We Live It | LiveAg's Livestock Marketing Podcast

In this episode of We Live It, Ty deCordova and Wade Leist sit down with Jace Thompson, the reigning World Champion Livestock Market Auctioneer, live at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Jace traces his family's three-generation cattle marketing legacy — starting with grandfather Warren Thompson, who built a sale barn legacy in Riverton, Wyoming, from nothing, through his father's 2009 World Championship and move to Billings working alongside Pat Goggins, and finally to Jace's own path from cattle work into auctioneering roughly five to six years ago.

The conversation gets personal: Jace opens up about growing up with an auctioneer father, the pivotal role his mom played in bridging that gap and keeping him in the business during a moment he nearly walked away, and what it meant to hear his name called as champion after years of watching from the crowd. Ty, who hired a 21-year-old Jace on the spot in Billings, shares his own side of that story. They also dig into what the title actually involves day to day — serving as a spokesperson for the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) and its nearly 800 member markets, attending the Common Ground Summit in Fort Worth, and speaking to high schoolers about careers in the cattle and auctioneering business.

Whether you're a young producer figuring out your path, an aspiring competition auctioneer, or just someone who loves a good family story rooted in the cattle business, this conversation is one you won't want to miss.

Topics Covered:

- Three generations of the Thompson family cattle marketing legacy
- His mom's role bridging the gap and keeping him in the business
- Watching his dad win the 2009 World Championship
- Ty's story of hiring a 21-year-old Jace in Billings
- Duties of a World Champion: LMA spokesperson, nearly 800 member markets
- The Common Ground Summit and what's ahead for LMA
- Inspiring the next generation to get into the cattle and auctioneering business
- Winning the world title in just three tries — what changed
- Advice for anyone chasing a spot in a livestock auctioneering contest

🧬 Powered by BioZyme® The We Live It podcast is proudly powered by BioZyme, the makers of VitaFerm® and Gain Smart®. Proper cattle nutrition is the foundation of livestock health. Through LiveAg's nationwide video auction platform, cattle fed BioZyme minerals gain exposure to a national buyer base, often resulting in premium returns. 🔗 Learn More: https://biozymeinc.com/blog/biozyme-partners-with-liveag/

Interested in marketing your cattle or advertising on We Live It? Contact Jean at jean@live-ag.com or Keith at Keith@Live-Ag.com. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell so you never miss an episode!

00:00 Introduction — Live from Cody, Wyoming
02:43 Meet Jace Thompson, World Champion Auctioneer
03:37 Three Generations: Warren, Ty & Jace
04:33 Building the Family Cattle Marketing Business
05:33 Growing Up Under a Demanding Father
06:25 Watching His Dad Win the 2009 World Championship
08:20 Joe: The Great Auctioneer Who Never Got the Buckle
09:42 His Mom's Role: Bridging the Gap
11:04 The Ledge Moment — Almost Walking Away for Motorcycle Racing
11:18 Ty's Story: Hiring a 21-Year-Old Jace in Billings
15:01 Duties of a World Champion: LMA Spokesperson
15:54 Nearly 800 Member Markets & the Common Ground Summit
16:45 Inspiring the Next Generation of Auctioneers
18:11 Goals for the Next Year
19:19 Winning the Title in Just Three Tries
19:54 What Changed: Turning Everyday Work Into Contest Prep
21:38 Advice for Aspiring Competition Auctioneers
23:44 Thank Yous and Closing Thoughts

Creators and Guests

Host
Ty deCordova
Ty DeCordova is a seasoned professional with more than 25 years of experience in cattle marketing. He spent 20 years at Superior Livestock Auction, including his final years managing the Country Page as well as the block during video auctions. This allowed Ty to develop a deep understanding of the cattle industry's operations and build relationships with cattle buyers on a national level. Ty now oversees all operational aspects of the business, ensuring efficiency and excellence across all areas. Ty comes from a family with a long-standing history in the cattle industry. Growing up in Groesbeck, Texas, he and his brother started their own cattle business during their teenage years, purchasing and selling loads of steers. By the age of 17, Ty was actively involved in buying cattle at sale barns for his father, gaining hands-on experience. This early exposure to the sale-barn environment shaped his lifelong passion and expertise in cattle marketing. Ty continues to run cattle today and is committed to serving the agriculture industry.
Guest
Casey Mabry
Casey comes to Blue Reef following over a decade-long career with Cargill. Casey’s career in the industry started as a cattle buyer in Western Nebraska and Wyoming for six years. Casey then moved to Wichita, KS where he worked in boxed beef pricing with a focus on understanding out front prices and position optimization. Casey then took to cattle procurement as a Strategic Supply Manager where he focused on cattle formula and grid marketing arrangements working with Cargill’s largest suppliers. Casey’s experience in cash and value based marketing of cattle can be a valuable asset to your operation. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Texas Tech University where he served on the Meats Judging team, and a Masters from Tarleton State University where he coached the Meats Judging team. Casey resides in Brock, TX with his wife Deidrea and daughters Reyse, Avery, and Brooklyn.
Producer
Katy Holdener
Katy Holdener's journey in agricultural communications began on her family's row crop farm in California's Central Valley, where she developed a deep appreciation for the industry. After earning a degree in Agricultural Communications and Economics from Oklahoma State University, Katy has been fortunate to work with respected organizations such as the American Hereford Association, American Angus Association, Superior Livestock Auction and BioZyme, Inc. These experiences have provided her with valuable insights into seedstock and commercial livestock marketing. Katy strives to create effective marketing strategies that support the company and its consignors.

What is We Live It | LiveAg's Livestock Marketing Podcast?

Welcome to the "We Live It" ranch and livestock marketing podcast, where cattle market intelligence meets ranch-ready wisdom. Join hosts Ty deCordova with LiveAg and Casey Mabry with Blue Reef Agri-marketing as they bring you straight-talk market analysis, proven strategies, and insights from industry leaders who understand ranching isn't just a business - it's a way of life.
From livestock market trends to cattle management practices, each episode delivers actionable knowledge to help take your ranching operation to the next level. Whether you're in the saddle or in the truck, tune in for conversations that matter to modern cattlemen. Because we don't just talk about the cattle business...we live it.

Speaker 1:

Over the next year, you know, I just going to get a really unique opportunity and it's a weighted opportunity to, to be a spokesperson for the LMA and pass their message on of what they're working on. And they're working on a lot of things. You know, if you go on the website, there's lists and lists of what they're doing, but you know, the LMA special in the sense that they're one of the only groups that are taking action. They go out and they do something and you don't hear them posting stuff. You don't hear them complaining.

Speaker 1:

They go out and they get to work and they get people behind them and they get stuff done. So, you know, I can help with that however they want me to, but I think my main job is just go around that, you know, they have nearly 800 member markets across the country and just go around and be able to share what the LMA is doing, of their progressions and some of the new developments that they're making. You know, this Common Ground Summit's a big deal. They were just in Nashville. They're going down to Fort Worth through the end of the month.

Speaker 1:

And that's a huge deal. And there's a lot of stuff coming out of that. So just if I can translate that to some of these barn owners and then some of the producers across the world or across the countryside as well, I will have done my job. And I also, you know, I've said, I want to do it. I don't know how successful I'll be.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to try you know, be able to maybe speak at some high schools and create some enthusiasm in this younger generation or my generation even about some of the opportunities in the beef industry and the marketing industry and kind of get people excited about it and people maybe bridge the gap from older people, yourself included and older people and kind of bridge the gap, you know, between that generation and the younger generation coming up. I'm just joking with you.

Speaker 2:

Y'all remember that auctioneer from Billings that used to work for us? What was his name?

Speaker 3:

That's a head on. We live it. The live ag podcast. From seed stock bull sales built on generations of performance to commercial video auctions backed by real relationships to equipment auctions that keep operations moving forward. LiveAg connects cattle producers to opportunity.

Speaker 3:

Quality cattle deserve premium prices. The right bulls deserve more buyers and dependable equipment deserves a fair bid. Whether you're consigning to a live AG video auction, marketing seed stock or moving iron through the equipment exchange, we combine local representation with nationwide reach. Connect with your live Ag rep by scanning the code on your screen or visit us online at live-ag.com. We are proud to be powered by Biozyme, the makers of Vita Firm and GainSmart.

Speaker 3:

Value added nutrition partners trusted by cattle producers across the country. Now, here are your hosts, Ty deCordova and Casey Mabry.

Speaker 4:

It's Buffalo Bill.

Speaker 1:

All right, everybody. These two can't do it. They're the podcast hosts. Welcome to Cody, Wyoming to the Buffalo Bill Center of the Wild West for the LiveAg Sale here in this August. I'm Jayce Thompson, your host.

Speaker 1:

Today, have Ty deCordova joining us on the We LiveAg podcast.

Speaker 4:

Is that written on the wall somewhere?

Speaker 2:

How come I couldn't get it right? I think we're going with this. Yeah. Like, like Jayce said, welcome back to the We LiveAg podcast. You are recording this, aren't you?

Speaker 2:

Good. Perfect. Jayce did an awesome introduction because Ty could not get the name of the building correct. As y'all can see, Jayce Thompson, current World Champion Livestock Market Auctioneer is joining us today and Wade Leist is co host or past, future, present.

Speaker 4:

Well, both co host and a 2024 Champion. Jason, you feeling alright? Don't sound too good today.

Speaker 1:

Why did you not engrave my name and my microphone like yours did? Because

Speaker 4:

when I got this microphone, you were still in middle school.

Speaker 2:

Okay, let's stop right here. Let's go on to the program guys, so you're going to argue. Now, Jace, thank you for joining us. We just kind of want talk through a few things, kind of what the World Championship means to you. You've got a long family history in the business, you've your grandpa, your dad, your dad's a past world, I think you're the only father son duo to win, both win world championships, he was a champion in 2009, so growing up in Montana and in that industry there, it's, it's got to mean something.

Speaker 2:

It's kind of walk us through that. What's that look like? I mean,

Speaker 1:

yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's been kind of, I've went through the story a million times since I've won it, but it is a cool story. You know, my grandpa started from absolutely nothing and worked his way up. He had some really good mentors that got him into the business. My grandpa's pretty gritty man.

Speaker 1:

You know, he did all the hard work to build up a pretty good cattle marketing business. He owned the barn there in Riverton and then worked at some barns across Wyoming as he was growing up. And then my dad kind of knew what he wanted to do, followed in his footsteps. As his successes grew he ended up moving up to Billings and kind of followed you know, put his own twist on it, but followed in my grandpa's footsteps and did the same thing with the cattle marketing business and working with Pat Goggins there at both Barnes and Billings, Auctioneering. Like you said, he won the world championship in 2009, which in my mind is a long time ago.

Speaker 1:

But he did win the world championship in 2009. And since then he's kind of shifted more into the cattle brokerage side, cattle feeding, cattle trading and kind of pulled back on the auctioneering a touch but seen a lot of success in his cattle marketing business. And I was fortunate enough to grow up there around Billings. You know, my dad was always, he demanded greatness whatever I was going to do, he made me do it right. And that's kind of been the philosophy for my grandpa and my dad, you know, if you're going to do it, do it right.

Speaker 1:

And so growing up, I got into the cattle side of things and then slowly kind of worked my way into the auctioneering side. And that kind of took hold and about five, six years ago, took it serious and it was kind of a snowball effect from there.

Speaker 4:

Your grandpa's name is Warren. Am I correct? Yeah. We keep referencing grandpa, but I'm not sure everybody would understand that's Warren Thompson and he is an icon in the industry and certainly somebody that I know that was a great mentor for you. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4:

I have met him and I haven't forgot him. One of the things I was interested to ask you about was, were you there when your dad won the Worlds and do you remember that? What was that like?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, I remember bits and pieces. I never really understood the weight of it. Know,

Speaker 2:

I was young. I was going say, was you like four?

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Still playing with monster trucks.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I mean, you had your toy dolls.

Speaker 1:

I didn't really understand the weight of it, but from when my dad won till, I guess when I won, I was able to go, you know, I saw you at some of the contests all growing up and, you know, that's what made it so special when I was able to hear my name on the other side of that. Because, know, you've been to so many of those conventions and it just builds weight and it kind of became, I didn't even realize till after I won it, but it kind of became like, that was the most special thing. Like to hear your name on the other side of that, you realize how much weight that has behind it. And some of the people that you're joining a list of and how talented they are and how much respect you have built for them over the years.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a pretty esteemed list there, the guys you get to stand up there with. To think that you're sitting in a town that's got two of them and you've worked under two of them your whole life just to kind of to see them guys to be your mentors with your dad and with the Gaga's family and all that going forward and your grandpa, that's just a neat, neat to be able to see. So who's the other one besides Ty?

Speaker 4:

You said that in Townhead too.

Speaker 2:

Didn't Joe win it? No,

Speaker 4:

No, I think Joe was

Speaker 1:

You're gonna get me in trouble.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. Think Joe was Reserve Champion maybe one year. Is that

Speaker 1:

correct? Yeah, he competed.

Speaker 2:

I always thought he was, I thought I was, I'm really, I'm being serious. I always thought he was one of the greats. I mean, don't get me here. I'm not trying get you in trouble.

Speaker 1:

Just He's a heck of a good auctioneer and I think he did have some successes competing. But you know, his purebred deal kind of, he sells a lot of purebred sales. And then like I said, he's got more to do than anybody could ever imagine. So his business kind of took him away from, I think the competition side of things.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, he's a great people. They're great people to grow up under is what I was getting at.

Speaker 4:

I was kind of picking on you there a little bit, but I've actually said for years that joining the list of world champions is really elite, but that competition is one day. It's not always a reflection of who the best auctioneer is. It's just that it was just who had the best day that day. If you look through history at the at the list of world champions and right next to it, you put a list of icons who have never made it, that list is pretty well intertwining. Joe is certainly on that list.

Speaker 4:

He's a world champion that has never received the buckle, basically.

Speaker 5:

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Speaker 5:

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Speaker 2:

You brought somebody with you today. What has her role been in all this? Mom's with you today. You want to talk a little bit about what that looks like?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. You know, she's somebody that gets, I said it on like the last podcast I was at and I tried to say it.

Speaker 2:

Hold up. You've on other podcasts? What's the deal about that?

Speaker 1:

Well, that one that gets a bunch Oh, of my bad. Anyways, but no, she, I tried to say it-

Speaker 4:

You were on Joe Rogan?

Speaker 1:

I tried to say it in my acceptance speech and I was balling my eyes out and I didn't really get it out right. But you know, my mom, my mom kind of bridged the gap. My dad was a real iron fist and didn't always relay his message in the right way. And we fought and butt heads, but she was kind of the translator for that. And then she taught me a lot too, about handling people, dealing with people, dealing with emotions, dealing with psychology.

Speaker 1:

And you know, she, she was really, really instrumental in, in me just progressing through, like I said, like, like just handling emotions, handling life, handling people. And there's a lot of times she talked me off the ledge, you know, when I wanted to go leave and do something else and I was pissed off and, and you know, she, she kind of convinced me that I had talent and, and I should give it a real, real effort and stick in there. And there's, I give her credit for a lot of times that that happened.

Speaker 4:

If you were to have jumped off the ledge and gone and done something else, what would it have been? Racing motorcycles?

Speaker 1:

I thought I could race motorcycles, but I figured out real quick that doesn't make very much money.

Speaker 2:

Now just on the outside looking at it on the World Championship Auctioneer deal that I don't know if I ever told you this, when when they were, when we was looking at auctioneers for the, for the company, a couple of guys had mentioned your name and I'd never heard you, never even met you, but I knew your dad and I thought a lot of your dad and I still do think a lot of your dad, he's a great, great man. But we met that night in, Billings, Montana and talked it over and we hired you that night at the at the Jake's restaurant or wherever was that and you looked across the table at me and you said, well, you ain't never heard me sell. How do you know you want me to sell for you? As humble as you were that day and to find out how old you were, that shocked me. I mean, didn't.

Speaker 2:

22? You was 21 when we met and and and to carry yourself the way you carried yourself and and the and the humility you have. And I'm not saying this isn't a bad thing and I was going be a lot of auctioneers probably shoot shots at me, but you don't find a whole lot of humble auctioneers. They're all pretty proud of their self, which they, I mean, can do that. They're good at what they do, but to see that in you and to see you be able to keep that throughout winning this deal and keep your humility and watch you steadily progress because you're not knowing nothing but getting better and I just wanted to give you that compliment that you keep that head on you and keep doing what you're doing there because it's working and a lot of people are noticing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I appreciate it. I think that's the first compliment you've ever given me. But I will say in addition to that, I think that there's two things. One is it goes back to my grandpa and my dad. They were hard on me about, you know, check yourself, when you're young.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I'm still young. I'm not saying I'm out of the woods and I won't be for a while, but they're really hard on me. Like, you know, this business, especially until you get some gray hair, you have to check yourself. I was bad about it, you know? And I still, you, you, I mean, I'm sure, you know, I'm sure you guys all know it's, it's hard to, you know, especially when you start feeling like you get some momentum, it's hard to check yourself and say, Hey, I gotta, I gotta watch it a little bit.

Speaker 1:

And it's so important. And I think as you practice that, it gets you some respect in a young age and in kind of a backhanded way or maybe not backhanded, but you know what I'm saying? A secondary way. And then also I think I was able to see a lot of people that didn't practice that, you know, through my travels and I was able to be in a lot of different operations growing up and see a lot of different auctioneers and different people. And I kind of got an idea of what it looked like from the outside looking in.

Speaker 1:

And I was like, I don't, I don't wanna to practice that. I don't want to be like that.

Speaker 4:

Sometimes it feels, you know, there's a lot of pressure when your mentor is standing behind you and poking you or pushing you or maybe telling you what you did wrong and never telling you what you did right. But truly that comes from them understanding the importance of our role in this industry. And also, when I won, my first stop was in Billings to sell a video sale there. And I remember watching your dad and you interact as you were working and thinking, man, you know, the kid's really special. He really knows what he's doing, but his dad is still, you know, got his thumb on him.

Speaker 4:

And I realized then it was because he knew how much talent you have. He knew how special you were in this industry, but also knew that there's a lot of things that can happen. He's been around for a long time. Your grandpa's been around and seen a lot of different things. And so understanding not only your role, but all of the ups and downs that this industry can have.

Speaker 4:

We've been on an uphill swing for a number of years here, and they knew, and I'm sure they've told you that it ain't always gonna be that way. It won't always be, you know, bright, bright easy days where we feel like the hero.

Speaker 2:

Well, Jace, I know I don't always give you a lot of compliments, but I did. We did hire you. I mean, that gotta be one compliment. Talk a little bit more about what the World Championship comes with, like your duties and what fishing to do. You're going be traveling the country kind of being a voice person for LMA and then for the organization and then going to doing some what they call them the appearances.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I don't know why they call them appearances because y'all guys need a lot of makeup. Y'all gonna be doing appearances. But anyways, appearances y'all do in the sales y'all go to kind of what's that look like?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I got one here on Friday. I'm going to Virginia for one, but I think over the next year, you know, I just going to get a really unique opportunity and it's, it's a weighted opportunity to, to be a spokesperson for the LMA and pass their message on of what they're working on. And they're working on a lot of things. You know, if you go on the website, there's lists and lists of what they're doing, but you know, the LMA is special in the sense that they're one of the only groups that are taking action.

Speaker 1:

They go out and they do something and you don't hear them posting stuff. You don't hear them complaining. They go out and they get to work and they get people behind them and they get stuff done. I can help with that however they want me to, but I think my main job is just go around that, you know, they have nearly 800 member markets across the country and just go around and be able to share what the LMA is doing, some of their progressions and some of the new developments that they're making. You know, this Common Ground Summit's a big deal.

Speaker 1:

They were just in Nashville. They're going down to Fort Worth through the end of the month. And that's a huge deal and there's a lot of stuff coming out of that. So just if I can translate that to some of these barn owners and then some of the producers across the world or across the countryside as well, I will have done my job. And I also, you know, I've said, I want to do it.

Speaker 1:

I don't know how successful I'll be. I'm going to try you know, be able to maybe speak at some high schools and create some enthusiasm in this younger generation or my generation even about some of the opportunities in the beef industry and the marketing industry and kind of get people excited about it and people maybe bridge the gap from older people yourself included, and older people and kind of bridge the gap, you know, between that generation and the younger generation coming up. I'm just joking with you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I remember that auctioneer from Billings that used to work for us. What was his name?

Speaker 6:

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Speaker 6:

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Speaker 4:

Yeah, everybody calls

Speaker 2:

him Ty, but I think it was Jayce. Everybody gets there.

Speaker 4:

Talked about the responsibilities coming up, and you're just getting started. This year is going to fly by from you. I'll tell you from experience, I won't be the only person that ever told you that, that this year is going to fly by. Before you know it, you're going to be preparing to come back in June and hand this title back off to somebody else. During the next ten months, as you prepare and move towards that, what's maybe like the, you're really high on the list that you want to do in the next year?

Speaker 4:

Maybe it's an appearance, maybe it's a location you want to go to, or maybe it's something you want to accomplish in that time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think, you know, my last answer covered it in a sense. Think I think I'm going to attend the common ground summit here in Fort Worth at the end of the month. That's big. I want to, I want to be able to kind of sit in on one of those and, and really be hands on and see what these guys are doing. And then some of the ideas that are getting thought of and brought to the table there at the Common Ground Summit.

Speaker 1:

But I think the biggest thing would be if I feel like I made an impact on this younger generation and got, even if I get five people that go out and get involved in the business, I think I've done my job. I think that's probably my biggest goal. I'm not saying I'm going to change the world or change the industry, but I think I have a platform that you know, maybe is unique in that sense. And then my age too, you know, I can communicate with that younger generation better. That would be, I think if I could get some guys interested in the business that are in this younger generation and then also attend that Common Ground Summit would be probably the two big ones.

Speaker 4:

How many years did you do the contest? Was it three? Just three? That's pretty remarkable. It's a pretty short list of people.

Speaker 4:

Number one, people who are under 25 years old who won it. I think I was 44 or 45. I didn't realize till later. I was actually one of the oldest everyone in it, but it's a pretty short list of guys who have gone into that contest and won it in less than three tries. What was different this year that propelled you over the edge?

Speaker 1:

You know, that's, that's tough. I, I wanted to win this and I knew I wanted to win it. And, you know, in the last year I put a lot of work into, into trying to get my interview better. And then I still bombed the interview, but you know, you put, I put a lot of time into trying to get that interview better you know, and expanding my knowledge to where I was comfortable with what I was talking about. And that interview portion is, you know better than anybody.

Speaker 1:

It's the most unique part of that WLAC because it adds a whole nother twist on this auctioneering deal. And then also, you know, I turned my auctioneering up in my everyday work and I just tried to perform perform like I would in a contest. And then in the contest I tried to perform like it was my everyday job and that worked out really good for me. I didn't feel the nerves near as much. Obviously they're there, but it wasn't near as dramatic as years past.

Speaker 1:

And I think, you know, if I, you know, maybe there's some fellow competitors or some future competitors watching this and, you know, even though it was three years, I mean, you knew it because you went for a fair amount of time, but each contest you'd

Speaker 4:

I think he means more than three.

Speaker 2:

I think that was a dig, but I'm just

Speaker 1:

but each contest, you know, learn something that you never would have paid attention to in the everyday work and, you know, something that if you're just selling at the barn every day, you never would, would be able to reflect on that, you know, whether it's a judge's comment or going back and watching your run or a mistake you made that it's like, Oh, I didn't even know that. So I think, you know, over the last three years, I've done enough of these contests where I was able to kind of reflect and take notes and refine my craft a little bit.

Speaker 2:

I

Speaker 4:

think that's excellent advice. If there is another competitive auctioneer out there that has aspirations of being a world champion or just entering a contest and getting better, I think that's excellent advice for them that you took that to your everyday work and said, I'm going to do things today to elevate what I do so that when I get in the contest, I'm not trying to be something I haven't been practicing or I'm not trying to be something that I, you're not trying to reach a gear that you haven't been in. And I think that's one of the most important things of our contest, whether it's the Livestock one or any other auction contest, is that the score sheet is designed to grade you on the things that are important in our job. And if you look at a score sheet objectively and you say, they scored me down here, up here, it doesn't mean you don't have to work on that, and there's more points to gain there. But across the board, if you're working on each one of those facets, you're just going to inherently be better at your job.

Speaker 4:

And that's what I found. So it was it's nice to hear you say that and give that advice to other competitors. I just had to do it in my everyday job for nine years instead of three until it finally started clicking.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I thought it took eleven, but nine is not. It's not. Yeah. And

Speaker 1:

I think that's a huge, I mean, I don't know if I, if I even really knew you when we went to Torrington. Think we met in Torrington, honestly, or no, we met in Indiana.

Speaker 4:

We'd met before that.

Speaker 1:

And then we really got to know each other in Torrington and it just progressed. But when I went to Torrington, was like, I thought I honestly, I mean, to be a 100% transparent, I thought contests were down. Like I thought they were just for show. And, and after I did Torrington, I realized like I got tied up on a certain spot and I'm like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing in some of this stuff. And then you go to another contest and you know, it really, it really puts the spotlight on you to where you can refine your craft.

Speaker 1:

And then aside from that, I met so many people in just a few years I went and I'm still going to go to some, but you meet so many people and you make connections in the industry. You know, whether it's direct connections or, you know, indirect, you meet so many people and it opens up so many doors for you too. Wade, speaking with Torrington, that was, there

Speaker 4:

was a qualifier there. I think that was in the fall of twenty three. It was a huge qualifier. Who won that one?

Speaker 1:

Think didn't Dean win

Speaker 2:

it? No. Oh, anyways. So is there anybody out there that you want to say thank you to that helped you get here, helped mold you where you're at?

Speaker 1:

Oh, I mean, I, you know, I kind of, I didn't want to write an acceptance piece because I felt like that was maybe putting the cart in front of the horse, but I thought about if I did win it, what would I say? And it was just like hours of thank yous. I mean, there's so many people, you know, I talk about having a mentor and how important it is. You know, I've had so many people that have helped me and there's so many people that have taken a chance on me and given me an opportunity. You know, there's literally hundreds of them and you know, it's been a collective effort and all that has added up and, and hopefully I haven't let them down too bad.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's good. Well, thank you for joining us. There were some other stuff we were going to do and just kind of visit about some other things, but I think I'll, I will just kind of move on here.

Speaker 1:

I read that script and I think I'll pass.

Speaker 2:

Oh, okay. So well thanks for joining us once again. Congratulations. Proud of you. You're doing an awesome job.

Speaker 2:

Keep it up. Keep the keep the community. Keep it, keep it going. You're, you're, you're on a great path. You got, you got great things ahead of you.

Speaker 2:

So, and don't forget us little people when you do get up there and be gone. Don't just kind of leave us in the wind, at least give us a heads up, you know. So thanks everybody for joining us on the We Live It Podcast. Remember to hit subscribe and like. If you want to join us or do any marketing with us, hit up Gene, that's with a J, genelive ag dot com or Keith, that's with a K@keithliveag.com.

Speaker 2:

So hit subscribe, like, and like always, God bless.