We Live It | LiveAg's Livestock Marketing Podcast

Seventy percent of your cattle's immune system lives in the gut — and most producers aren't feeding to that number. In this episode of the We Live It Livestock & Ranching Podcast, Hardy Goodman, Area Sales Manager for VitaFirm by BioZyme, breaks down the science behind gut health, heat stress technology, and why the Southeast cattle market is generating momentum that producers across the country need to pay attention to.

What is VitaFirm and what makes it different?
VitaFirm is a technology-driven animal nutrition platform built by BioZyme. At its core is a prebiotic backed by over 200 peer-reviewed studies — one of the most research-supported feed additives in the beef cattle industry. Hardy's approach is proactive, not reactive: build gut health before problems start, and the herd handles everything else better. Products discussed include Liquid Boost, SureChamp pellets, and Climate Control Gel, applicable across both show livestock and commercial cow-calf operations.

What is VitaFirm's heat technology and how does it work?
VitaFirm's heat technology is a proprietary blend of essential oils, garlic, cinnamon, and a vasodilator designed to help cattle dissipate heat more effectively. The result is a measurable 3–4 degree reduction in body temperature — enough to keep cattle out grazing during the hottest parts of the day and maintain body condition score through summer. Hardy puts it plainly: if someone moved your thermostat 4 degrees in either direction, somebody in your house would be yelling. The same principle applies to your herd.

Why does gut health drive cattle immunity?
Research shows that 70% of cattle immunity is tied directly to gut health. A healthy gut microbiome improves digestibility, nutrient absorption, and the animal's ability to respond to stress — whether that's heat, weaning, or shipping. VitaFirm's prebiotic technology is the foundation of every product recommendation Hardy makes, because no mineral program performs at its ceiling in a compromised gut environment.

Why is the Southeast cattle market heating up?
The Southeast is seeing real momentum — tighter cow numbers nationally combined with strong forage resources and growing producer investment in genetics and nutrition are positioning the region competitively. Hardy also previews VitaFirm's upcoming Heritage Film, spotlighting Johnston Brangus in Alabama — one of the first families to bring fescue to the state — as a story of the deep roots driving that momentum.

About Hardy Goodman
Hardy grew up in South Georgia with a cattle and show livestock background, earned his ag degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, and spent time in the cotton industry before landing his career with VitaFirm. His credibility with producers comes from a simple principle: he used the product before he ever sold it.

Hosts: Casey Mabry & Wade Leist
Guest: Hardy Goodman, Area Sales Manager — VitaFirm by BioZyme

🌐 vitafirm.com
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We Live It Livestock & Ranching Podcast — Real conversations for real producers.

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:

It's just like anything you guys have in your toolbox at home. You know, I'm sure you guys have got some type of product you like, whether it's ours or a tool or something like that, like a Milwaukee drill or something. I'm sure you like that. And you probably tell your friends about it. I used the product so I knew what it could do.

Speaker 1:

And that's just what I try to do. You know, there's lazy salesmen all over the place, and there's people that, you know, whether they tell you a lie or the truth. But when you can tell somebody what you see, it's pretty easy to convey the message.

Speaker 2:

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. Live AG connects cattle producers to opportunity Quality cattle deserve premium prices. The right bulls deserve more buyers and dependable equipment deserves a fair bit.

Speaker 2:

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

Speaker 3:

Welcome back to the We Live It Podcast. We're here, today with co host Wade Leist. I'm super pumped up that you're here instead of Ty, so we can have some more fun in here for sure. But, today joining us, we've got Hardy Goodman with Vitafirm. Pretty excited to have you guys in.

Speaker 3:

I know we've had a couple of your teammates on here in the past. Love the products personally, and I know that a lot of the guys out there that use this stuff for sure. So I think it's pretty good to have you on here, go through some things that you guys have going on. But to kinda kick it off, I know you got a unique past. We were talking about that here in a minute.

Speaker 3:

Kinda tell us where you came from.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. No. Thank you guys, number one, for having us out. We really appreciate that. Appreciate the partnership.

Speaker 1:

I grew up in a small town called Ty Ty, Georgia. Probably never heard of it, never been through that.

Speaker 4:

Spelled up.

Speaker 1:

T Y, T Y. It's got a little nursery there and a

Speaker 3:

little nursery.

Speaker 4:

Maybe Ty should have

Speaker 3:

been here

Speaker 1:

for Yeah. You'll say something else, you're gonna

Speaker 3:

say it too fast.

Speaker 1:

So it's super small town there. I don't even know what the population is, but it's small we're big enough to have a Dollar General, but most of America does now. So, but grew up there. Dad ran some cows there. Then went to I was fortunate enough, my mom actually taught school down the road in another county, so they let me go to school there.

Speaker 1:

And they would send me a letter every year saying, if you're bad, we're gonna send you to your hometown. Yeah. So but no, grew up there. Always been involved in the in the commercial cattle industry and grew up showing as well. I actually confirmed this with mom the other day that, she was carrying me while my older brother started showing there, at our state livestock show.

Speaker 1:

And so then we showed all till I graduated. So always was involved in the show cattle side. Like I said, went to a local high school there, then actually went to college in my hometown. Never intended on doing that, but said I'll stick around as a four year school. Got an ag degree there and actually met my wife there also.

Speaker 1:

So it kind of worked out pretty positive for me.

Speaker 4:

What college is in Ty DeCordova?

Speaker 1:

It's actually right outside of Ty DeCordova. It's in the next town over called Tifton. It's called Abraham Baldwin Ag College is what's called everybody calls it ABAC. But, like, a local ag school runs about a 150 cals. But a four year college used to be a two year.

Speaker 1:

It's been there for about a hundred years. It's kind of the, I guess, maybe the more prevalent ag school in our area, especially from, like, ag teachers and and agronomy classes and things like that too. So, super local deal, but worked out really good to be able to

Speaker 4:

stay there. Georgia is that?

Speaker 1:

South Georgia. So, like, below the NAT line. Don't if you guys know what NATs are. Most I mean, the worst things that ever been created.

Speaker 4:

You mean, like, gnat like a little bunny? Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

But you don't have no bet gnats down there?

Speaker 1:

Oh, they're terrible.

Speaker 3:

Oh, you're saying we're like, in the heart of the gnats. We're in the heart of it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. We're right there in the pocket of where they just swarm you. You know? It's like killer bees. They don't sting, though.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

It's terrible. Anyway, no, we're we're we're about an hour, hour and twenty minutes south of Macon, Georgia there

Speaker 4:

in central.

Speaker 1:

But like I said, I mean, gnats are terrible there. We're we're in a small town. Now I live thirty minutes from where I grew up in a town called Sylvester. It's actually where it's at. We're kinda in the quail belt, like I mentioned earlier, all the quail hunting around where we are, and we're actually the peanut capital of the world also.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. It's such a unique area, man, with all the plantation stuff down there. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome.

Speaker 3:

I've been down there hunting a couple of times, and it's a blast.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. I mean, you know, guys come and ride with me too, and and their, you know, their first question is, how do you find the cows? Because they're so you just it's just trees. It's just pine trees. I mean, forestry is a big part of what we do in our part of the country too.

Speaker 1:

Can't see them from the road. There's been several circumstances where there'll be five or 600 cows, you know, thirty minutes from my house, and I would never even knew they existed because you just can't see up there on a back road somewhere or something like that. But that's a little bit of my background. Like I said, the commercial side and then obviously the show livestock side as well. My wife and I are starting to kinda tinker in this show goat deal, which is a never ending pit monetarily as well.

Speaker 1:

No, her and I live in a town called Sylvester now and have a little boy that he'll be three in December and have another one on the way that'll be here in October, first, and November also. So super excited about that also.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. No, I love that area, man. And I wish you know, growing up here in Texas is so much different. I spent quite a bit of time in Louisiana, but that's like, you get Louisiana, you get the weather, you get the bugs, and you get the mosquitoes, but you don't get to, like, how beautiful it is whenever you get over where you guys are, where all them pine trees are. But, man, so the school you went to, was there a livestock judging team there?

Speaker 3:

No. Okay.

Speaker 1:

No. No. We didn't have a livestock judging team. Didn't just they just started a football team not long ago. Like, it was with not really any extracurricular activity, I guess, per se.

Speaker 1:

But did some of that earlier on, obviously. Like FFA or four actual, something like that. They actually didn't have that.

Speaker 3:

Okay. So it's pretty much production ag. You spent most of your focus on those beef cows and learning that operation. Absolutely. No, I think that's awesome.

Speaker 3:

So you were able to get out of school, then, I mean, I bet you're pretty attracted to I mean, that school probably attracts businesses like Biozyme and to go out there attract talent like you guys. So what are you seeing out there in your area as far as what you guys are doing?

Speaker 1:

Where we are, a lot of it's agronomy based, and I'm hoping that I'm answering that correctly. But when I was in college, also to kind of give you a little bit of backstory and kind of what drove me to be back involved in this side of the industry because when I first graduated, I went kind of into the agronomy side. And I figured out real quick that I love farming and very thankful for everybody that does row crop, but I figured out my passion was not there. And I actually interned, with a Sullivan supply dealer Okay. When I was in college, and traveled around and hauled those trailers and sold stuff to people like you all And the made a lot of money doing that.

Speaker 3:

You're like, man, guy's guys like you. You're like, why don't you just leave your credit card

Speaker 1:

up here? Me start you a tab and just take all this with you. Yeah. Yeah. It worked really well while I was in college.

Speaker 1:

I thought I was doing really well back then. Yeah. But no, stepped into a different role when I graduated, actually, in the cotton industry. And and the people were great, and I just figured out, so my true passion and what I wanted to do from when I was from a young age was figure out how, know, how to make a living in the cattle business. Figured out I couldn't do it by owning a bunch of cattle myself, but figured out then actually, of all things, it's a small world, applied for the job on LinkedIn of all places.

Speaker 1:

Interviewed the process went through the interview process. And like I said, started about three years ago now.

Speaker 4:

You can feel really good. Someday your kids are gonna go to college, and you already put one through college.

Speaker 1:

Seriously.

Speaker 3:

No, yeah. No doubt. Yeah. Absolutely. For sure.

Speaker 3:

No. What's crazy I mean, and we'll talk about this a little bit, but I mean because I like talking about, you know, where I I grew up, you know, thirty minutes west of here.

Speaker 4:

Sure.

Speaker 3:

And when I was going through school, I felt like I was from an ags ag background, you know, an ag school. And there's a school called Tarleton that's right down the road from us. It's it's very similar to where, I mean, they they there may be a little bit more stuff going on, but it's pretty much ag school at that time. It was an ag focus where all the ag teachers were there. But, man, it's crazy how I didn't really know what jobs were out there when I was, you know, graduating high school, and, obviously, that was, you know, a long time ago, pushing thirty years ago.

Speaker 3:

But, man, it's it's amazing. I I spend you know, my wife and I both spend lots of time talking to the kids about what jobs are out there. Like, I think about when I graduated, I was like, man, I'm gonna go I I wanted to go in the meat industry. I'm like, I'm gonna be a USDA grader or, you know, or some inspector or something. I mean, that's just the scope of what I had.

Speaker 3:

But, I mean, any more, like with LinkedIn or different things like that, you guys can see how much more. And I mean, now, you know, I fast forward to, you know, being twenty five, thirty years out of school now, and I'm a business owner and, like, looking for talent like that, it's amazing how much, you know, how much better connection you get because we try to hire people with your background. So does LiveAg, and it's trying to get people that have actual, you know, roots back into agriculture, not necessarily just the you know, I tell people all the time, won't hire a four o, you know? And so it's not it's not, you know, just hiring people off resumes, but Oh, the

Speaker 1:

networking now It's incredible.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. It's unreal.

Speaker 1:

Especially in the ag industry. Obviously, it's in different industries as well. But, just the connections made between industry events and things like that, you're able to find some really, really credible candidates for some of these jobs. And there's a lot more job opportunities from a marketing and sales standpoint than there has been in the because there's a lot more places to reach, you know, and social media and all those different things too.

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely. No. And it's it's really getting people excited about it. That's why I like the show ring quite a bit. There's parts of the show ring that I absolutely do not like.

Speaker 3:

But we try to keep our kids into the the scope of it that is good. Know? A 100%.

Speaker 1:

Yep. The opportunities that arise. And, like, there's statistics on this. I listen to podcasts all the time and think about it pretty thoroughly. It's like, the percent of kids that show livestock and then go on to be involved in something in our industry or further above that, maybe a CEO or an industry leader in regards to a breed association or something like that, that's very common.

Speaker 1:

And the sense of responsibility they capture from showing livestock is second to none in my opinion. I I grew up doing it. Go out and feed and calve out cows. If you show heifers you bred and stuff like that, mean, stuff you don't necessarily want to do, but you learn that's your responsibility and something you gotta take care of.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Like, our girls are so Reese is Even at a young age. Yeah. Reese is 16 now, and so she just got a car and she's driving. Avery is my middle one, she's 14, and I got a nine year old.

Speaker 3:

But, man, I'm looking at Reese. And so I think back to even, like, two or three years ago, and she'll probably if she listens to this, she'll kill me. But I used to sit there and go, like, How is this person gonna function in society? You know, like, once they get out of the house. And then all of a sudden, you get there and you're like, She's 16 and she's driving her car around, you know, that we bought her.

Speaker 3:

And I'm like, Man, she actually might be able to make it, you know? And now, I I get out there and watch her interact with her peers, she's in the FFA pretty aggressively now, she's a district officer and doing all those things and the different judging contests. And dude, what's awesome is like, you know, she had to be at the school the other morning at 04:30 because they were going down the road to this conference that was going on. And she gets up on her own, gets ready, gets in the car, drives herself to the school, hops on the bus with the school, and then they go to this thing a couple hours away, you know, and I'm like, All right, we're gonna be all right, you know? But I don't know if we didn't do that stuff.

Speaker 3:

Like, how do you transition from being in a neighborhood or with your parent you know, like that to real life? So that's what we use it for. We try to really focus on it.

Speaker 1:

And I use this term loosely, and it I mean, it applies in all different things. It can mean a thousand different things also, but, like, organic, you know, that that stuff just happens organically almost

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

You know, when when kids are showing livestock. And you you you know, I mean, me as a younger kid probably wasn't the most profiled. I was just doing, you know, dumb things. But, you know, getting into my professional career, looking back on some of those lessons I learned by, hey. Didn't have that show alter on that calf early enough.

Speaker 1:

You had to show him on the rope alter, stuff like that. There's responsibility things you learned that, you know, maybe dad didn't really know that I was getting teaching that lesson, getting taught that lesson. But now looking back, it's it's kinda made me into who I am undoubtedly. You know? For sure.

Speaker 3:

We had a team meeting, I mean, is anecdotal, but like Blue Reef, I got a couple offices and one's in Nebraska, and those guys were down here the last couple of days just going through some strategy stuff and things like that. And a couple of them were, you know, they showed livestock growing up. And I had them over at the house last night, I was grilling steaks, and one of them made the comment about wanting to go out to the barn and look. And I looked up, I asked my wife, was like, Hey, where's Avery at? And she goes, Well, those guys acted like they were gonna go out in the barn, so she went out there and cleaned the pen so it didn't look bad, you know?

Speaker 3:

I didn't even have to tell her anything, you know, and I'm like, they weren't in that bad a shape, but, you know, she was worried that they were gonna go out there and think her pins didn't look very good, so she went out there and cleaned her pins.

Speaker 4:

That means something, though.

Speaker 1:

I mean, that goes back to something my dad always said, would he never let us walk out of the house with a wrinkly shirt type of deal. Yeah. You know? Presentation. So she's learned that obviously early on.

Speaker 1:

Like, hey. I'm gonna make sure my stuff looks right. And that's important in today's time. That's what's gonna set somebody apart in a, you know, in a job perspective or just, you know, a rolling line.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. We it's a good thing those guys I mean, maybe I should have them over once a week. That way I don't have to beat on her and get her out there and do it for sure.

Speaker 4:

Well, think clearly your background in the show industry has taught you some things that have helped propel you in your professional career. Is that something that you're still involved in? You're still involved in the show industry?

Speaker 1:

Yes. I still help some local families, obviously clip some cattle and help them feed some cattle also to kinda get things ready. You know, we're set up a little bit differently. Like, state fairs in October, whereas a lot of state fairs are in the summertime. And then we have another show in February, which is kind of our endpoint.

Speaker 1:

So and it's not called our state fair. It's kind of our national livestock show. We we consider it's not a national show, but it's all, you know, Georgia based there, kind of our end points in February. So I still help several families clip calves and get them ready, help them find some here and there when I can in my travels and things of that nature too. But, yeah, still involved.

Speaker 1:

I'm never gonna be out of it. Obviously, our little boy, he'll only be three, so we've got several more years to kind of prepare for that if he wants to or not. But still, decently involved in it as much as I can any way time allows.

Speaker 4:

So you get out of college, you're looking to get employed, you're entering the workforce. Was BioZyme or Vitaphim the first place you went to, or did you have a stepping stone?

Speaker 1:

No, I didn't see that, but it's funny you brought that up. There's pictures of me when I was in college, and maybe some latter part of my high school career also, but I fed Shirt Champ, and fed the product, knew what it did. And I thought it was so cool that I went on our website back then and ordered a hat. And I wore that hat everywhere. There's pictures of me everywhere.

Speaker 1:

And I was like, man, I just I love the product, love the brand, always had it. And so wore the hat, it was gone. And never really even thought about the opportunity to work for the company. Actually worked at a place in college, also a ranch there, and the guy that was here before me, he would come by and visit us and gave me some other hats and stuff like that, I kinda learned to buy a Vitaphim, you know? And, when I saw it come available, I was like, nah, there's no way.

Speaker 1:

This is, you know, it was

Speaker 3:

Did you dream job him? It was

Speaker 1:

kinda yeah. Seriously, I mean, I worked for Sullivan, traveled around, and really found the knack in that and loved it, and I said, I think I could do this. So applied, and it's kinda all fell in place and it allowed me to be, you know, kinda follow my dream and staying involved in the livestock and the show cattle industry.

Speaker 4:

Well, I think that's pretty neat. You started out using a product, you saw the value of it, then the door opens up. Now it probably makes it easier, now from the standpoint of selling the product that you are it's something you already believed in.

Speaker 1:

It's just like anything you guys have in your toolbox at I'm sure you guys have got some type of product you like, whether it's ours or a tool or something like that, like a Milwaukee drill or something. I'm sure you like that. And you probably tell your friends about it. The same thing, you know, from a salesman standpoint, I used their product so I knew what it could do. And that's just what I try to do.

Speaker 1:

You know, there's lazy salesman all over the place, and there's people that you know, whether they tell you a lie or the truth. But when you can tell somebody what you see, it's pretty easy to convey the message.

Speaker 5:

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Speaker 5:

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Speaker 4:

I think that's why Warren Buffett says to, invest in a product that you're gonna use, something you believe in.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. You know,

Speaker 4:

I think that makes a lot of sense. It's interesting to me that we have this partnership with Vita Firm for with LiveAg. I've I've not been on our family farm for probably twenty years, out doing auctions and that kind of thing. It's not really part of my life anymore. When it was, I remember we had a coccidiosis problem.

Speaker 4:

My grandpa and I, or

Speaker 3:

my dad and I would

Speaker 4:

be out the, looking at calves and there's a month old calf. Then next day it's, you know, it's got coccidiosis and we were just fighting it, fighting it, fighting it.

Speaker 3:

And a

Speaker 4:

friend of ours was selling VitaFirm and he said, try this product and get it into the cows early and get the calves nursing and getting the minerals and getting the to fight coccidiosis, whatever was in there. Don't remember if it was decox or whatever was in there to get in front of that. Man, it changed everything for our program at that time. And it's still a product that gets used, we still push that to stay ahead of it. So it's interesting that we have this partnership because it's something that I believe in as well.

Speaker 1:

I've seen the results of it. Absolutely. And we are proud to be partners with you guys on this. What you said is 100% accurate. We our whole business essentially is built around technologies.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we're we're really a technology supplement company, and the main technology that we kinda hang our hat on that's really set us apart in the industry as I am affirming, it's a prebiotic in the diet, and we can get into that further on. But that's kind of where you're seeing focusing on gut health and making sure that if we do the right thing on the cow, that's what's going to correlate back into the calf. It's just like taking care of your factory or whatever it is. If we're we're trying to capture some value on the end product, if we take care of the factory, we'll be okay. She's I mean, they're they're just like employees.

Speaker 1:

I mean, cattle are just like athletes or employees is what I tell all my customers or, you know, new customers, old customers, is that if we treat them like employees and we treat them like athletes and give them what they need and all the tools to be successful, they will. But if we don't do that up front, then it's really hard to squeeze a profit and starve a profit out of one of the backside.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. No. I mean, I said this once before on one of these podcasts whenever you guys were on here, but, I mean, like, it's even last week. I feed Liquiboost quite a bit to our pigs, and what I try to do is whenever they come in, that's a very stressful time in their life. On those animals, any other 45 pounds or 50 pounds, they've gone from a sale in Missouri, or a guy's place in Missouri down to a sale.

Speaker 3:

They've been commingled with all kinds of stuff. So that environment right there, especially that species of livestock, they're really susceptible to disease and stress and gut health and things like that. And then we put them in an environment where I'm starting to commingle them back into my house with all the different things that I've got from all these different places, right? So you sit there and go, Okay, this is a cesspool. And I go I try to hit them with, you know, some vaccination protocol, some antibiotic or whatever.

Speaker 3:

And I started using Liquiboost about several years ago, and I was actually using Hydro Boost. Is that what it is? A commercial one? That's right. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And then I found out that that one's not as good as what the Liquiboost is from a I guess there's more goodies in the Liquiboost.

Speaker 1:

We transferred everything over to Liquiboost

Speaker 3:

So as our primary then because I was using the green stuff, and then now I'm using the orange stuff, right, is basically where I think through it. But, I mean, is unreal, man. And I forget about it every time I go to buying animals because I'm focused on all those other things. But like I told my wife, whenever it comes to August this year, I'm gonna have a two gallon jug of it sitting in my house okay. Because that way I can just, you know, just have it in the medicator.

Speaker 3:

So like, for example, last week, I've got this group, and it's our state fairs in the late September, October 1. So I've got pigs that I've had in my barn for about three or four weeks. They're not really coming in and transitioning well. I've got the stuff that we're gonna show in, like, the summer shows. Mhmm.

Speaker 3:

They're bigger. So they weigh, like, two fifty or something like that. And, man, everything's just kinda, like, not eating well. And I'm like, well, I don't have the Liquiboost in there. I put it in there last week.

Speaker 3:

Everything starts cranking. Right? So that stuff's running through the water. What what do I need otherwise? Like, if you're talking to a show family like mine, I don't have a you sitting right down the road from me to talk about it.

Speaker 3:

So, like, tell me what I need to be doing as far as protocol goes. Sheep and goats and

Speaker 1:

pigs. I think you've got the first step pretty much set there. And what you said kinda maybe forgetting about it, I try to portray that message to our customers all the time, and it doesn't matter if we're talking VitaFirm here today or our SureChamp products or anything. It's always better to be precautionary rather than reactionary. It's hard to remember sometimes, I get it, but the earlier we have that product and allow it to to put it in our program puts us far ahead.

Speaker 1:

But, you know, to a family that's just getting a set in, obviously, if you're a multi specie barn, I think Liquid Boost really, really fits the bill there in regards to making sure that your gut health is where it needs to be. That product's very versatile. You can use that obviously on your goats as well, on your pigs, on your cattle, on your sheep, a very versatile tool. But families are just, you know, predominantly showing cattle. We have a cattle drench that we actually use in some of our GainSmart pro protocol as well.

Speaker 1:

We have that in a Sure Champ brand as well to use on the cattle side. But we have a pelletized product that works phenomenal. It's a daily supplement. And going into that, in the supplement industry, there's been thousands of things brought out. And I think Alan may have mentioned this in his podcast, but there hadn't been a whole lot of products that have been around for forty plus years.

Speaker 1:

And that's our Sure Champ pellet's been around that long, we're very proud of that. And I think that's all built around the consistency of it. The consistency of the product and doing the same thing every day and bringing true value to those animals in regards to vitamin mineral package and the prebiotic and the diet value is very, very important. And that kind of ties back into if you're gonna use, you know, our supplements, in this case, liquid boost, and then maybe if you have some stuff with some diarrhea problems, can use our our our scour gel there per se, our clench gel. But be consistent in any of that.

Speaker 1:

Consistency is key in that, undoubtedly, in my opinion. But set your protocol, like you mentioned, use your liquid boost, use your pelleted supplement as well. We also have some gels. Those are very, very fast acting. We actually have a really, really good gel.

Speaker 1:

It's called our climate control gel. And as you guys know, it probably gets a lot colder up where you're at than it does down where I'm at, but it gets real hot down where I'm at. And these show livestock and like even in the pig deal now, I don't wanna get off too big of a tangent on this, but like, I mean, them things are probably pretty hairy now. Oh, That's totally different. You showed pigs growing up, did say that or no?

Speaker 1:

Yeah. No. Were not hair back then.

Speaker 3:

They need hair.

Speaker 1:

Are y'all fitting those things now?

Speaker 3:

We're not fitting them, but they need hair.

Speaker 1:

Oh, yeah. Exactly. So, like, they're gonna get hotter with hair. It doesn't matter if it's pigs or show goats,

Speaker 3:

whatever

Speaker 1:

it is. And we have bred these things to be, you know, freaks of nature, if you will, super extra hairy, things like that. And so in the summertime, that's stressful on them. So product works really, really well in regards to allowing them to dissipate heat, we'll talk about that a little further later in some of our other heat technologies as well. But this allows those animals to dissipate heat a little bit faster too.

Speaker 1:

So all this can be found online also if anybody has any questions, you know, and they don't have me down the road talking to them about Shure Champ. All of this is online, and you could find it in your local dealer network as well.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So when you're talking about heat, let's let's go through that because, I mean, is there a commercial application of that as well?

Speaker 1:

Absolutely.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So let's talk about it feels like I'm in this deal, like, this is not prompted at all. I I think it's interesting because we'll feed animals through the summertime. Yeah. So, like, I do battle heat bad.

Speaker 3:

I mean, it'll get like, we'll we'll turn off here pretty quick, and it'll get to where it's a 100 degrees for the rest of the summer. What are some things that we could use for that?

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. In the show livestock side, we've our Shur Sham Extreme that has our heat technology in it as well. But, you know, on the commercial application, that has that same heat technology in it. So and that that's kinda what we were talking about beforehand here. There's been some differences, I guess, in the show livestock industry comparable to the commercial side.

Speaker 1:

And in all reality, everybody's just trying to implement good animal husbandry, I would say. They're all trying to kid out show goats, whether that's production or the show livestock portion of it, or somebody that's raising show cattle is trying to calve out the next cow. Whether that's an ET cow, that's a recip, or it's a natural bred AI deal, they're we're all reaching the common goal. And so that heat technology works across the board. And just allowing these livestock or cattle in this instance, to stay cooler in the summertime.

Speaker 1:

It's got a vasodilator in it, which basically allows them cattle to dissipate heat because they're gonna send a higher level of blood flow to their extremities. So that ties also into cattle that are grazing fescue, having some endophyte issues, getting some constriction of some blood vessels there, and they won't be able to have the blood flow they need. So if we can keep and the data tells us that it's three to four degrees difference in regards to temperature. And so when I always give these talks or go to a producer meeting, I tell everybody, you know, if you go home and your wife or your husband, per se, turns the heat up or turns the air up four degrees, somebody's gonna be yelling pretty quick. Somebody's gonna be pretty ill, they're gonna tell you, don't ever touch that thermostat again.

Speaker 3:

Know? Kinda gets like that in the studio somewhere.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. I get it the other way. If it went down four degrees, all

Speaker 4:

of sudden somebody's complaining. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Eight months out of the year, man, we got the heat on.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. That's just that's just crazy to me. But no, we don't have a nap problem. Man, that sounds nice. I went to Minnesota last year during the summer, and it was phenomenal.

Speaker 1:

You didn't have any gnats, it was relatively cool compared to where we are. But know that HEAT program obviously has garlic in it, which is a really hot topic right now, obviously with some things in the northern part of the country with some of this tick issue that we're running into. But that's basically a natural repellent is what that garlic is. So we have garlic, we have some essential oils in there as well, Also have a little bit of cinnamon. And what we're gonna try to focus on, get them a cabin to drink.

Speaker 1:

And I don't wanna get too long winded. I know you got another question for me here, but, like, we can talk about hydration as well. If you guys don't drink water or I don't drink water all day and we're working out in the sun, that's not gonna turn out very well for us. We're gonna get pretty dehydrated, we're not gonna be worth anything. The same thing with a cattle or any show livestock.

Speaker 3:

So I'm really fascinated with this heat product. So like, because I think it really has a commercial application as well. I mean, you got cattle kicked out on grass. Oh, wow. You got cattle kicked out on grass.

Speaker 3:

What do like, how does how does the heat product work? Like, what like, what's the mechanism there? Like, what works? What? And talk to me like I'm an idiot because I ain't

Speaker 1:

No. No. Well, I guess

Speaker 4:

And give away all your treats. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Yeah. Proprietary information.

Speaker 3:

Let's just go ahead and

Speaker 1:

throw it all out there. No. From a commercial application, guys that wanna try the product, they're probably not always, but they may be feeding a garlic product already. So it won't be that much of a transition for them, but they will see a difference in what those cattle do. It's because of those essential oils in there, it drives them cattle to wanna snack more often.

Speaker 1:

In our part of the country, mean, similar to where you are now, these cattle try to shade up in the mornings or in midday. They'll try to run out out of from under the shade in the morning times, graze, and then get back around the shade. And then in the evenings when it cools off, if it does cool off, sometimes they don't even cool off very much, they try to run back out and graze again. So what we try to do, especially with this blend, proprietary blend of essential oils, get those cattle out to snack more often. And I always make the joke, like, you know, when was a kid, I was like a chip kid.

Speaker 1:

I just snacked all the time.

Speaker 4:

I say, pretty heavy. I'm on some essential oil. Yeah. I was gonna say,

Speaker 1:

I was was gonna

Speaker 3:

say,

Speaker 1:

was gonna gonna gonna we're gonna see our our our body condition score on cattle increase. Same thing on the feeder cap deal, we're gonna see average daily gain go up. So that's just one big thing that our producers have already used the product they see. And I always make the joke, and I saw it one time down around the house. It's a group of, I don't know, about 50 cows there, and they all had about four weight calves on their side.

Speaker 1:

And all the cows were standing in the pond, and all the calves were standing around the pond. I sent the guy a text. He said, do you sell snorkels also? Are you putting snorkels on them calves? That's the way they're gonna nurse those cows if you give them a snorkel.

Speaker 1:

So that was a big thing. It's like, we need to get the cows out of the pond. They need be grazing. They need to be productive for us. And that vasodilator in there helps out also.

Speaker 1:

It just keeps them cooler, like I said, three to four degrees. And so that's the basics of the product. It's very simple.

Speaker 3:

There's no super Have y'all seen pretty good response on Absolutely. Grass cattle?

Speaker 1:

I have people call me all the time to make sure their cattle are okay. And these things are out grazing in the middle of the day. Like, this is very odd They behavior for get blown away by it upfront because in today's world, people have a hard time believing what people say upfront the first time they say it. And when you tell them that product's going to work and do what we say it does and then it actually does, they're calling you like, hey, is everything good? This is working very quickly.

Speaker 1:

And you're gonna see a difference in those cattle three to four days in on our HEAT program as well.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And so you guys probably have pretty good research projects and studies and things like that.

Speaker 1:

Are, along alongside a technology company, I would say we're pretty close to a research company also. We have, like, 200 peer reviewed studies on our prebiotic alone. We're always continuously working on, research studies as well. We have some programs going now that are very exciting too. So we we we really focus and invest a lot of our funding into making sure we have the research behind our products, whereas a lot of companies don't do that.

Speaker 4:

You guys have had a long standing relationship with Elite Livestock, which is which is a big part of LiveAg as well with Jerry and Daryl in the In Southeast your time throughout this industry, and, you know, I'm not sure how old you are, but a lot younger than we are, I assume, It seems like we've seen the reputation of southeastern cattle start to change. And I think that Vitafirm might be one of the reasons, and I think Elite Livestock might be one of the reasons, but we've seen that reputation start to shift. What are what are you seeing from that standpoint? Do you notice the same?

Speaker 1:

No. I think there's a lot more spotlight, I guess, per se, maybe on the Southeast. There's a lot of good cattle in in that part of the country. If you guys you hunt down there a little bit, but if you don't frequent it, there's a lot of things that can go wrong pretty commonly. It can we don't have obviously have the winters that you guys do, but the summers are pretty rough.

Speaker 1:

I mean, you've got all different types of things that wants to bite you, whether it's a snake, gator, or anything like that. But the the the the and I tell people that. They always laugh. Yeah. But the pure humidity that we have, it's hard for cattle to be productive.

Speaker 1:

And so from our standpoint, from a supplement standpoint, we need to make sure we check the box from a from a mineral standpoint. Like, we we do so many things, there's so many struggles that we face that we can't have a a question mark in our head, and our producers can't have one either, on whether they're giving those cattle what they need in regards to a mineral program. So that's why we always I mean, we have three breeder mineral programs. I don't know that there's another company that does. And we have three standard programs that have all types of technologies tied to those.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I don't even know what the total number is off the top of my head, but with our bolt ons, I mean, there's roughly 20 or 30 or so of those different individual programs with, you know, Clarifly and CTC and things like that. So we we kinda wanna do things differently if we're gonna make a difference in the deal, especially in our part of the country, is we gotta make sure they get exactly what they need, especially with our forage programs and things like that. And like I said, the humidity will be 110, 112 degrees at some points, and there won't be any wind either. It gets but these cattle are being more productive. They can go out, and turn a game pretty fast, because, you know, they're in a little bit cooler climate, and heading west and some drier air.

Speaker 1:

They seem to be a little bit more productive and and have some some true vigor as well.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. That's what I think that's where I was getting at. We're seeing the vigor change, uniformity. But a lot of that comes from producer buy in. You're showing them a program or you're offering them something, then there's producer buy in.

Speaker 4:

What do you find that probably resonates the most with a producer, with your product, that they can implement, that they say, You know what? That resonates with what I'm doing, I think that

Speaker 3:

that's Yeah, going so it's a game changer. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. I mean, think a hot topic now I mean and this may be more on the stocker backgrounder side of things, and some some guy's preconditioned and some cattle is is gut health. You know? We're we're having to we're having to vaccinate and doctor these things. And and and I talked to a guy not long ago, and I I always relate back to stories that I've come across on in the road on the Road.

Speaker 1:

He told me, said, man, I'm I'm doctoring these things on arrival, and I just don't see they're not recovering fast enough. You know? And he said, obviously, the cattle have changed over the past ten, fifteen, twenty years. I mean, our our sires have changed. Genomics have changed.

Speaker 1:

I mean, there's a lot of things that have shifted in the industry as a whole. I mean, we would have a meeting today about size of cattle in the past, you know, seventy five hundred years. But he said, I just don't think that the recovery time is where it needs to be. And he said, I think I have a gut health issue. And 70% of our immunity, cattle immunity, horse immunity, is all based around gut health.

Speaker 1:

That's I mean, 70% when I made a 70 on tests, god, I was doing pretty well, to be honest. So 70% is

Speaker 3:

I a big part of the with you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. I mean, hey, Cs get to degrees, you know, come on. But realistically, immunity is a big part of what we do. And so if we can focus on gut health and that's what's starting to resonate with some of our customers is, guys, look. Let's dig into what we do.

Speaker 1:

And what's really starting to resonate more of them is like, hey. I'm gonna come to you and talk to you about the ingredients of what we do, not the guaranteed analysis. That matters undoubtedly. That's just percentages. You know?

Speaker 1:

Percentages are something that's not very good. It's not very available to the cow. I ain't gonna do anything no matter how much I pour out there. So I think that's a that's really been a hot topic is is, you know, parasite and and fly control are also one, but really gut health making a difference and seeing what these cattle can do.

Speaker 4:

I think that's that's kind of what I was hoping to use we're we're gonna touch on is is, I I don't think there's anything probably more depressing from producer, whether it's a background or, standpoint, than treating animals and not seeing a response and going back out the next day and seeing the same thing.

Speaker 3:

Just lightener.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. And and looking for, you know, its ears to perk up and then going out the next day and and doing it again. I don't think there's anything more depressing in this industry than that. And so if you can offer, Hey, let's get ahead of that. Let's not treat it from the back end.

Speaker 4:

Let's treat it from the front end and maybe try to get ahead of that. I would think that that'd be something that would completely resonate with most producers.

Speaker 1:

100%. And I tell this at our our, some cattlemen's meeting. I speak out all the time. I always thank everybody for their attendance. I said, but the real reason you're here is because you love cattle.

Speaker 1:

If you didn't love them, you would've sold them all pretty quick. Right now, for sure, you'd let them all ride to town. So, they like the cattle business that, you know, like you just said, it's- Well,

Speaker 3:

that and

Speaker 4:

they think it's gonna get higher.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Hey, it's always on the incline right now, you know? But realistically, nobody likes going out to doing that. And we had a program the other day that brought 90 head of feeder calves in. They background a pile of cattle, and I said, hey, just try this.

Speaker 1:

Try this drench that we have. They didn't treat anything for the first nine days. They brought a group in prior to that. They mass retreated in two days on Nannie Head that they brought in previously before they before they had our drench. And I didn't pay them to say that.

Speaker 1:

So there's just there's there's technology. What we're trying to do is just focus on gut health. If if we can do that, we can build upon it.

Speaker 4:

When it comes to, like, job satisfaction, I would imagine that going out for ninety days

Speaker 2:

and not having

Speaker 4:

to treat something, you would just be walking on air.

Speaker 3:

Oh, yeah. When you said a second ago, going out there, treating an animal, going out there and it's still not perking up, I deal with that all the time personally. And you're not you like, you'll sit in the house and think about it.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Right? And you're like, oh, man, I hope this thing when I walk out there, I hope it jumps and hits the gate and it's standing there ready to eat. And when you walk out there and that's why I mean, I'm telling you, I bought the Liquiboost. Like, it showed up. I bought it on Chewy, and it got delivered to the house because the local feed store I have only had the little one liter jug But, or anyway, I got delivered to the house, and I was, like, pumped to get it out there and stick it to Medicator.

Speaker 3:

So hopefully, you know, it was I would get a response. And guess what? I stuck it in there two or three days later. Two days later, once it gets through the medicator and the animals start getting there, they've got more vigor, they're more aware, they're rolling. So, mean, it definitely is a product that it sells itself for sure.

Speaker 3:

And that's not a sales pitch at all because I paid full price on chewy.com to get it delivered to my house. You gotta start with a good family. I do

Speaker 1:

need to

Speaker 3:

talk to you about getting some discounts or something.

Speaker 1:

Well, you

Speaker 4:

put him through galleries. Now you're gonna start

Speaker 3:

putting this kid through house. I'm guessing if I didn't wait till the last minute to order it and need it later, we'd probably get some kind of condition or some plan there. We'll talk to Alan about that one.

Speaker 1:

There you go. He'll be the person to

Speaker 3:

talk to. I'll send him a snap here in a little bit. So one thing I wanted to touch on that Katie was telling us about is you guys have a heritage film coming out. Touch on that, and let's talk about that for a minute because I didn't know anything about it.

Speaker 1:

So that's something I'm super excited about. I've started to learn a lot more about the Brangus business and going over to Alabama to visit with those folks. That family's great. Alan Haney and his family that manages it there, they do a phenomenal job. That's kind of a hidden gem, I guess you could say.

Speaker 1:

I didn't even know it existed, to be honest with you, till Toby and I discussed it and things like that and went over there. I mean, I was just simply amazed at what they've been able to do with their program. And they probably got some of the better set of brainiest cattle I've ever laid my eyes on.

Speaker 4:

Can we back up just a little bit before we go down that road? I read the same thing about heritage film. What is this?

Speaker 1:

So this goes back to our partnership here, what we're trying to do is display and shed some light on what we're trying to do, obviously, partnership is bring some true value to our customers, and show what it's like, you know, in the Southeast, shed some more light on what we're doing out here. I mean, it's a true heritage. It's what these people live and breathe.

Speaker 4:

So, Vitapher made a film regarding one producer?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, this is a and we're gonna do more of these. But we're wanting to shed some light day to day and kind of what Vitafirm can do for a program and highlight these guys' cattle in the meantime. I see. And we like to give back to our customers and bring some, like I said, some true value to them. And so we've got this film.

Speaker 1:

It's coming out pretty soon. I don't have an exact timeline on it, I'm super excited about it, especially to shed some more light in this part of the country. But they were actually the first family to bring fescue to the state of Alabama, and they've done a phenomenal job managing that. That can be one that's hard to manage, especially in the cattle industry. And so they have got a phenomenal set of cattle there and been using our product very, very consistently over the past several years and saw a tremendous increase in their breed ups.

Speaker 1:

And the cattle the cattle look phenomenal. Like I said, I'm I'm kinda new to the brand of steel and kinda get to learn some more about some of these industry sires and things like that. And they've done a phenomenal job putting a great set of cattle together and have been really, really pleased with what VitalFern has been able to do for them, especially in regards to their breed up. Especially right now, what better time to have a great breed up?

Speaker 4:

So this heritage film, you're spotlighting one of the producers who uses and your kind of telling their story?

Speaker 1:

For sure. And allow for them, you know, essentially to kind of spread the word about products like Vitafirm. Because, you know, there's people that have issues that don't know what to go to. There's customers that we don't reach. I know that everybody thinks that everybody has Facebook or everybody don't read the newspaper anymore or vice versa.

Speaker 1:

There's people that don't see things, they're looking for a solution. They don't know who to call. They don't know how to find it. And that kinda leads into some other things about contacts, but, that just allows us to put out here and say, hey. There, you know, there are products you can use if your goals are similar to what they're doing there at Johnson Brings also.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So that's that's gonna be out on, like, your social media platforms and YouTube.

Speaker 1:

Come out here pretty soon. I don't have exact timeline, but I'm sure that'll be on, YouTube there primarily. I'm sure there'll be some TikTok reels and things or that's Facebook. Excuse me. Facebook reels and some TikTok videos and things like that.

Speaker 3:

No. It's incredible to see some of these I've seen some of these different videos people are doing. It's incredible to and it's less sales y. It's a great way to highlight customers and your products. I think I it's can't wait to see it when it comes out.

Speaker 1:

And to and to roll back into it too and and and kinda highlight this, and doing this heritage film and and really put the message out there that, you know, you guys we've talked about that, and I asked you before we got started here that you both you both have kids and how important that time is that you get to spend with your kids, or whether it's your dogs or whatever you may have at home. But, you know, in the cattle business or in the livestock business, I mean, we're trading our time for profitability and performance. That's what we're doing every day. And so if we can allow customers to get more value out of their time, and allow them to practice better animal husbandry because they don't wanna see that cow lay there any longer, That brings some true insight and true value to them at the end of the day is, hey, I can be more efficient with my time here, do a better job up front, my animal husbandry can be better, and my overall herd health can be better as well.

Speaker 4:

That's awesome. When you were with us in Alabama for the Grass Time special at Elite Livestock Care, was that three weeks ago,

Speaker 1:

month What'd ago, some month ago,

Speaker 3:

think of

Speaker 4:

that production?

Speaker 3:

I thought it was

Speaker 4:

great, wasn't it? Thought it was great.

Speaker 3:

Was a Wish I'd have been in the herd. It was a blast. I was a fan

Speaker 1:

of feeling this wrong, but I fuck the Southeast on fire right now. I think it's just going really good. We're getting out of this drought also. We're kinda getting out of that.

Speaker 3:

Well, you gotta there's a there's a set of guys down there. They do. Really lean those guys. I mean, I love being around them things in there. They're they're always got a positive attitude.

Speaker 3:

They're energetic. They got a lot of people around them that are wanting to do some stuff. They're I mean, and they're the cattle that they're selling are good. Yep. I mean, and they're I mean, like I said, there's a lot of excitement down there around that and kind of generating that business and that group of producers that are down there.

Speaker 4:

The knowledge that they have of the industry in that part of the country is unparalleled, for one. Their customer service is top notch, and you won't find a collection of people in the industry that are more honest and knowledgeable than those guys are.

Speaker 3:

Well, work really well together, and really they've got conflicting they could be jabbing each other for whatever commissions or things like that. But when I've talked to them and I'm like, Hey, man, where are you at? I got a guy that's down there. We might sell some cattle or whatever. Mean, them guys are it's like, Oh, you need to talk to so and so or whoever.

Speaker 3:

It's not like they're trying to grab it all themselves. So they work very good as a collective group. Yeah. Think it's awesome.

Speaker 1:

The the quality of the cattle in there has has just went straight up as well. Obviously, the industry's climbing too. But I mean, there's a lot of guys in that area, and they're starting to shed some more light. And like I said, it kinda seems like it's on fire. That, you know, there's a lot of guys that are pushing a lot of really, really good cattle and bulls and donors and things like that out of that part of the country, and a really, really good set of feeder calves coming out from down there.

Speaker 1:

There's some of the larger ranches in The United States that are in South Florida as well, so there's a lot of cattle pushed out from down that part of the country.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and the cattle guys are making pretty good money right now, and they're spending some money. What what do they do? They're gonna reinvest it right back in their business, and they're gonna spend some money on pretty good bulls.

Speaker 1:

And there's a that's a hot I mean, the cattle industry, you guys know this as well as I do, but, I mean, it's a hot topic right now. There's a lot of folks that have never been around a cow that have a lot of cows right now.

Speaker 4:

Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1:

It's a niche. Great. It's phenomenal. I'm glad. You know?

Speaker 1:

They're they're they're learning a lot about it. It's a great thing for the industry, but there's a lot of attention on the cattle business.

Speaker 3:

Oh, no. It's been it's been revitalized for sure.

Speaker 1:

But And what even and and what's what's impressive about that, I I I know I won't get too long winded here, but, is they can read the data and know that it's like that, and and we're in the lowest cattle inventory since the fifties or sixties. Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe if ever, if we're going in that direction. But for these guys buying in I mean, we're talking about everybody selling cattle with the drought. Mean, I've had several customers talk to you in the past couple days.

Speaker 1:

I mean, they're trying to buy cattle. Yeah. You know, whether that be ET transfers, resets for that that program, or just stuff the AIR bull breed too.

Speaker 3:

Oh, yeah. I mean, you see what these commercial like these commercial Brett heifers are bringing, it's unreal, man. I mean, there's a lot of excitement, which is I I love it, I think it's great. And it's a great time to be alive in this business.

Speaker 4:

We lit a fire there in Alabama on a set of Florida commercial open breedable heifers. Just burned the place down on something like that. Not breads, just open eggs, Ready to Well, be we're going to wrap it up here. I know you have the same question that I do for Casey. We talked about Reese and he

Speaker 3:

bought her a car. I just

Speaker 4:

wanna know, did you pay more for the goat or more for the car? The car. That's a valid question, though. It's a very valid

Speaker 3:

Whenever I went to go buy a car, it was like putting together stuff out of a penny bank. Whenever you're buying one for your kid, you're like, What's the safety thing? Are you making sure they got all that stuff? It starts to kind of push it. But I'll tell you what, have you tried to buy a car lately, a used car?

Speaker 3:

They're high.

Speaker 4:

Just I just know what you paid for the goat, so I know the car's gotta be fairly nice.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Wasn't a Honda. Honda's do have a good safety rating. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Hey, so Hardy, I appreciate you coming in here, man. I think it's awesome that you get so so before we close out, how do guys get ahold of you?

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. No. You can you can Google Vitafirm. We've got actually a really, really good dealer map. And so you'll be able to know now kind of who's got products.

Speaker 1:

You can just Google Go and BuyAg's Livestock Podcast. Look at dealers near me. You can zoom out. It'll show you the dealerships kind of like a Google Map scenario. Then at the bottom, it'll have your local ASM area sales manager.

Speaker 1:

So it may you know, in our pro country, it'll it'll list me. And then if you get further west there, it'll list Toby and then obviously your reps as well. Same thing in Michigan. Have a great guy out there. Does a really good job.

Speaker 1:

So it'll list that. It'll list their phone number. You can get out and reach contact with them. And and and feel free to reach out to any of the ASMs directly if their contact's listed there, they can help you, coordinate with the local dealer there to get it to you. We have a great dealer network across the country, and we're working to to, do as good a job with the product we can.

Speaker 3:

Appreciate you getting on here, man.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. Thank you, guys.

Speaker 3:

We appreciate it.

Speaker 4:

Glad to be here. Yeah. We might

Speaker 3:

I'm gonna I'm gonna talk to Katie about maybe booting Ty off. How's that sound?

Speaker 4:

That'd be all right. Ty can go to Ty Ty.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. We'll send Ty to Ty Ty. Yeah. And then, we'll keep waiting around here. But, appreciate everybody tuning in today.

Speaker 3:

Thanks for getting on the LiveAg podcast and watching. If you guys have any questions about how to get on here or have any questions for Hardy or whoever, reach out to Katie@katieliveag.com. Make sure you like and subscribe, and we'll see you next time.