SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi there, I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie. We're the owners of Hired Hand Software.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

And this is season six of our From the Pasture podcast. For more than 15 years, we've been helping breeders promote their pedigree livestock with our easy-to-use, animal management-driven website software.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Each week, we bring you stories from the pasture, breeding philosophies, ranch traditions, cattle knowledge, and conversation with folks using Hired Hand to power their livestock marketing. So settle in for today's episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Welcome to this episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand. Today we're traveling up to Soda Springs, Idaho to visit Dirt Bag Ranch, where Tony and Monica Rosen are carving out their path as first-generation Texas Longhorn breeders. Soda Springs is known for its phosphate mines, which play a major role in both the community and agriculture. We'll be talking about how that local industry intersects with ranching, what it's like to raise longhorns through Idaho's brutal winters, and why the Rosans are committed to supporting local farmers by buying their hay and grass close to home. We'll also dive into the tools, traditions, and cowboy wisdom that keep their ranch running. You won't want to miss this look at how Dirtbag Ranch is building a program and a lifestyle from the ground up. So why don't you start by telling us the story of how Dirtbag Ranch got its name?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I'm going to let her take this one.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

So dirtbag ranch came from me, actually. Um I my brothers and I, when we were younger, we used to kind of just hang out in our dad's backyard and do nothing but drink beer and hang out all day. So we called it dirbaggin. And then uh as as we got older and started collecting more animals, we decided to just keep the name or name it dirtbag ranch. So that's kind of where it came from.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Awesome. I have to tell you, uh, when you all contacted us to sign up and you know, we got your ranch name for the paperwork and everything. Um, we were talking internally as a staff, trying to, we were just kind of wondering what route you were gonna go with it. And I thought for sure the website would be more um like I was I I was very pleased that the website was very like clean and professional, and like because I thought maybe you'd go a different route with it and you know have some fun videos on there or something. So that's funny.

SPEAKER_03 2:29

Well, you never know what might come along. We're still a little redneck in the background.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

So you're both first generation ranchers, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yeah, yeah. We we both grew up with animals around us, but uh as far as having our own and and doing our own thing, yeah, we're first gen.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

So, what inspired you to take the leap into longhorns and what's been your biggest challenge so far?

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Well, um, so getting into longhorns, we didn't really plan anything. Um, actually, my sister had the cows, and she was basically just doing them for you know, food and stuff, um, kind of keeping her own beef. And then uh she lives in in town, so she had the animals at an uncle's house, and he died, so she didn't really have anything to do with the cows, so she called and said, Hey, if you want these cows, go get them and you know, do whatever you're gonna do with them. So that's how we ended up with them, and uh, we just kind of jumped in and uh we've been going ever since. So uh it's funny because we have just a little patch of ground, and uh we started putting fences up and doing this and doing that and learning as we go. It's it's been a little bit of a challenge, probably not as bad as it could have been, but um we're we seem to be making it now.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

Did you ever think that you would have a ranch of your own, or Monica, like when you were hanging out with your brothers? You know, was that kind of a dream, or um was there anything that shaped your decision to take those cows from your sister?

SPEAKER_03 4:20

So I don't know that it was like necessarily a dream, but I've always wanted to have more space and more animals. I've always had dogs and cats and wanted more. I had a pet raccoon once. Um I've I've just always wanted more and more space for my kids to run. And so I've lived in the country for a long time. So I just always wanted to put more four-legged things on my ground. What about you, Tony?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Um, well, so all of all of my family outside of my parents, they all farm and ranch. So yeah, it's kind of kind of been something that I wanted to do later in my life is, you know, kind of settle down and and have my own my own things to do. So yeah, well I could say that it's kind of been a dream.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Well, soda springs and the surrounding area is known for phosphate mining. How does that industry connect to your ranching life and the broader egg community around you?

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Well, well, first off, they bag the dirt and sell it. So now we got a follow-up on a branch name. Yeah. Um uh, you know, it really hasn't done too much for us. Um it's a pretty heavy agricultural area that we're in. Um, but as far as phosphate specifically having much to do with it, I know I don't notice much other than, you know, we take our great ground and sell it to others throughout the country. That's uh that's about the only effect that I know of.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Does the soil health because of the phosphate seem to impact how ranchers in your area are raising their cattle a little differently than other parts of the nation?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Um, I think so. We we have quite a bit more vegetation that's kind of drives cattle as far as like grazing and stuff like that. We don't have a lot of feedlots or like privately, I don't, I don't know what you call it, but retained animals. There's there's a lot of grazing.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Well, when we were preparing for today's podcast, you had mentioned that you um enjoy supporting local businesses by buying your grass and your hay like from loc locally from nearby farmers. Uh tell our listeners just a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Um, well, it's kind of an awesome deal because I don't have to grow it. Um I I tend to get off a little bit cheaper because I don't have you know equipment costs and stuff like that. So um I have a a good friend here that um his forage grasses and hay seem to work well with my cattle and uh their needs as far as nutrition goes. So it's been working out pretty well. I've I've bought the same hay and grass from the same person the whole time that we've been doing this now. So that's about all I can say as far as that goes. Um, I do enjoy, you know, that I have somebody locals, so it kind of helps me for one, I don't have to store as much. And, you know, two, it's pretty readily available to me.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

So do you do anything with your own grazing strategies then? Like how you said, you know, everything's kind of been a learning curve. Has there had does has there been anything with grazing uh that you figured out with the cattle?

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Not so much, really. We don't have enough, yeah. Um, so around us is is a huge cattle association, and they pretty much have most of the grazing rights locked down. Um I don't know how it is in other parts of the country, but here they're pretty dependent on it on the cattle association. And uh we have not broke into that yet. It is something that we're looking into, but um it tends to be a little bit generational as well, you know. So it takes a bit to get into. But hopefully, hopefully we'll have uh some different grazing areas that we can try for, you know, different things.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

So ranching in Idaho means that your winters can dip into what, like negative 40 with really bad wind? Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Oh yeah. It's lots of fun.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Sounds about like ours, I know.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Not fun. Uh how do you all prepare your herd and yourselves for that kind of weather?

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Um, you know, we've been pretty lucky. Um, we haven't really put a lot into it. The animals seem to take care of themselves pretty well. Um, our biggest challenge is, you know, keeping what they need as far as like water and stuff like that. You know, it we could end up outside with chainsaws cutting hay and uh water tanks tend to freeze pretty fast. But we've we've been pretty lucky actually staying on top of that stuff. So um the the herd seems to be just fine.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

They're they're pretty rigid, they get really bushy in the winter, they get like extra furry, they do fur up pretty good. Then it's they're kind of cute when they get little frosted tips when it's really cold out.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

We don't do any calving in the winter. Um that's that's a main thing. I some of the guys around here they do all their calving in like January and February, and it's it's not something I want to do, but um, it works for them. We we choose to do our calving in the early summer, late spring, and it's worked out well. They they're good and rigid and ready for winter when it comes.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

So have you acquired any animals from down south that you've added to your herd who are maybe gonna be going through their first winter or on their way through it now?

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Actually, yeah, we we did just acquire an animal from um Randy Murray, sold us um one of his tempter daughters, and she had a calf outside. She seems to be doing pretty well. I I worked effortlessly to get her here in time to acclimate, and uh, she seems to be doing good. It doesn't bother her, you know. So yet, yeah, it's not that cold yet, so um, I I don't have any worries about her, though. I think she'll be just fine.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Can you hear coyotes from your ranch?

SPEAKER_00 11:11

All the time. We kind of have a coyote of our own, though. She keeps them away pretty well.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

What about wolves? Have you had any wolf sightings?

SPEAKER_03 11:22

Um, I haven't this year, but last year. Like within maybe like five mile radius, people have said they've seen wolves.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

And is there anything special you do with the herd or in preparation, knowing that you know, wildlife might become a concern?

SPEAKER_03 12:09

No. We mostly just leave our red healer outside and she doesn't really let anyone come in the yard or anything.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

She's pretty good at she takes care of stuff pretty well.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Thinking she's tough.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Well, let's talk a little bit about your herd and your breeding focus specifically. Uh being in Idaho, when people see your longhorns, um, you know, do you get a lot of uh a lot of comments about them or a lot of questions about them?

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Um yeah, we do. Well, people notice them pretty well. Um, there's actually a guy right down the road from us that also has longhorns. Um he's not a registered breeder or anything, but he's got a lot of them out there. And uh they're just kind of his special herd. But uh, you know, we kind of I myself I'm kind of like, well, I have to get something better than him or something more more for people to notice, you know. But uh yeah, they're they're constantly driving by to look and checking out the horns and wanting to know.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Taking pictures, asking if they can take pictures with them or if they can pet them.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Yeah. So um, yeah, that's about you know, we're kind of a little ways out of town.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

So Well, we know folks outside the industry are always drawn to the horns and to the color. Um, being in the industry, what are what do you look for in your ideal animals that you're either breeding or adding to your herd?

SPEAKER_00 13:44

So in my animals, I just try to get, you know, some some more color out of them. And uh the horns. So I my animals are mainly kind of older genetics, and they don't I don't have a lot of like giant horned cows and stuff. They're you know, pretty moderate. So um that's one thing that I want to try to breed for a little bit, and color, I I kind of just take what I get, you know. I would like to have more color, um, like larger patches and maybe some brindles, but I I think that that's all in my plans for breeding, which they're coming about. Um, it's been kind of a slogo. I couldn't just run out and buy whatever cows I wanted and start making matings, you know what I mean? So I'm getting there and I'm learning what brings what. I kind of want to take the chance to use my older quality genetics with some of the newer genetics to get some of these things that people are noticing more and more. Um, all of our cows are are pretty large. They're um I like I said, I bought a cow from New Age, and uh it's a southern cow, and it's what they consider to be a big cow, but when she gets in in with my herd, she's one of the smallest. I don't really have too much of a plan for breeding, other than to just buy some, you know, some semen and do a little bit of AI work to get some of the things that we want in our herd. And to grow our herd a little bit too. But that's a space thing as well.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

So are you gonna be doing the AI work on your own, or do you have someone local that has experience with longhorns?

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Um, well, so we're actually pretty lucky because we're not very far from pretty heavy um uh dairy, dairy farms. So there are some really good AI people that I've talked to a few of them. So hopefully we'll get together, you know, in the spring, this coming spring and get some stuff happening there. I don't know that I'm gonna do too much with like embryos right away, but as far just uh in vitro and stuff like that is what I'm shooting for right now.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Well, I know that a lot of folks keep their breeding strategy and future plans pretty close to their their cuff. Sometimes they don't like to talk about it, but you've mentioned that you have what you consider some older genetics and the things that you want to add to your herd. Can you just talk a little bit about the bloodlines that you have and maybe a few of the bloodlines that you're looking to bring in?

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Sure. Um so our foundation cows now are um, you know, they go back to like uh some L Coyote ranch genetics, and um some of the older genetics I've actually seen pop up like around arrowhead cattle and stuff like that. So they were I don't know how to explain it, but um kind of quality cows back in their day, and they just kind of lack some of the some of the stuff that's come about now as far as like horn size and and uh stuff like that. They've got pretty good color and they're strong and rigid. So now I guess with just kind of start working towards some of the newer bulls that have come along. Um I was really impressed with like Iron Man. So I kind of want to get into that a little bit. And other than that, I you know I'd my plan hasn't gone that long yet.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

So if you had to pick out a favorite cow and a favorite bull from your own herd, who would they be and and who do they go back to?

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Um well I'm gonna pick my new cow, which is a she's a tempter daughter. And uh she's probably my favorite. I have another one that she's given me really good calves, and she's an excellent mother. Um her maternal traits are really good. She's a good milker, and uh her calves are always really strong and rigid and grow the way that I'd like them to. That's Easter.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Oh, yeah. So Easter's my favorite also. And my favorite ball is Easter's first, which is cookie.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah, cookie.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Because he was our first baby.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

She just likes him because he he was the first baby.

SPEAKER_03 18:40

He was the first and he's gentle, you can pet him, and he likes loves, and he's cute.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

He's a troublemaker. But um, yeah, so you know, they're they're heavy in the El Coyote lines.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Who's in charge of naming your animals? Do you get to do that, Monica? Or do you do you have a list to go down or so?

SPEAKER_03 19:04

I prefer to because usually I think Tony's names are weird. So he's named a couple of them, but most of them I named because I'm like, that's that's a weird name. We're not doing that.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

So do they have their real names, like their registered names and then their nicknames, or is it um in the same?

SPEAKER_03 19:22

So they definitely have nicknames. Just like I mean, all animals I think have more than one nickname, even. Um, so yeah, they all have registered names, and then there's like a short name or a nickname, like one of our cows, um honey. We call her honey, but that's her name is Blondie Moo. So we but she looks like honey, so we call her honey. So it just depends.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

She actually has a really, a really um defined honeycomb pattern in her solid body.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

So well, and I think a lot of that stuff it isn't um, you can't see it when they're when you name them, when they're calves, it doesn't come out until they're older, and then they have like a different pattern and color.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

So are you all putting any type of a prefix uh on the on the animals that have been born on your ranch? Like are you adding your your initials or your ranch initials before them or anything?

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Yeah, we we use db. Um what we're I was a little bit nervous at it at first because there's diamond B, and I think a lot of their prefixes are DB, so we may use DBR just to kind of designate ourselves rather than getting mixed up in that whole deal, you know.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Well, are there any other animals special to you that you haven't talked about yet that you want to mention on today's podcast?

SPEAKER_00 21:23

As far as cows go?

SPEAKER_02 21:26

Neither, yeah. I mean, any anything on the ranch is fair game, I feel like.

SPEAKER_03 21:31

And so we also breed bloodhounds. And so we I mean, and we have other dogs too, but we have four bloodhounds that are part of search and rescue and a breeding program. They're they're kind of my deal. The cows are more Tony's and I'm more the dog part.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Is there a I get to work in both sides though?

SPEAKER_02 21:54

So is there a good uh market for the dogs locally? Like, do you do you breed them and train them when you say they're part of search and rescue, or do they go into a program after you breed them, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_03 22:06

So I have trained my own dogs that are part of search and rescue. Um or I've taken, like I have personally taken them as their handler to train other places. But um there's I'm trying to, I guess, create a market here because there isn't one. So it's kind of like longhorns, like there's not a lot of longhorns in this area, and there's not a lot of bloodhounds. So I've traveled to Arkansas and Missouri and Kansas, Nebraska to get my dogs. So I just wanted to have the opportunity here in the western states, and it's worked out pretty good. Like the dogs that I've bred so far, people have said, like, oh, it's so nice for them to be so close to us and to be able to get one and not have to pay transportation across the country or travel. So

SPEAKER_02 23:00

Who's your most well-known bloodhound that you've bred?

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Um, May is my well-most well-known bloodhound, and I did not breed her, but she was my first bloodhound, and she is my um search and rescue superstar. She's been on the news, she's been in the newspaper for finding a lost child a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

That's amazing. Yeah. It has to be very rewarding work for sure.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

They'll be going on to our website here soon, too. So there's a few technicalities to figure out, and then Angie will take good care of that for us, I think.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Awesome. We'll look forward to seeing them on there.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Yeah. And that Angie, she's the best because we're not the most organized people or the fastest at getting stuff. And her patience level is is phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

Well, that's good to hear.

SPEAKER_00 23:58

We have a lot of bulls that uh we want to I or I want to try and do something with. I, you know, marketing is a a huge animal that I am not very good at. So uh we need to get into doing some stuff with that and this and that, and clearing some of our bulls out. Because the one bull that we use is is he's done. We can't use him anymore. So uh yeah, it's time to get on it and get going with some new stuff.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

Well, maybe we'll have to do a follow-up segment when once you uh get that all figured out and you can tell us how it went.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Well, that's part of my plan, Molly, is I've trapped you in now, so we have to have repeats.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

Like it. Well, a few other things that you mentioned when we were preparing for today's uh recording is that you listed your PNC cattle pen as one of your favorite ranch tools. Uh, why is that a piece of equipment such a game changer for you? When did you get it? How has it changed your daily work? Just tell us all about it.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Well, so you know, when these cows just came along, we were like, what are we gonna do? How do we handle these? This and that. And I came up with an idea to just go and buy a regular chute, which never got used. It's pretty hard to get these things into just whatever. So failure after failure on that. Finally, the PNC came, and uh, it was it was kind of a huge deal. So I did not get to buy a whole system, I just got to get the cage, which I have spent the summer building a system, and now we can work cows and you know, like I want to do AI work and stuff like that. So I I have the tools now, because of that pen to do what I need to do. So it's it's kind of a game changer for us. And and doctoring, you know, and my personal safety is dependent on it. Our cows aren't that rampunctious, so so we don't have we don't have a lot of renegades running around, but still you can't push them where they don't want to go. It's a pretty important piece.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Well, you also mentioned that boots are your go-to ranch wear, uh any memorable pair that's been through it all, or we were talking about this earlier.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

I actually have the same boots that I picked the cows up in, and I still wear them. So um Monica, she's got stories, I'm sure, of all the boots and the There's a load of boots.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

So we have like a pile of boots inside every door of our house. I don't know why we need so many pairs of boots, and it's not actually just Tony, it's me, the kids. We all have like muck boots, you know, just regular boots. Like we just have so many pairs of boots, and the ones you're willing to get muddy, or you want to step and poop in, or just I there's boots everywhere, and they are essential. You can't go outside and in your sandals. There's been so many times Tony's like, cows are out, come help me, and I'm like wearing Birkin stocks. That just doesn't work out. So you have to get you had to have boots.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

You you both mentioned that spring and summer are your favorite seasons on the ranch. What makes them so special? Because I would imagine they're also maybe the muddiest seasons on the ranch.

SPEAKER_03 27:38

They are spring is always muddy, and that's where the muck boots are good. But um, the summer is just mostly because there's calves and um, you know, we love the babies. And then just because it's not snowing or freezing, and you can actually go outside. So that's and just the work is easier, the chores aren't as grueling. That's how I see it.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, yeah. I I just like spring, it's everything's green and coming back to life. It it kind of is my payment for making it through the winter.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

So anyone that's lived in a climate like uh either of ours understands that Satan.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Oh, yeah. It's it's like living on the frozen tundra here. So I don't it it's crazy that we stay, but there's no way we're leaving.

SPEAKER_03 28:34

Like, well, maybe if you don't live in Russia.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Yeah, we don't get a lot of visitors in the wintertime.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Well, what tradition or values do you hope to carry forward as you continue to grow Dirt Bag Ranch?

SPEAKER_03 28:46

Uh just hard work and reward.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

Yeah. Um, so it's kind of funny. All of our kids are older and grown and moved out, and they kind of missed being on the ranch, but we were blessed with a with a kid that's seven now. Almost eight. Almost eight. And he is he is a huge help and uh very interested in what we got going on. So it's it kind of um it's pretty cool to me that he's probably gonna carry on what we're doing. You know, I hope that he will. So the other kids, it's you know, it's late for them. They've already got their paths in life. So um, it's pretty cool that he's around to kind of carry something on. I wasn't really planning a legacy, but you know, it's working out with him.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

So it's very cool. Well, in our in our pre-recording questionnaire, we asked you one of your favorite quotes, and uh this is this is the part where we're gonna have a little fun, I think. So your favorite quote was if you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

So tell me a little bit about what that means to you in the day-to-day life of being a rancher.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Well, so there's a lot of mistakes. I it's something that I've been told by a hundred people every time that I complain about something, that's the answer I get. So every time that I have a problem with cows, I just think back at that. You know, I'm dumb, but I'm tough. It keeps me from complaining because I don't like to tell myself that.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

So when you all sent that through, I had to Google its origin. So that phrase, I guess, comes from a Roger Allen Wade song, which became the famous uh that song became famous in the Jackass movies because of Johnny Knoxville. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_00 30:47

I I know the song, but I didn't know that that's how it became famous. I have ran cranes my whole life, so I've worked with a lot of ironworks workers and stuff like that. And that's that's their pretty common phrase. So I just picked up on it.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Well, we're gonna make a little game of it here. So I'm gonna say a statement, and you all are gonna tell me if it's dumb or tough. All right. Fixing a sense in negative 40 wind chill. Tough.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

I'm gonna say it's dumb because you should have built it better in the first time.

SPEAKER_03 31:26

Sometimes you have to. You you have to be tough.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Chasing cattle in sandals. And I had this one on the list before you said you weren't working.

SPEAKER_03 31:37

So that's dumb. And I've done it.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Never had sandals. I've done hay dudes a couple of times, but not sandals.

SPEAKER_02 31:48

Buying hay, sight unseen.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

That is dumb.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

Um loading a long horn that doesn't want to be loaded. Tough.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Yeah, definitely tough.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Naming your ranch dirtbag ranch.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

That's tough. That is tough right there.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

Yeah. I still I still stand by the name.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

It's funny because I've I, you know, I've had reservations about this name. And uh, you know, it's fine for us, you know, and in our closed group. And I'm like, oh, what are people gonna think? But it usually comes across pretty good. Um so Ryan Culpepper, I was talking to him, and uh I I mentioned our ranch page for him to look at because I was asking him questions about a cow. And when I told him, he kind of giggled it, he goes, That's funny. So, you know, I don't know how to feel about that sometimes, but I just keep on going. So we're keeping.

SPEAKER_03 32:54

I feel like people will remember the name.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

They do, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:58

You talked about how marketing's so important, that's just a great piece of marketing.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Right.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Well, let's talk a little bit about beef. So you sell beef directly, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:11

Well, that was a goal. Um we're we're finding there's some challenges in that. The the biggest challenge that I'm having is USDA um and and qualified butchers. So I was thinking that it was a really good way to cold cows that I didn't want, which I still believe. But like I said, there's certain challenges that come with it. So it's easy for me to sell local beef, um, but it's really hard for me to sell outside of my local area. So there's some things that I need to figure out about that. I still want to do a bead program. I would love the opportunity to be in a room with somebody that knew more about it than me. But uh it's it's something that's gonna carry on. We have, you know, we've done animals and we've had people eat eat our animals, and they were all impressed. They've all liked it. So I haven't gotten any bad feedback or negative, you know. So that's just something that's gonna take a little more pre preparation on our end.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

Do you have to do much marketing locally, or do you have folks that anytime you, you know, send one to the butcher, they'll take a quarter, a half, a whole, you know, whatever it might be?

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Um done some marketing. Yeah. We've just mostly to get the word out in the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Yeah, and it it didn't take off like I wanted it to, but I I think that there's there's something there, you know. So, like I said, that's something that I'm gonna continue. And I I see that in our future. It's it's hard when you live in an area where there's so much beef being raised. Um, a lot of people are closed up and they don't want to try, or you know, they're they like their beef and their wild game, and then to try and get your beef into them is it's been tricky.

SPEAKER_02 35:13

Well, let's tap talk a little bit about your website and technology. Um, so how is having a hired hand website helped to share your story um as first generation ranchers and you know, maybe reach readers from across the nation or just within Soda Springs?

SPEAKER_03 35:31

I think the website's great, but you work with it more than I do.

SPEAKER_00 35:34

So yeah, I so I'm pretty new and and not real versed in the whole electronics thing, other than just like my personal Facebook and yelling and screaming at people, you know. So the website is is it's awesome to me. It's something that I've wanted for a while. And uh I I haven't quite figured out exactly all of the things that it does, but since I've gotten it, it just like um one of the things that's most important to me is is quality relationships with um my peers, I will say. And uh it's an excellent front door when I meet somebody new to refer them to it, and then they kind of get you know an idea of what I'm actually all about. Um and that's how I want to kind of use my website is to keep to keep that going. So I want to do a lot of work in keeping it fresh and adding what I can and this and that, and using that as my main tool in building relationships with new people.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

How much time do each of you spend looking at other longhorn websites each week?

SPEAKER_00 36:49

None. None right there.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

I don't look at a lot of websites.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

Are you looking at dog websites?

SPEAKER_03 36:56

I I do look at dogs. I look at cows like on social media a lot, but I don't get on a lot of websites.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

Yeah, when they when she's scrolling and one strikes her, she's like, ooh. And she may look into that, but she doesn't take it upon herself to find things. Um I spend not as much as I'd like to. I'd probably spend, oh, I'm gonna say about four, maybe five hours a week just looking at cows and thinking, boy, it'd be cool to have that one. Or this is the one I want. Or like recently, um there's a website that I looked at that has a another tempter daughter that looks just like uh in the horn. She looks just like the tempter daughter that we brought home. And I'm like, oh, I gotta have that. So um it just it's crazy to me the amount of things you can see, especially with hired hand. I love them. The coolest thing about it is I can go to anybody's website. You know, if I find somebody on uh, say Facebook that I've never heard of, the first thing I do is I go to their to their page and I look for a link. If I if I see that it's a hired hand site, I already know how to navigate that site because it's it's they're all pretty much basically set up the same way. And I love that because as soon as I get to the site, I know where to go for my drop-down menu, and I I can just navigate so well through all of them. I have not come up with one that was like I had to look to find things, it was just all automatically right there. So kudos to you because it it works well.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Thank you. Do you have a favorite one or two hired hand websites that you seem to find yourself constantly visiting, coming back to?

SPEAKER_00 38:59

I do. I, you know, I don't know if it's the site or if it's just the name or the animals, but um, like I I spend a lot of time on Buxtons and uh um the whistling Wonghorn Ranch. A lot of that's because of Facebook. She's has always got great pictures, so I'm constantly on her site to see, you know. Or I and I say her, I should say them, but Danielle's usually the one that posted all the pictures and everything. So um, and Siller. I I look at Siller and of course Randy at new age all the time. I like to see what's changing, what they're moving around. So those are the sites that I frequent the most.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

What about Hired Hand Live? Do you have you participated in any sales online through Hired Hand Live?

SPEAKER_00 39:55

I have not yet.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

What about you, Monica? Have you secretly bought any cattle he doesn't know about?

SPEAKER_03 40:03

Yeah. I have a secret pasture.

SPEAKER_00 40:08

Um that that's something that we're gonna get into. Um, in fact, your your biggest selling feature of of your website was how it pays for itself through auctions and stuff. So um it's just a matter of logistics for me on time and what am I gonna do afterwards? You know, how am I gonna make this happen? So, I mean, I'm I'm just a guy with a job. So a lot of times I don't have the time that I need, and it's tough to make schedules work. So I don't uh integrity of it is is pretty important to me. So I don't want to get myself in a situation where I hurt that for myself, if that makes any sense.

SPEAKER_02 40:53

Yeah. Have you all put an animal in one of our monthly sales yet? That you're that you get to put one in for being a customer.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

No, I have not. I haven't even gotten a chance to see how it all works quite yet. So, and I'm the guy I have to see it three or four times before I even think that, oh, this is a reality. So um, that is my biggest winner plan is to get familiar with that and how it works and this and that.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

Well, it's super easy. We can talk about it off camera here in a little bit when we're done, but I'll fill Monica in and then she can keep you uh on task with those deadlines.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

Yep, that's that's the way to do it right there. Don't talk to me, talk to her. She totally keeps me on task.

SPEAKER_02 41:38

So well, looking ahead, what are you most excited about for the next few years for Dirtbag Ranch?

SPEAKER_03 41:46

I would say just learning and a little bit of growth, not a lot.

SPEAKER_00 41:53

See what I mean? A little bit. She keeps me grounded.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

I'm cautious, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

Are you refinance everything?

SPEAKER_03 42:01

I'm quality over quantity.

SPEAKER_02 42:04

Are you all planning to travel to any events or try any new fraturities or sales or anything like that?

SPEAKER_03 42:11

Every year we say, next year we're going to that show, or next year we're gonna make time for this. And so, yes, it's definitely in the plans. And I I want to say 26, we're gonna we're gonna go to something. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. We're gonna get to Texas.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

We we made plans, or I made plans for the later half of the year to get to the horn showcase. And I even told people that I was going, still couldn't get it done. So um we're gonna rearrange our schedules and have a lot more time for that kind of stuff. And, you know, like I said, um I listen to a lot of these podcasts because when I meet people, I don't expect to be sitting in a room on one-on-one with them to hear the information that I hear from them on their what on their podcast. So now it's a point of meeting these people and actually figuring out what we're gonna talk about.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Well, I feel like there's never a loss for what to talk about when it comes to longhorns, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

That is for sure. So, and then I get completely meserized talking to some people, like, wow, they know so much that I just forget everything that I know, which you know isn't as much, but I'm learning, I'm picking it up.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

So Well, I know you both kind of still consider yourself newbies, but what advice would you give to someone considering getting into Longhorns, or maybe, you know, especially as first-generation ranchers like yourselves? Patience and money.

SPEAKER_03 43:53

Patience and money. Patience and money. Yep. I will say that in the in, I mean, even still, but in the very beginning of uh Tony's kind of vision for the Longhorns, I was like, you're crazy, and this is like way over your head and too much, and just kind of seeing how some things have matured since we've got a website and since we've, you know, uh pushed our social media marketing a little bit more. Um, just some of the things that have come up, people that have called us for, you know, certain things as far as our cows go. I I think that I maybe need to step back and say, like, I'm not gonna say you were right, but we're careful. We're we are recording right now. He'll replay this over and over. No, I remembered, so I had to step back.

SPEAKER_00 44:51

You can keep that in there though. I don't mind.

SPEAKER_03 44:54

But I it just takes patience and time and and there uh and there have been Lot of critics, you know, people that like d are wondering what we think we're doing, and you know, and we are in an area of of big cattle and ranching, and so I I think a lot of people might think we're clowns or we're not sure what we're doing. And so it's kind of fun to see when things are happening for us. So I would say just patience and strong will and money.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

I say a plan. You should definitely have a plan and research, just like the PNC shoot. You know, PNC is not the only shoot, of course, but um you definitely are not gonna get by with just a regular shoot. So uh, you know, just knowing things like that, because myself, I didn't I didn't have any idea. I'm like, oh yeah, I can get that cow in there. They can tilt their head, they get where they need to be. Yeah, no, it doesn't work that way. So um, and then, you know, I'm gonna go to the old adage, quality over quantity, you know, you don't want to end up with a bunch of stuff that you don't want or is not gonna do you any good to have. I don't mean to sound like this is all just a big competition because you know you still have your own preference and what you like, but it seems to me if you want to move somewhere, or at least the direction that I want to go personally, you really have to have something to go somewhere. You know, look into that and decide what you actually want to do.

SPEAKER_02 46:35

Well, you said you listen to most of our podcasts, so you'll know that I usually end with this. Is there is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want our listeners to know about the ranch, about your cattle, anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 46:50

I can't think of anything that we haven't talked about. Um I I fumble with a lot of answers, of course. I have this big grand plan of, oh yeah, I'm gonna nail this one. But you know, things run away from me. I get excited and I can't think of names or anything like that. So uh I think we've talked about everything that I wanted to talk about.

SPEAKER_02 47:11

Perfect. Well, thank you both so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_00 47:15

Thank you. Thanks for having us. Hopefully, people will hear this and look at our stuff. I'm sure they will also that's our goal.

SPEAKER_02 47:24

So we'll link everything in the show notes as well so it's easy to find.

SPEAKER_00 47:29

Awesome. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 47:31

Thanks for joining us on From the Pasture with Hired Hand. We hope you enjoyed this visit to Dirtbag Ranch and picked up something new about ranching life, pedigree livestock, and the people behind the cattle. If you liked today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. You can always explore more stories from the pasture by visiting our website or following us on social media. Until next time, remember to appreciate the pastures you roam and the traditions that make them special.