Building Sustainable Beef: Cassie Lapaseotes' Vision for Nebraska Ranching
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Building Sustainable Beef: Cassie Lapaseotes' Vision for Nebraska Ranching

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in to We Live It Now let's get to

today's

episode Welcome to We Live It the live a

podcast your source for livestock market

insights management strategies and real

conversations with those who don't just

work in the cattle industry they live it

Here are your hosts Ty Cordova and Casey

Mabry

[Music]

Well welcome here to uh Logan County

Cattle Women's Kolkata Um me and Casey

decided to show up here They Brett

called us and wanted us to come up and

shoot a few episodes So we reached out

to several people and decided we would

come up here with them and thank the

Mandeers for inviting us to be here Um

we got some really neat guests on today

Uh Cap Cassie I just said this Lapis

Lapotus I got it Cassie Lapotus Um she

decided to join us from Nebraska They

have a feed yard there with her and her

father And uh they're they're part of

the new beef plant the sustainable beef

there in Nebraska also So we just want

to welcome you here and thank you for

joining us and just kind of get right

right in and talk about what I mean

what's going on at the yard and how the

how the feed feed ties into everything

and just kind of how you are visioning

all that to go Sure Yeah So I'm fourth

generation um part of my family's cattle

feeding farming and cow calf operation

in Bridgeport Um we have two feed yards

um right there outside of Bridgeport Uh

one's a 5,000 head yard I manage that

one And then we have a 10,000 head yard

that's just right outside of town So my

dad and I are on the cattle side Um

we've had a really good year for feeding

cattle Um and then on the farming side

is my uncle and his son and we feed

about 10,000 irrigated acres right there

20 mile radius within Bridgeport Um

we're part of the Dinklage uh feed yards

Okay Feed a lot of cattle at the

Dinklage Um we're very big into you know

tying everything together where our corn

all goes to our feed yards Our sugar

beats all go to the sugar company that

we're a part of Um and then our cattle

is the one thing that we didn't really

have a home for And so through COVID um

everybody was ready for some change And

we've had a lot of people come to us

come to the table and uh sustainable

beef is the one group of people that

made it a go And now we're we are about

32 days from opening So that was going

to be my next question When will y'all

spill first blood i mean when you Well

the plan is May May 28th Um that's the

plan Things change things happen But um

as it sits today May 28th is day one

Cool One shift Two shifts One shift One

shift One shift Yep Yep 1500 head a day

one shift It's It's awesome man That's

That's phenomenal Yeah Casey had a

relationship with y'all for a while I

mean y'all known each other for a little

bit Kind of tell us a little bit about

that how that come about Yeah So I I

would have met Cassy's dad first when I

was buying cattle for Cargill uh back in

2005 or

2006 And then the first time that I met

Cassie would would have been uh I would

have uh been down at Colorado State

recruiting Uh and then one of these kids

comes up and was like "Man I met this I

met this girl and you buy cattle from

her dad." And I was like "Who's that?"

And he was like trying to mispronounce

your name and things like that And then

Cassie showed up You were a freshman I

think at CSU at that time Uh so it's

crazy how fast things have gone uh from

then But I'll tell you what your family

um has probably got out of all the

people that I've come across with uh

throughout my time in this industry um

that area that you live in is so unique

Before we go any further on the plant

and things like that let's talk about

like the old days Okay So like Cassie I

think your family has got awesome

heritage Uh talk about like who founded

it where that would have come from Let's

talk about like where like I'm talking

about whenever before we even had roads

out in that area So so yeah my family

history is I I'm mom and dad's side is

both extremely unique Um on my dad's

side uh both his mom and dad are are

100% Greek His mom was um she immigrated

over to the United States when she was

19 U my my dad's dad was born in the

United States Um so I would be fourth

generation from that side of the family

Um and my great papu which my great

grandpa when he came over in 1909 I want

to say he worked his way um across the

states through the railroad and he would

have been an outcast So he was working

on the railroads He was working on the

railroads and he established in

Bridgeport because he became started

working then building all the sugar

factories in western Nebraska and

Colorado and um he became a foreman

building all these sugar factories and

then bought some acreage in Bridgeport

and started farming and from there it

just it grew So let's talk about

Bridgeport Nebraska here for a minute So

if if you haven't been there before it's

definitely different than eastern

Nebraska You're out west uh you've got

the river that runs through there but

outside of that today it's a lot of

irrigated farm ground that's along that

river because the the aquafer and things

that are there but whenever he would

have gone there there would have been it

would have been a desert It would have

been nothing Yeah Yeah And we my dad and

and my grandfather would have been they

would just buy pasture ground and

establish and put farms and put more

farms and back then you can

just take the pasture ground and

establish it and it wasn't a big deal

the day you know you have to have

certified acres and you're not allowed

to do that today And water restrictions

has changed all of that But yeah

irrigation um pivot irrigation came out

west in the 70s and just exploded in

that area And so when you talk about the

uniqueness of Bridgeport and and the

operations out there the it's very

common to have the farmer feeders Um so

a lot of us have farm ground We have

feed lots and we have a cow calf herd

and it's very very common um in the

Birchport area Yeah So what's what's

always been cool about that area and I'm

not trying to like I tell everybody that

that area out of everywhere that I've

been um every area has got something

unique about it but like to feed cattle

you have to have a really dry climate Uh

but then you don't necessarily have the

ability to grow corn in that area but

then you guys have the access to the

water Uh not only through the river and

the canal systems but then also like you

know sub the irrigation systems but um

the pivots Um so that area is so cool

when it comes to like cattle production

and efficiencies but then also like

grain basis It's a pretty cool time

period So like out in that area now you

guys would have multiple um multiple uh

uh sugar beat plants So there's a lot of

sugar beats growing there So that's one

available feed stuff And then you've got

the the distillers plant Distillers Yeah

The ethanol plant that produces

distillers and all the all the corn

that's grown there And then kind of a

natural funnel for cattle coming out of

the west Uh so it's like a really really

cool area and it's it's crazy to think

about um like your family you know four

generations ago that would have been

there and it's almost

necessar but he just like landed there

and maybe it was by the grace of God Who

knows but then you was able to kind of

set that foundation forward Uh and it's

just kind of a a great story And then

now we fast forward to uh where you guys

are putting this packing plant in North

Plat Nebraska And in my my mind that's

one of the best locations uh that you

could have in the world uh from a center

point of cattle So um let's talk about a

little bit about um that I mean this is

Logan Logan County Cattle Women's Deal

and I think it's awesome that you at the

age you are coming back into your

operation um and working in your

family's operation and obviously there's

some in every family there's some

uniqueness there but um what are some of

the challenges I guess Cassie that

you've seen uh over the last four or

five years outside of market stuff um

and then how has that uh kind of

prepared you mentally to kind of go

through the mental exhaustion of

building a packing plant

well I mean it it it started before I

can't quite go four years ago because my

family we tried to do this about 14

years ago in um in the Scotsluff

Bridgeport area and that was kind of my

first exposure to I'd say negative

social media people that you thought

were your friends disagreeing with you

and publicly disagreeing with you and

and I had never experienced that and

that um that was my first like taste of

big projects that people aren't going to

just be all on board with you on That

project didn't go through Um and then

fast forward to this project we kind of

already had our feet in the water Said

you know day one you're going to have to

have somebody on this project 365 for

the next year You're not going to make

much progress but somebody's got to be

on this every day People aren't going to

always agree And I had already been like

"Yep we know that's going to happen

Let's go." you don't look at the

negativity you don't look at my mind was

already established into how to handle

that and I and so having that experience

early on really helped me just be able

to just push forward and move forward

with this project Yeah So it's it's

interesting how um and I think it's like

a very unique partnership and all the

people that are that are involved in it

from you know the meat side of it uh

back into the cattle side of it Um you

know and and where those two worlds are

going to collide uh as you go forward

here Uh but I think that you guys have

done such a good job kind of setting

that up Um and honestly I like like I

texted you the other day when I saw the

video of it of the inside of it and it

was awesome to see uh you guys I'm

guessing you were on the grade chain and

the sales cooler Yep Uh whenever you

were you know doing all that stuff and

kind of announcing everything and it

just looks like a beautiful facility I

need to go probably check it out because

I'm kind of a packing house nut I guess

you'd say But um but uh so when do you

you guys are thinking about firing off

here may 28th Yep Yep Um so uh

everything seems like it's going pretty

well so far It's it's going well Yeah We

um big projects like this you always

have things in the works and things but

it's it's going well and we're we're

very excited and very blessed to have

people on board that we have um to make

the project come true When we started it

like during that co time we were talking

about earlier we had multiple people

come in and say we got to do something

we got and we sat back and listened and

had you know just sat back and listened

and it was the the team with Sustainable

Beef that their vision just kept true

and they kept saying we're going to do

this and move forward and then the the

progress started happening with them and

they're the only group that that

progress happened with And so it was

just evident from day one they were

ready to bring the right people on board

and they had the location and from the

first time we went about that um we

learned that the location and the people

and the town is such a crucial part of

where this just having them accept you

as a as a company and a project is is

crucial in moving forward and making the

the process a little bit easier I mean

you still have all the hoops to jump

through but they wanted us there Um the

city wanted us the the teachers is

always a big one Um we talked to a lot

of teachers and they we asked you know

are you worried about different

languages and and she told me one day

she goes "Cassie we've already have 14

different languages spoken in the school

today." She's like "We need kids We're

looking at closing schools." So that was

a big deal to them Um the land that it's

built on is you know southeast part of

town ties in with the wastewater It was

an old

lagoon It I mean it just the the pieces

were put together and it just kept

progressing and the puzzle is now

becoming complete and it's cool Yeah No

it's it's it's interesting to think back

because I've never built a packing plant

I've studied this industry a tremendous

amount and what I tell people all the

time is like to build a packing plant of

that size

there's only been two or three ever

built that size The rest of them were

all built to kill eight or 900 cattle

and the rest of them were all built to

just you know I mean when all those

plants were built in the 50s and the 60s

they were built to rail out carcasses or

ship out carcasses And then the fab

floor came later and then what the other

part of it is is they had to bring in

people later right so you got plants in

towns like Cactus Texas or Fiona Texas

where those towns are extremely small

You know the the the population of the

town is way less than the workforce size

Um so to your point I mean finding a

town that hey is willing to allow a lot

of people that are going to work in

these plants live in the town Um but

then also give you the site or work on

you with the site Um yeah I mean it's to

to be able to bring all those things

together is pretty remarkable And like

me looking out from for the last three

or four years watching you guys do it Um

it's actually pretty amazing to get that

thing done Not only financially but then

from a just a coordination st I'm I've

got ADD worse than anybody in the world

So I would have definitely probably

failed off starting off You know you'd

have been like hey look we can put that

plant in North Plat and then walked off

But um but yeah I mean that's

interesting You said you went and talked

to all the community members and so did

you guys split that up like as far as

like you or your other teammates like

how did y'all like kind of do that from

a committee standpoint well we've got

you know there's there's a family in

there that's a local family and and they

did they would have taken the the blunt

of the public and talking with them but

um my where I came in on like the

teacher standpoint is is I was um I just

said we need a daycare to be a part of

this packing plan So that's where I kind

of stemmed off and started talking with

some of the a gal in the school and her

ideas and she she was wanted to be a

part of that conversation Um but the the

blunt of it was the was the family

that's a part of the community and um

they were a part of the city council

meetings They talked to a lot of the

people and the and I wasn't even at a

lot of those city council meetings but

um the the feedback from them were or

the the meetings was very positive the

entire time And so that really I mean

just shines light

into how well and accepted North Plat

was to us And thank goodness the state

of Nebraska state of Nebraska Oh man it

governor's been on board since day one

Well we've had Pete Rickettts was on

board day one and now Governor Panin is

very supportive of the project all all

of the senators have just really been

there to help us along the way and if we

have a problem or need something they're

really they're there to step up and

willingness to be a part of the project

So well it's that area has just like

grown tremendously in the last call it

10 years as far as feedard capacity

really you've seen areas in in the

country that have shrank y maybe in the

east and then as cattle have migrated

more towards you know the more efficient

feeding conditions I mean this just

seems like a very natural spot to be

Yeah it's good And and what's really

nice about the area is there's a lot of

younger people coming back and um not

only just expanding on the feed yards

but they're buying other feed yards or

being a part they're take the the

generations that could close shop and

walk away You've got a young generation

of of cattle feeders coming back and

taking the risk to being a part of this

industry and being successful at it as

well And I think there's a lot of um a

lot of the older generation is willing

to help mentor them help them um in a

lot of different facets of it And then

you know we've got a new feedard coming

in the black shirts coming in I mean

that's cool That's just for the cattle

feeding world There's a lot of really

good things in Western Nebraska going on

today Yeah So are you guys like uh like

when you talk about the younger people

because this is one thing Tai that I've

talked about just at length and I'll go

talk to a meeting Okay And so like let's

say what I've always said Cassie is like

the ability or the want to or you know

the the the the the desire to get into

this business is always dictated on if

there's margin or not Right Right And so

very cyclical nature in the business and

all that stuff I mean obviously in all

sectors of it cow calf sector right now

everybody wants to be a cowboy because

all the cows are making money You know

in the feed lot side of it the margins

have been good for the last three or

four years Um do you guys organize like

like I'm sitting here thinking about and

maybe you and I could probably talk

about this off the off the microphone

here but it would be really cool to

bring together some of those younger

people Are y'all doing that like as far

as the state goes not a part of the not

as much as the state Like a lot of us

are just buddies I mean and we don't

formally get together and and have

meetings Um I mean they're informal at

the bar with a beer in your hand And

those are pretty formal Yeah I mean yeah

we have minutes and everything but no No

he don't at all But I mean we just we

all get along very well and and there's

Yeah I mean you got to have them You

have to have that younger generation um

marry bring people into the community

have families Um and then it ricochets

off of that Not even just in a in the

cattle feeding world It's um

Bridgeport's young and the the

businesses that are being opened on Main

Street are young

entrepreneurs young people going off on

their own Um it it's just to for this

rural economic development it starts

with just an industry and it ricochets

off of there And I think it's just yeah

you I could talk about Bridgeport and

the youth coming back all day long And

if you wanted to get a room a group of

us in a room together I mean just make

sure there's Bush Light and then we're

good

Well that's good That was one

conversation we had on the way up here

was the youth in this industry and and

what's keeping them in here and what's

bringing them in here And that's good to

hear from that from your your

perspective there Sounds like y'all kind

of got it going on where kids are coming

back home and even expanding the

operation of the family and that's just

always good That's always a good thing

to hear as we move forward here So cuz

it's going to take the youth to Well

we're in this I feel like we're in kind

of a transition period I mean like what

you guys are doing even I think there's

there's um people want to be a part of

agg and I think that um they want to

they want to do it in their own way and

I think that's unique but there's also

opportunity out there to do it and

there's a lot of people that are willing

to stand up and and risk something to be

a part of it and I think it's just the

mentality and the opportunity and the I

mean I'm I I'm a part of a group the

Engler entrepor reneur program through

the University of

Nebraska and I that was Paul Engingler

um uh started this and it's awesome like

they're these kids are fired up

about anything entrepreneurship but

their passion is rural economic

development in Nebraska and it's you

want to get down on the next generation

or we kids don't do things the way they

used to and it's funny that everybody

says said that about every generation

that you go back to and so Dedra and I

talk about that a lot You know it's like

man we you just got to embrace those

those youth And Ty and I were talking

about it on the way here Like I think

about and I think you just got to let

like let some of these youth kind of go

right right Right You know I joked

around with Pete whenever we talked

right before NCBA of like oh look I'm

over 40 years old now and we can have a

conversation You know my input's

valuable Yeah Just because I've been

here just on the on this earth a little

bit longer But um no I think that I mean

just like I said that the the watching

in different are so I was at the South

Dakota Prime Gala which is an awesome

meeting That'd be something cool to go

to also I mean I that's what I told Zach

We've got an office in O'Neal Nebraska

And I'm up there and everybody's 35 to

40 years old That's cool And I'm like

what I used to think was old but that's

young now But I I I'm like man I told

Zach I'm like this is a vibrant vibrant

area People are wanting to be here Um we

just got to make sure that when we go

through tough times in this industry or

if we go through tough times or when we

go through tough times the cyclical

nature of it uh we just got to make sure

that we're there for each other too and

remind everybody that we got to go

There's another you know there's another

uh light to the tunnel you know Yeah

Yeah Yeah No it's when we've all and

you've been through it and you hate to

see somebody go through it but then if

they can get through that first downturn

then it's I I got this And it's um

you're right though you do have to

support it and and um but man it's cool

and it's exciting cuz a's cool right now

Oh yeah So yeah absolutely Everybody

went into tech or equities or something

like that and everybody wants to be a

cowboy Everybody wants to be in the

business now that we're selling how we

are now Everybody wants to come back and

do it So but it took that I mean it's

going to take that to keep this thing

rolling So but no I love I love what

y'all are doing there And it's got to be

exciting to finally see it It's fixing

to happen We need to go up there and see

that plant I know we do Yeah Be good if

we knew somebody that could kind of give

us a tour Yeah I wish Yeah I mean I

don't know That Yeah maybe Maybe someday

you can Here's a phone number I'll go

We'll get I I would be cool to go in

before we start opening up and then come

back through when there are cattle going

through being harvested I think there's

a lot of value in that But it's just you

go in there and you're you're like

that's whoa I mean it just and then you

turn around and you're like this is it

just never it just every corner you go

through is just even more amazing than

the last one And it it's built for

people and comfort and I mean it's built

to do the job It's a beast but it's cool

No it's interesting you talked about it

I mean the word sustainable and

everybody kind of defines that different

ways and it's kind of been a buzz word

uh for the last 15 years or so but it's

really like putting money enriching the

community back so you can bring you

youth back in there It's interesting you

talk about you know talking to the

teachers first without just cramming it

down their throat and engaging them and

that way you have the people to educate

the next generation of the people Um and

then you talk about you know the

ergonomics and all that stuff around

making sure the uh the employees are

probably handled very well there That

way you're not turning over a bunch of

employees and different people and kind

of disrupting the town But um no I think

it's awesome So Todd we're going to get

down there and or get up there I guess

for us and go get up there and see it

But what So do y'all have It's got to be

exciting to know that Okay we're going

to 1500 cattle are going to come here on

hopefully May 28th That's the hope date

Well yeah The opening date Yeah I won't

be that headc count that day Yeah But so

you'll have that that schedule already

kind of set on what color going to come

I mean that would be something that

would be pretty exciting for me to to

know whose animal gets to be the first

one Who's going to who's going to play

the rock paper scissors i mean draw

straws I think this is my opinion is all

of the eight founders should buy that

animal together Then there's no knockout

drag out of that's a good idea Who that

is are y'all going to save the hide on

the first one So that hide and we were

laughing about that too cuz the gal that

gives the tours um I I was telling I

said Natalie I said "We got to do this."

And she goes she's like "You don't want

that first hide?" I said "Yes we do."

Because she goes "There'll be holes all

over it." And I said "Well we can always

strive to do better but yeah we'll get

that hide." I requested my first hide

that goes through so we can And then I

think all the founders are going to do

the same thing on their first animals

that go through So I would like to be

the one to sell that first animal to all

eight owners See what we can make it

bring All right See what we can make it

bring Okay Yeah There you go Yeah There

you go Put it in the local education

system education Oh that's that'd be

good Yeah I know It'd be fun But yeah

we're excited for it So well that's

exciting I just I bet you're just like

I'm ready for the candy Yeah Just just

something you've been striving for for

the last I don't know how many years

y'all been playing this So yeah we're

four four or five years into it Yeah I

mean that's when we first heard of it

down there we was like that's be pretty

neat if they ever get it done And then

it probably been the fall of 2020 right

yeah When you first probably talked to

them Jim sounds about right Right in

that time frame Yeah that sounds about

right So yeah No it's crazy Be almost

five years Oh wow Yeah it's time We're

to the point where it's just like we

just got to get cattle through It's We

got to I can't talk about anything else

but get cattle through there and then

we'll see where we can improve from

there So that would be good Well awesome

Well Cassie I'll tell you we could

probably talk for another couple hours

but we appreciate you coming in here Um

Tana you know deeply appreciate you

coming in here and sitting down with us

I know there's you're super busy with

everything you got going on Uh it's

going to be interesting to see here

pretty soon when this room fills up with

uh all the Logan County Cattlewoman

supporters Uh and we'll see if we can

buy the champion heer uh here pretty

soon And I'm going to buy the champion

heer I think Okay now we got to get that

easy How about we just form a

partnership hey we can Yeah we can make

that the first one that goes through the

floor There you go Yeah there you go So

no this is a neat deal I mean when I

first heard about it when Brett reached

out to us and wanted us to come up here

and then we kind of was trying to set a

schedule of who I was going to have and

Casey brought you up Well actually we

were going to bring you to Fort Worth

there early on and this worked out

perfect What are you three four hours

from here just an hour and a half Yeah

Where I'm at Yep So that worked out

perfect and I was excited cuz I've

always I've heard about your family

forever And uh then when y'all got

brought up when we was starting this

deal and we was trying to sell some

cattle up that way and and uh then I

that name just always intrigued me So

then when Casey said he knew you I was

like "Well that's perfect Let's get her

on." And yeah no I appreciate it Let's

have this talk And because it's it's

neat to see young younger generation

like herself just trying to build this

thing up And it's pretty cool to have a

role in something that unique And I'm

excited for for y'all I'd like to like I

said so she always gives me these

signals I don't know if you notice I

mean I I told him the other day on one I

said I'm going to turn the camera around

one day and I'm going to show y'all what

I got to see on the back side of one of

these things One of them gives me

countdowns One of them gives me signals

and I don't know what all this I'm not a

baseball player I don't know what all

this means So if we have to leave I'm

sorry I'm going to tell a story because

I know we're on I know we're kind of on

camera but we're not on camera But so

growing up I I worked with my mom on her

ranch and feed lot And so we'd be riding

in the hills like moving cows and she'd

be telling us you know something like go

this way or go that way and I mean we're

far like it's me to I know the

basketball hoops we're like you know 50

yards away and you can't see a dang

thing she's saying they're like I don't

even know So I wrote up to her one day

and I was like I don't know what you're

saying with your hands in front of your

face and she's like oh I'm sorry go that

way She So she's changed my

still going to see it but no it's it's a

it's funny So I get the signal thing but

we'll Yeah No she's uh she's telling me

to tell the social media land out there

to hit subscribe and like So when we

when they when we get done here and

we're doing some closing remarks I

always got to remember to say hit

subscribe and hit like That's kind of

how Which one Which one of you are they

liking well they're the

question Neither one of us Neither one

of you

Yeah I'm trying to really what know what

they're subscribing to cuz I'm like I

don't

only good things Only good things Good

things But it's been awesome I thank you

for joining us I mean it just your

history and Casey had told me a little

bit about your family history and and

how unique it was and but this Greek

festival thing He ain't never said

nothing about that So we got to we got

to do that Have Live A be a sponsor of

the Greek Fest 100% August 16th

Bridgeport Nebraska And that's just make

sure you got a couple days after that

Yeah Recovery recovery Well 2026 is our

100th anniversary of our Greek festival

and the 100th anniversary of our church

So 2026 is going to be big for us So

really So how far would that be from uh

Casper Wyoming oh you're not that far

from Casper Not far because we're going

to be in Casper for our August 14th sale

So we can just leave Casper and come

right on over a newbie at the Greek

Festival My favorite It's going to be

bad That'd be great So we need to have a

hotel room for two or three days

afterwards is what you're telling me to

kind of recruit She's got a hotel% I got

you covered Yep Oh you got a hotel yep

We got feed lot We got farms We got

hotels What do you need what we got the

hotel Economic development You got to

take care of your town right i love it I

love it You got to take care of your

town So 2026 is your 100 years Yes Yep

Wow How long's your family been right

there

um you know that's a great question I

know my great-grandfather came over in

like 1909 but establishing in Bridgeport

I'd have to look that one up Wow So yeah

that's crazy Yeah that's that's deep

heritage Jeep history That's that's all

roots and foundation I don't even know

my great-grandparents but she can

probably go back and find out where her

she knows where hers lived you know Yeah

it's crazy I lived up the road from them

They were my babysitters She was my

babysitter

Old Greek women yelling smoking

cigarettes

Not me but they were They were just

yelling at each other all the time

They're kind humans They are Yeah Well

once again we can't thank you enough for

for joining us and sharing your story

sharing your family story and just

sharing a little bit of a time Your time

is pretty valuable right now for what

y'all got going on We just thank you for

that And thank you Thank you for helping

the industry I mean stepping out on limb

and going and doing something to prop up

the industry and and kind of help out

with where we're falling short So just

thank y'all very much Yeah And the the

youth of it the like I said me and Casey

talk about this a lot We are seeing that

rollover turn of of the next generation

getting involved and and we can't tell

you guys out guys and gals out there

enough to get involved get involved

where you in the act get involved at an

early age so you do can do some stuff

like this I mean it's not like you can

just wake up one morning and go open a

pack and I mean you got to start at a

young age learning from your parents

learning from from the generation and

and but even if you didn't um I'd

encourage people you know if if you

don't know how to get into the industry

start talking to people I think this I

think we we underestimate how much we

want to help one another And you you you

touched on it earlier but there there

are people that don't have a next

generation to pass something on to and

they would love nothing more than to

leave a legacy And and um there there's

there's opportunity out there a little

patience and a little we were talking

with last week at the cattle razors They

they started a deal called the Gilly

Rojos um mentorship mentorship program

So Gilly was a he he did not grow up in

the in the a space in the a industry but

he come up and went to TC Ranch

management and got and grabbed a hold of

it and really liked it and some mentors

grabbed a hold to him and he learned

from him King Ranch and then down

through that deal then started his own

deal It's It's pretty unique and it

sounds like something you said something

about England's deal at Nebraska Those

programs get in those programs and grab

a hold of somebody that there's people

out there that like she just said want

to mentor that that group of people Yeah

You do not have to grow up in this

industry to succeed in it right so and

surround yourself with like-minded

individuals That's if you're with people

that want to succeed that's what you're

talking about is success and building

and growing instead of talking negative

about the next person And it's it's how

do you be successful and we were at

Maders earlier driving around looking at

cattle and stuff and that's what he said

He he said this is a relationship

business And so get in there and build

those relationships and get in those

groups We was talking about FFA earlier

Get in and join the FFA your FFA

foundation and and become an officer Go

through those programs and that's just 4

or whatever is in your community that's

that's successful Latch a hold to those

people and grow with them So you bet But

well thanks once again Uh thanks

everybody for joining us and watching

Once again as Katie says hit subscribe

and like um as you're as you're getting

off our page but be sure you hit

subscribe So thank everybody for joining

us and uh on the We Live It podcast And

once again God bless

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