SPEAKER_04 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. Today we're headed to the Texas Hill Country, Burnett, Texas, to be specific, to visit with Mike and Callie Smith of Cold Copper Ranch. Was started with seven heifers from Callie's father, has grown into a 300-acre longhorn operation, a pasture-finished beef program, and two feed store locations serving their local communities. From refrigeration business owners with 150 employees to ranchers focused on hay quality, pasture management, and grass-finished longhorn beef, this is a story about getting back to your roots. We're talking family legacy, hay science, luxury beef, and building something your kids can carry forward. Mike and Callie, welcome to From the Pasture.

SPEAKER_05 1:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

Let's kind of start with the the point where a lot of us met you all and started to interact, and that was your pivot from your refrigeration business uh into Longhorns. So, you know, obviously running a business with 150 employees, that's no small operation. What made you decide it was time to step away? And did ranching at that time feel risky? Did it feel freeing? Tell me a little bit about where your mindset was back then.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Gosh, uh it seems like already a forever ago, but um it it uh I don't know seven years this month. Yeah. And uh we wasn't uh really wasn't sure. It's just one once we started spending time out on the ranch, um that's when we really started falling in love with it in the in the in the way of the life and uh just what uh new new uh opportunities and and things that it brought, you know.

SPEAKER_05 2:18

And so and then we were like, okay, we're ready to step away.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Yeah, yeah, it helped that transition uh uh and and helped speed up that transition a little bit more than we ever imagined. But uh we didn't know how can contagious it was gonna be out here, I guess. And and uh that's a good word. So yeah, but it uh it seems like yesterday we was just run it running the business and uh seven days a week twenty-four-seven.

SPEAKER_05 2:45

No, we run cows seven days a week.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

So so we wasn't looking for something quite as full-time, but you know, it's uh all comes with the trade.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Hopefully one of those is also a little less stressful.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Well, you you don't you don't have to I I don't know, that that's a that's a tough one. We we really have to lay out the pros and cons. U yeah, I I was comfortable working uh uh mechanical things and and cattle is really foreign to me, and so uh I was very intimidated by it. And and uh so yeah, it's sometimes it it's it's a whole different level of stress, I I guess, but it it can be very very stressful out here on the ranch, too.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

Well, Callie, those those last seven heifers you got from your father, did that moment happen um prior to deciding you wanted to ranch full-time, or was that kind of when you were in transition? Um tell me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_05 3:46

That was in transition. We had just gotten the ranch, and my father was getting to a point where he couldn't really run cattle anymore and take care of the farm, and he was gonna actually move down with us. So I was like, Okay, I got this ranch, like I can I can actually take the cows. And so we brought them down here um in 2018 before we you know ever thought about longhorns. And so they came down here and um they're still here, and he passed in 2019. That has been it's been awesome having those that came from his his ranch in Kansas and um now they're here with us having longhorn babies for us.

SPEAKER_04 4:36

Do those uh do those seven have a forever home at Cold Copper? Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah, Callie, Callie gives them a uh a pass. Uh we do have to keep them separate from the longhorns because I eat a long yeah, they they eat a whole lot more and they always get in our photos, and we always got a crack up uh when we see them. So it's a commercial cow doing in there. So so we figured it's just easier to keep them in the in their own heifer but uh or in their own pasture, but we do breed them back to the longhorn bull. And so I think they'll always have a purpose out here for as long as they can. And it's uh it's a cool part of the story. And it seems like yesterday the uh JD was hauling them uh down behind his his motorhome at the time in in a in a little livestock trailer, and I remember them getting off of the off of the trailer here, small little heifers and and not even having any idea what I was doing or what we were getting into, you know. We thought we had it all figured out, you know, and and and uh we we uh come to find out that uh yeah, it can be a whole lot more complicated. And so, but they're they've all grown up and and giving back and doing their part, so it's it's really pretty neat.

SPEAKER_04 5:46

Did you ever think, you know, when you were growing up in rural Kansas or, you know, running your business, or even when those how when those cattle walked off the trailer and you got the ranch, did you ever think it would turn into what it is today?

SPEAKER_00 6:01

No. No, no, no. No. We was going through the thrifty nickel, and Callie was looking for longhorn cattle, and I was looking for a nonprofit landscaping group, and somehow we got our wires crossed, and it now we ended up with a whole bunch of cattle out here that just mow our yards. Nonprofit landscaping groups and they take care of the trees for us, and so so that that's where they carry their weight for me, and Callie uses them for the breeding and and the genetics and her fun. So it it uh kind of was a pairing of the two.

SPEAKER_04 6:36

Well, let's get into the the second part of that, the genetics, the genetics part. Um, when we were preparing for today's podcast and on your website, you know, you've mentioned that you wanted to start with the best uh and you wanted to, you know, have a really outstanding program. So how did you define the best when you were getting started?

SPEAKER_05 6:54

Well, in the beginning, we were pretty clueless. So we we were just whatever was you know caught our eye. Um, and I had a little guidance from my nephew who had he he had gotten into it about a year pre a year previous to that. So we knew Bob Loomis and we knew uh BCB were ones that we really liked. And so that's kind of what we started with. Uh were actually one was a BCB and one was a a Bob Loomis. And and well there were a few, but um in that first group that we bought. But uh we didn't know much going into it, but uh it didn't take long for us to realize what we really what we really liked and what we wanted to what we wanted to achieve or you know, build from well, from you know, what we got.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Well, uh yeah, and it's it's just taken some time to really um understand all all of that as as somebody that's you know really looked at cattle that close, uh, you know, now and understanding the difference of what you're looking for is is been such a learning process. And um we had no clue of really any of that. She did more so than I did, you know. We just kind of seen it as cattle and and we'll we're just gonna grow a herd and uh you know, and and that's where you know soon we begin to see like how much you can change your herd and change the look of your herd um by doing different things and and and that's if you chose to or uh you know what whatever you wanted to do. And and and we kind of dove into it uh way deeper than we ever imagined.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Uh, you know, from where we started, it just all of a sudden become fun and and just you know, really interesting. And uh, you know, it uh just grew from Yeah, Cali just kind of had a vision and and just kind of went with it. And so uh yeah, it's been been quite an uh just a whole enlightening experience from where we started and and where we're at now and and never imagined it it would have grown to where it was uh today.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

That took you from where you started to where you are today. Maybe slow down a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Well, pivotal moments of of uh I don't know, I mean, like I'm I'm guessing like cow-wise, like you know, like are in general like cattle-wise, like what ones maybe that we purchased that kind of changed the herd from just being uh just regular longhorns, you know, and the and the getting, you know, when we I would say probably we just kind of got in a in a splurge there for a while and and was bought most of our cattle in a short amount of time right there. Um, you know, what I mean from Dice to Trixie, uh Sweet Maxi. The whole uh I mean I mean, yeah, and then and and then yeah, uh introducing the you know the Hansen cattle into that and bringing that all together. It it all happened so fast. Um you know, it uh yeah, there were many pivotal moments and it really short time. We pivoted a lot. We that that's for sure. Uh, but we learned something uh every time, you know, and and still today uh we we very much er every day is a learning experience and uh with the cattle. Uh good, bad, uh the labor of it, the difficulty, the tech, you know, uh all of it, figuring them out from the diet to to caring for them, uh the day-to-day struggles they they bring from you know the fence problems to water problems to uh you know, it's uh every day it keeps you on your toes, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_04 10:50

Is there anything you all would have changed throughout that process?

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Excuse me.

SPEAKER_05 10:56

Just slowing down. I we w we wished we would have slowed down a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Well, uh yes, i and and everybody tells you to slow down and don't let your herd get too big. Um but I don't think anybody that's never really been uh familiar with cattle probably listens to other people's advice too much until they learn it themselves. It kind of seems to be the way. And so uh i it was just a hard lesson that we had uh to learn that 40 can turn into 80 pretty quick, and and uh the the the math is all right there. And and uh but uh you know, just getting all the infrastructure in place to handle something like that was a curveball that I didn't really uh you know uh imagine was gonna turn out to be quite the project that it was. But I I think that you know that that's a whole vision of you know where you're going and what you want out of it, and and you know, so that so that was a big part of uh just getting it all put together too is is the infrastructure to to house them all.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Properly.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

How many head are you all at today? Um I don't know how many are on the website.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Are you gonna fact check us, Molly? I would just say shooting from the hip.

SPEAKER_05 12:11

Well, there's yeah, I don't know. A little over a hundred.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

We're trying to go down, uh take the number.

SPEAKER_05 12:17

Went three yesterday or the last three days.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

The babies drop as quick as you can get rid of them, it seems like.

SPEAKER_04 12:24

Uh so have you got it round to the website yet? How fast are you? Are they on the website? Uh there are, yeah. Pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

She just did it. Uh I got them all updated the other day. Uh, she's pretty proud of this this last re uh round of calves. Uh you know, it's been it's been a long process from starting out genetic-wise to finally getting to where we're breeding stuff that that we was able to put together and make ourselves. And and uh it's it's a long road. It's gone by so fast, but it it is really, you know, it's really it hits a little differently when it's your brand on the side of the bull and your brand on the side of the cow, and you're seeing babies hit the ground. Uh, that's the part that that it it really changes it up and and has really been neat to see uh you know what she's come uh being able to put together with with uh different pairings.

SPEAKER_04 13:16

I mean, that's a huge moment. Not you know, not many breeders can say that their calves hitting the ground are out of their own, you know, branded and bread bull and cow. So obviously we're recording this uh podcast during calving season. It might air a little bit later than that. But if you had to pick one calf so far that's on the ground um that you're most excited about, tell me about who it is and why. Or are they all secrets? Should I not ask that question? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

No secrets here. Um I mean, to me, probably Tea Time Gambler. That that's uh that's a sweet maxi uh daughter out of uh by Tide Off. And uh Tea Time Gambler is a beautiful little bull calf that that really fits everything that I think a bull calf should have with just its whole look and and and the build in it, and and uh and and that's something that you know really takes some time to really everyone that hits the ground, uh, you know, isn't gonna be your next you know, the largest herd sire. But sometimes when when they have that look, you can uh you s you see that. And so I I'm excited about him and and to see where he's gonna go.

SPEAKER_05 14:29

So he's out of uh a sweet maxy daughter and then a done lucky dice uh bowl.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yep. So that's right. Uh out of the uh The Bachelor is a sire on that one. And so it's it that's uh I'm probably most excited about that.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Uh but I'm really excited about Dice's new heifer calf that she just dropped with uh By Tide Off. Uh nice black and white one. Just getting those flat, laid-down, twisty horns are uh are really hard to get. And uh hopefully we can see some you know continuation with with that. Um but again, it's you now you gotta wait, unless you got your crystal ball. You we gotta wait now and just wait it out and see where this goes. But uh so probably most excited about about those are our our most recent and probably uh most excited about out of out of our big cows. Um awesome Trixie just dropped her her calf and is a bull calf, but it's really exciting because uh, you know, she just got introduced in in in what is it the the well in there and uh just what she has produced and and can has continued to produce uh is is just amazing at her age. And so uh that's one uh you know it's it's so basically all of them.

SPEAKER_05 15:47

But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

We just had a recent round of of some of the the big ones, but uh uh and then we got power wagon ones getting ready to start dropping. And that's probably the one that we're really on the edge of our seat about, uh, so is to start seeing seeing those too. So that's that's uh right around the corner.

SPEAKER_04 16:08

You know, it's funny. I don't think there's ever a time when I've asked folks to pick one uh animal that they've been ever able to either agree on one or only pick one. So we'll we'll let it slide this time.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

We we picked one out of a uh of a good handful, so it would we're all right.

SPEAKER_04 16:24

There you go. Well, one of the names that keeps coming up that we wouldn't do this podcast justice if we didn't talk about is Sweet Maxie. So for those folks listening that might not know this, uh she is a Guinness World Record holding cow, right? Yep.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:40

So tell me a little bit about just what it means for you all to have her on your ranch.

SPEAKER_05 16:46

Uh mom, that was just a crazy opportunity how that really happened. I mean, we uh we w didn't really even go to buy her. I mean, she wasn't even on the list um for purchasing. So um and when we got there, um you know, she was she was being a little honri, you know. She she was bighorned animal back in the corner and everybody going around her and we were like, no, we don't we have other cow, you know, we have other some other bighorn cows and and it's just we don't we're good with you know with what we have. We're gonna look at what we came for and so that really just wasn't um and then it and then she came in the ring and she was a big old puppy dog and it just uh we we just didn't feel that she was getting the justice she needed.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

So we Sally liked bidding through through the period of time and and she you it was uh yeah, I don't know. We kind of that that was kind of bought on a on a fluke. Um but uh you know now to have her out on the ranch is um I don't know. It's it's uh it's really amazing. Um it's just her story and and what she's producing for us in in the that she is a tip to tip, yeah, you know, it it she really is a producing cow.

SPEAKER_05 18:13

I mean it it's crazy. I think we have six on the ranch from her already.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

Um the progeny is is really starting to grow. Um but one's already given us. Um what I find is is like us group of longhorn um uh people, we know about the measurement and and and and uh know how to measure it to achieve that and stuff, but most of the people really don't know too much about about it, you know, as far as like that you'd even measure the horns or or that's how it would be done. And so uh it's it's in the longhorn world, we all know and we know how big of a deal that is, but to the average person that comes out and visits, uh they just it's it's kind of uh I guess it I get they're intrigued by it, but it doesn't like quite hit the same as I guess probably to us breeders that uh of the size of a of a cow that's actually can reproduce and have that progeny, you know. It's uh but um yeah, I mean it she gets um she's done well. She she's a machine out there, and and as we drove by her today in the rain, and and everybody uh was out standing under the trees and and uh uh shielding themselves from the rain. Maxie was out there in the middle of the pasture just eating down grass. And and and that's what I've noticed is that you know, to be a champion out there, you you really never gotta stop. And so uh, but uh she still continues to grow and and uh and does well.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

You think she's another one that'll have a forever home on the ranch then?

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Yeah, if we can uh um you know I would love to have her out here for forever, and uh it uh it's quite an honor to have her out here on the ranch.

SPEAKER_04 19:58

Are there any other animals you maybe haven't talked about yet that kind of have that sentimental value, whether it comes from their production power, their their horn length, maybe the story behind how you you know added them to the herd?

SPEAKER_05 21:00

Well, definitely um put a put a ring on it. That was my the very first one that that we got. And when she uh put a ring, put a ring on it, BCB, I think is at the end there, and we bought her at that Texoma sale, and she's the one when you know she got off the trailer and I saw her, I was just like, wow, this is this is what I want to do. I thought it was like it was like a unicorn being delivered. It was like just so amazing. And uh and I knew from that, and so I that cow, she'll she'll probably be here forever. I don't think I can let her go. I to me, she is like the most perfect longhorn, just perfect confirmation, perfect bag, perfect horns. I I don't I don't even know what her tip to tip is. It doesn't even it like doesn't even matter. That's like one it just you look at her, she looks like a 95-inch cow. I mean it's it's uh I I I love her. And Tessabella, yeah, she's the oldest on the ranch, and she's the twistiest cow that we have.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

But as we started getting in the longhorns and we took a a good portion of uh the Hansen herd in, um Tessabella was the first one to walk up to me out of that whole herd of cows and and really was uh let me I guess she got my phone number and and we started talking and we started texting on a regular basis. Yeah, no, but but uh she and to today I can go out and brush her down and she'll walk across the pasture to come find me. And so so that's my that's my probably one of my favorites and and uh special. And we've got a lot of her progeny out here uh that's out on the ranch, and I think that that speaks volumes of the cows that maybe you like is is with the progeny that you you know, keep around and and uh she is one that that has produced some really nice animals and and uh but the um just the twisty horn is so unique and and she's just uh uh something else.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

What about your girls? Do they have any favorites?

SPEAKER_00 23:07

JC loves them all. Yeah it is every single one of them yeah I I think she has a a different unique love for every one of them and uh Samantha I I doesn't know their names or she'll come and check on them but we've got to we've got to give them the the license plate number the color of the car the make the model it takes her a little bit and we usually got a FaceTime and go no it's the one that looks exactly like this picture uh and oh we we give them a hard time but JC's got the love for for all of them and she's uh she's I don't know what she would say who she would say her favorite is honestly I don't know uh yeah I don't that we may have to nail her down on that on a on her own little podcast is her favorite yeah I don't know for sure sounds fun I'm sure there's some other things we could we could get her to talk about too yeah yeah just get her going is there one particular cow that you seem like when you have visitors out to the ranch that they tend to gravitate towards Dunlucky Dice everybody loves Dunlucky Dice and she is a she is a model she knows when Maxie heads for the hills and Dice comes over and says how would you like me to stand?

SPEAKER_05 24:24

I mean she's she does she likes to be looked at she knows you're talking about her um and uh so most people really like Dice and of course you know Maxi everyone wants to see Maxi for sure but Dice definitely they love that color and and they just those horns that flat twisty horn that it just really catches everyone's eye.

SPEAKER_04 24:47

Yeah let's switch gears a little bit and talk about your websites and your marketing so for the folks listening that maybe you know aren't familiar with some of these uh you know outstanding females or they want to see some of the calves you mentioned and the upcoming bulls um they'll go to your website to find that um as you were building your program how important was it to you to have a professional online presence?

SPEAKER_05 25:12

Well I mean it was a must it was it was uh I mean very important uh and it was a I mean once we saw one site and saw the the capability and what it did with the pedigrees and all that it was it was an you know it was we knew that's what we had to have to really get it out there and let everybody see what we were doing and what we had. We don't know how many people want to come to Burnett Texas no or know where it's at. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

And I'm I I apologize Molly that I don't have more to do with that that side of the of the business. Uh luckily Callie's the we want it yeah JC helps.

SPEAKER_05 25:53

J's she can she can put change out pictures and stuff like that and she can she helps me out so that's good.

SPEAKER_04 26:00

I feel like with most husband wife pairs or family operations it's intentional that the husband doesn't have too much to do because then he can't mess it up, right? Yeah yeah he does like to take the pictures I can take pictures but I can really mess up a computer program.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

That that's for sure. You give me no time and I'll have the computer locked up and uh I I'll I'll be wanting to throw it away. But uh so I just leave it to Cal.

SPEAKER_05 26:25

But I I know she And then I say go to the website and scroll through it, see what you think.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Yeah I'll I'll check it out but I know she enjoys uh working in it and and uh uh you know just how important it is and it uh it definitely gives you an advantage.

SPEAKER_04 26:41

Do you feel like as you began buying more and became more active in the industry and attending the events or you know growing your herd do you feel like buyers were finding you digitally or uh were you still what was the what was the name of the swap sheet you mentioned? The copper penny? What is it? The what did you say I was the thrifty nickel you don't know what the thrifty nickel is or that that might be a Texas thing.

SPEAKER_05 27:08

I can't say I do no uh I mean we brought the website on pretty quick so we were really quick to get that up and going and I mean we felt like it was I mean you know we wanted it so we could you know get our name out there through that you know with that hey go to our website go to our website so it definitely um I think people found us through our website I mean because we we advertise I mean we just we got on it quick and and um you know tried getting it out there every which way we could so um so yeah I get a lot of um I get a lot of emails through there so it works works very well.

SPEAKER_04 27:51

What would be your advice to folks who are maybe on the fence about may you know maybe my herd's not big enough or maybe their horns aren't long enough or you know maybe I just can't justify it when I'm paying for hay or you know what what would your advice be there for folks?

SPEAKER_05 28:06

Well um yeah obviously that they gotta um you know take care of their animals but if they're it's it's pretty I mean it's just really imperative that you have it. You really need it. And and I think that I mean it even for the just the research and knowing how to use it and go into all the other you know ranch's websites and the pedigree simulator and I mean that alone being able to do that and put stuff together with the all the animals that are in you know the hired hand system. And so I think that's um I think that's a um if you're trying to grow your herd and and you want to sell cows and and move cows and buy cows, I think that you should yeah I think that would be your next step for for sure because uh man it's hard I don't think that it mat you know the size I mean because it's only going to grow.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Yeah that's what that's what I was saying is to say to grow I mean it's it's not nobody has no problem growing their herd typically it's just more of a problem of how can I get rid of the you know uh uh or handle how many can I handle you know well and you you you've got your other outlets like meat and all of that all of that can go on your website. I mean it it can be useful and if but if that's the direction that you want to go, it's uh uh it's it's a good idea to start collecting a lot of that data and stuff if you know I mean because it is probably realistically only going to grow uh you know I I think there's a probably a very small percentage of of the people that really get into the cattle for the first time and I think probably a lot of there's probably more people getting into the Longhorn first timers than there are probably getting into maybe any other breed. I I just maybe I don't I don't know. But regardless of the breed, you still got to get to that point of if it's gonna grow, it's gonna grow pretty fast. And you know I mean uh there's a lot to keep up with uh from the infrastructure to all the way back to the back office and and all all of that stuff will help you keep it all together.

SPEAKER_04 30:37

Well I think a few months since we've started this I've seen some forms come through from you all but you you've sold a few in our um customer only sales is that right uh yeah so we'll have Ellie loves that yeah so we have a internet only sale that's for any website customer and you just fill out a form and you can put one animal in per month. Uh we don't take a commission or a consignment or anything like that. Uh but it's up to you uh how to price it, you know, in terms of the buy now, the reserve, uh what animal you want to put in um what have you kind of found a sweet spot that works for you in terms of like heifers, cows, pricing?

SPEAKER_05 31:17

Well uh we've actually we've sold one of each now a bull, a heifer, and a s a steer even we sold a steer this last one. So um I mean we've had a couple that haven't sold so um I mean it's like any sale it's you gotta get yourself good pictures and you gotta, you know, really market it yourself through that if you're gonna put it in there and um but I I uh I think that I've I think I've got it figured out I guess. I I enjoyed getting them on there and and watching them and and seeing how it goes and seeing what everybody else puts on there.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

So I like it that you don't have to go through and and do all the checks and let so if it's gonna sell then then you can go and do a lot of those checks and so it it it makes it uh it just can kind of simplify that process uh uh a little bit more it uh I know it's worked out great.

SPEAKER_04 32:19

Yeah what's your favorite hired hand powered website to go to besides your own if you could only this time you can only pick one.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

I'm not gonna let you do five this is a JC question.

SPEAKER_05 32:38

This is totally a JC because you open JC's phone and you go to her browser every every hired hand website is I mean everybody's is open. Man I wish she was here for that question.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

She's the reason for all of our uh our Texas space I don't think anybody would ever imagine how much she stalks everybody's cattle and and knows about everybody's cattle.

SPEAKER_04 33:03

She really put me on the spot here I can't see uh there was one I can I can pencil that in for our uh our mini episode she is the person to ask she could tell you whose works the best whose looks the best but she doesn't judge too much she'll she'll she loves just going through everybody's side and showing us and showing us that's what I'm saying I have so many in my head I'm like oh my gosh someone just there was a new one that just came up that y'all did uh and it was really really pretty I loved it was a video and uh I I can't I can't remember the name I apologize um do you have do you have one that you go to or that you've been to that I I don't I uh I I um I just feed the cattle we're playing that card already we're only we're only 30 minutes in here you can't play we we all know what our our our job details we we we know our roles and we shut our holes around here and and I feed the cows and and uh I I I trust JC and Callie to to do all the homework and and to know the genetics and and have fun with that but JC is the one that really dives into all all different aspects of it from from the auctions you know you know she watches every sale she watches where where every cow's going and what what they're selling for and so um uh she she's on uh on top of it so well we'll let you off the hot seat here we'll we'll switch gears a little bit let's let's talk about hay for a while because this is a question we get a lot through social media and then also you know if we're preparing for podcasts or have questions from newer breeders um so obviously you've you've both built a herd that you're very you're very proud of but everyone that's been in it a while knows that great cattle can't help but happen with you know out some w without some good nutrition behind them.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Uh so as I understand it Mike you grew up working alfalfa fields um how did that kind of shape how you the view you have on feeding today well um gosh growing up uh working the alfalfa fields I really had no uh idea about um like as far as that that was food for cows in that way I looked at it as as something that was growing out of the ground and and you know that that's how we handled it but I never really thought much about you know later in life you know ranching or or where or how much impact the alfalfa made on the industry uh you know and until now and we fast forward uh you know until we really get into cattle and uh I started kind of diving into to alfalfa and and what it does and and you know what it offers. You know I just didn't really ever put that together. I was more looked at it through okay I'm a farming type of sense you know and I really didn't think too much about the cattle side of it. And so now I'm looking at it from a nutrition side and and and how it affects and and and I'm still very uh very much learning a lot about all of it. It's it's it's it's it's not an easy subject it's it there's there's it seems so simple but it can be uh very difficult because of the qualities are are are always constantly changing in in every region and and I think that's one thing that we're really all up against uh you know from droughts to floods um it really changes the quality of of the grasses and the haze and and and by with running the feed stores we've been able to really see that and sense that uh you know that wow this is this is really hard uh and it's hard to assume that you're always gonna have good hay rolled up in in in the pasture next to you or that that guy that you always buy hay from is always going to have good good quality hay and and and there's a lot of hay out there but um I don't want to say a majority of it but I you know that it just the conditions aren't right whether it's dry land or or um you know what whatever you're doing for your fertilizers and stuff like that that that all affects that but uh you know more so we've been really faced with with a drought and and I think that's been uh probably most of people's problems uh you know around in different areas is is that drought and and how much it can change uh a hay season um you know uh is is a variable that nobody really knows and it's a constant variable that's constantly changing for for our livestock uh that that's really hard to to uh put your finger on and uh if you can buy enough to get you through a whole season that that comes out of the same cutting or is the same quality that's good but a lot of times you just have to buy a little bit here and buy a little bit there and you know off first cutting or second cutting or last cutting as you need it and the quality of that constantly changes uh you know and so uh as that changes so does the cows I would say is it inefficient maybe because it has to have so many stomachs that that each one is in inefficient. I don't I I guess I don't uh but you know so it notices those inefficiencies and and uh you know so it's a constant battle and it's it's something that I think um we're always challenged and and up against and always second guessing ourselves about but uh back to the alfalfa is it it just provides one I know the cattle love it and and I know it's a good it's a good source of protein and uh we've really made a shift off of uh grain in animals uh to where now we're getting our protein through the alfalfa and that was all partly because uh I was tired of carrying bags of grain around but uh no it's it it's for us it's it's a it's a natural forage for the animal and it's a good way to get a little bit better protein out of it. And and so um they love it and they follow us around for for any of it that we're offering to put out and uh it it's it's been we feel like it's been a good fit for for our area with the quality of of uh just natural grass that we have that would that would grow around or doesn't grow during during the drought you know and and also we're a little guilty of probably having a few too many cows and than we should on the on our on the property and uh so uh we're working on that uh we're seeing uh a counselor on on cows on how to reduce herd size and hopefully we can get this back in in track but for now the alfalfa's uh uh big and and and I didn't want to get through this segment without get giving my uncle Daryl a shout out he was the one that took me under his wing and and brought me out and and showed me the ropes of all of that and and put me on a tractor and gave me that opportunity and uh you know without that I I I never knew at the time that I would use it later in life to now transition into into into the next role of feeding it back to the animal because I was always just so concerned about growing it but uh it it's really neat and so so thank you Uncle Daryl if you I I know you'll probably listen to this uh but that's where I got all that alfalfa experience from uh in in Southwest Kansas there.

SPEAKER_04 40:31

So what would what advice would you give someone that maybe comes into the store and is and is unfamiliar with the different benefits between alfalfa and hay and you know they're they're wondering if they need to add alfalfa to their feeding rotation?

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Yeah uh no that's a great question. Um I I think it's it's a great source of the protein and it's something that um I think the grain was a big thing because the grain used to be cheaper than the alfalfa but now I think we're seeing the prices of the grain and feed going up so much that now the alfalfa is um I I I guess yeah is competitive with the grain.

SPEAKER_05 41:13

And so uh for us it um it's for us mostly it's a I mean we feed it but up at the feed store mostly that it's horse people. We don't really sell a ton of it to for cow people. We we probably use most of it from the store but most of our alfalfa goes to horse people so that's we make sure that it's yeah from the feed store. And then and then the coastal um you know is we use that along with the alfalfa. That's where we grind it in the in his mixer and do all that and so but yeah the alfalfa is uh is mostly just for our horse people at the feed store.

SPEAKER_04 42:02

Or if you had if you had to break down because I'm I'm kind of having like a childhood flashback here where we're talking I as you guys were telling the story I'm remembering a time I got in trouble when my dad told me to go hay the cattle and I alpha I gave him all the alfalfa and not the hay and I got in big trouble.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

Yeah so maybe if there's folks listening that don't quite know the differences in all the different types of hay and alfalfa and all of that, how would you simply break that down for them if they're just now starting their journey of kind of looking into Yeah no I I think the big the thing is is is I don't feed them full uh alfalfa 100% and put it out like I mean uh we do I I do ration it out and we we do uh break it out. Um the commercial cattle I think it's as I understand it and and I'm by far no expertise on it uh but the commercial cattle I think it's really hot for their stomach and it can do some damage to it. The Longhorn I think is like has a cast iron stomach. That thing can eat cactus a pile of alfalfa as as you know anything that that thing, any weed it wants to eat out on the on the ranch, it can eat it eats the trees down sometime. And I don't I don't think you can affect it or I don't think they could can can consume too much of that but I wouldn't recommend putting them out on on full alfalfa like that. It's just more used for a treat uh and what we do a lot of times uh like during our fly season is we'll just take flakes of alfalfa and lay that all out and that gets all the cows calmed down it gives them a little bit of time to come in and and they're they're really it's like a kid eating ice cream just give them a minute let them eat a couple scoops of ice cream and relax and then before you know it you can walk in and out of all your cattle and and they don't even know what you're doing because they're so lured to that alfalfa. And so so instead of going out and and and dumping a bag of cubes that that's what we'll do is is go out and flake out some alfalfa and um then we use the cubes to catch because they they love coming to the cubes as well.

SPEAKER_04 44:29

And so that that's kind of our I guess uh if we want them in the catch bin we we use the the cubes but uh in the alfalfa yeah but the alfalfa uh I uh they're gonna love it and um you don't need to feed a whole ton of it and I I I see it as a little treat to them because most of the listeners um here are going to be fellow longhorn breeders is there anything we haven't covered regarding just like different hay types hay and different you know types of livestock that is going to be more applicable to them or maybe uh questions that they you get a lot from folks at events about it uh that you might be able to share here. Gosh sorry I don't I don't know that much about this topic.

SPEAKER_05 45:15

So I'm trying to just like I don't know if there's somewhere I should lead you into talking about I think it's important for them to uh find you know good hay try to find you know good hay for your animals have it tested I mean there are are a lot a lot of the feed stores in everybody's areas probably got a nutritionist that can come in and test their hay for them or test their grass for them test their water um all of those things and and make sure they're Just getting a good a good quality hay for for that.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Yeah, it's uh it's it's hard to find uh a good consistent good quality hay. Um my recommendation is is is it's almost got to come off an irrigated farm or anywhere you know in our area and uh you know is usually where you get your better quality uh from. Uh but the pri the problem that we're running into now is is competitive prices with hay too, because of the prices have have gone up so much that you know we find ourselves really trying to budget and and find less expensive hay. Uh, you know, and it it's a it's kind of a handoff of of you know less lesser money for less quality. And so it's really uh it's really good to go out and try to do some research on on you know what where it's coming from and in a you know a reputable place. And uh, you know, like I said, it changes from region to region each year uh on the problems that they have, whether it's weeds or bugs or too much rain, not enough rain. Uh it it it's really it's a tough variable, and it's a tough variable for the smaller people and the smaller breeders that aren't buying near as much volume, you know, because they don't have you know quite that buying power to go in and in into the bigger hay operations and say, hey, I just want to buy one or two bales. And so so um, you know, it that's that's the constant battle I I think that that we face. But um just taking the time, just like you would research your genetics and research your your cattle and stuff, trying to take the time to research where the hay, where you're gonna get it from, and and and maybe you need to have a couple of different options in mind because like I said, just because the he uh put planted something doesn't mean that it's gonna be the best.

SPEAKER_05 47:30

Or different types. We also use you know, a Sudan or a hay grazer. Um, you know Yeah, we we rely on the ones that are some different things, but hay grazer for our region is another um good protein, you know, and we we try to we try to push that one. That one's an inexpensive one that really offers a lot of good value. We use it uh it's personal preference.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

I mean, uh and it grows in it grows in in the areas and some people uh um you know if if they've got it and they can and they got a neighbor that can grow it, um it's getting so hard anymore and so expensive to truck the stuff around that that you can't be too picky with all of it either, you know, and so uh we've always kind of kind of looked at it like like that, you know. I mean, it's just really not a time that you can be too picky. And thankfully we've gotten into a breed of animal that's not too picky about what they eat. Because I know those commercial cows will stand around a whole bale and bawl at you because just just the moisture's not right in it or something. So where the longhorns will will will eat the whole pile. You know, but but it's it's a constant uh equation that us ranchers are are always constantly trying to put our finger on is how much hay do I need and and the quality. Uh man, uh that's that's one of the the hardest variables in the in the game right now. And I think it's because of the hay cost has risen so so much um that uh more so than anybody they ever imagined what uh what a uh round bale of hay is costing.

SPEAKER_04 49:09

I remember there were some times, you know, back during a few of the droughts that you all were having, the really bad years, that I would I would see on Facebook folks from up in our area, you know, up north Iowa, even nort more northern states trying to get enough, you know, enough to haul a whole load down there, maybe split it between two or three different buyers and stuff. So it's it's been interesting to see how it's gone up in price, but also like you mentioned, trucking's gone up and just quality and all of that as well.

SPEAKER_00 49:39

The natural disasters that have happened that have the fires in Nebraska and Oklahoma and they know up in Texas and stuff, and and now we're facing a drought in South Texas, and and uh so that's it's really that as what has really come to mind is like wow, this really is a struggle and it's constantly changing and it and it's really uh a hard obstacle that that we really have to uh overcome e each year from from the freezing cold temperatures that that we've had in in this area like never before to to the drought, you know. And then we went into the flood last year of uh, you know.

SPEAKER_03 50:15

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 50:15

Uh so uh it's been a tough time to get into ranching, a challenging time, I I guess if you look at the past I uh whenever we brought the longhorns on, it it lets you know if you're gonna make it or not, or or or if you need to go try out for for Yellowstone and and put on just the outfit. I I I don't know, but but it's it's uh it's been a real challenge here in in central Texas. I I know us breeders have been, and but you know, as as we look out in other areas as well, uh uh all over, like I said, from floods to fires, it's uh There's a battle of some sort.

SPEAKER_05 50:49

Someone for sure.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:53

Well, let's switch gears a little bit again here, and I'd like to talk about the beef side of your business. Uh so obviously nutrition, like we were just talking, it doesn't just impact the live animals, it's gonna also impact the end product. So you all were actually featured in a Texas Hill Country magazine article back in February of 2025, and they said that Cold Copper Cattle Company LLC is a new breed of ranchers that is reintroducing pasture-finished beef, uniquely the Texas Longhorn. Uh that line stood out to me just because it, you know, positions you not as breeders, but also kind of a shift back to a more intentional way of producing that beef. So let's talk about that. Why pasture finished?

SPEAKER_05 51:35

Well, um, grass-fed beef was just the way to go. I mean, that's what everybody wanted.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

And when you when you have too many cows, uh uh you just uh that that's what you see right there, is all right, we can't sell them all. And uh so then we it came to mind like, wow, this this meat is yummy, it's healthy for you. You know, why why why wouldn't this be in demand? And this also gives you a perfect outlet for for some of the animals that don't fit uh you know the marketing uh for your breeding standards, and and these are all things that we've really has taken time to go full circle to learn uh all of this.

SPEAKER_05 52:14

But I just wanted more, I wanted them to be able to graze or us put out hay for them. I didn't really want them in pens, feeding them a ton of grain, you know, for 90 days before processing. And and uh it it's just the route we kind of chose to go and and you you can't do both. It's too hard. It's just you know, to you know, try to keep it separate of, you know, oh these were pasture finished, these were, you know, so uh it's just been um for us the easiest. I feel it's easier, you know, especially since we feed, you know, all coastal and alfalfa and you know forage and we really don't do grains um per se to, you know, except for the winglings and you know, some bulls here and there. But um that that was um we just that was just the way we wanted to go. And then grass fed is just the healthiest as well. It's you know, so that's um the other reason and and why we're just you know what the animal how it was supposed to just be is that you know, that way and and to eat it that way.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

It was probably the easiest way for us to to raise it and get it to beef to slaughter, and so it it it didn't require much effort on our part. And so that was um helpful for me that that that would yeah, it kind of helped out and and just said with this so uh and the beef all goes to a a different ranch and it's raised out uh uh up in a ranch in Lampasas where it's just grassland and so it g it gets to graze out there on the on the natural grassland and and it just kind of that became part of our beef program, I guess, where that the animals will quick transition from from this ranch to that ranch if they're in the beef program and and there it gets grown out. Uh if it's you know even going to make the size to be processed anymore. And that's a whole other thing that we've learned about you know, the the meat side of it. And and a lot of breeders have are getting into the meat side of it because there is a big need for that. But there's so much to learn about the meat side of it uh as far as processing it on a on a little bit larger volume other than you know for the general public and stuff like that. If if you've just provided it for your friends and family and stuff, uh it's a lot easier to manage. But once you start taking multiple cows in and you start to see the difference in the weights and the and the costs that are associated with all of it, uh that has been one of the biggest variables that that as far as learning how to run cattle, learning how to manage the meat is a whole nother is a whole nother level complexity of of, you know, because uh commercial cattle probably have they know what they're gonna get off of that animal if it weighs so much, but the longhorn, I I think sometimes uh you know it's it's harder to get that same amount of meat off of the longhorn. They're just not as meaty as an animal, and so uh they may weigh quite a bit, but you're not may not get as much meat out of it. And so those are all things uh that that that we're learning and and we learn every every day about.

SPEAKER_05 55:22

Yeah. But mainly just for the health reasons, that was the that was the big kick to go that way, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 55:31

So I believe I saw on your website that you referred to your Longhorn beef as the new luxury beef. Is that right?

SPEAKER_05 55:38

Well, I don't that's that's uh the lady that wrote that. She's the one that she's the one that came up with that. She was overselling it for us. Yeah, she was really overselling it. We'll take it easy.

SPEAKER_00 55:48

She came out and yes, I think it's I think it's one beef that's way overlooked and and underrated, and and uh I don't know why, because it's absolutely delicious. Um I think there's just some other things that you need to have in mind when you're preparing it. Uh back in the day when they just cooked it over the campfire and and and you know, had to eat it, I I'm sure it tasted like leather, but we we you know we we fast forward into modern day times, and man, I mean, through through the what's it, the the crock pot to the to the other little Instapot. I uh I mean this stuff, it this the meat is just absolutely phenomenal to the city. Well, and it's just the the the steaks. I mean just the in the way that you would cook it and prepare it, uh, you know, in the knowledge that you would have. There's so much to to that that side of it.

SPEAKER_05 56:36

Um I just wanted to give the community too a clean source of meat to come and and be able to get in. And speaking of, you know, the the processing and all that and and being able to pick the right cow to process for the store so that you know everybody, you know, it works for everybody and there's enough meat and it and it keeps the cost down so that I don't have to charge, you know, I I got H E B, you know, you got to walk away from the floor. But I'm trying to to help them understand, you know, this was this was born, you know, four miles from this feed store and processed, you know, just an hour away and and um you know, frozen once, and it's this is how fresh it is. And and so that's that's part of that as well, just trying to bring them night good, clean meat for to offer.

SPEAKER_04 57:26

Do you feel like that's been a little bit of an uphill uphill battle educating buyers, whether it be on grass finished versus green finished or just like knowing where it comes from?

SPEAKER_05 57:36

Everybody pretty well, I mean, we tell everybody when they get it, this is grass-fed meat, you know, this is not, you know, because they come in and be bop and if they've never bought one before, you know, we do try to let them know that this is and and it it doesn't just because it's longhorn, any grass-fed, fully grass-fed meat is is different than your grain finished. Even it doesn't really mat, you know. So, and then on the fact that it is a longhorn, you know, there's so we try to educate them, you know, try to, you know, give them a few cooking tips and and stuff like that. But um, but yeah, that's uh uh a a challenge to get them to understand it, to cook it a little different and and you know, season it. And we sell seasonings and things to, you know, send send with them. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:23

The steaks are the biggest seller.

SPEAKER_05 58:25

Yeah, those go so fast. I we don't even get them.

SPEAKER_00 58:29

One customer goes home and cooks it in his air fryer. Uh what he buys one at one a week and he cooks it in the air fryer and he told he told the the kids at the feed store the the recipe for it.

SPEAKER_05 58:38

Just butter. Is that all it's just butter in your air fryer?

SPEAKER_00 58:43

That might take away from the healthiness of the air.

SPEAKER_05 58:44

Yeah, fight, but yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 58:50

So you you all are a little bit different because you have the the feed store, which we're gonna talk about uh here next. But what do you have any advice that you could share for kind of your general longhorn breeder who's thinking about trying to go direct to consumer and maybe you know doesn't have the the learning curve you all have had with processing and and all of that?

SPEAKER_05 59:10

Well, I mean, it's it probably is easier um to if you can sell it in, you know, halves or holes or sides, things like that. We don't offer that through the store. It was it was really just too difficult to have people coming in and trying to pick all the the the cuts and stuff. So um for people that don't have that outlet, that's I would sell it more like that, um, you know, as trying to get families together to buy a whole beef or a whole, you know, and then let them pick their cuts and and do all of that. Um that is the easy way, or just, you know, a lot of ground beef. I mean, a lot of people that we know that do it, that just sell it, you know, to people they know, it's it's just all ground beef. People really, the ground beef, you know, they love that. And that's an easy way to um, if you don't want to go through that whole process of picking cuts, just grind it all and sell it to your friends and family like that. And it's it's really that's that's pretty easy to do. It doesn't have to have the fancy packaging, you know. There's plenty of places it doesn't have to be have the USDA stamp on it. Obviously, ours does because we're selling it in a store. Um, so the the cost could definitely be less for someone um that's just doing it, you know, for themselves or to sell to friends and family. And I know there's a lot of apps out there. I have not joined any of them because we're not shipping it yet. I would love to be shipping it from the website, but we've we just we haven't got we haven't got there yet on that. But um that's that's my advice on that.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:46

Let's talk a little bit about cold copper commodities. Um, so that's your feed store and you have is it you have two, correct, in two different communities? Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:55

Yep, one in Burnett and one in Marble Falls.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:58

So what made you decide like, yep, we need to do this too? We're gonna we're gonna branch out one more way.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:04

Good question. I don't know. Sometimes the two of us, we just oh, let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:08

Maybe you get out on a ranch and you get bored and you know you get cows.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:12

Ideas get in your head.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:13

Uh yeah, what we just talked about selling a business and getting away from all of that stuff and and then went you just bam, just like that all of a sudden.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:21

Well, we spent every day in there. We were in there every day, so it it just seemed right that we uh that we we purchased it. Um the gentleman had there that owned it for like 26 years had ran it for that long and and he was just sort of wanting to, you know, kind of retire, and and uh we just picked up on that and and sort of just you know got into communications with him and and decided to to move forward with it. We wanted to um we wanted to make it grow a little bit uh from from the little feed store that it was. We wanted to try to, you know, make it bigger, offer, you know, some more things to the community. Obviously, the meat and um the boutique side was just something for fun to have um along with the feed store. It forces people to have to have to kind of come in and look at my purses and and jewelry and things like that. But um, but no, we we and we uh I don't know, we just to give back to the community, just to be there for, you know, just to have things, you know, for the community. Um, you know, because at that time it was the only game in town. We've there's things that have moved here now, but but just trying to have those things for for our locals.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:37

Yeah, and to create the opportunity for the for the locals, um, you know, just to be part of the business. And and we uh we wanted to to, you know, the mid-20s some years and we just you know wanted to come out with a f a fresh new look and and um you know just try to uh and and JC obviously played a big role in that because you know it was just something a good solid place for her to go and be and and uh I mean she's she is in there every day.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:12

I mean, more than we're like you don't have to work at the feed store, all that, you know, but she uh she's in there a lot and it's it's uh it's just it's been great for her and and and because we can't do it out here on the ranch without her, like we have to have her um out here. She is the you know, she's when we say catch cows, it's okay, bye JC, go catch cows. We're gonna stay here. And so uh she's she's in charge of that out here. So we have to have her. And so we needed something that was, you know, could just go hand in hand with the ranch. And it's literally four miles from our ranch. So it's it's something, you know, that she can go to and and the community knows her. She knows everybody in the community now. And and um, and so that that played a big role, you know, that was a big reason for for purchasing the stores too. Played a played a huge mark part in it.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:10

Do you think maybe that you two are a little bit of uh like serial entrepreneurs, maybe?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:17

Yeah, we we have to hold each other back sometimes. Uh yeah, I I we we were talking about things the other day about you know, we should take this, this and we should build this, this, and this, and you know, and I was like, no, no, no, we're not, because we will get going. And it is yeah, I like that. We're serial entrepreneurs. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it um well and and our daughter owned she we there's a little house down in front of the feed store, and she opened her um where she does injections now because she's a RN and so she does so you can get your feed and then you can go down and get your lip injections. You can walk right down there and get your Botox, your fillers, anything you need. So that's that's been fun to have have that property in town where I had this little spot for her to be, and and so it's so when she's not as much a part of the ranch, you know, but she's she loves that feed store and she's right there in front of it.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:13

So it's awesome. It's nice that you've it's nice how it's all worked out, how you've each kind of found your your roles and your passions and have been able to build upon them for sure. So with possibly being serial entrepreneurs, what advice would you give someone uh if they're thinking of starting their own business, whether it be, you know, maybe something you learned from Norfolk, or maybe they're open, they're looking at opening like a rural, you know, some type of rural business to serve their local community.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:43

Well, uh I would say that definitely retail was is definitely different than refrigeration. That was quite a that was quite a jump. So we didn't know anything about retail. We are definitely learning. We were learning about retail. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:59

So do your homework on retail before you get into it. Uh the refrigeration I went to school and and really had a passion for. And so it really um I wanted to learn every day more and more until I I knew everything or that I thought I could learn about it. But but the retail side of it is completely different because now now you're trying to sell something that you have to a customer. And that's been probably one of the different things. You know, uh before uh in in the business, the customers would come to you and say, I need this fixed or I need this built. Well now they're you know, it's really um you're relying on that customer to to come in the door. And so uh uh two different things, but whether it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:43

Yeah, and in a and in a rule rural community, um I you just you need to be very community, you need to love your community and want to serve your community because you're gonna know them all and they're all gonna come in there and um and uh your customer service has to be, you know, it has to be good, it has to be spot on, it has to be, you know, Chick-fil-A style uh customer service, you know, to keep them coming back, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:12

I feel like maybe there's a little bit of overlap there between those lessons and also just customer service or or building a longhorn herd if you want to also be successful there. Yeah. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:25

Well, and it's uh it's extremely difficult during the times that we're in because uh uh all every employer is faced with the same challenge of of just working in with today's uh workforce that that we have. Uh you know and so each each day uh and especially at a feed store trying to get somebody to throw 50 pound sacks all day long it you know that's a it's a tough job and so uh trying to do that while you know having a smile and and shaking the person's hand you know that that it's we're trying to pass that on to this next generation of of youth uh because customer service has gotten lost uh you know about really what it is but it's a hard time to really enforce that uh but we still that's one of our main uh goals uh you know constantly that's in the back of our mind is improvement our customer service and and and what can we do to to mold and shape the youth that we're that we have uh into being that kind of mindset as they continue to grow and and go through their career um and the difference that it can make uh by reaching out and shaking that guy's hand and and getting to know that one customer uh he may offer you an opportunity someday he may be the guy that that you need to know uh you know and and that's what we're trying to teach the kids and and it's hard for them to understand because it's hard work out there but uh you know you got to be you got to take those risks if you want the rewards and and uh that's what we really try to pass on to them is that you know coming out here and working hard but but there will be rewards and and it may take some time uh but uh that it's it uh it's it's you know the feed store's not easy either it's it's heavy hard work and um but we've got a good group and and we're doing well and having a lot of fun and and that's the the most important part of it you know to see the kids out there working together and learning together and um it's uh it's been meaningful to to us I know on this side of it's awesome and I agree very much needed in the the stay in time yeah well we've talked about let's see we've talked about your history and your current herd with longhorns we've talked about hay and beef and the feed store let's let's bring it back all together again and just tell me where you want all of this to be if we talk again in let's say the next five years.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:54

What's what's your goal and your vision for all of this?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:00

Well five years and five years can go by fast. And a lot has changed for us as far as the first five years we worked just on infrastructure and really trying to get to understand the uh all the different avenues of the business and and what all it brings in uh the challenges and and uh so I I don't know I mean I I feel like we're kind of getting a handle of it but um it it's it we seem to learn something every day.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:32

So yeah in five years I I just I I just plan I hope that we're um we just got our herd where we want it it seems like that that is not very far away though to to to uh grasp all of that but um just just keep working at it keep creating new ones and see what's happening and and um you know keep seeing what all of our other fellow breeders are doing there's a lot of things going on and and a lot of yeah new bulls out there and and so it's a really exciting time honestly to uh I think it's made a huge jump in the last few years just with the excitement and and all of this and so I'm the anxious the different people that it's brought in.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:20

It's changed. I know when we got in uh I we felt like uh you know very much intimidated by just like wow one I can't believe we have longhorns then two I can't believe we're around people that raise longhorns you know we hadn't even really raised them ourselves yet yeah so so to get over that that uh we're all just like everybody else out here and and we had to get over that you know and and it's been really good to to get to know and to and to meet the people and have the people mentor us and and uh and help us a along the way it's it's been very meaningful uh how much we've been able to take away from the from the people uh that that we talk with and and uh so that that's been uh a neat experience but uh I think we need to take the herd size down a little bit. We're probably we're gonna have to nail Callie down on on a number Molly so in five years we can go back and say all right you said it on camera you were going to be at this but it's your department I mean I'll stay here once you figure it out yeah it's um I you know it's a hard thing to do I mean it yeah it's it's it's one one day it's very one day you uh you want a hundred of them and the next day you you don't want none of them sometimes and Mike can can pet and curry comb like so many of them so every one I'm like okay this one's got to move he's like wait but and I'm like so I can't help the come and go or come by to get my phone number or something. And then I just hit them with the brush and the alfalfa. Yeah the alfalfa and then the next thing that they're my friend and and uh we've got one now that walks across the pasture all the time and she it uh something he calls her name and she just comes right over see what what I'm hearing is that Mike's the reason your herd's so big and then that's that's my problem you've got it figured out I I I've got a big heart and it and it's hard for me to to to see the operation like that and and it's been something that I that I've had to to learn and struggle with uh because you do fall in love with them and you do uh yeah you do develop a relationship with them and and uh to understand the business side of it is is been the biggest thing for me and the biggest advice for new breeders that are getting in is you know sooner or later you're gonna have to start getting rid of these things and and you know and and if you're tough it's it's not a problem uh but it for me I've I've had to learn that the difference in that kind of relationship like that. And so um it uh it's been part of the learning experience and and like sometimes I was thinking uh you know learning life but maybe sometimes we learn things in life that we shouldn't learn. I mean sometimes we get too curious about oh I need to be learning about I need to learn about this and then and uh but no it's uh it that is the uh the biggest piece of advice is is you know is it it gets to be a big uh herd and the cattle are a lot of work and it takes a lot of uh responsibility from from everybody to step up and and that's what we're doing as a family and and we're seeing uh JC step in and and fill positions now that were before she was you know just felt like she wasn't a little small for it but now heck she's working at the cattle auctions and pushing cattle through anywhere and will do anything anybody needs ever help with with cattle wise uh so um the it takes all of us and uh it it takes a whole team and uh to keep up with it uh about all the sides of it that we talked about uh you know through yep through the little podcast here go ahead and tell everyone how they can find you tell me your different websites for for everything and your locations and if you want to throw out your social media handles whatever you want to share here where folks can um well the the ranch is the www coldcopperanch.com and the feed store is coldcoppercommodities dot com we didn't make that easy um and then um Facebook and Instagram are um I think cold copper cattle company for Facebook and Cold Copper Commodities Company for Facebook and that will probably lead you in TikToks and yeah find us probably on all of those. We're starting to have more fun with the with the videos because we come across a a lot of um neat stuff in the pastures and we got a lot of good ideas but sometimes it's like taking the time to put that together yeah or to get it on video or something.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:00

So thank you both so much for joining me today I feel like we covered a lot and learned a lot and uh hopefully if folks are local they'll stop by either Burnett or Marble Falls and visit the store.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:14

Marble Falls yep thank you.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:16

And if not they'll head to your website they can do that. Thank you both.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:21

Thanks Molly