SPEAKER_05 0:00

Hi there, I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie. We're the owners of Hired Ham Software. 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. 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. Welcome back to From the Pasture Podcast. I'm your host, Molly Clubb, and today's episode is a very special one for us. We're sitting down with Heather Shepherd, joined by her dad Peter, from Shepherd Farm on Apple Hill. In 2026, Shepherd Farm is celebrating 50 years on the land, a huge milestone that represents family, stewardship, and a deep commitment to agriculture. They're also well known for their highland cattle, a breed with a rich history and a loyal following. Heather, Peter, thank you both for being here. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_04 1:07

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 1:09

Let's go ahead and start at the very beginning. Can you tell us how Shepherd Farm on Apple Hill got its start and what this land has meant to you and your family for the last 50 years?

SPEAKER_04 1:30

Started by my my grandfather started buying land in the Hannibary. And uh my involvement started when I got out of college, and we had a lot of pasture that wasn't being used for anything. And I wanted to do something with it. So I looked around and um looked at a lot of different cattle, different types of cattle, and um and settled on the Highlanders. Um they had cute faces. Um so um that's how I got started. I mean the farm had been a uh cash crop small grain farm from the time of the twenties.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

And uh my interest really only interest was in the cattle. Um so we we got our first highlanders in uh October, which is of course a terrible time to get cattle because you figure out what you don't know in a hurry.

SPEAKER_04 2:53

Uh from feeding to watering to everything. So uh that was our start. Um the family has had a multi-generational interest in preserving land. Uh whenever land adjacent to our farm becomes available, we usually purchase it. Um we are in a very fast-growing part of Pennsylvania. And uh what isn't farmland very quickly becomes under housed. So our farm has uh continued to grow and uh continued in the interest in highlanders.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

So I really got started very late in the game. Um after college and I got married, um, we moved to Texas and I spent five years in Texas, and I think that's where I got the real appreciation of what my dad had been producing was an all-natural grass-fed product. And when I moved back in 2007, I moved back from Texas. And then in 2008, I started selling the beef um at farmers markets as an all-natural grass-fed beef and was really focused on the beef sales side. And over time, dad encouraged me to come out. Uh, hey, I'm working with these clients that are coming in. I could really use a second set of hands um selling these cattle because in 2009, 2010, Highlands were really a harder sell. Um, there wasn't an interest. Um, they were a heritage breed, a slower grow, and you know, just there just wasn't the interest that there is now. So over time, dad invited me uh to the fold, and I got into selling the live animals and then basically um moved into it being my daily job around 2016-2017.

SPEAKER_05 5:11

So you mentioned that highlands weren't super popular, you know, back when you started, but Peter, were they very common at all in Pennsylvania when you started? Um were there other, you know, ranches that you could go visit to learn from?

SPEAKER_04 5:25

Or what did people say there were only three herds in Pennsylvania when I started. And uh actually some of the registration numbers of our cattle were in the eight, nine thousand range, and now they're up in the sixty-two thousand, sixty-four thousand range. So uh a lot has happened, a lot of farms have started raising. But uh I uh again they just I looked at a lot of breeds, and although they all have great traits, uh I just settled on the Highlanders.

SPEAKER_05 6:06

How many head did you start with?

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Um It would have been uh eight cows and a bull.

SPEAKER_04 6:16

So where's name is legend? He was.

SPEAKER_05 6:22

I feel like there's a story there.

SPEAKER_04 6:27

Well, whenever he wanted to uh change pastures, he would just put his head down in the wire fence until the wire was low enough and then just step over. So it was uh it was a challenge keeping him where we wanted him to be.

SPEAKER_05 6:46

Well, tell me a little bit about what the farm looked like in those early years. So, you know, we're gonna as as our interview progresses today, we're gonna talk a lot about things that are important to you all, like the land stewardship aspect, um, you know, different things about the cattle and and the preserving the breed. Uh, but just back in those early days, what did the farm look like? Uh, maybe talk me through, you know, changes that you've had to make physically uh uh to the land or to buildings, you know, to support your growing program, uh, just just those types of changes.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

Well, I started with uh two pastures that had been left uh to grow up in briars and weeds and whatnot. Uh I didn't have a I didn't have a usable fence around either one of them. Um so started with getting the fence back. Highlanders will eat things that other cattle will just go around. They'll bypass. Um and they're very easy keepers. Um I don't think they eat nearly as much as um Hereford or an Angus. Uh but they're not they're not as big either. So um but they will make use of poor pasture, which is exactly what I had. I had to put a water system in um because when there had been animals there previously, they just used a siphon and a hose. That didn't work very well in the winter time. Um I had a variety of different systems I used. I used a Chinese water wheel to uh to fill a watering trough. Um then I went to a hydraulic ram, uh, which I used for several years. Um and then eventually broke down and um put an electrical service and uh uh the one pasture goes right by a stream, so I would pull water out of the stream uh to use our water, still use it that way.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

And that is the one trough that over the 50 years has never frozen, which is astonishing.

SPEAKER_05 9:37

What about can you talk to me a little bit about maybe how like your working pens or your fencing system has changed, or if you have um if you've adapted your outbuildings or you know your your barns over the years?

SPEAKER_04 9:50

Well, we initially I built two um pole buildings, just uh a one-sided building uh with a corral where I could um isolate a cow and calf. Um when they have problems, you want to keep them in for a couple days. But all cattle are very uh subject to getting pneumonia. So you don't want to have them in a closed building that's nice and warm and whatnot. You think you're doing the best thing for them and the second they get outside they uh they'll get pneumonia. So uh originally it was just a one-sided pole building. Um now we use uh the barns that are on the farm. Um as um we have a nursery under the one. Uh we use the original bullpens that were there from the twenties at um when they excuse me had a um a dairy farm there. Uh so we used what we've had, we've updated them. Um but yeah, that's and we used I always used wire fence. Wire fence, box wire fence was the easiest fence to put up. Uh when you could get good good wire fence, it was great. It's very difficult to get that wire now, and actually we're transitioning over to a four-board fence.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Well, one of the things dad touched on.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

Yeah, sorry, Dad.

SPEAKER_04 11:44

Part of our operation is a sawmill. So we we saw our own boards and uh make our own fence.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

What I was gonna add to that is um we had a situation where we had a really late snow and the calf and and I know we'll talk about it later, but the calf ended up living we had to pull the calf because the the calf was just too cold and we had no place to take the mom and the baby. Um so the calf ended up living in my bathroom for two and a half weeks with my small children, which was awesome, but also not ideal. So that's next year uh we worked on cleaning out some of those older buildings that had been you had other uses. And so now we have um using our 1927 bank barn, two long pens that we can break into four separate stalls as a nursery just in case we need to bring mom and a calf in um to get out of the weather, whether it's you know, six inches of mud or six inches of snow. But typically they calve in the field. Um, but that was one of the big changes that was took place during my time. And dad's right, with the four-board fences and um the wire not being as strong, it's much better for us to move towards that four-board fence. And it's kind of easier to repair in some cases when cars go through the fence.

SPEAKER_05 13:18

Let's switch gears a little bit and let's focus on the family operation aspect of the farm. So, what has it been like uh working together as a father-daughter team?

SPEAKER_04 13:29

Um well, from my perspective, um I like to work with the animals. I like to make hay. And of course, with the size of a herd now, making hay is a major undertaking. Um but I'm not good at selling. I've never been good at selling. And Heather has um the ability to market these animals, uh, know what the market is, and uh um make uh friendships and relationships with other highland farms that are long-lasting and and work well for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Dad has a wealth of knowledge on this breed that I mean I I tell people on a regular basis, I stand on the shoulders of of dad and those people who I've learned from because my background is not in agriculture. So, and a lot of it is learning by doing. Um we've pulled calves together. Um, you know, it's not my favorite thing to call dad at two in the morning and be like, hey, uh, I can't get it out. It's, you know, and comes up and and we save the cow, and you know, you have those really horrible moments, and then you have some really amazing ones where you're all working together and you get the calf out and everybody's great, you know. Um, but I've really I I've I've learned so much from him. If if I learn a fourth of what he knows about tractors, I will consider that an absolute gift. Um, dad's breadth of knowledge on equipment and making hay is is phenomenal. Um and you know, that's we work well together because it's it's I'm going here, you're going there, and the concurrent activity brings us to a place that's beneficial for the farm, the cows, and the operation.

SPEAKER_04 15:38

I have to tell one story on Heather. Jeez. Uh when she was uh I guess you were you might have been a teenager.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Are you talking about the kids?

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Annual function in our county called the bull ball. And it was a dinner dance that every bro everybody brought their herd bull. And the idea was to have as many breeds there as possible. So we'd have dinner, and then and then they'd put the tarps down, and you'd bring your bull into the conference center, the fire hall. We even had it in a Sheraton one time, and you talk about your bull, and uh then you take your bull out, next bull comes in, and you put your bulls back on the trailer, and that excuse me, and then it's a dinner dance. Um, but I sent Heather and her brother loose with this um six, eight-month-old bull through the crowd. Um and the uh the number of of herd owners that came up to me and go, I hate you. My wife wants one of these in the worst way. But, you know, you can say that was my attempt at marketing.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Yeah. Yeah. And and what's funny, Molly, is that in some ways I have borrowed from that book because I have people who are skeptical on how well behaved our bulls are. And I have three daughters, and all three of them have trained bulls. My oldest two have really trained the majority of the bulls that left this farm. Um, and so when someone says, Well, are they good around kids? I send a video of my daughters going out in the field, putting the halter on, taking them for a walk, you know. Um, so yeah, using using your child to market animals. But it also is a great indication of the animal's disposition, too.

SPEAKER_04 18:28

They uh they are very intelligent animals, and if they're treated with kindness, they'll return that kindness. And our bulls come when they're called, and uh it's it's interesting to uh see Heather work with them. If they've done something wrong, she scolds them, they hang their head. Um, but it's a it's a good working relationship.

SPEAKER_05 18:58

Well, you mentioned a brother, you mentioned some children. Um, is there anyone else in the family that plays a role? Does everyone kind of get involved, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_04 19:07

No, it's pretty just the two of us.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Well, and Eva and Karis and Maisie are my daughters.

SPEAKER_04 19:14

Oh, her uh, yes. Heather's daughters.

SPEAKER_05 19:19

What do they take an interest in specifically, Heather? Besides helping train the bulls?

SPEAKER_00 19:24

Yeah. Um, well, they actually help halter break all the animals. Um, they work on the farm. So on weekends, they're doing herd checks, trough cleanings, um, the bullpen clean outs. Um my oldest is um, she's at college now, but she's been working on the farm since she was 13. Um they've helped pull cabs, um, helped rebuild fence when cars go through, helped, you know, I don't want to say chase animals, but you know, when they get out, get them back in the pasture, that sort of thing. Um even when we have bottle babies that end up on my side of the farm at my barn, they help raise the bottle babies. Um, everything from cleaning the pen to, you know, actually making the bottle and the fun part. Um my oldest is actually, I think, because of her time on the farm and realizing what a special place it is, uh, she's majoring in biology and environmental studies with a concentration on conservation. So this summer she's actually going out to Yellowstone with her university to conserve native medicinal plants at Yellowstone. So I'd like to think that the seeds of that were planted here, um, which is pretty awesome. Um, my middle daughter um comes with me to do sales. Um she is a far more gregarious person. So a lot of our agritourism events, Karis is there talking with people. Um, and then my youngest is 11 and she works in the store. So we have a farm store that sells beef and merchandise, and she's behind the counter and talking to people, and she's just getting to the age where I feel that she can help guide some of the agritourism events and things like that that we do. Um, it's just interesting because we have found that um not everybody believes an 11-year-old. So, you know, I'd like her to be a little bit older before um I subject her to that sort of thing. But all three of them halter help halter break calves and get involved.

SPEAKER_05 21:39

So you touched on a few things here that I want to talk about a little further. And correct me if I'm wrong. Um, but when you and I were working on the outline, I I think I understood this correctly. So you halter break your animals for temperament, but you're not you're not halter breaking them for the show ring because you aren't active in showing, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:57

We show at York State Fair, which is the state fair for Pennsylvania. And that's about it. We went to Denver this year to celebrate our 50th. Um, and that was a lot of work. And I have great respect for those people who make showing their weekend. Um, but we do York Fair largely because it's an educational event, not a show event. So there's no clipping, there's to be no clipping, no fitting, um, and no paint at York because they want us to show Highlands as they are, to educate the public that's coming. This is a heritage breed. We we're the day after the longhorns. So longhorns go first. Then they tried to do it all in one day. It just went on too long. So we have our own day now. Um, so that's the one we're involved in um because it's more of an educational event. Um, but we do have some animals that have a temperament for showing, and so those are the ones we take to York. The idea of halter breaking all of our heifers, and you know, obviously we halter break the bulls and one or two steers. The idea behind halter training is that I want the first experience that animal has on a halter to be a positive one so that when they get to be full size, God forbid they have a calving incident, an injury, anything like that. If they have to have a halter put on, I don't want them to be like, oh my God. Like, I want them to know, okay, this human's trying to help me. So they do have long memories. Um, you know, we have had some older girls that we've been able to throw lassos over their horns and they fight it while they're trying to, you know, deliver a calf or they're injured. And I'd rather avoid that stage of the process. And it also helps out the future buyer, too, for their um animal husbandry and and their future with that animal.

SPEAKER_05 23:59

So our listeners that might be more familiar with the breeds that they raise, whether that be, you know, Longhorn, uh, Angus, Hereford, that type of stuff, what would you say to folks that are maybe rolling their eyes at the fact that you take the time to, you know, go through that trouble, as some would look at it, of halter breaking, you know, the animals and that type of stuff. And then additionally, tell me about, I'm sure you've gotten feedback from people who have purchased your animals, thankful that you did that. So, you know, tell me a few of those uh stories.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Well, first of all, I would say that everybody needs to do what works for them in their pasture. Um, it's not something that works for everybody. Um, but the reason we started doing that was because of situations we had with older cows and it being harder to work with them and making the conscious choice of, okay, would this help? Would this help if? And it also gives me an idea of personality. Um, our highland buyer is very different than a commercial herd. So for those people who run 400 animals, no, this isn't gonna work. We run right now, we're at 194 animals. Um, it's calving season. And no, we don't halter break all the steers. Um, but they all all the steers come to a white bucket full of grain. So I can move my animals that way. Um we do that because, again, it is a decision we made based on experience and making it easier for us. Um, the feedback that we have had from our customers um has been very positive. Uh, some of our, some of our um continued customers come from the fact that we halter train every animal. And I've even said to them, you know, she's not crazy about being on the halter, um, but you know, she'll be a great brood cow for you, that sort of thing. And they move to the new pasture and they're with the new family, and they become a house pet. And they want to be brushed and combed and all that because the seeds were planted here and they bloomed somewhere else. Totally fine with that. Um, but one of the things that we do, Molly, is I ask the customer what their goals are for owning Highlands. Um, as I started selling with dad, um, I discovered that one, it takes a lot of time to interview people as to whether they should own a cow, let alone a hamster. Um, some people have one acre and they need, they don't need a cow, they need something else. Um, so we developed a questionnaire, and the very last question is what are your goals for owning these animals? Knowing you're going to have to feed them, knowing you're going to have to have the vet out, all these things. Um and once I learn what their goals are, then I try to match the animal with the goal. If their goal is to be a beef producer, then they don't need that snuggly cow. They really don't. They need to be able to go get the calf and work the animal. Um, but if it's, you know, I want to, I want to raise broodstock and do agritourism, then that's a different animal. Not every animal wants to do agritourism. Not every animal wants to be around people. Um, and not every Highland should have their genetics put back into the pool if they choose violence or um they're they're too hard to work. And I take the reputation that dad has had very seriously, and I would do I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that. So I want to sell an animal that meets the goals of the customer. And I again, I have I can think of three examples where we've thrown a halter on, tried to throw a halter on the animal and it was just too dangerous. And now she's happily in the beef program. So, you know, you don't want to sell something as broodstock that is dangerous to work.

SPEAKER_05 28:10

Well, I feel like this is a really good segue um into a section just about Highland education in general. So for our folks listening that may not be familiar with this breed, let's talk a little bit about what makes them unique. So talk to me a little bit about their overall maternal traits.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Dad, do you want to do this? Or do you want me to?

SPEAKER_04 28:31

Oh they are uh very protective of their calves. They uh they never leave their calves unattended. Sometimes you'll see one cow babysitting three or four calves, but they don't leave them. Um and they are they are very good mothers. Um we've had some cows that that and I'm sure this happens with all breeds, but we've had some cows that that would help nurse somebody else's calf. Uh that mother wasn't capable of giving enough milk.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

So um they're they are very maternal and protective.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Um honestly, we very rarely have to pull a calf. Um they have great calving ease. And um but on the whole, Highlands are very docile. Um, they're easy to work, and so when you have one that chooses violence, you you don't want to breed that no matter how good their pedigree is. Um you want to make sure that you're pushing forward that easy handling um animal and those genetics. Um, you know, that like dad said, they are they're excellent foragers. They eat a wide variety of things. If you look at our pastures, all the tree lines are trimmed, and it's not because we went along with the trimmer, it's because the cows are eating the leaves regardless, which sometimes I wish they wouldn't, but you know, they do it anyway, and they're fine. Um and of course, you have the horns, which all breeding stock registered breeding stock has to have the horns. Um, and and they use those for temperature control, um, communication, protection. And there's even studies that show that um because the horn goes in through the sinus, it improves their ability to smell. Um, and then you have the long coat, the dual coat, which is very distinctive. Um, and that is your long guard hairs on top that keep the weather out and insulate them with a downy undercoat. Um, so they prefer to have an inch of snow on their back to um, you know, the extreme hundred degree temperatures and that sort of thing. Uh right now, a lot of them look awful because we had a uh warm snap, and so around May, they start looking terrible because they're shedding out. Um, you know, and then once they shed out, they look fine again. But they look like they they god, they look like a matted mess until they rub all that off, which is what the box fence is for.

SPEAKER_05 31:19

So I know this may be kind of a hot topic, at least um, you know, from uh maybe the internet. Um what what is the correct or typical size for uh mature Highland cattle?

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Um males can get anywhere from 1,700 to 2,000 pounds. Uh we owned a bull that was probably, what would you say Barabbas was, dad? 2,400. He was massive.

SPEAKER_04 31:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

He's a massive bull. And then our cows range in height or excuse me, range in weight. Um, I think our smallest is probably around 1100, and our biggest is pushing 1,600 pounds. Um, miniature highlands are not a thing. Um, they're just not. And I'm not gonna hop on that soapbox.

SPEAKER_04 32:05

Wasn't Barabbas the one that was in the wedding? He was best bull in the wedding.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

Uh, two of our bulls have been in a wedding. Barabbas was in a wedding, and then Colum was in um a wedding also.

SPEAKER_04 32:20

See the bride in her dress. You see the groom and the bulls standing between them. So he looked very happy to be there.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

He was. They both were. But um, yeah, Highlands are not a miniature breed.

SPEAKER_05 32:40

One of the things you touched on in one of your answers, Heather, was pedigree. Uh so talk to me a little bit about not only how important pedigree is for the breeding side of the stock, but also how long it took you to maybe learn, you know, what you were looking for in pedigrees for animals you were wanting to bring into the program. And Peter, same for you, you know, when you were just getting started, a little bit about that learning curve and what what maybe what popular bloodlines or what bloodlines you've come to inject into your program that you like.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

I'm gonna let Dad start.

SPEAKER_04 33:13

Well, uh when I started the the premier herd country was Pitcher Mountain from Maine. And they had the best animals. But Howlanders Highlanders have uh had when I started had the opportunity to improve uh their confirmation through the selection of bulls, through the selection of cows that you allowed to remain on the farm and the ones you didn't send down the road. Um and in recent years Heather's been working with uh a variety of bulls, whether it's through AI um or whether it's um we borrowed bulls for the winter. Um farm owners are happy to get rid of that obligation for the winter. Um and it works out well for us. So you can add whatever you want to that.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Um I started learning pedigrees um by using the American Highland Cattle Herdbook um and seeing what family lines I liked, what lines were repetitious. Um one of the things dad imparted to me was it's important for an animal to have clean genetics. So we don't do any line breeding on the farm. Um, we try to make sure that the animal is genetically diverse as possible. And if there is a repetition, there has to be a reason for it. Or um, like for example, there are times where um I'll see a bull that he's an impact bull, and I'll see him as a grandparent on one side and a great grandparent on the other. And that's okay to, in my opinion, to repeat an animal who is an impact bull. Um, but there are there are so many genetic options right now and so many bulls that have been pulled for artificial insemination that maybe aren't as good as they should be. Um, we have done some collection on farm, and it's because the animal is consistent, has excellent confirmation, and really gives things to his calves that I can say, yes, Snowland Olaf will make your animal look like a cinder block with a nice wide back end for easy calving and adds length. And he does it like a cookie cutter to every single one of his kids. Um so we collected him. Um I try to find when I do artificial insemination, try to find what their average calf weights are, show me some progeny if there is any. Um, I like a bull that has a record before he's collected, as opposed to just collecting him because, oh, I have this bull. Um, and it's easy money. So I'm I'm a little picky now that I have taken the time to really research our herd and see from where we came and then try to figure out what we need to improve and where we we need to go. Um, we have two bulls right now that I'm super happy with, their progeny. Um, and uh we just sold Snowland Olaf, and I think he's he's been a phenomenal bull for us. We do have his semen available, and the two bulls I currently have one is from Shat Acres, who is the oldest current herd in the nation. Um, and Legacy has given us some wonderfully consistent calves. And then on the other side, uh, our newest guy, his name is uh W. L. Nitty Gritty, and he is from Winland Flats, and he is a son of Philip of Glenorm, which is a Scottish import. I thought it was really important to bring Scottish bloodlines into the fold. Um, but one thing that, and when I was talking with Josh Krenz about it, um, I said, I want to see pictures of his mom. And he's like, Oh, you know, this is this pretty photo. I'm like, no, no, let's FaceTime. I want to see her walk in the field. I want to look at what she looks like. And let me tell you, if if Candy ever came up for sale, I would buy nitty mom, even though I don't need her. Because I think it's important for to know what the maternal side looks like just as much as the uh sire, because yeah, you get a lot of confirmation and and traits from the bull, but the damn does a lot too, especially when it comes to um disposition and um utter condition as well.

SPEAKER_05 38:04

If each of you had to pick a favorite bull, dead or alive, all time ever, who would it be? Man.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

Uh man, Dad, that's hard.

SPEAKER_04 38:19

Favorite bull? For me, it would be Buddy.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Oh yeah, I know. Buddy was great.

SPEAKER_04 38:26

He's he was maybe didn't have the best confirmation, but he was Oh no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Buddy had great confirmation. Great confirmation.

SPEAKER_04 38:32

He was just uh he was a hell of a guy.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Oh my god, we kept him for six years. We have so many daughters in the field. But if Buddy wasn't done working, and I and and part of it's confirmation, and he is an impact sire, but he was a huge dude. And if he wasn't done working, and you pushed him in the corral and we're like, all right, time to go, he would just look at you and and walk over the gate and stick his horns in the gate and lift the gate off the hinges and then politely set it back down, walk out, and the next day he'd be back in the crowd to let you know, okay, I'm done now. Thank you. Um, just a polite, easy guy. And his daughters have great feet, great udders, wonderful dispositions. Um and and our our herd is just full of buddy daughters, uh, because dad liked him so much. Um I'm I'm really hard pressed to pick a favorite because you know I would say Olaf, um, because of how consistent he is, um, his calves have great calf vigor, average calf weight of uh 58 pounds. Um, you know what you're getting. And his disposition, I mean, I I cried when he left. Um, he's in South Carolina right now with a great family, but he, again, easy to work with. Um, when it was time to bring him in, I would walk out with him and just put the halter on. And and he, um, because we had him during COVID, and of course I had nothing better to do. My daughters and I saddle broke him. So my youngest has actually ridden a bull because we threw a saddle on him and he was like, oh, okay. Um, and he didn't care. Um, they actually presented the national anthem from the Olaf's back holding the American flag. So maybe it's a little of an emotional. I love this bull. Um, but there are some great bulls out there. Like I'm excited about the Philip of Glenorm that we now have in the fold. I think he's a great-looking bull. I've always liked Angus Eighth of Dunvegan, um, just because of the way he's put together. Um, they're very traditional Scottish guys. And I feel like Olaf is a very traditional Scottish bull. Um, he's not trying to be the biggest, the baddest, whatever. He just is, I feel, what a Highlands should look like.

SPEAKER_05 40:56

Do you feel like the breed overall is losing some of that Scottish influence? Is that why you feel strongly about kind of interjecting some of that back in? Or tell me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

I don't, I don't know that the breed is losing it. I think um, I mean, there's some amazing bulls we've used out of Germany. Um, and I will butcher the way they pronounce it, but Claudekom Moore the second von Sunderburg is out of the von Sunderberg fold in Germany. That's another bull that I absolutely love. His progeny, we've gotten three out of him, two of them heifers. Oh my gosh. Um, absolutely outstanding bull. But I think sometimes, and I I probably goes with all breeds, um, Highlands aren't supposed to be gigantic. They they are they were the traditional family bull, or excuse me, traditional family cow. So as we go for bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, are we losing the ability to procreate to to keep that or to keep that traditional size? Um, you know, sometimes if you feed an animal for show stock to win, so it's the biggest animal in the ring, how does that affect the animal's long-term ability to produce? What is their progeny going to look like? Are they gonna be that big? Or is it just because they've had that much nutrition that they've gotten so big and then their progeny is actually smaller? Um, so I don't really have an answer to that. Um, but I think we have to remember who we are. Um, dad's always been looking for that traditional Scottish type, that traditional Scottish animal. So that's part of the reason I I turned to Shat Acres because they also have that same philosophy of um that traditional bull size. And then um, you know, being able to kind of reach into Scotland and get an unrelated bull um from Winland Flats has been a great boon. But, you know, that's that's one woman's opinion in her own pasture.

SPEAKER_05 43:02

Well, another pick one question. Um, we're recording this interview during calving season, as you mentioned. Uh, what calf or what pairing are you most excited for this year to hit the crow?

SPEAKER_00 43:13

We got our first nitty babies. Um, and uh, oh my goodness, so happy about seeing the fruit, because it's a gamble, you know. You buy him at under a year old and you're looking at your mom and you're looking at dad and you're like, please let this animal be good. But you could see his shoulder was really great, and he had this big back end and his disposition. I mean, we picked him up in a parking lot in Frederick. Um, and he walked onto the trailer, kind of looked around, and you know, um, just wonderful. And the calves that are out are so consistent, um, and they're vibrant. Um, and you know, it's kind of exciting. That's what I was excited about. We have four calves coming. We've got three of them on the ground, and they're healthy and nursing. And what I did with Nitty was I paired him with um one uh Woodwatch Ian daughter, who was a previous bull we had, an old Snowland Olaf daughter, an Apple Hill Dagda daughter, and a Apple Hill Mr. Tinsel. So all of the bulls that, you know, four different bull daughters paired with this new bull, what am I gonna get? And um because it's a huge genetic spread between those those four girls, and to see the consistency across not only different matrilineal lines, but also different sires is really exciting. Um, so we have one left. Um her name's Pixie, and um we'll see what Pixie gives us.

SPEAKER_05 44:48

What about you, Peter? Is there any one that she didn't mention that you're excited for?

SPEAKER_04 44:55

Um Well, we're trying this is Nettie's. First year. So it'd be very interesting to see how his calves turn out. Um but um no, not not particularly. I think we have what five on the ground now?

SPEAKER_00 45:16

We have six on the ground right now.

SPEAKER_04 45:18

Six.

SPEAKER_00 45:19

Legacy kids haven't shown up yet. I don't know what Leg Legacy was doing for the first two weeks out uh you know in May. Um but um this is our last round of Olaf kids in 194. So we're getting we're getting really good calves out of him right now. But like I said, I think Legacy was twiddling his thumbs or you know, doing a pasture sweep for the first two weeks. So but they'll all come like popcorn shortly.

SPEAKER_04 45:48

Um we have two calving seasons. We have the spring season that we're in the middle of right now, but our bigger season actually gives us fall calves. So we will have twice as many calves in the fall as we have now.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

Yeah, the fall is the fall is crazy.

SPEAKER_05 46:12

All right, well, let's switch gears a little bit again and talk about this big 50 year celebration. Um, obviously, for anyone that's been in farming, ranching, 50 years is no small milestone. And add on top of that, Peter, like you mentioned, that the land has been in your family for even over a hundred years. Um as you both look back uh uh over the last 50 years or you know, however long you've been involved, what are you most proud of as a family and as a farm?

SPEAKER_04 46:43

For me, it's that we found a uh sustainable business that can promote farming, uh that can that has I mean we uh we've done a lot with the land, we've improved the land, um and certainly the Highlanders are a uh a benefit to us, but also our community. Um we also uh we neighbor a uh our neighbor is a golf course that has a restaurant called Highland Taps and Tables and they sell our beef in the restaurant. So it is a uh it's a partnership that works very well. But again, our uh from what uh what I started with, we've come a long way. Um and the fact that Heather represents the fourth generation of our family to be involved and our kids hopefully find our way back after college. Uh find a way back come back to the farm and be a part of it. That'd be super.

SPEAKER_00 48:07

Um even though I haven't been I mean, highlands have always been a part of my life. Um when I was a kid it would not be unusual to have snow on the ground and a calf in the kitchen. Um but coming home af you know, after starting a family and getting involved, um, I I think it's it's been incredible to be able to do this. It allows me to be a mom and farm and bring my kids to work and teach them about the importance of agriculture, land stewardship, how precious farmland and green space is. Um, and then when we turn towards agritourism, to be able to share that with the community and maybe plant the seeds with kids that this is important. That agriculture, I mean, we are in two counties. We're in York and Adams County, and they are the fifth and sixth greatest agricultural producers in the state. So maybe these kids aren't working Highlands, but they could go into agriculture, they could see the importance of agriculture there. And I think the cows have been part of this community uh for so long that when we reach out and we partner with school districts to do fundraisers for either FFA or the music department, or we're doing things for Hanover Santa Cabin, where the cows go in in July and it's Christmas in July, and people, you know, pay to brush the cows, and that money goes towards Santa's cabin, which is a 90-year tradition in Hanover. Um, it's a great way to be able to partner with the community and and get them thinking about, you know, the importance of agriculture and these animals. Um, and the fact I get to do this with my dad and my kids is pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_05 50:05

What do you all have planned for your 50th celebration?

SPEAKER_00 50:10

So we have a couple things planned. Um, the big one is the national gathering for the American Highland Cattle Association uh will be held in June on our farm. We have invited speakers to come talk to, we're expecting about 200 farms. Um so we've invited speakers to come talk. Uh Joel Salatin from Polyface Farm will be there. Michelle Miller um will be there, and then a woman by the name of Tony Philippone. Uh Joel Salatin will be talking about extending heydays, pasture management, um, you know, all the wonderful things he talks about. Um Michelle Miller will be speaking on connecting with customers, whether you're selling broodstock, merchandise, or beef, how to connect with customers using social media, using the internet, that sort of thing. And um one thing that we are going to talk about that I'm I'm pretty excited about because I don't think it's talked about a lot. Uh Tony Filipone is um a speaker from a group called Master Grief. Um and farming has a lot of mental health um issues that come up that's under, you know, calf, calving loss, farm loss, um, farm crop loss. Um, and we don't talk about those things. Um so I'm hoping that her speaking can really touch on farming mental health and really um giving people tools to not only, you know, understand that sometimes there's nothing you can do. Sometimes the calf just dies. Um, but dealing and processing with that grief so you're not carrying it around. We find a lot of new producers are out between years three and five for um various reasons. Um dad started, I think, what are you up to, dad? 200 plus farms at this point. Um, so dad started a lot of farms over the years, and a lot of them are out between years three and five because um they don't they they don't have good pasture management or you know, hay prices and that sort of thing. Um, they don't know how to find customers for now. I have beef, now I have broodstock to sell, how do I do that? Or they have suffered a massive loss. So, and they can and they just don't recover from that. So our goal with this birthday celebration is like, hey, we've been doing this for 50 years, let's arm you with the tools so that maybe you can continue make past that hump three to five and and celebrate um our 50th year by empowering other farms to uh, you know, to continue on in farming. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_05 53:05

Thanks. If someone listening wants to get involved, wants to attend, whether they have cattle now or they're thinking about starting, um, what how can they get in touch with you? How can they learn more?

SPEAKER_00 53:17

Um, so the information is currently actually on the Mid-Atlantic Highland Cattles website to sponsor um whether it's a vendor event, because we are gonna have a big vendor fair there. My goal is to have all sorts of companies there from tractors to retail shop things um to help farms um in any way they can. So it's the newest products that are available. So there'll be a vendor fair there. So if you have a business um that can help people in their um animal husbandry farming needs, the vendor fair application is on the Mid-Atlantics website. We also have sponsorships. So if if you want to, you know, see these speakers come and really kind of help with that part of it, because that's a you know, that's a lot, um you can participate by sponsoring. And then we will have registration and whatnot will go through the American Highland Cattle Organization. Um, and so that there will be more details on their website coming, um, working on that now.

SPEAKER_05 54:58

And just to clarify, for folks listening who might not know Maha or the Mid-Atlantic Highland is kind of a regional group, while obviously the um American Association is more the national registry, correct?

SPEAKER_00 55:11

Yes. Yeah. The American Highland Cattle Registry is the oldest in the nation. Um, and they are who we do registrations and and whatnot through the American Highland Cattle Association. But Mid-Atlantic really helps um those breeders in our region, though we have people in Alabama, which definitely isn't Mid-Atlantic, um, that are part of that member organization and they hold educational workshops and they're really meant to be breeder support.

SPEAKER_05 55:42

Well, throughout this conversation, you've used the word agritourism a lot as it relates to your mission uh for your farm, but also the breed as a whole. Talk to me a little bit more about that. Tell me what inspired you to start hosting events on the farm, what that has meant for your relationships in your community.

SPEAKER_00 56:02

Sure. Um so the the agritourism kind of was born from the fact that people started contacting us. Hey, I want to come out to the farm. Oh, Highlands are so cute. I want to come, I want to come snuggle one. Um but the this the uh main idea for that came from a conversation that um I had with a friend over coffee. And it was when I was working with the cattle early on, and I was describing some of my girls like they were people. And he said, Why do the cows have Facebook? And you know, this is this is like night uh 2010, you know, to between 2010 and 2014. And he's like, Do the cows have Facebook? It sounds like they all need Facebook profiles. And I was like, Oh my gosh, we should, the cows should have Facebook. You're absolutely right. And so it kind of started as a joke. But then as the cows started getting this following and people were like, I want to come visit the farm. How do I, you know, how do we do agritourism events that are safe for people? Because let's be honest, not everybody is a farm person, um, that are safe for cows and that make it worth our time. So one of the first events we did is Meet the Highlands, where those animals that were going to York Fair were tied to a hay wagon, and people would come and brush them. And very small group of people, and it was a giant learning curve. Um, you know, I had some people coming in flowing dresses. Well, these cows had, I don't work cows in flowing dresses. Dad doesn't have flapping clothes. Um, so the cows weren't used to seeing certain things. So it was a good desensitizing activity for the cows. Um, but then we realized, okay, we have to say, you know, you're gonna be on a farm, you know, then and and clothes-toed shoes apparently weren't something that made sense to other people. So as we went along, um, in the early days, we saw what we could do and what we needed to improve upon. Um, so we do an event called Meet the Highlands, but now it is underneath our big barn. They are tied to rails that are from the old dairy operations. So people get to get into the historic. Um, that barn will turn 100 next year, right, Dad? It's a hundred-year-old barn. And um they brush the cows there, and it's they're given explanations and and they have a small talk. We have a small talk about what the breed is, what they should look like, and the colors and whatever other questions they have come up. Uh, we also do hay rides into the fields. Um, we do two. We do one, we have one coming up in the spring, and then we'll have another one in the fall. Um, it's usually around calving season or towards the end of calving season. And I tell people one is rated G because the bulls aren't in, and one could be NC 17 if the bulls are working. Um, and I'm not going to explain that. That's what your mom is for.

SPEAKER_04 59:19

So um I I should interject, Molly, that somewhere along the way, uh, we introduced fig bars to the herd.

SPEAKER_00 59:30

That's my kid's fault.

SPEAKER_04 59:32

And all the cows are addicted to fig bars, like fig newtons, except we buy from Walmart or Ollie's, the less expensive versions. We buy them by the case. And when when the hay rides go out, we give um many sleeves of fig bars to the people on the wagon. And so the cows know the drill. So when you go out in a herd, the cows all come up looking for their fig bars. So it's uh it everybody gets the giggles feeding cows. Uh works out really well.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:11

I feel like you need to pitch a sponsorship or something there. Maybe uh you guys could get picked up by Fig Newton for another. I have tried.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:18

I have tried. I have sent them letters and video. But if you it I and it's I know it sounds like a novelty, and again, just somebody who runs commercial cattle, this probably isn't gonna work with their operation. Um, but to be able to take the general public in a hay wagon, they're seated on straw or hay. So if you're seated on a hay bale, someone's gonna eat your seat. And, you know, you you take them out into the fold, into the green space, and there is no traffic around, and they're surrounded by cattle and woods and pasture, and they have this positive experience. And yes, the hay wagon is similar to being in a shark cage, you know. You know, you go down into the ocean and you look at the the sharks that way. These aren't sharks, but still the hay wagon goes out. The people are largely protected from the horns, but they get up close and personal and it's free choice. Um, so it's a really, it's a really cool way of sharing the land with the community and getting them to interact and see that these animals are well cared for and um, you know, all of the thing, all the feel goods you want to have. Um the hay ride is is a lot of fun. Um, but yeah, my kids are responsible for the hay the fig bar. Um that's a that's a totally different story, but yeah, that my kids are responsible for that. Dad is not.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:47

Peter, when you bought those first few Highlanders, you know, when you made that decision, did you ever think it would lead to some of these events Heather just explained?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:56

No idea.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:57

No, it was no we've uh we've come a long way.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:05

Um and um the relationships that uh Heather and her daughters have with certain cows and certain bulls is uh really amazing and they uh they uh um I'm sure if Heather ran into Olaf at some show or whatnot, there'd be a lot of moving and and hugging going on. Uh but no, they uh I had no idea when I got these. I was I was looking to to occupy land that hadn't been farmed or as pasture for a number of years, and it um like I say it got a life of its own.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:02

What about your um your farm relationship with your local community and kind of how the events have maybe strengthened that or impacted that? Have you seen a difference there?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:12

Absolutely. Um this year we're making a point of partnering with uh different organizations every time we have a farm event. Um, because I do feel like we are part of the community. Um people tell me all the time, we drive by your cows. Oh, those are the fuzzy cows. Um, it's not like you can miss them. Um we have partnered with local FFA kids uh to do events on farm to help them earn enough money to get their jackets. We have partnered with um music department at a local school so that they can give scholarships to kids who are going into music. Um and it's there are other, you know, and then of course, uh Hanover Santa Cabin is another one that we partner with because that is an important part of our community. And it's it's not only community outreach, um, but it brings different people to the fold. Um, someone who may not have found us otherwise. And maybe that's a new beef buyer, maybe that's a new person that you know is you know, there for a stuffed animal, or we partner with a cosmetic chemist to make tallow soap so that we try to use every part of the animal. Um it's one more person to come to the farm to see what we do and see the conservation, to see the breed preservation and the stewardship that's going on. And that's it, it's a wonderful relationship to establish.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:49

I'd like to pick up on something you said when you told the the Facebook story. Um, if you all, or if you both are okay, I'd like to talk a little bit about the internet and how that's impacted things.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:02

Oh, it's so different. It's so different. So Dad and I were talking, and I said, you know, when you were looking for a bull, when it was time for a legend to move on, how did you find a new bull? And he's describing the sales process, right? So you take a picture and then you take it to be developed. And it wasn't a one-hour develop, you know, it's a week. And then you hope that the picture you took comes back and it's okay. And then you send that to somebody via snail mail, and then they have to look. It has to get there, and then you have to find a time to call. And it's this long, laborious process. And now it I can do a live feed from the pasture. I can FaceTime people who are interested in purchasing animals. Um, so the internet has changed sales in a lot. Um with our with our Instagram and our Facebook, and we have more followers on Facebook because we did, I did that first. Um they I have this following that that I'm so blessed to have. They they they follow the story adventures of the day, or you know, I'll get messages. Oh, how's, you know, I'll I'll put something out there that, oh, so and so is not feeling well, or so on's about to calve, and then I don't do an update. And I have people who are upset because they didn't know that so and so had her calf. Um one thing we did this uh this winter, we were when we were open in February, it happened to coincide with um a bottle baby's birthday. She had been born two weeks early, and all of all of my followers, you know, watched her grow up. Well, she had her first birthday. The number of people who came to wish Teenie a happy first birthday and to pet her on the head and feed her a fig bar, I mean, it was awesome, totally surprising, and really cool. But it also means that you have to be really responsible with what you put out there. Um, you know, I'm not videoing constantly. You have to know when to put the phone in your pocket and focus on what you're doing. And so some days we're so busy that I have no, I have no story because I'm doing stuff. Um so I I I think it's it's been really interesting um to have that change from where dad started um to To where we are now. And I will say that our website is has been huge for both selling events as well as selling animals because of the features that Hired Hands has. Especially when it comes to pedigrees, because before the website, I'm sending pictures of this is mom, this is dad, this is the progeny, yada, yada, yada. Now they can go to our website, click on the cow, and not only does the pedigree show up, but I love the new progeny feature that is on there too. So it really helps with showing off the herd without having people come on property.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:14

Was that was your hired hand powered website your first website for the farm or and so how long between when you put the cows on Facebook to when you got that website? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:26

I don't know. Um like I said, I started the cows on Facebook as kind of a joke. And I like truly, like, you know, oh Madison loves her fig bar today. Like, you know, that that wasn't sales. That was just like Heather was bored. Um so I'm not gosh, Molly, I don't know when we started with you guys. It's been a while though.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:50

It has, yeah. I would say at least like probably at least five, five to seven years, maybe longer than that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:56

Yeah. So it's, but it it's made it saved me a lot of time. Oh my gosh, it saves so much time. Or you get the person that's tire kicking about, you know, well, you know, I I want to buy an animal today. And our sales policy is clearly listed on our website. So I can say, go to the website. Go to the and and by being able to push people to the website so they get an idea of what our herd looks like and how we do business has really helped save me time on the sales end.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:30

Well, if you both are okay, I'd like to wind down the episode here with a little bit of a reflective segment to kind of just uh celebrate your 50 years. Does that sound okay? Yeah. All right. So I have a couple questions and I'd like you each each to kind of fill in the blank or finish the statement, I guess. Uh so the first one, 50 years teaches you patience with everything.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:55

It it does. It teaches you patience with everything. Um, we we're so used to now like click-click, we have it on the phone. It doesn't a calf isn't gonna feel better, you know. You give her the banamine, it doesn't happen right away. Her body has to, you know, everything in its time. Um tractor breaks during hay season, throwing a fit isn't gonna get the job done. You have to have patience with getting the equipment and whatnot together, so or repairing it, no matter how frustrating and how much hay you have down. So I I I would say it's taught me patience with everything.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:33

Dad Well, uh certainly handling cattle, you have to be patient.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:44

And uh right after I got the first group of uh animals, uh I was trying to herd them and move them from one pasture to another. And the bullet had enough, so he walks up to a post, swings his horn, and breaks a fence post and brand new fence post in half. Then went, Well, okay. I think we're done here today. So come back the next day, he's in better mood and we we got the animals moved. But going forward we've learned patience works very well in handling animals, especially uh the wide variety of personalities, and maybe today'll work, maybe tomorrow would work better. Um so okay. So patience.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:44

Alright, the next one. Fifty years teaches you to value this.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:51

Well, first of all, I value my relationship with with my family, with with Heather, with her daughters, and the fact that we share this um experience together. Um I mean our recent trip to to Denver, the national show. Um we all worked very hard to present our animals and and to watch uh my two granddaughters take their animals into the into the sail ring and present them as well as they did. Um I think meant a lot to the results we got. Um they're very they were very poised in doing what they did and and um so that the time I spend with my daughter and my granddaughters is very important to me.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:47

I can't really top that.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:50

Um no, it's it's this is it it does teach you how important family is because gosh, when you have an animal out or there's an animal in crisis and you pick up the phone and you know you need help, you know you have it.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:07

Um and it is it is a blessing to know that you know your family has your back.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:16

I feel like maybe we should just end on that one because that was that was that was really good. Very, very honest. Uh let's see, what's my next question here? Let's look ahead. Um, all right, let's talk about the next 50 years. So, what are your goals or dreams for the next chapter?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:34

Well Well, uh my goal is to find, to discover ways to make the farm uh sustainable, to make it profitable, uh continue to make it profitable, and uh move that bar forward. Um obviously, you know, I'm good health, I enjoy making hay. Um they don't let me handle too much cattle too much anymore. But um but I enjoy my involvement and I hope that continues. But again, um to see the farm develop, see it continue to to add uh things that the community uh will take interest in.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:31

That's that's my goal.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:37

I have I have a lot of goals.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:40

Um and you know, we'd like we're open once a month right now. I would like to have the traffic and the beef to be able to be open more than once a month. Um obviously increasing our beef production, and that also means the number of customers we have. Um I would love to be able to continue doing agritourism um and sharing the land and our animals with the community um and continue to produce the best highlands we can. Um and as we as we've learned and grown, we've have amazing people working for us that help us achieve our goals um and also have the vision of continuously improving um and yet staying true to the the Scottish Highland breed and and truly being a steward of this breed and this herd. So yeah, that's what that's what my 50-year goal is. There's there's the shorter goal, and then there's the longer term one.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:52

Was there anything that you all wanted our listeners to hear from you or take away today that I haven't asked you that you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_00 1:16:00

You know, Molly, I don't know. I just feel really blessed to be able to do what I do. I I feel really I feel very seriously that that um this is a calling and it's a stewardship um to take care of the land, to take care of these animals, um, and to show others that um they are important, that we need both the animals and to preserve the land um as best we can. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:33

I kind of feel like I already said that though. What about you, Peter? Anything else to add?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:42

No, uh Heather Setter.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:46

Well, tell everyone where they can learn more about Shepherd Farm on Apple Hill, your events, your animals, uh, your 50th year celebration. Give me all the the website addresses and the social media handles, Heather.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:58

Of course. Um, so on Facebook, we are Shepherd Farms. On Instagram, we are Shepherd Farm on Apple Hill. And our website through Hired Hands is ShepherdFarm on Apple Hill.com. Our events are listed under the events tab, and that is um constantly being updated as to what events we have on farm um as we uh either come up with the ideas or you know, add them to the website. Um we do have some animals listed for sale. Uh, we also have a wait list right now. So if you want to get on the wait list, you do need to contact us, fill out the questionnaire, and upon its completion and return, you'll be placed into the wait list. And we always try to find the right animals for the fold. Um and and it's a choice that makes sure that everybody's happy with.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:56

Thank you both so much for sharing your story today. Uh, 50 years of stewardship, 50 years of stewardship and family, and dedication to agriculture is something to really be incredibly proud of. And we're really honored to help you uh celebrate that milestone and get the word out. Uh, and to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to From the Pasture Podcast, and we'll see you next time.