimes we won't be able
to change His plan.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026 (01:02:16):
Well think that's so true.
And I mean, and that verse hadbeen sent to me many times and,
and uh, it resonates with me.
And, you know, we talked aboutPaul and and the situations and,
and I wrote this, verse downrecently.
Um, you know, I mean.
We gotta change.
The algorithm.
We, you know, we look atPhilippians four through eight,

(01:02:37):
finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just whatever ispure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, ifthere is any excellence,

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:02:49):
there is any

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (01:02:50):
of praise, think about these
things.
Philippians four, four, joy isthe Lord Our worst day.
Can't change that.
A defiant joy and strength andpeace, all joy that is rooted in
faith.
And So when we think about this,and, uh, of all people, and you
probably do the same thing as ak State sports fan, listen to,

(01:03:12):
you know, fitzgerald's dailydelivery today.
About, this is our path.
This is the way we go.
And you know, I mean, we allhave faith, different ways, but
faith is in that new baby calf.
Faith is in, your children andthe next generation.
And the next generation.
Of cattle or horses or whateverit is.

(01:03:34):
But, our circumstances cannotchange our joy, whether it's
good or bad.
If we choose to go forward.
And it's so important to choose,you know, that's all I know is

(01:03:56):
going forward.
And I think that's all mostpeople know.
And so when we look

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:04:01):
that

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (01:04:01):
faith and, you know, I smile because,
uh.
Uh, I don't know where I heardit or it's pretty common, but
there's a lot less atheists inClark County Kansas than when
that fire's coming at you.
And, uh, we won't get into thedetails of it, but we about lost
Scott Thune, our, our man of 25plus years.

(01:04:24):
And, and um, it was a little hotwhere I was trying to, go to get
to him and I didn't make it, butthe fireman did.
I made it, but I did, I couldn'tfind him'cause I couldn't see
him.
But you don't think God was withhim when he was, you know, the,
I have three of our crewincluding Scott, that are on the

(01:04:45):
Englewood fire.
Department, and I said to Scott,and he's coming home tomorrow.
I go, where'd you go?
He said, I went and laid down inthe ditch.
And I go, how'd you know to dothat?
Well, they trained us thatbecause the smoke rises, the,
the fire had already been downthere and that's where the best
air is.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:05:05):
Yep.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (01:05:06):
So, um, had prepared for that path.
And Now I know next time to layon the ground.
too.
So, uh, I'm using, a lot ofdifferent words to say...
this is our path.
We're very thankful for it.
We're very aware that we'restill here for a purpose.

(01:05:26):
And, uh, and you know, like Isaid, Henry had lots of sayings
and one of his favorite sayingswas, we can do this, so let's
get to doing it.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:05:38):
Well said.
And regardless of the commentsthat you or Greg or others may
have seen, I, for one, and I'dsay all of us are doggone glad
you are still here to rebuild,not just Gardiner Angus Ranch,
not just your neighbors andClark County and Panhandle,

(01:05:59):
Oklahoma, and every place elsethat got hit, but continue to go
forward in the beef industry andbreeding Angus cattle and
creating demand and everythingelse that you've done for the
industry and, and for yourfamily.
And so I just.
I can't thank you enough for allthat and for being with us here
today.
I know it's tough.

(01:06:19):
I know it's still raw andanybody that can't tell that
doesn't have much of a heart.
Uh, but rest assured, we'restill praying for you and we'll
continue and, and we didn't eventalk about one of my bullet
points of what more do you need?
But I think that folks can findthat online and, and, um, we'll

(01:06:40):
continue to send the prayers andeverything else hopefully will
come about as well.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (01:06:45):
Well.
We, want to say thank you toeverybody and like you said,
it's well documented on how tohelp.
But you know, one last thingthat I would say is, is thank
you to all of you thank you tothe agricultural community.
And, uh, you know, even.
In amongst of all this chaos,I've always said, uh, if you

(01:07:05):
can't see God and all this, youcan't

matt_1_02-24-2026_09202 (01:07:08):
mm-hmm.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_ (01:07:08):
And he is here, he is real, he's
helping us all.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:07:15):
Indeed he is.
Mark, thanks a bunch.
God bless you all as you goforth and, um, keep getting that
work done.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (01:07:26):
We will thank you and thanks for
what you do.
And I greatly enjoyed the visit.
And we'll talk about K Statefootball.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:07:33):
There you go.
There you go.
Not because we have to, butbecause we want to this time.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (01:07:38):
Yeah, that's my, that's my one.
Guilty, guilty pleasure.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:07:42):
That's good.
Well, I'd say you've earned it,so Mark, thanks

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-202 (01:07:46):
thank you so

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:07:47):
much.
Thank you.

mark-gardiner_1_02-24-2026_0 (01:07:48):
to all of your family and everybody
that's listening.
Thank you so much.

matt_1_02-24-2026_092028 (01:07:51):
You bet.
Thanks again for joining us forPractically Ranching, brought to
you by Dalebanks Angus.
If you like the show, be sureand follow us.
We'll be out again in a coupleof weeks with another one, and
we look forward to visitingagain then.