This week on Angus Underground, your hosts are discussing one of their absolute favorite topics: breeding philosophy!

Having seen different breeding programs across the nation up close and personal, David, Joe, and Korbin are bringing their well-rounded expertise to the table to share their insights on various breeding philosophies.

Joining them to discuss their own breeding program and philosophy in detail today is Jordan Rhodes of Rhodes Red Angus, located in Faulkton, South Dakota.

When David first met Jordan a year ago, his story and experience struck a chord with him. As a young, passionate breeder, Jordan is truly paving the way for the next generation of cattle ranchers. Despite his success in these recent years, Jordan has never forgotten his roots. His commitment to helping others along their own journeys is both admirable and inspiring — something this industry needs more of!

In this episode, Jordan shares about his purebred cattle breeding program, how he first got into the industry, how he became interested in AI and the mission of making beef cattle better, how he studies the beef business, the major lessons he has learned throughout his career in terms of breeding cattle, his thoughts on the commercial cattle industry, and key insights into the work, environment, and genetics that went into their top-selling bull this year.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Rhodes Red Angus

The Montana Bred for Balance Bull and Female Sale — Nov. 13th, 2021

Rafter 5M Land & Cattle

Connors State College Bull Test Sale — Dec. 2nd, 2021

Ginger Hill Angus Bull and Female Sale — Nov. 20th, 2021

Shady Brook Angus Farm

Bruin Ranch

Facebook @AngusUnderground

Instagram @AngusUnderground

American Angus Association

Quotes:

“This business doesn’t have to be so complicated. … I think right now, in this day and age, we have an opportunity to raise the absolute best Angus cattle the world has ever seen. … Technology has given us [that] opportunity.” — Jordan Rhodes

“The way I study this beef business is a conglomeration of everything. … There’s so much data that’s turned in.” — Jordan Rhodes

“I realized really quickly that if you can get a cow pregnant, and you can understand just how much she maintains her skeleton, you can change things.” — Jordan Rhodes

“I think that everybody who has a genetic influence in this industry should have to calf their own cows as initiation. If you have never calved 300 cows, you haven’t walked a mile in [a breeder’s] shoes.” — Jordan Rhodes

“The other thing about Red Angus that I love is that there is virtually no labor in these cattle. They are awesome.” — Jordan Rhodes

“Our obligation to our commercial bull customers should be that we don’t create more problems for them and that we should give them a product that’s predictable and consistent.”

“Just avoid the noise. … Just go to work.” — Jordan Rhodes

Learn more about our sponsor, Montana Ranch, by visiting MontanaRanchAngus.com.

This week on Angus Underground, your hosts are going underground to discuss marketing and merchandising your Angus! They are joined by professional marketer and longtime friend, Dave Mullins, the founder and owner of SaleRing.Live. Dave is an expert in the livestock industry, having worked alongside the country’s finest livestock breeders, marketers, and stockmen his entire career. With more than two decades of experience in the auction business, it is no understatement to say that Dave knows a thing or two when it comes to marketing and merchandising Angus!

Get ready to take notes in this episode as your hosts, and special guest Dave Mullins, tell you everything that you need to know when it comes to preparing for sales, how to create a successful marketing plan, how to develop a marketing timeline, build and maintain a healthy relationship with your customers, leverage social media to promote your brand, and how to develop a customer list. Dave also breaks down the three types of sales (private treaty sales, consignment sales, and production sales), and shares what you need to know when it comes to making a good first impression, effectively planning for your herd, keeping your customers happy, knowing your market, finding your niche, showing your cattle in the best light, advertising effectively, putting together a sales catalog, putting together a mailing list, sale management, and much, much more! This episode is jam-packed with invaluable information, so don’t miss out!

Mentioned in this Episode:

SaleRing.Live

The Montana Bred for Balance Online Embryo Auction LIVE! & Open House — Oct. 12th, 2021

The Montana Bred for Balance Bull and Female Sale — Nov. 13th, 2021

Sinclair Cattle Company

Neiman Cattle Company

Shady Brook Angus Farm

Bruin Ranch

Facebook @AngusUnderground

Instagram @AngusUnderground

American Angus Association

Quotes:

“I think the #1 piece of advice I can give is: Plan. Plan like there’s no tomorrow. Plan for every contingency.”

“There should be no timeline for when you should start promoting. If you’ve got content to share … there’s no better time than the present.”

“Once you know your customer base, then you’ll be able to make those prudent decisions.”

“Find your niche and quit trying to be everything to everyone. You need to find that ‘something’ that you’re really good at.”

“When you’re starting out, you have to create your own opportunities because it’s not every day that someone wants to give them to you.”

Learn more about our sponsor, Montana Ranch, by visiting MontanaRanchAngus.com.

Welcome to the second episode of Angus Underground! In this episode, your hosts, David, Joe, and Korbin are visiting with one of the most dynamic personalities in the business, Dr. Brooke Miller!

Dr. Miller, along with his family, owns and operates Ginger Hill Angus; a multi-generational registered Angus seed stock operation. Brooke is also the current President of the United States Cattlemen’s Association and a physician in his hometown of Washington, Virginia.

With his unique perspective as a physician and a cattle rancher, Brooke offers his insights on the commercial cattle industry and shares his advice on how to stay fit and healthy as a rancher so that you can bring your best self to the farm.

He also shares about his background in the Angus industry, his experiences going through medical school and becoming a physician, what makes the Ginger Hill Angus breeding program unique, how he operates his program, his insights on the commercial cattle industry, who his customers are, and how he has maintained his breeding discipline and philosophy over the years rather than chasing the “latest and greatest.” Additionally, Brooke also discusses his role as the President at USCA, the current issues that USCA is addressing that will impact all cattle ranchers, and the potential changes to the industry if the 5415 bill passes.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Ginger Hill Angus

Facebook @GingerHillAngus

Instagram @GingerHillAngus

United States Cattlemen’s Association

The Obesity Code — Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss, by Dr. Jason Fung

Shawn Baker MD

Revero.Health (formally MeatRX.com)

The Big Fat Surprise (Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet), by Nina Teicholz

14th Annual Beef Solutions Bull Sale (Sept. 24th, 2020) — For more information, contact Joe Fischer at 530-392-0154

Facebook @AngusUnderground

Instagram @AngusUnderground

Shady Brook Angus Farm

The Montana Bred for Balance Bull and Female Sale — Nov. 13th, 2021

Quotes:

“Some of the best people … smartest people, and the hardest working people I know are cattle ranchers and it’s a shame that, by and large, they aren’t really paid for what they do.” — Dr. Brooke Miller

“Working cattle around here is a family affair. It usually gets done on weekends and [we] try to get all of the children to come home. … All of the daughters and sons-in-law … are all comfortable and doing quite well in working cattle.” — Dr. Brooke Miller

“We’ve got to promote the people in mainstream media that are promoting our product and promoting actual science. People like Shawn Baker and … Nina Teicholz, who wrote The Big Fat Surprise. We need to promote those people and hold them up as the foremost authorities on nutrition; not the same-old, same-old that has gotten us to where we’re at as a society.” — Dr. Brooke Miller

“The thing that shaped our program the most that [my dad] told me when I was a little boy [was] … ‘The sole purpose of the purebred livestock industry is to produce seed stock with commercial cow-calf industry.’ … So that’s pretty much what we live by. We try to raise our cattle under the same conditions [that] good commercial cow-calf guys do.” — Dr. Brooke Miller

Learn more about our sponsor, Montana Ranch, by visiting MontanaRanchAngus.com.

Welcome to the first episode of Angus Underground! This is the podcast featuring insights, opinions, and answers to the questions you’re asking on Angus breeding. Join your hosts, David Brown, Joe Fischer, and Korbin Mehaffey, as they take you “underground” and prepare to be educated, entertained, and empowered!

In this first episode of Angus Underground, David, Joe, and Korbin discuss the thread that ties all of their passions together with Angus breeding. They share their backgrounds in the business that uniquely position them to lend their knowledge, their philosophies on breeding, and their insights on what it takes to develop a successful breeding program.

They also discuss what motivates them to breed the cattle that they do, how to breed cattle that don’t cause your customers problems, their biggest drivers that keep them motivated in the business, some of the impactful lessons they have learned through their tenure in the Angus industry, what it means to get back to the heart of breeding, and so much more. This first episode is jam-packed with invaluable insights for smaller breeders, so be sure to tune in!

Mentioned in this Episode:

14th Annual Beef Solutions Bull Sale (Sept. 24th, 2020) — For more information, contact Joe Fischer at 530-392-0154

Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee)

Bruin Ranch

Montana Ranch

The Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising, by Laurence Lasater

Shady Brook Angus Farm

Facebook.com/AngusUnderground
Instagram.com/angusunderground

Quotes:

“Right at the brink of failure is when the biggest breakthroughs happen.”

“I feel an obligation to my customers. I want to make sure that I’m giving the right kind of cattle more than anything.”

“You need to know where you’ve been to know where you’re going.”

“Never underestimate when and where you can have an impact on someone’s life.”

“It’s hard to divorce my ‘why’ from my breeding philosophies. It’s a passion that’s rooted in a deep commitment that’s almost spiritual with our customers. And it’s that way because they’re my family and my friends.”

“I think there’s something you can learn from everyone’s program — whether you agree with them philosophically or not. There are nuggets that you can pick from every program — and that’s what I love about this business. It truly is a people business.”

Learn more about our sponsor, Montana Ranch, by visiting MontanaRanchAngus.com.

This podcast features insightful opinions, the latest news from around the Angus cattle world and conversations with industry leaders, newsmakers and breeders – from the well-known to the not-so-well-known. Go undercover with hosts, David Brown, Joe Fischer and Korbin Mehaffey.