How An Extension Veterinarian Turns Research Into Ranch Decisions with Dr. A.J. Tarpoff

Beef doesn’t stay a great eating experience by accident, and neither does consumer trust. We’re joined by Dr. AJ Tarpoff, the beef extension veterinarian at Kansas State University, to talk about what happens behind the scenes when research, ranch reality, and the dinner plate all have to line up.

We start with AJ’s unique background across the beef supply chain, from his family’s slaughter plant and a high-end steakhouse to feedlot work and veterinary consulting. That perspective fuels a practical conversation about what extension really does: turning cattle health research into steps producers can use right now, whether that’s vaccine handling, herd planning, or solving problems on a ranch visit. We also dig into why communication is just as important as knowledge, especially when consumers say they trust ranchers and veterinarians most.

Then we zoom out to the big forces shaping beef production today: record prices, the urgent need to maintain beef demand, rising cost of production, and weather variability that can flip a plan overnight. AJ explains heifer retention and the cattle cycle in plain language, plus how the Veterinary Feed Directive increases veterinary oversight and helps ensure judicious use of feed medications. If you love practical takeaways, don’t miss his wet-aging tip for vacuum-sealed cuts that can improve tenderness at home.

Subscribe to Behind the Burger, share this with someone who loves beef, and leave a review so more people can find the real stories behind safe, wholesome, high-quality beef.

Thanks for tuning in to Behind the Burger!
Stay connected with us — follow @NMBEEF on TikTok and Instagram, New Mexico Beef Council on Facebook and visit nmbeef.com for recipes, nutrition info, a local beef directory and more.

Transcript

Meet Dr. AJ Tarpoff

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome back to another episode of Behind the Burger. I'm Carolyn Romo, the Executive Director for the New Mexico Beef Council. Joining me is Dr. AJ Tarpoff. And I didn't even ask you how to sell your say your last name, so I might have totally butchered that. My apologies. But AJ, thank you so much for joining the podcast. Will you uh introduce yourself and and uh talk about your background and then and then I guess first tell me if I s how to say your last name. Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

So yes, AJ Tarpoff. Uh yeah, it's uh yeah, I know it looks a little different, but it is easy to pronounce. But uh I I'm currently I'm the beef extension veterinarian at Kansas State University uh and a professor in the animal science department. Yes, I recently got promoted, but I guess I can say that now. Congrats. Yeah, I appreciate that. So uh I get to work with within the beef industry in a lot of different ways, but uh my background, I guess, is I grew up in southern Illinois, but not a location you would typically think about heavy beet cattle production because it's not. I mean, it's corn and soybeans growing up off the Mississippi, you know, Mississippi River bottom. Uh, but my family had a beef uh slaughter plant in southern Illinois and Granite City, it was a harpop packing company. And so I grew up in the in the beef industry truly from producing beef. We we had a slaughter plant. Uh then when I was a young child, we actually bought a bought into and bought a high-end steakhouse. So I I grew up on the finished end of the beef industry, uh dealing. I remember busing tables for folks that came to sit down on a white tablecloth uh meal. And I can say like it's really high-end that restaurant, believe it or not, we just sold it prior to COVID, but it was the first restaurant in the United States to serve GAB Prime. Oh, how cooling back a few years because my my dad was uh was really integral with uh certified anegis and certified anime and then CAB natural, uh coming out years ago in the early 90s, and and kind of started a lot of that. So that was my upbringing is I I came up through the slaughter plant, the finished end at the steakhouse, uh driving around with my dad, purchasing cattle from uh farmer feeders all through Missouri and southern Illinois and different areas like that. Uh so that was kind of my exposure. And but then it became time, what am I gonna go do? And I I really enjoyed the feedlot. I loved talking to those producers, I love what they were doing, and but I could see it translate on how they finished those animals to the stake that eventually made its way to somebody's plate. And that's where I was like, I want to be a part of that, I want to get into the feedlot industry, and I always had really good grades, and everybody always pushed me to go kind of you should go be a doctor. It's like, well, I I don't want to work in a hospital, that doesn't fit me. But uh, if I can mold some uh cattle production and a doctor together, I I think I that's what I want to do. Uh so I I came to Kansas because if you're gonna go be a feedlot veterinarian, you you ought to go or the feedlot caller and go. Um so I came to Kansas for my undergrad, uh, loved it, absolutely loved the people, uh, really made a lot of good connections. Uh before veterinary school, I actually uh wouldn't cut my teeth as a feedlot cowboy in South Texas on the King Ranch. So uh moved down there and and uh worked at their feed yard, which was a lot of fun. Uh however, I don't miss the 120-degree temperature with 100% humidity. Uh that that part wasn't always the best, but uh, but I did enjoy it. I got to learn more about feedlot production, got to learn about cattle health, and that really helped me moving into veterinaries. Uh, so went through vet school, had a had a wonderful mentor who was a feedlot veterinarian, uh, did some feedlot research at a 100,000 head uh feed yard in central Nebraska at Adams Land in Cattle. Uh so I moved up there and did some research and was able to finish my grad degree and my DVM at the same time, and was very fortunate that I got a feedlot position, a feedlot consulting uh position right out of S. So I but that took me far and wide again. I went to Alberta, Canada. So wow. So I went from South Texas, from Illinois to Kansas to South Texas, uh to Nebraska and then to Alberta. And I was in I was in feedlot practice for about four and a half years. Uh absolutely loved it. It was exactly what I set out to do. And then I got a phone call that says, Hey, do you want to come back to your alma mater and be the beef extension veterinarian? And I'm like, that's interesting. Why are you calling me? But no, I I I I took a jump. It was uh it was an opportunity to come back and be closer to family and to be able to do some different things, but I I always had a lot of respect for this position for my predecessor. And I I said, Yeah, I I would love to go have an opportunity to even try. And now I've been here for 10 years.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Wow. Wow. Uh that's that is an incredible story and an incredible, you know, trajectory that that uh gives you so many, so much experience and um even in different climates, right? As a as a veterinarian now, right, to understand cattle behavior in 120 degrees and then cattle behavior in probably what negative 50 or negative, you know, how cold it gets in Alberta, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

So I found out that negative 40 Celsius and negative 40 Fahrenheit are the same at negative 40. And about the time the hydraulic lines freeze in the hydraulic sheet.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Oh my gosh. Ouch. Yeah, ouch. Yeah, that's too cold. That is uh that is quite uh an experience. I'm grateful uh New Mexico is a very mild climate, right? We might get over 100 where I live, but we're we're definitely not getting to negative 40.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Uh I'm I'm a fair weather, fair weather folks sometimes, but um, but I know to be in the industry you don't get to be, right? You don't get to choose the weather. If if cows need feeding, cows need doctoring, it's you don't get to choose the weather, right? That's actually a a pretty special part of those that are caring for cattle.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Well, and and we we have different, we have different environments, we have different seasons, we have different challenges no matter where we are. Uh within the US or North America, I mean, we we raise cattle in all 50 states, and every single location has unique and different challenges, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It's neat to learn about all of them

Hosting A Research Driven Beef Podcast

SPEAKER_00 6:42

too. So um, so tell me about your podcast as well. So you are also the host of a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

So I am. So I about a oh about a year ago, I was I was approaching asked to uh begin hosting a podcast, which was interesting because I didn't even know what podcasts were and I didn't even listen to them. Uh that has changed since them, I I should say, and I have a lot more respect for them and I really enjoy them. Uh, but it's called the Beef Podcast Show. Uh, it's operated by kind of a bigger group, Wisemetics, that has uh some very industry-engaged podcasts for all the different species. So for beef cattle production, for swine production, for dairy production. And the one that I'm associated with is really just uh beef cattle production, and it's very uh research-centric that we bring in experts within their own unique fields within cattle, and they get to share updated uh studies, updated information, kind of their area of expertise, they get to talk about. Uh, so it's a it's a really, really fun educational piece. And I I never thought I'd enjoy being a host of something like that, but it helps me just connect with other experts within the United States and abroad. I mean, I've interviewed folks from Brazil and Argentina and different locations like that. And it's it's fun to just realize how small our industry is and how interconnected everybody really is, even if we don't maybe know each other's name or or maybe you heard of somebody's name, but you've never uh talked to them. Uh and I know a lot of what we do is virtual, and it's not necessarily face-to-face, but it it it's still that that connection piece that I really enjoy of doing podcasts as I as I'm sure you're enjoying this as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And I agree when we started this podcast, I wasn't a podcast listener. I just knew so many people were, right? And that was where the where kind of the world was going, and people are consuming this long form media. And so we started it, and then I realized, oh, this is kind of cool. And now I follow other podcasts, found your podcast, um, and and there's a bunch of them now that I I love. Um, I even love the YouTube video version the best, right? I like to to see it, but I'll pop on a podcast now and and listen in the in the truck. And um, yeah, it's it's uh changed my opinion as well. I think we were hosting a podcast before I was listening to podcasts. Um, but it's it's a neat, neat, neat form of media and an inexpensive form of media for for us as a beef council. So that's kind of my favorite, favorite extra plug. Um so so when you're working as an extension vet, how does that work connect back to ranchers and

Extension Vet Work On The Ground

SPEAKER_00 9:18

producers?

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Uh absolutely. So it extension really is that connection from the land grant mission of of identifying and discovery with research at the university, but then ultimately getting that to a usable format and putting it into the hands of producers to improve their productivity. And in our in my case, it's cattle health and well-being and cattle productivity, which is perfect. Uh, so I'm able to be that direct kind of conduit of information to get it into the hands of people that are either wanting to make a change, are having a problem, having a concern. Uh, but that that's what I really enjoy. And I I work with our beef council extensively. I'm the lead trainer for our beef quality assurance program here in the state of Kansas. Uh, even have an opportunity to be a part of the advisory group for national uh in CBA. And I so it's we're we're formulating all this information, we're developing all this information, but then it's it's kind of on my shoulders to to some aspects through extension to be able to get that implemented and and make sure that it reaches the intended audience, which is our cattle producers. And I I I think I'm I do a decent job at that. I do a ton of in-person meetings. I know this is a ver you know virtual podcast, but uh any way that we can reach cattle producers, I I am very engaged with. We do local producer meetings. Uh, we are, you know, I do on-ranch visits, uh, that there may be bigger, bigger questions at hand, where I'll go drive around with the producer and the side by side, go check cows with them and and talk through some, you know, some big business decisions. And you know, and that that's a piece of it. Or I might be in in an executive boardroom with a feedlot owner, operator, and manager with their consultants discussing some problems and and things that need to get done. So uh any and all, any of those connections, whether it's media, whether it's radio, whether it's written, and you find it in popular press, uh, it's a podcast, or it's that in-person connection. Uh, we kind of have to do it all.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Yeah, and I know in New Mexico we have our extension vet um for NMSU is uh Dr. John Wentzel, and and we appreciate him. He does the beef quality assurance training as well. And that access to information is is so great. I know I sat through one of his talks and he was explaining uh certain vaccines you gotta swirl, not shake. If you shake them, you're killing the active virus or you're you're ruining the vaccine, right? And just these little things that that you know, you you get a vaccine from your vet, or you know, you get this thing and you go home and you go to the ranch and you're trying to do, you're just trying to do right, but you didn't know all the extra things, and so that extension veterinarian piece is is huge. That information is is invaluable.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Well, and we live in a time of limitless available information. I mean, we all have a smartphone and we can pick it up, and we have Dr. Google, of course. You can search anything online, uh, but it's weeding through everybody has to, they may not know what to ask or what to search for, or you know, we don't know what we don't know. And how are we supposed to learn about something if we don't know if it's a problem or or if it's a need? And I think that's where it the new age of extension is helping weed through the limitless amount of information and getting it down to something that it everybody can grasp, that they can actually take a bite out of and then implement. Uh, so while extension has changed over the decades, as it should, uh, to be able to reach a new audience, uh, I think it's taken another step forward to understand that practical aspect that you can't find on a Google search, right? Absolutely. Whether you shake or you swirl, how to properly mix vaccines. I mean, you could find a video, I'm sure, somewhere on there, but how would you know to search for that?

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Right, right, absolutely, absolutely. And I think um, you know, even for us as beef councils and and trying to work with consumers and inform consumers, there's there's a recent study we did, I think um National Cattlemen's Beef Association did it, is that um who consumers trust with information and the number one source is ranchers, and the number two source is veterinarians, right? And experts. And so the more we can get information out from an expert, um, it's so good. It's good for consumers, right? So that they can go to that fancy steakhouse and enjoy that delicious steak with confidence and with knowledge. So um absolutely, I think, I think experts, experts like you and and others that have that, you know, the degree, the the the science, the research, all of that is is important for our whole industry.

Why Communication Builds Consumer Trust

unknown 14:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

But commute we can't uh undersell the the value of communication. Uh you can have limitless knowledge and information, but if it can't get communicated in a meaningful way, it's it's really not useful. And I uh I I've had a lot of fun recently working with our beef council, targeting some of our consumer groups just to educate them on how we raise animals. And that has gone over really, really, really well. And I've always kind of had that niche because I came from that side of the industry of the finished end, uh, all the way from, you know, whether it's uh distributors, meat salesmen, uh folks that with grocery chains, all the way to people making decisions for uh school lunch programs that are making purchasing decisions that I can sit down and just have a a, you know, I can talk about the cattle industry and answer any any and all of those questions. It's it's enlightening because I know every every person I reach, they they don't it doesn't stop with them. They're telling that story to their friends and their family, and it's all telling the story of beef. And we've got a great story to tell. And the more people that we can reach to understand that, I think we all win.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Absolutely, absolutely. And and uh I have so much respect and admiration for the Kansas Beef Council and the work they do as well. And and uh I think it's great I even wrote that down. Absolutely, we should have our vets teaching consumers. Um I think I think that's and then and then like you said, communication is key, finding the right way to do that, whether it's you know a positive experience with with beef at a you know meal, whether it's a positive experience on a ranch or or the podcasts or the you know social media videos, all those things, finding finding successful tools and trying kind of every form of communication and then and then uh seeing where it sticks is is a challenge and a blessing that we have so many options.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Um we do have a lot of options today.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely. And even you know, there's there's uh gosh, uh the Gary V guy on social media that's always inspiring people. He's like he says stuff like this, the time we live in today where you can open your phone and tell people what you want them to know is unlike any other, right? It's an opportunity that that should be seized, right? Because you have this and you know, the TikTok and the short form, all of these things that you have it at your fingertips for free. And so if you want to market something, turn your camera on. And uh so that's that's what we try and do with the podcast, right? We turn the camera on and and uh get a little uh uh comfortable being uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Yeah, yeah. So well, tell me about your cattle operations that you're involved with,

Family Operations Across The Supply Chain

SPEAKER_00 16:46

right? You've got a couple.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Oh uh, right. I uh so I I guess I should start that. My wife and I don't have any cattle at the house right now. Okay. But our but within our families, it's very integrated with a lot of different uh aspects of the beef business. My my wife's family, uh, they have a a purebred operation that they they they raise purebred bulls of of a couple different breeds, as well as a uh a stalker backgrounder operation that that operates year-round in Southeast Kansas. And then the other side, my my side of the the family, uh actually operate a a nationwide natural beef company. So it's uh Nyman Ranch, uh subsidiary of Purdue that my dad and my brothers are are all all work with. And I have an offer opportunity to consult with them, uh, which they've taken some added steps and they've uh actually purchased into quite a few uh animals that are scattered all over the U.S. with different producers from Montana to Iowa. It's a lot of fun, but kind of having some oversight and some availability of uh technical expertise that I get to work with them, uh whether it's on the bull selection side, whether it's uh some of the the animal health and management of some of those groups, uh it it's it's a lot of fun to be able to do that. But it's get to implement some of the things that I preach from Extension, we get to put put into practice and go, oh yeah, hey, that worked great. I'm like, well, it should have.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Yeah. Oh good, we were right. Oh, that's great. No, I think, and I think it's really cool to see the the different the different aspects of the industry and how you know you've got your day job, but you also have your hand in in all these things or these connections with family and all of that, that that uh, you know, you truly there's these family operations all across the country that that seem you know complicated and all these things. Well, it's just families trying to trying to do a good job trying to trying to raise quality beef, right? Put high quality beef on the table. So um I think that's really interesting. So from your perspective, what's the most rewarding part of working in the beef industry?

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Oh, most rewarding. I have to say the people. I mean, it's the people of the beef cattle industry are the salt of the earth, the most they're so proud of what they do, and they take so much pride in their work, their operations, their cattle, their families. All of that is intermixed. That I guess the most rewarding piece of being a part of the beef cattle industry is having an opportunity to interact with those individuals. Uh, it is it is so rewarding for me to go travel around the state to be able to interact with with folks. You know, I may see them two or three times a year, but they're great friends that I met, you know, 10 years ago at a at an extension meeting. They call me on the phone all the time. Uh, but it it's it's having those relationships with your friends, your neighbors, the people that you interact with. And over time you realize that this is a tiny, very small industry. And I looked it up one time. This is and you you could Google check me or doc, you know, Dr. Google check me on this. Yeah, but there are more people incarcerated in the United States than there are that work in the beef cattle industry.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

What?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

So more people that's a good incarcerated than reality.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

That's a good stat.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

So I you know, I I did look that up, so you you I mean somebody can fact check me on that. Uh, but that was eye-opening. We we are we are a very small percentage of our overall population within our state, our country, the world, but we produce a extremely, extremely valuable, high protein, high quality, high-eating experience product, and we should be proud of that. And our our producers, they are proud of that. And I'm proud to be uh associated with that, to be able to help provide for our consumer base.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, and I I don't doubt that your stat is is any exaggeration because I know in New Mexico I've got a little card right here that our New Mexico Cattle Growers group made, and it was showing how few it's, you know, one 1% of New Mexicans are farmers or ranchers. Well, then there's only 7,395 beef ranches in New Mexico, um, according to you know 2022 data. Unfortunately, that number probably hasn't gone up. Um, and so if anything, it's probably gone down. And so, yeah, 7,000 people, and we've got 2.1 million people in our state. That's that's crazy that that's how few of people are are providing beef when when we know consumer demand, consumers are eating beef left and right. They're willing to pay extra, they want beef, they want the flavor, they want the experience, the you know, the value of a high quality protein, all the things. Um, and there's there's only a few of us, uh a few people out there out there raising cattle and making the sacrifice. But absolutely, they should be proud, and I'm I'm grateful to to represent them where they can't be, right? That's what we say about the beef council. Um we get to be in places that they can't be. They're feeding cattle, they're breaking ice, they're they might be sitting in a boardroom making decisions and we're in schools and we're in consumer places in in town trying to remind people that beef is a is a safe, healthy, wholesome option. So um absolutely proud to proud to represent and proud to uh be a part, a small part of that industry.

Demand, Costs, Weather, And Risk

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Um what do you think is one of the biggest challenges facing beef producers right now?

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Well the big challenge is I mean we can't we have I guess let's start with the good we have record prices okay we have record calf prices especially for our ranchers right we have record beef prices that means we are producing the highest valued product that we ever have but the unspoken piece that we can't forget about is demand. We are hitting demand on all aspects within our cattle industry uh that and that starts from the ranchers the feed law if the operator all the way through we we have the highest demand with the highest highest prices that only happens when we are producing a superior product and today we are producing a superior product or else the markets would be upside down and everybody would be losing money. But that's a huge success story that we can't take for granted. So I guess the one challenge is maintaining that demand. If we don't maintain demand for our products both domestically and overseas because we do export uh portions of the product uh the carcass and different areas we need to maintain and grow and develop them and making sure that we are answering the call of our consumer I think that is number one that is the ultimate challenge that all of us should be involved with is making sure that we're answering that call and maintaining high demand. But more on the practical side for cattle operators I say cost of production you know we've got diesel fuel I filled up the other day I mean it was over five dollars for diesel uh that that even though we're getting more dollars per se per cap sold every time that we drive out into our pasture is costing us more whenever we're going to put out mineral it takes more to be able to produce that same animal than what it did. So cost of production is always a challenge that we have to be able to balance and manage and we can throw in interest and all of the other stuff that we have to do and and you mentioned you you know you you guys are buying a ranch you know full well what you know making the interest payment means so but we we we can't ignore that and I know as as cattle operators we put our head down and we just get the work uh but we it does it it it is a good idea to make sure that we have that uh operation plan put together that we understand what the costs are under understand what the expenses are and then we can maximize our profits to the best of our ability so cost and overall economics on the farm I think it are always a challenge. But then just look look at what's going on around the US US right now we've got super El Nino starting in the Pacific Ocean. We've got weather variability out you know you name it uh we've got everything from uh we've got flooding in different areas of Kansas and we have severe drought so we have before you know drought in different areas of Kansas and I I saw the drought map the other day through Colorado and New Mexico I mean we're dry or we're swapped and we have to manage cattle in both both scenarios uh and sometimes just a couple weeks apart. So I guess the weather variability and managing our animals and some of those stressors I think is always a continuous challenge. And I think it means more today than it has in the past because each animal is such a much higher value that every every decision every day really matters to the overall profitability of of our operations.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

And none of us are taking taking that for granted yeah I I think those are great great answers because absolutely you've got thin margins as a rancher and then you have outside out of your control factors, right? So you've got to you've got to know your you know I I used to work for an ag bank and the bankers would always talk about you got to know your break even so that when you sell them and and you make these decisions based on the weather that you know what what's going to happen in the end and and uh you know for consumers listening it's it's truly knowing how to break even on a ranch right it's knowing how can I maybe make a little bit extra but just as long as we can break even this year, right? And a lot of times that's a conversation and then somebody might have a job in town because the margins are so thin and a lot of times it is a labor of love, right? We talk about that with a lot of ranchers in New Mexico. It's often a labor of love. Do they want to be profitable? Absolutely do they try? Absolutely but it's thin margins uh because there's a lot of debt and there's a lot of high interest rates there's a lot of a lot of diesel all the things so I think I think that was very well said um what's one thing you want beef consumers to know especially you know with given your background being around consumers in the restaurant and and then now on the production side what do you want consumers to know?

Why Beef Quality Is So High

SPEAKER_01 27:17

Well I guess number one I want consumers to understand it's a great time to be a beef consumer so I mean we have record amounts of prime cattle hitting the market uh every time and what that means for our entire industry is when our consumers go to a grocery store they go to a restaurant no matter where that they're purchasing beef products they're gonna have a superior eating experience that's what keeps them coming back so the the record amounts of high quality beef entering and high choice and prime that is doing nothing but helping us from the consumer facing uh scenario because they're they're gonna come back they're like wow that was a great steak that was a great burger that was a great whatever they're purchasing they had a great eating eating experience they can cook it at home it's more forgiving so when we have a prime steak compared to maybe a select steak uh this the prime one is much more uh you know forgiving if they don't cook it quite right so that's okay that all helps us as a cattle industry and it maintains demand I think number one is that that's really what I the one key piece is you're in an awesome time to eat beef because you're gonna have a good eating experience every time you make that portion.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Yeah again great answer and we uh I know we even buy uh high choice uh steaks if we buy steaks we love to buy them from the grocery store and we just find a choice option that looks highly marbled you know you see a lot of the fat in there and we get a great eating experience for a little less price right because you know no matter what no matter how much we love beef we still try and shop around right and we love a high choice in our house. If we're gonna buy prime it's got to be a special occasion right um but again like you said it is more forgiving so that is a great great reminder if you're not confident in cooking you buy a nicer steak it's gonna taste good no matter what you do.

Wet Aging Steak At Home

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Well here's a here's a tip for anybody listening in uh if if you go to maybe a big box store if you go to a Sam's Club a Costco something along those lines where you can buy a whole maybe a ribeye or a strip or a tenderloin uh and obviously they're discounted prices because they're selling in bulk. Now the other way that they get those prices so low is they haven't been aged yet. And what I mean by that is those vac sealed bags we call it wet aging and many times that when you buy it at a Costco or sands or someplace like that piece of meat is probably only five to seven days out of the the packing house well whenever you go to a restaurant and order a steak that steak has been minimally minimal at least 21 days age before it was cut and cooked. So one trick that everybody can do at home if you do purchase steaks and maybe it or purchase a bigger wholesale cut like a ribeye or a strip, buy it, don't cut it right away, put it in the bottom of your fridge and let it sit for two weeks it will be much more tender and a better eating experience than if you would have cut it and cooked it right away. And that's just a part of meat science and the wet aging and making sure that it was that that true vac seal package it can help with eating all the way through.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

So and you just have to make sure it's vacuum sealed right and then you and then you shove it to the back of your fridge.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

So I'm always scared to do that but I've I've been given that advice quite a few times um but we're always scared scared to do it but uh one day one day it'll happen in our house I'm positive um but that's great advice and and really fun yeah as long as it's vacuum sealed right correct that's the trick not the little plastic wrap on the outside that doesn't work it's got to be true vac sealed to be able to lobby natural enzymes break down some of the protein structure and that's what give they a more tender product whenever you go to cook.

SPEAKER_00 31:04

Oh that's perfect. I I need to try that um it is a great time to be eating beef I agree there are there are uh lots of there's good information out there too. Um what's

Heifer Retention And The Cattle Cycle

SPEAKER_00 31:15

something you're paying close attention to right now in the beef industry um in your role yeah so I guess right right now I'm always keeping an eye on heifer retention.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

We are we're at a very low on our cattle cycle of overall POW numbers to be able to produce some of those calves uh and I know regionally there is some heifer retention and some herd growth uh and it's very weather dependent we I mean we have climate variability around the U.S. and even around Kansas but it's we're seeing that uptick and hopefully if we start retaining some of those heifers to become cows fewer of those heifers enter the feed yards and that that's a good thing for our cattle industry as we start growing some of those numbers so we get more pounds apiece. So that that's I guess that's one thing that I'm I'm keeping a close eye on. I think we're right at that that that intersection right at that verge that it's it's probably happening more than what we see in some of the USDA numbers but I'm speculating at this point but that that it's exciting to start seeing that because this has been a longer cattle cycle than what we initially thought a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

Absolutely I've heard that a lot and uh I I think I was asking somebody much smarter than me recently about you know we talk about low cattle herd numbers and I'm like yeah but that's on the USDA census right and is is everybody filling that out honestly do we really know that this is true and so and that was in 2022 how do you know but then they did explain to me that it also has to do with how many animals they're processing and there's and feedlot numbers and there's other ways to also tell but yeah I was having trouble wrapping my mind around it. I was speculating because I thought come on not everybody's filling out that form right or maybe they you know how do you know how many cattle we have I you know so anyways it was it was a but they did explain that there are other ways to know that for sure the cattle herd is low and heifer retention is needed, right? And so I think uh if a consumer's listening and if that's if that's maybe a confusing concept, which I I don't know that it is but um you know heifers are the younger moms, right? Younger cows. And if you can keep them in your herd so that your herd grows and you start um instead of sending them off to you know harvest and going on to be a beef product right away, keep them in your herd so that you've got more more calves, more babies and and then eventually more animals to feed out would that be a a a layman's way of explaining heifer retention?

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Absolutely so it all goes back to supply and demand. So our our supply of cattle numbers is low. The only way we grow that is we produce more mama cows. But if we produce more mama cows that means there's less beef entering into the supply chain uh and that that's difficult to do and it's uh very valuable and we have record prices for that calf to go that route uh so it takes a big investment for cattle produce for ranchers to not sell an animal and maintain that animal for two more years before it has its first calf and it can get a paycheck for itself. So it's uh we yeah it's not just as easy as oh snap our fingers and there's more cows. We have to grow and develop those cows and it's going to be two years before we she even has a baby calf to sell. So right uh so that it's a big investment uh for our ranchers to be able to make that and so and that's why that that tells us where we are as an industry on how many how many are they really maintaining back and if and if they're maintaining those heifers that also tells us something about their profitability that they've been able to maintain profitability that they're okay sacrificing that individual paycheck to make sure that they grow their herd to the next year. Yeah because a young heifer is worth a lot of money right so you could cash her out now or save her for two years and then cash out her babies right so so it makes sense economically but sometimes sometimes you you need the check right away right sometimes it's like you said diesel is expensive all the things

VFD Rules And Antibiotic Oversight

SPEAKER_01 35:20

um it's a hard decision so very very interesting topic and um and I think a great thing to keep an eye on um can you tell me about a time the industry surprised you or maybe challenged you the industry surprised so here's one and I I think most people at least the cattle producers were listening uh know very well what this means is the veterinary feed jacket so back in 2016 2017 there was some uh the FDA Food and Drug Administration put some regulation on how we use products that go through the feed and that was a challenging time for the industry but I guess what was surprised me is even though the you know just like any government regulation it's bag and nobody understands what it means um that that happened with the VFD I mean there was a lot of communication going up through government and everything else but one thing I'll say is that the beef cattle industry as a whole accepted that challenge made good decisions and made it their own uh the FDA didn't I mean honestly they probably did not know exactly how this is going to play out uh but it's very rare that you hear anybody talking about it even after just a couple of years everybody it's just uh back to it's regular operations regular you know your day to day and it's just a part of the daily structure now uh so that I to me that was surprising and it was also a challenge but it I was also very proud of how our industry stepped up to the plate to one reduce the regulatory burden in the future two we answered the call and are carrying out that with the intent that it that was desired. So that that's uh that doesn't happen by one individual or one operation that took a feed industry the veterinary community and cattle producers all working together to be able to make sure that that happens oh and guess what we have veterinarians and nutritionists talking about some of these things to make sure everything is matching for those producers to end. So it was a great learning opportunity but it was a growth phase uh and ultimately for our consumers it just means more veterinary oversight and more prudent use of any type of medication going through the feed. So if if we have to use a feed grade antibiotic for an example guess what there's a veterinarian that makes that decision and there's a paper trail that there's an approval and there's a paper trail that we we both use that product appropriately for the right amount of animals for the right duration. So it's all about judicious use of antibiotics and I I and I I am proud of our industry and how they handled that. It was a stressful few years but we got over that hump and I'm I am proud of the industry.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

Oh and it's it's more proof too of the amount of care and detail that goes into raising beef right all of the things you have to think of you know the withdrawal period right and animals if they're on a medication can't go to harvest until that medication is out of their system to keep the food system safe and then and then at the you know at the pecking plant it's tested and made sure that there's no medicine in the food system right so people so people eating beef can have confidence knowing the attention to detail that happens in the process safe and wholesomeness.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

Absolutely every bite is safe and wholesome for all of our consumers that is paramount that is step one there is there is no wiggle room in that safe and wholesome is what our our beef industry produces.

Care First Then Expertise

SPEAKER_01 39:03

Absolutely absolutely uh what's the best piece of advice you've ever received in your career best piece of advice um so here's one nobody knows how much nobody cares how much you know until they find out how much you care. So uh what my mentor always used to uh you know Dr. Dan Thompson was my uh grad you know senior professor and he always told us that is nobody know nobody cares how you could know everything in the world nobody cares until they find out that you actually care about them and I I think that's uh that that's always an important piece of understanding and working relationships whether it was a client when I was in practice whether it's a producer I'm on the phone with and helping you know with an extension concern uh it's astute it doesn't matter who I'm interacting with they don't care anything about me until they find out I I care about them I truly care about their well-being uh their animals well-being their uh their operations well-being their productivity once they figure that out then they'll open their ears and listen so I I and I I I truly believe that that that's one of the best pieces of advice that if I'm not getting through to somebody, I always think back okay well maybe they don't know I'm trying to help them maybe I need to re-establish myself and say I you know that's why I'm here that's what I'm trying to do is to help and then we can make some steps forward.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

I think that's a good reminder of of how we should be as humans right it's the human connection first and then it's the you know educating or the informing or whatever but first if we can make those positive connections with people and know that we probably have more in common with each other than we think then then so much more can happen, right? We can even agree to disagree, right? But if we know that we both care, that's that's excellent excellent advice. So why do you do what you do?

SPEAKER_01 41:00

Why do you what what what motivates you to keep you know studying the industry to keep representing the industry and keep caring for cattle in your free time yeah well um I guess when it's a passion the beef cattle industry is my passion uh and when you're working and you wake up in the morning and the goal is to help and promote the beef cattle industry to the best of your ability that's pretty open-ended. So and it also is everything that I mean my family is is very integral with the beef cattle industry. So I guess it's a little bit self-serving helping the industry because you work within the industry uh but that that's what keeps me going is is helping those people produce that high quality beef and being a part of the beef cattle industry from uh from conception all the way to plate I I think that's that is a it it's an open-ended piece that the job is never done and I can do a lot of different things throughout that entire span but that's what keeps me going is is is I love the industry it's ingrained in my DNA as long as my family has been in the United States we've been in the beef business so if it's hard I I can't think of doing anything else and it's exciting to be able to have that opportunity to represent the industry but also help the industry in a lot of different ways to be better. I mean it's it's a it's a path of continuous improvement and I think that's what we're all after.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

Yeah that passion that passion is something that that uh drives a lot of folks right and it's really important.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

So we're grateful we're I'm always grateful as a beef consumer that folks have the passion to keep doing it right because it takes everyone and uh thank goodness people like you and and your family are are willing to continue and and uh and learn and and improve their operations and improve their you know everything they're doing it's it's absolutely uh important

BQA, Withdrawals, And Food Safety

SPEAKER_01 43:00

um is there anything else that you wish consumers better understood about animal health care specifically you know I guess one piece you you alluded to this a minute ago but the regulations that surround that we have to work with so all animal health products whether it's a vaccine whether it's an antibiotic whether it's something that we use for fly control or internal parasites all of those animal health products go through stringent stringent stringent testing for safety everything that we use in food producing animals has to go through that safety verification and that's what sets up what we call you know uh meat and milk withdrawal periods that if we even a vaccine if we utilize a vaccine we have to wait a certain amount of days before that animal can enter the human food chain uh whether it's an antibiotic gets broken down and excreted out of the body uh it that takes a certain amount of time All of that work has has gone into those products. Then I, you know, because I a lot of times I hear, you know, oh, well, antibiotics or feed this or this or this. And once I go into kind of the regulations that as cattle operators and veterinarians, we work within that there are some products that are excluded that we just can't use. Uh, we don't have access to because we don't have it hasn't been proven safe. Uh, that we are, I don't want to say we're restricted, but we kind we are restricted. That we we have very specified products that we can use for specific purposes, and it's all meant to one, help the health and well-being of those animals, but two, ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the beef and the products that are coming out of that animal. And I I, you know, I talk with a lot of consumer groups about that and just understanding, you know, an antibiotic or a growth promoting implant or what those things are and how they work within the body, what their approval looks like, and really just basic use. That's a disconnect that we have with our consumer, and that's okay. Uh, but they need to understand that you know, we have protocols in place. We have things like the beef quality assurance program uh that ensures pre-harvest food safety and proper care of those animals throughout its entire life. Uh, that producers take time out of their daily lives and get a continuing education every three years just to be able to raise food for them. Like that speaks volumes to our consumers. And I I just for any and all consumer, I think it it helps them understanding more of that picture. That a producer isn't just a producer, they they go out of their way to continually get better. Uh, there are rules and regulations in place that we follow for free harvest food safety and how we use any animal health product. And then there's testing and safety that happens uh throughout the entire chain before it gets to them. That safety and wholesomeness is not something that we just talk about. It's fact. And I and I I think all consumers should should understand that to a deeper level. And I I think it would help them feel better about every time they purchase beef.

SPEAKER_00 46:14

I hope so. Absolutely. We we talk about a lot, and sometimes regulations, everyone knows the word regulation sounds kind of like a burden and sounds kind of uh, but if it or and if it can give a consumer confidence, that's exactly what it should do, right? Because there's all of these regulations, all these things. We want consumers to be confident in the safety and wholesomeness of the product. So great, great, uh, great information and and really, really uh appreciate that.

Careers In Beef Beyond The Ranch

SPEAKER_00 46:44

Um, what advice would you give someone interested in pursuing a career in the beef industry?

SPEAKER_01 46:50

For a career in the beef industry, the sky is the limit. My goodness, is we have uh we already mentioned about how small our industry is, uh, but there are so many job opportunities and areas that are growing in our industry uh that it may not be, we I mean, we still need a feedlock cowboy, but now we have technology companies that are helping that feedlock cowboy be more productive. Uh, we have uh feed ingredient companies that are monitoring you know different things at the feed guard. We have, I I mean, there's so many ancillary businesses that all support the beef cattle industry from top to bottom that are all necessary and they're all hiring. So, and and what what's cool about the cattle industry is you don't have to come from a specific background to be really successful. Uh, you know, there's some baseline information that's helpful to get started, but then you learn a lot in the business. And as long as you can work with people, you have a positive demeanor, you can there there is no limit. You can become the CEO of a company, you can work with people, you have a good, strong work ethic, you show up every day. Uh, that if somebody wants to go work in the cattle industry, you know, it's not just breaking a square bale and putting it out for four cows. It can't, it could be, or you could be working in a tech for a technology company that is directly impacting the cattle industry, or you could be it could be a piece of technology that's on a feed truck that makes the feed truck more efficient and it saves deep burning diesel fuel. Um, so there's just there's so many growth areas within the cattle industry that I I would recommend any anybody and everybody, if you have an interest in the care and well-being of animals and want to support the beef cattle industry, there's a place for you. So I guess we we we should never undersell that. That it it I understand that breaking water tanks and negative 40 isn't for everybody, uh, but there are other things within the cattle industry that I think there is a place for a lot of different folks, and that's where you know it within K-State, we have a lot of undergraduate students that may or may not have uh strong livestock experience coming in to uh to get their bachelor's degree, but we expose them to a lot of different people within the beef cattle and the dairy industries to make sure they understand the opportunities, whether it's bank banking and loaning, right? How many bankers out there have a direct line to agriculture and understand a cattle operation? You know, that can be a huge benefit to help both ways, help the bank and help the cattle operations, having somebody have that knowledge. Uh, so everything from lending to insurance to actual operations, there's there's opportunity and don't downsell it because it's a part of ag. Ag is a huge and growing operation nationwide, that it's something people should look into.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

I would I would absolutely echo that uh that that there's opportunities for everyone. And yeah, if you have interest and you have that passion or even just a curiosity about where your food comes from, there's a place for you and there's the career opportunities are endless. And don't be afraid to try something that maybe you had no idea you'd be interested in. Um, you know, your your career path doesn't have to be straight lines, right? It can it can zigzag around. I took a detour at a restaurant, I took a you know, detour over here, over there, and it's um it's it's a great industry, and and uh like you said in the beginning, too, the people, the people are very rewarding and uh welcoming it for the most part, right? So we we hope we hope more people join because we need more people to join.

SPEAKER_01 50:38

Um and it takes all kinds, and the the more you get into the cattle industry, you realize there's all types of uh backgrounds. I mean, nobody looks the same, nobody even speaks the same language, but as long as everybody speaks cow, it works pretty well. And it's uh that's what's fun working in the cattle industry is you never know who you're gonna interact with, but everybody has the same goal, and it's to take care of the animal, produce a high-quality product, and that crosses language barriers, it it crosses cultural backgrounds uh when everybody has that unique goal.

SPEAKER_00 51:13

Absolutely,

Ribeye, Short Ribs, And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 51:14

absolutely. Uh okay, so my my last question, uh my my sometimes my favorite question to close, what's your favorite way to eat beef? Um, and it can be you know your current favorite, it could be the forever favorite, but often that's my favorite answer.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

No, I to be honest, my if I had to pick one single cut or I guess one single piece of meat, I I would I I could eat a ribeye every day. I I truly, I mean, the the the the spinalis, the cap muscle off of the ribeye, uh is my opinion the best tasting cut on the entire B fam. Uh but I I know I I probably can't eat a ribeye every single day. And right now my freezer is out of ribeyes. Uh but one thing I do have that I've really been enjoying is some uh some short ribs. So I've been uh I I've kind of perfected a way to be able to smoke and cook some short ribs. I smoke, I I cook them very similar to a brisket, and they are fantastic. Uh so I'm I'm a big fan of the uh the the Chuck short ribs right now, and and but I I can never overlook the value of a ribeye.

SPEAKER_00 52:29

Absolutely. Yep, great answers. Often, often ribeye, short ribs, love it, all of them. Uh well, very cool. Well, I so appreciate your time, um, your your knowledge and your willingness to be on our podcast. And thank you for for what you do for the beef industry in in so many ways, whether it's you know, advocacy with your podcast and your outreach, um, what you do with the Kansas Beef Council and and um as a as a veterinarian and and uh you know cattle operator. So thank you again and and I really appreciate you being on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 53:04

Well, thank you, and and my hat's off to uh you in the New Mexico uh Beef Council. You know, that you know, the beef council, it's a checkoff funds a lot of different things. And a lot of it happens behind the scene of what uh cattle producers may or may not see. Uh, but this is something that crosses that that boundary. I I think whether a producer is listening in, they know what what's happening with the checkoff, they keep they they're able to put a face to the checkoff with you, uh, but also to our consumer. Our checkoff is meant to maintain beef demand. And I I appreciate, I really do, what you guys are doing with the podcast and the outreach that you're doing in New Mexico. And I know we do a lot of it in Kansas, but every state's in it together, uh, all making sure that those dollars get the maximum amount of exposure and marketing to the beef cattle industry to make sure we're keeping up on demand. So thank you as well. And I appreciate the opportunity of being on. And now I know another podcast I need to keep an eye on.

SPEAKER_00 54:03

Well, there you go. Well, thanks. Yeah, we we hope you add us to your queue. And uh yeah, thank you again. And absolutely shout out to the Kansas Beef Council. They're a great partner and uh a great collaborator with us as well in all the other states. So uh we'll thank you again, and and that's it for another episode of Behind the Burger. Behind the Burger is produced by the New Mexico Beef Council to celebrate the people and stories behind New Mexico Beast. Thanks for listening. Follow the show so you never miss an episode and connect with us on social media for more behind the scenes stories and updates. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at NM Beast, and on Facebook at NM Beast Council. We'll see you next time in a celebrated beast. It's what's for dinner.