Trey Wasserburger is making waves in the beef industry. He knew from a young age that he wanted to ranch but that there simply wasn't room on his family's operation. So, he took the initiative to find mentors and work in various segments of the beef industry. In this episode, Trey shares his story about working in different segments of the industry, how he found mentors and what he is excited for as he becomes involved in the packing industry through Sustainable Beef. Transcript: https://casualcattleconversations.blogspot.com/2021/08/TreyWasserburger.html Video: https://youtu.be/XSj9fyDxhhY Audio: https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/episodes Partner: https://forms.gle/VnkrkbfB3m4MFgip7 Patron: https://patron.podbean.com/casualcattleconversations Website: casualcattleconversations.com
Shaye Koester (00:00):
Hey, Hey! It’S Shaye Koester and I’m your host for the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast where we foster innovation and enthusiasm in the ranching industry through sharing the stories and practices of different ranchers and beef industry leaders. Be sure to be a greater part of this podcast and become involved on my social media pages. Follow cattleconvos on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok or Shaye Koester on LinkedIn to join the conversations around the challenges we face as ranchers and how we can overcome them. You can also find more information about this podcast, all my episodes and how to partner with me on my website casualcattleconversations.com. With that, thanks for tuning in and let’s see who our guest is today.
Platform Cattle (01:23):
Shaye Koester (02:46):
Alrighty folks, thank you for tuning into another episode and thank you Emmett with Platform Cattle for sponsoring this episode and bringing it to the audience here. Really appreciate being a part of the show in that form. Now, with that on today's show, we are going to be interviewing Trey Wasserburger, and you have probably heard his name, seen his name, maybe, you know him and have seen him around personally, but he sure has an outstanding story in the beef industry. He really has made an effort and has worked hard to work in different segments of the industry and fully understand how the industry operates. So I'm going to have him share his story about that and talk about his latest venture with the Sustainable Beef packing plant in North Platte, Nebraska. So, that is also a very interesting part of the conversation that we will have today. Now with that, thank you for tuning in. I'm glad I get to be a part of your day. It means a lot to me to see another download come, even if I don't know who you are. But if you'd like to introduce yourself, please go do that on social media. And let me know, you're listening, ask me a question, do all that. But with that, let's get on with the episode.
Shaye Koester (04:08):
So just to start off what's your background in the beef industry?
Trey Wasserburger (04:14):
I was originally raised in Gillette, Wyoming, and both sides of the family are ranchers and homesteaded there. The Wasserburger family, north Lusk, Wyoming just had their Centennial celebration a hundred years and then on my mom's side, the Geisinger ranch also continues to ranch in the Thunder Basin grasslands. I went to school at the University of Wyoming and was on the rodeo team there and just went through, you know, typical college stuff. I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I grew up and I'm still trying to figure that out. I knew I wanted to be in ranching somehow and some way, but knew I was going to have to do it on my own. I met my wife there at the University of Wyoming and her family has a strong ag background too. Her dad is a farmer/feeder cattle feeder here near Hershey, Nebraska. Her mother's side is the Adamson ranch. It's been up in the Sandhills forever, hundreds of years. So we just have a strong background behind it, but we're on our own trip right now, for sure. I mean, we bought the registered Angus herd here four years ago and just trying to wade our way through agriculture pretty much.
Shaye Koester (05:35):
So where are you located now?
Trey Wasserburger (05:37):
We live here south of North Platte, Nebraska, and we bought the Rishel Angus cow herd. Which bill Rishel who's Nebraska Cattlemen President, and a member of the Angus board among other accolades, 40-year-old genetics, kind of took me in as a mentor. He showed me the way and four years ago, I never even had a registered cow, never even owned one. Now, we're running about 800. So a life in the fast lane right now.
Shaye Koester (06:07):
Well, that certainly sounds like it. So you didn't necessarily go to ranching right away. You talked about how you kind of grew up around it and with it, but you had to weave your own path through that. So what other sectors of the beef industry did you explore before that, during that time gap?
Trey Wasserburger (06:26):
You know, family deals are hard in agriculture. It's terrible, but in agriculture, we flip a coin when you're born and usually if you're a boy you get to stay and if you're a girl, you gotta find your own way. And then worse than that, if you're the second son, we do it again. Not only was I the second son, but I'm like the sixth grandson and I had an interesting upbringing. I was highly involved in sports and athletics and that was just our life. I knew that if I wanted to be a part of this industry, I was going to have to do it on my own. And, I've known that since I was a child. I mean, I thank my family, my grandpa, and my dad and his brother. Thank you for never falsifying a hope to me that I could come home, you know, and all of a sudden I'm 50 years old and I just worked for the family. They've always told me, you know, that there's not a lot of room here and that's okay. I mean you'll figure it out if you want to be in this, you'll figure it out and so I have. I've got a wonderful set of mentors, probably about five guys that I look up to in all sectors of the industry that I can call at any time, any place and asked her advice. I worked in five states and in I worked in five ranches in five states in college. I worked in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, and a little bit in Utah and different ranches in Oklahoma for a little bit. I learned a lot and kind of figured out that there is my favorite saying from one of my mentors, is there's money to be made in any market whether it's a down market or an upmarket, there's some money to be made. I've learned that from a young age.
Trey Wasserburger (08:29):
You know my real job, I guess, is buying and selling cattle. That's what I do and that is the industry. The industry is a trade, whether you're trading hay that day, or a see distiller's truck just drove by. I'm looking at the fat cattle market right now, we're just about getting ready to open up and we're going to have to watch what corn does overnight. Corn is up big again. I mean, life is a constant trade, and I've had to figure out that everything you do, whether you're buying diesel six months in advance, or you're buying new crop corn. I mean, life is a trade, and I'm just having to figure out that balance and the best way to figure that out is with your checkbook and that's the best experience I've had. I went to college and I love the Engler program, but you'll learn a lot when you're there and you'll learn a ton when you leave there. I mean, I'm in the Engler program now without being enrolled in it really. I mean, I'm getting baptized every day and tuition is high,
Shaye Koester (09:31):
It's all about the experience.
Trey Wasserburger (09:33):
It's totally and the Engler program prepares you for that. And then you step into the real world and you start writing some checks and you get pretty smart.
Shaye Koester (09:41):
Yeah, absolutely. So you've talked about how you have basically a mentor and all the different sectors of the industry that you can call and gain advice from. And that is extremely valuable with, as segmented as the beef industry is, but how did you put yourself in a place to find these mentors?
Trey Wasserburger (10:01):
You know what, I always get that question. I've spoken at multiple universities to animal science graduates, ranch rec graduates, and they always ask me, they're like, "How did you get started in agriculture? "I get asked that every time I talk to them and the best way I know how to tell them is. "Agriculture is full of mentors that want to help you." This is what I love about agriculture. There's a lot of been there, done that perennial entrepreneurs in the industry that if you just show up and go to work, they're going to give you that information. And what is highly unlikely in agriculture is they'll give it to you for virtually free, very rarely, and I'm getting into the packing industry now, very rarely do secrets, get lended down to the next generation for free. In agriculture that is not the case. If you put in the time, show up and go to work and you just outwork them, these guys will give you that information. I always tell that to young guys and young women. I say, find the person you look up to the most and go to work for them. I did that a couple of times, the guys that I looked up to and they wouldn't even hire me. They're like, "Trey, I'm not going to hire you. Everybody wants to work for me." I worked for a guy and he didn't even pay me. I just rode in the pickup with him for six months and just picked his brain and just swallowed it all up. Next thing you know, he never paid me a dime, but today he taught me how to buy and sell cattle and I can call him at any time of the day and have his advice. All I had to do was show up at 4:30 in the morning and drive him to a country delivery or a sale barn and swallow that information up. Those guys are out there now. We're getting into the packing industry as a family and I'm around multiple CEOs of the big four or former CEOs. I can call them and text them at any time. They're sending me books. I got the Cargill story over there that I'm reading. I'm reading about IBP and their start and Iowa Beef Processors. Agriculture is full of people that want to lend you their information. You just have to show up and I've seen some young kids fully embrace that theory and they're doing big things.
Shaye Koester (12:33):
Yeah. And I think that the start of those companies are interesting. I was an intern with Cargill last year, so hearing the whole history on how they started as one thing and built up is pretty neat to see.
Shaye Koester (12:48):
Going back to still kind of talking about how you've explored different areas. So you said you worked on different ranches, but did you work say in the feeder space or previously in the packing space or one of those outside of cow-calf?
Trey Wasserburger (13:05):
Yeah, I've worked in sale barns. I've worked in yearling ranches and stalkers. I've worked in multiple feed yards which I learned a ton. I think every entrepreneur in agriculture should spend a year and a half in a feed yard. You'll not only learn about animal nutrition but animal health as well. Learning to see sick cattle is a gift that not many acquire in a lifetime because they don't see enough. You know, you go into these corporate feed yards today with 80,000 or a hundred thousand on feed. You get to see a lot of stuff that you won't see normally on your typical 400 head cow-calf ranch. So, I did that. I spent time on some feed yards and continue to spend time in feed yards.
Trey Wasserburger (13:57):
And also, I love to hit say this, and it kind of makes these registered guys uncomfortable, but I think every registered breeder should run about 200 commercial cows. And, I think every commercial man should have about 20 or 40 registered cows and we'd have a lot better understanding of each other in this industry. I get that people kind of cringe. I'm like, I mean you guys are working together. We need the cow-calf guy to raise the bull that's going to sire the calf to the commercial cattlemen that's going to go to the feeder that's going to go to the packer and it needs to go to the retailer. You better know everybody along the way. This business is tiny. I'll just tell you we shipped six loads of cattle last night to Caviness packer down in Amarillo, Texas. I mean, here's the guy that I was working with. I was in his plant a week ago and Jerome, Idaho. I never met him. He just called me needing some cattle. I said, well, I'm actually in your plant in Idaho. And he's like, "What really?" It's a tiny world out there. So, find these people you respect and you want to emulate and just show up and they will pass that onto you. I mean, Bill Rishell did it to me. One of my best mentors I have is a banker. He is the president of First National Bank, North Platte, Nebraska. He's like a father figure of mine. He's not a cowboy at all. He doesn't wear a hat. He doesn't run cows and this guy has taught me more about credit and interest and he has made me more money just by sitting in the desk than probably anybody. So there's those guys out there. You just gotta work for it and earn it and they'll give it to
Shaye Koester (15:44):
You. Well, absolutely I'd agree and that's a topic that's been brought up on countless episodes on the show. That's an experience I've had too. I don't know that there's been one person who's ever denied me any help especially once they see that you're interested in actually working for it, they'll continue to help you. That's one thing the beef industry is outstanding at, and your point about running both commercial and registered cattle, it makes a difference. I grew up with both. It makes a difference. I mean the more I bought a few more on each side, it changes your mindset a little bitnand it's great to see that.
Shaye Koester (16:25):
You've talked about, you know, you worked hard, obviously you found these positions, you sought out those mentors, but what was one of the challenges you faced?
Trey Wasserburger (16:38):
It takes a ton of collateral, or it takes a ton of equity to get started and people always say that. So I'll just be very, very upfront. I have no problem telling people this because I started with nothing. I inherited nothing and I am. I was 24 years old and I kicked out 800 yearlings on a lease. I graduated, I walked and I missed my graduation because I was kicking out yearlings in Wyoming. I went to the FSA and got a first-generation rancher loan and got going on that. Then, also I found a yearling guy that I looked up to and respected and he kind of financed me and got me going. The biggest thing I found is it takes so much money in this business to make so little. I mean, we're talking about return on investment all the time and the packing industry you know, our margins are slim. Agricultural margins are tiny. I mean, in the registered side the difference between an open cow and a bread one is it's an incredible amount of money. The most expensive thing I do is probably have a first calf heifer that doesn't breed, because she's never cashed a check and she's leaving. I got three years, into her, you know, one in utero and two on feed and she's never cashing a check. And, in the feed yard the difference between spotting a pen that's just about tip over and one that's not is the difference between making money and losing money. And that's what I love. It scares people off almost in agriculture. That terrifies them. That one little accident can ruin as you know, it's six or eight months investment.
Trey Wasserburger (18:33):
I think it's a culling point because if you show up every day and take care of business, take care of your assets there's plenty of margin and there's plenty of room to operate in this business. Once again, just show up. I tell these kids that all the time, just show up and go to work and put your head down and your ears open, mouth shut for a long time and somebody will take you under their wing. There's a ton of opportunity out there, a ton. And there's going to be more in 10 years, Joe Goggins is one of my guys I emulate and Greg is his son is one of my best friends and sells our bull sale. I talked to him yesterday. He sat me and Greg down three or four years ago and they're one of the major reasons I got into the registered business because I came to them and said, "What do you think?" They said, "Do it." I said, "I've never run a registered cow." "You'll be fine. You know how to run commercial cows. You just jerk the papers away from them. You know how to make commercial cow work. You'll figure it out. You'll know how to. You'll be good for the industry." Joe sat us down a long time ago. He said, "You and Greg will have a lot of opportunities in your life going forward. All you gotta do is at work." When I came home there's a lot of, a lot of competition today. So this is, this is, this is after the fact, but I lived in a house in Laramie, Wyoming. There were four of us, all of us involved in agriculture. And I'm the last one left whose sole, primary income is agriculture. I mean, that tells you how tough this business is, but also there's not a lot of us out there and there's going to be a lot of opportunity.
Shaye Koester (20:27):
Well, absolutely. And thank you for sharing that. There's a lot that everyone can take from that. So is there something you wish you would've done different as you look on in the past or the last few years? One big thing? I know there's always a lot of things, but I always like to ask for like one bigger thing for some advice
Trey Wasserburger (20:48):
For my advice would be probably there's, I've been in some, in some situations financially that were tough and I've been tipped over twice in 10 years and a lot of it involved feeding cattle and I'm there today. I'm here in June, again, just getting ready to take it, take another whack at it because these calf feds aren't going to work again. Probably my biggest wrecks have taught me the most and you know what, I might lose a hundred or $150 or $200 on that pen of calf-feds, but I'm damn sure smarter than when I started. It's a silver lining and it took me a long time. My father-in-law Kirk Olson taught me some advice and my banker gave me this right here.
Trey Wasserburger (21:50):
This is exactly what I'm talking about. So this sits behind my desk. I don't know if you can see it, but it says "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn." And you know, if that pen of steers didn't work or those yearlings turned out didn't do what you thought they did. We're turning a bunch of yearlings out today. We just loaded some and weighed them. We bred a bunch of heifers yesterday and maybe the breed-up won't be good. You know, it was a little hot. I mean, sometimes you win, and the other times you learn and learn quite a bit and it's expensive, but you're a lot smarter than when you started. So I don't have any regrets. I just doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result that's what I regret. I regret if I try to pen and then try it again and got the same result. And I kind of wonder, "Why?" I have no regrets, everything that I've failed on, I've learned on. It's just a tough, tough business.
Shaye Koester (22:49):
Oh, absolutely. So kind of shifting gears a little bit, you brought it up how you're on the packing side now. So would you share how you've become more involved in the packing side recently?
Trey Wasserburger (23:03):
There are a lot of people have heard about Sustainable Beef LLC. This is a company of like-minded entrepreneurial agriculture-based Nebraska founders that came together a year ago, last June and said, "This is not working." I mean, we'd been through the Holcomb fire, we were in that pandemic and June was tough. I mean, if you had cattle on feed, you lost the third-year equity overnight in May and June. That's tough to swallow. I learned a lot from that situation. But we came together and said we've got to change. There are a lot of cattle feeders involved, venture capitalists just leader type that said, you know, packer margins are $1500 at that time, $1,600. And today they're hovering around 700 to a thousand. Box beef is on a tear. I mean, yesterday was the first time it was down in 10 days and it was down 38 cents. I mean my family will raise the bull. So there's three years, they'll sire the calf and then he's born and then 18 months on feed. So we're talking my, family's got five years invested into this one. And there's times that there isn't any, we're not in the black ink at the end and to invest five years and lose money, it's not sustainable and it's not healthy. I don't want my children to go through that. But when you, when you, when you shift that fat cattle, and then he goes to, you know, one of the Packers and that packer is making, you know, historical margins Packers make a hundred, $120 a head that's really healthy. You know, they own them. They can own them 48, 38 hours. And I'm going to tell you, my family has got five years involved and they've got a 48-hour chill and they're making a hundred historically. I think over the past 20 years, feeder margins at mid $20 a head. My credit guy, he would tell me that's a bad, that's a bad bet. And you know, I just, we had to do something and we feel like we have a story.
Trey Wasserburger (25:33):
We're not trying to be the big four. We're not trying to attack the big four because that's a battle we won't win. We're not going to, they are a machine and we need them. I mean, when they can kill 25, 30, 30,000 a day, and these cattle are backed up on feed, we need them, whether you like it or not suing the packer or going after the packer is a bad idea because they are our ally. Whether you believe it or not, we need them in this business today.
Trey Wasserburger (26:03):
I don't care who you are, organization, government, department of justice, they will not save us. I tried that. I helped to DOJ last year, then Trump lost the election and we switched changing of the guard with the DOJ and we lost all that momentum we had there. Now we're starting it back up again. Bill Sack is the secretary ag and he actually and he was President Obama's secretary of ag in his first eight years. Bill Sack actually, you know, they won the Iowa vote because they said we're going to reform agriculture policies and they tried it and didn't happen. Bill Sack told me, "We're not worried about bigness. We're worried about anti-competitive behavior and until you can prove that there's anti-competitive behavior, nothing will be done."
Trey Wasserburger (27:05):
I was also told by another former Senator that until we break up big tech, you know, where there's basically two techs companies that control and mine, all the data on you. I mean, I was at a branding the other day last Saturday, and they had these aluminum cups and I thought these aluminum solo cups were so cool. I didn't say anything. I didn't even ask anybody. I just saw them and the box and thoughg, "That's neat." On my phone, I had an ad target for aluminum solo cups. I mean, this ad targeting and this tech data is insane today. And if you, I mean, I think it's the most expensive or valuable currency today. And you're also talking big tech and big pharma, you know big pharma, basically is a monopolistic industry. These are the same guys that got tobacco, codeine and fentanyl on the market. I mean, those three things kill you and they got them on the market and you're going to break them up. No, it ain't going to happen until they get rid of big tech and big pharma will they work on the packing industry. So us as a team had to get together and change something and we knew that the government wasn't coming, there wasn't an organization that was going to save us, or we had to do it on our own. So we got together with some former Cargill team members, you know, vice president of engineering, former CEO Bill Rupp also is the former CEO, JBS Swift and Cargill is on our team. Because once again, we were doing something we knew nothing about and we needed to find somebody that did.
Trey Wasserburger (28:55):
So we went out and found the best team that could act as a consultant and get us going. And, we got about most of the cattle locked up. The packer margins are insane so the money wasn't as hard as you'd think to find, but it is a $400 million project and it's a three-year project. I mean we won't be hanging cattle until January of 2023, and we hope to break ground September. So you're talking 14, 16 months of nothing. It's a $400 million project and we'll be putting all that in to build it and then we're going to be hopefully running. It's going to be here in North Platte right off the interstate, hooked up to city wastewater.
Trey Wasserburger (29:45):
It's a beautiful site with a lot easy access. The city of North Platte, Nebraska is ag-based. We really need this for our community. Our railroad's pulling out and we just got our economic study done from Dr. Ernie Goss, who's an economist at Creighton University, and it's a $1.1 billion impact for the city of North Platte. For a rural community to have $1.1 billion floating around it like yeah the brain trust is in North Platte. If we ship these cattle to Tyson or Cargill or JBS that money hits a wire at the end of the day and it's gone. That's not the case here. This money will stay right here in North Platte and will be revolving around the community and it's a big thing. It's going to add 800 jobs, many of them you know, the average wage on the floor being about $50,000 and probably the way it's working.
Trey Wasserburger (30:43):
You know, there's not a plant today. That's not a hundred to 150 to 200 people looking for 200 people to join the ranks and they can't find them. I mean, this is a huge problem. This employment deal, I never saw this coming, but our administration has got to pull the benefits and get these people at work. Hopefully, by 2023, this all be fixed, but I think it could pay more. Don't quote me on that because I don't know. But KBS has upped their wages. Tyson has upped their wages the last two months trying to get people to work and they still can't get them to work. So, you know, when you're making $25 on the floor and you can't get them to show up, that's an issue. So yeah, we're going to go at it. I it's going to happen. Not only does the community need it, but the industry needs it. I think the number one problem facing us as an industry is packing capacity. Totally. We have an oversupply of cattle and we're not getting worked through them. Covid didn't help and then these people not showing up to work and help. It's something that we need and I think that everybody can get behind it, everybody in the industry.
Shaye Koester (32:00):
Well, thank you for sharing so much about that. I mean, that's exciting to hear and thank you for working through like the whole mindset and problem there. So what are you most excited about for the plant? Like when you think about your involvement in there, like what makes you the most excited?
Trey Wasserburger (32:19):
Probably the thing that excites me the most is being able to actually share my product with the consumer. Like that's something that we're not exactly tied to today because the major Packers, I mean, they are such a machine that, you know, when they harvest 6,000 head a day they don't have that close relationship with the consumer. Sustainable Beef will have a blockchain technology where that mother, that soccer mom in Loveland, Colorado, can take a picture of that QRC code and it'll go back to the Koester Ranch in North Dakota. It's a beautiful thing and that is what I love about agriculture. We are insanely prideful in our work. We are, I mean, we do this because we love it, right?
Trey Wasserburger (33:10):
It's not because it's lucrative. It's not because it's easy work. We do it because we're passionate about it. What could make you prouder than having it hooked up to Sustainable Beef's Instagram and a picture of a family in Phoenix, Arizona having steaks at a big barbecue pops up and it goes back to your ranch. Another thing that we've come up with, which I love, I'm working with a guy who's done a lot of blockchain stuff. We're thinking about say this, this family in St. Louis, Missouri eats this steak and they pull up the QRC code, and it goes back to this ranch in the Sand Hills and you know what, they loved it so much. They left a great review and what if they tip them and say, "Wow, that was really good. Here's five bucks." or something like that. Just how cool would that be to get a notification in your phone that some family in St. Louis has loved your steak so much that they tip you $5. And, it's not about the money. It's just about how good that made you feel. And so we're working through some things. We're talking about tenderness, which is huge, and it's going to be huge going forward. We just haven't figured out a way for us to pay it. Our, plan is going to be, we're not trying to take a piece of the pie. We're trying to make the pie bigger because we don't think we can compete for that pie today. We're not big enough, but we can make our own kind of niche market and we're going to be an athletic, nimble company.
Trey Wasserburger (34:44):
And we're going to do like 30 sorts on carcasses. We hope. A lot of that will be on quality of meat. Obviously, choice and prime and also tenderness. So we're really excited about that. I think never, you know, in our time in agriculture has being healthy and nutritious ever been more important and we need to tell that story. I mean, we're going up against an artificial, lab-produced meat, or it's plant produce proteins. It's not a meat that's made in a vat. It's got more chemicals in it than dog food and we're not telling that story. You know, what's the one ingredient in beef? Beef. I mean, it's as wholesome and nutritious as they make. We need to share that story. And this is a time for Sustainable Beef to take the stage and take the microphone and get in front of the consumer and have that conversation.
Trey Wasserburger (35:37):
And more than that, I think it's the new frontier of the beef industry. I do. I think origin and source is what the consumer wants and what it's asking for. We've had lots of retailers called already. I mean, multiple from all over the world, we think 70% of this will be exported. They are highly intrigued in what we got going like Napa wine, you know, is the same as you know, beef in Nebraska and we are the beef state. So let's tell that story and let's profit from that story. Let's bring that money back to rural America and Sustainable Beef. Sustainable beef can do that.
Shaye Koester (36:13):
Well, that's exciting to hear. And I think the concept of, I really love the concept of the consumer. Being able to see where that product came from. I think it's all valuable and out. And like you said, sharing our story. We have to be proactive with how we do that. We can't wait to combat someone else. We need to share our story for what it is right now and how we are already healthy.
Trey Wasserburger (36:38):
Yup. No, one's going to do that for us. And that's our job. That's our job. We need to be salesmen. And we continue as in agriculture, we're always like my grandpa was always worried about that fence over there or I gotta fix that baler. We're always worried about what's inside our fences. A lot of us aren't thinking what's going on outside. Whether you think so or not about it, every day we are part of the food chain. We're a very, very important part and a valuable part and that's not going to change. The packers don't want our job. I mean, people are like, oh, vertical integration is coming. We're going to be like chicken and hig guys. It's not going to be like that at all. They can mass produce chicken and hogs in huge confinement barns in six months. The beef deal is not that way. It's just not, and it's not going to be that way. Producers are always going to have a part of the food chain. We just need to make that pie a little bigger and educate the consumer. And then, you know, let's be profitable from it.
Shaye Koester (37:40):
Well, absolutely. So how has, I mean, you've touched on it a little bit, but how has being on the seedstock side and now on the packer side? So you're on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. How has that made you think a little differently about beef production?
Trey Wasserburger (37:57):
Yeah. I was a cattle feeder before I got in the registered business. So I was, I'm highly intrigued by quality grade, obviously. Nothing pays me more today than a prime carcass and that's something that's very important to me. It continues more today in the more I get into this. Now I'm more in the packing industry and I'm working with marketing teams from all over the world about what they want. They tell me that that choice in prime is that's what they want. Then I got told by the number one retailer in the world. "I don't want more meat, Trey. I want better." I can sell better and we got to get better. I want consistency. You know, see Certified Angus Beef has been a billion-dollar non-profit because they've made parameters on standards on the length of ribeye and the quality grade.
Trey Wasserburger (39:01):
That's what our retailer wants, because that's what sells first. Every meat case in America has a camera over it that is mining data on how this consumer is spending their money and how, how she's gonna react to the $5.99 hamburger and the $4.99, hamburger. Is it packaging? Is it appeasement? What is it? Is it where it is at on the shelf? It's a whole different science. I'll be honest with you. I was kind of ignorant to the fact not very long ago. I mean, I'm learning more and more every day about the packing industry and retail side and a year ago I didn't realize that this packing industry is tough. I mean, a lot of people want to fight the packer and go after the packer. I mean, the issues they stand today are incredible.
Trey Wasserburger (39:55):
You know, getting people to work and dealing with the pandemic at all-time prices. I mean, they're getting paid. The fruits of their labor are very lucrative, but they're earning every bit of it, man. I mean, you know what? One of the guys kind of mentoring me in the business. He starts his day at 4:30 in the morning, and he's at the plant at 5:15, and he's in control of about 30 plants and two days a week, he jumps on the plane and he flies into a plant somewhere in the US and goes through it and manages it. Then he gets home seven o'clock, eight o'clock at night. And he does this six days a week. And it's, it's a tough, tough business. And that's something I took for granted. Now as a registered breeder I think we have a sole responsibility to educate not only the consumers, but our producers. These guys buying these bulls. This is their livelihood.
Trey Wasserburger (40:50):
Like Joe Goggins has always told me, Trey, "You're dealing with people's livelihood and that's something you can never take lightly as a registered breeder." Bill Rishel says the same thing. I mean, you have to do your homework. You have to make sure these bulls are structurally and fundamentally sound and are going to put pounds on the plate and, and healthy marbled meat. I mean, that's very important. Today, it's never been more reiterated and I'm not going to get radical. I'm not going to just get radical marbling and breed marbling more one marbling. I mean, our mantra here at TD Angus/Rishel Ranch is the most of the best. I asked Bill Rishel one time. I really had a hard time sorting replacement heifers the first time I was here because I didn't understand data as well.
Trey Wasserburger (41:38):
I was just like, well, she's a $300 C, but I'd change her front end a little bit. I'd add a little flank to her. I don't know if I like her as much, but here's this really feminine, soft-made sound female that doesn't read as good. Which one is going to be the better cow? And I asked Bill Rishel, "How do I do that?" And he said, "You need to make her have the most of the best. Which one has the most of the best." And, I've used that in every aspect of my life. It doesn't matter if I buy it feeder cattle to turn out on grass, or if I'm buying bred heifers, or eventually, it will be the meat and the meat side and the meat case. And we need to have the most of the best.
Trey Wasserburger (42:21):
Not only do we need to have the best quality, we need the best consistency and the best tenderness. We need to have the most to the best and I need to supply the bulls that are going to do that for my customers. Before this year's bull sale you know, we were selling as many more bulls than we ever had, 300 bulls. I was pretty stressed out about it, obviously. I mean, it's like the worst day of the year. I hate it. It's like your wedding every year. You can't talk to everybody and get everything done, and it's just mayhem. Then you throw an auction in the middle of it. One of my guys that's helped me in the packing industry said, "Trey, these are the bulls that are going to sire the calves that are going to go through to the plant."
Trey Wasserburger (43:01):
I was sitting right over there at that desk at about 4:30 in the morning when he called. He was going to work and that really struck me. I mean, if anything I've ever done, I sat there and was like, wow, we're already preparing for what's to come. I've been told that the startup date is January 2023, and that's prom and you better get ready for the prom night and you better have your date. So we sold the bulls that are going to sire the calves all the way through the blockchain. So this has already begun people think because we haven't broke dirt that you know, that we're maybe not going to happen. Guys, I've already set the bulls out there that are working all over the country in 26 states that are going to sire the calves that go through this plant. We're well on our way. We work at it every day, so pretty exciting stuff
Shaye Koester (43:59):
That is very exciting and very neat and a very good perspective and point to say. So as we kinda wrap up, is there anything else you would like to add? Whether that's about the packing side or individuals in the industry, or just about the industry as a whole?
Trey Wasserburger (44:15):
Well, I'd be, I'd be naive to not take the opportunity to thank all my mentors. Bill Rishel, who I bought the registered Angus herd from, he's available to chat any time of day. He gave me the opportunity. We never, one time counted bales, never counted cattle. He just said, here's the list and I bought from herd bulls to scoop shovels, and I trusted him and he trusted me. It's been a beautiful relationship and I want to thank him. I want to thank my father-in-law Kirk Olson who took me in as a cattle feeder, young kid didn't have much. He's taught me the business. He's treated me better than a son. Greg Willkie former president of First National Bank taught me about credit and how to borrow money and stay within your means on debt. John Keating, who was the former CEO of Cargill, has been a good friend and has taught me what we call packer kindergarten and I'm in it every day and no question is too ignorant for him. I mean and I'm just a guy in Nebraska wearing a cowboy hat. So talk to me like that. And he's taught me a lot. I want to thank him and his family and the guys that surrounded me. I wouldn't be there without them.
Trey Wasserburger (45:34):
I'm excited about where we're heading in the future. And also it'd be my opportunity to anybody listening to this, to reach out to Sustainable Beef. This is a great team and it's as good of a team as I've ever been a part of. The guys that got hundreds of years of a reputation built into this thing and reach out to any one of us. We're not gate sorting producers. I mean, if you want to buy shackle space, if you want your cattle, you know, we're going to put an EID tag in their ear at branding, and we're going to track them all the way through to the plant.
Trey Wasserburger (46:05):
We want these guys involved and more people involved. It's a greater chance of this succeeding because whether you like it or not, this has never been done. I need to remind myself that constantly, that this has never been done and we need all the help we can get. And so we want all. We've had a Hereford breeder from Texas get involved with this. This is all breeds, all classes of all people and if you don't want to feed your cattle that's okay. You can invest on the capital side too and reap the benefits of that. We all know how well and how lucrative that's been. I just want to thank all the people that have gotten me here. And I think having, you know, the Engler program has been great and you know, Lapaseotes family is heavily involved in the Engler program and they're involved in sustainable beef. Yeah, it's just been a great, great program and a great thing for Nebraska and probably for the industry.
Shaye Koester (47:02):
Awesome. Thank you very much. That's all I've got. So I appreciate that.
Trey Wasserburger (47:08):
Yeah, you bet. Yeah. I'm looking forward to it.
Shaye Koester (47:12):
And that's a wrap on that one. Thank you for tuning into another episode and thank you, Trey, for your outstanding advice and story, and really sharing that with everyone. I always appreciate it when people are honest and really give the truth and provide the truth about, you know, what they've learned in the hardships faced and their successes too. It's always exciting to hear those stories, but with that, please let me know what you thought. Go drop a comment on some of my social media pages to let me know. I want to hear it and so do the other fans. Let's build a community around this, but with that, be sure to tune in for the next one. I hope to see you listening on there and have a great rest of your day.
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