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Recorded live at the Silvers Livestock Driven clinic in Fredericksburg, Texas, Sam and Logan sit down with Sterling Yurrita of YM Club Lambs out of Bandera, Texas.
Sterling has worn just about every hat in this industry: judging coach, ag teacher, banker (he asks you not to hold that against him), oil field manager, operations director for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, and now facilities manager at Stock Show Secrets. Through it all, he and his dad, Enrique, have raised show lambs for more than 15 years. Their sheep have won a classes at Houston and made the sale at several major shows, and the program keeps getting stronger.
Sam and Logan dig into a moment every breeder faces sooner or later: grow it or get out. Sterling explains why YM Club Lambs chose to step on the gas, which new donor ewes are joining the program, and why he spent years AI’ing everything before he ever flushed. He shares how building a consistent genetic base first set the stage for smarter, more individual matings today.
The guys also take on a bigger question: have AI and embryo transfer actually made show sheep better as a whole? Add in some honest talk about bad flush days, the FF buck debate, and the 2027 breeding plan.
Sterling also gives a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run one of the largest rodeos in the world. He covers why stock show rules exist and the logistics behind ideas like a commercial lamb division.
A huge thank-you to Sterling for his time and for being so open about his program.
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- Judy's Western Wares (use code DRENCHLINE10): https://judysww.myshopify.com/
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Creators and Guests
Host
Logan Newsom
Logan was born in the Texas Panhandle and grew up in West Texas, where he showed sheep and hogs before landing at Angelo State to play football. He eventually joined the livestock judging team, spent time in Texas Agri-Life Extension Service, and returned to what he knows best: raising sheep. He's currently a full-time sheep producer based in Olton, Texas, raising his family in the same world he grew up in.
Host
Sam Silvers
Sam was raised in Salado, Texas, spent his summers working sheep in West Texas, livestock judged at South Plains before finishing his degree at Texas Tech. He's held roles as a Texas Agri-Life County Extension agent, a Border Patrol agent, Livestock pharmaceutical salesman and is now the Small Ruminant Technical Sales Support Senior Manager for BioZyme Inc., the makers of Sure Champ and DuraFerm. He's one of the few people who can say both himself and his son have won the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo market lamb show.
What is Drench Line Podcast?
Most show families figure it out the hard way. They ask around, get partial answers, and fill in the rest on their own. Logan Newsom and Sam Silvers have been in the show industry long enough to have made most of those mistakes themselves — and they're sharing that wisdom with you.
Drench Line is a podcast about sheep, goats, and everything that comes with life in the show world. When to vaccinate. How to pick your animal. What to expect at your first major show. What nobody standing on the sidelines will actually tell you. New episodes drop twice a month, and they don't sugarcoat a thing.
Logan and Sam have been friends since they were teenagers working summers at a sheep ranch in Eden, Texas. Now they're both show dads raising their own families in world they grew up in. This show is their way of passing it on — not just to their kids, but to every family that's new to this and looking for someone to shoot straight.
Coming soon!
Drench Line is just getting started. Coming soon: voice memo questions answered on air, and guests who have genuinely shaped the show world — the breeders, stockmen, and industry figures whose names you already know. If there's someone you want to hear from, send your request to www.drenchline.com.
Be part of the conversation!
This show is built around the questions real families are asking. Got something you can't get a straight answer on? Submit your question at www.drenchline.com and it might just get answered on the next episode. Logan and Sam want to hear from you — that's not a throwaway line, it's the whole point.
Sterling Yerrita
===
Sam Silvers: [00:00:00] Welcome back. We are live in Fredericksburg, Texas at the Driven event. It's been an eventful day. Lots of stuff going on, a lot of educational stuff. Um, wanted to take some time to get into our host or visitor, what would you call that? Help me out here. Are you- It's been a lot. My mind is like... Yeah. What, who do we have on the podcast today?
Logan Newsom: Yeah. We're gonna introduce Sterling Yurrita.
Sam Silvers: Yep.
Logan Newsom: YM Club Lambs. YM Club. Sterling and his family, uh, man, we had a great dialogue, a great conversation. Um-
Sam Silvers: Bandera, America.
Logan Newsom: Bandera, America. Ban-tuck-it, like we like to call it.
Sam Silvers: Cowboy capital of the world, they say.
Logan Newsom: Is it really?
Sam Silvers: That's what they say. It's what they claim.
Sam Silvers: Dude,
Logan Newsom: let me tell you a little quick story. I thought it was Stephenville. Little, little, little quick tidbit on Bandera. I was in Bandera in 2020 during the snowstorm. We laid over. That was when- Yeah ... dad and them were in Medina. We laid over there. There were a lot of folks in that, um, grocery store that day that, um, didn't have shoes on or shirts.
Sam Silvers: In a snowstorm.
Logan Newsom: In a [00:01:00] snowstorm. No shoes, no shirt, full service kind of deal.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. I s- I saw this, uh, un- un- um, this gal in a- grocery store in Rock Springs, Texas one time, and she had a shirt on, and she had, like, a cig hanging out of her mouth, and on the back it says, "I get drunk and wreck shit."
Logan Newsom: I bet you believed her.
Sam Silvers: I was like-
Logan Newsom: Yeah ... "
Sam Silvers: I bet so."
Logan Newsom: Fact. Guaranteed. Yeah, so, uh, had a chance to visit with Sterling. He kinda gave us the ins and outs, you know, where they've come from, where they've been- Yeah ... where they're going. Um, you know, I thought we had a good conversation there talking about a couple of different things.
Logan Newsom: One, swinging for the fence. Yeah. Like, he's, he's popped off. He's done a couple things that those guys, they wanna make a conscious effort, and they wanna be... They wanna make things better, and they wanna be better. But at the same time, you know, I think we got into maybe a little deeper dive than what was expected just on...
Logan Newsom: They've had some successes. Like, they've- Yeah ... done some good stuff. Absolutely. Um- Yep ... they've [00:02:00] got H trophies, you know? Family was very, very competitive growing up showing. Like, something that, you know, we've all had those conversations where you feel like, you know, you're kinda chasing the, the little rabbit on the greyhound trail or whatever.
Logan Newsom: Mm-hmm. But sometimes, you know, you kinda slow down and say, "Damn, we've had a pretty good little run, you know? We've done some good things." So- Yeah ... I thought that was a good conversation. I thought we had a lot of insight. I think those guys are, without question, um, you know, one, especially in our part of the world, Texas major scene, they're trying to make them better.
Logan Newsom: They wanna be better. They're gonna be a force to be reckoned with.
Sam Silvers: And neat to see a, a young man, a young family, you know, want- wanting to get good and wanting to get better at it and, and really ramp it up. I thought that was neat, too. Um, but before we get into that, we have some really exciting news, right?
Sam Silvers: Um-
Logan Newsom: We have the most exciting news. The
Sam Silvers: most exciting news. We wanted to introduce some of our new core partners at Drenchline. Wait. Purina.
Logan Newsom: We got sponsorships?
Sam Silvers: We got sponsorships.
Logan Newsom: Hence why we're talking on these badass mics.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, exactly. We have some headsets, but it's a little hot, and we [00:03:00] couldn't deal with, uh, ear sweat today.
Sam Silvers: Uh, but wanna say thank you to Purina. Uh, be looking for some really cool giveaways and stuff in the future with those guys. Um, glad they're a part of Drenchline, as well as-
Logan Newsom: Muzzle Co.
Sam Silvers: Muzzle Co.
Logan Newsom: The one and only Madden Wise. Madden Wise. The legend. Um, had an opportunity to reach out to him, you know, for guys.
Logan Newsom: You know, and, and not to, not to take away, obviously, we talk about Purina, like, very well-established. You guys have had a tremendous amount of success with it. We utilize a lot of their products. Those guys are... I mean, from a reliability standpoint, I mean, that company, there's a reason that that checkerboard's as famous as it i- as it is.
Logan Newsom: But Madden's one of them. He's grinding. He's trying to make it. Yeah. He really is. Like, he bought that, uh, he bought that Muzzle company deal, and, um, man, they're doing some cool stuff. And, you know, we all utilize those hard muzzles and, and know how beneficial those can be, especially in the day and times of what we're doing, um, from a feeding standpoint and, you know, trying to [00:04:00] manage hide and hair and all the stuff.
Logan Newsom: But I think the neat part about what Madden's got going on with that deal is, like, they've got some sweet customized ones.
Sam Silvers: They do.
Logan Newsom: I mean, I'm sure by now he's probably got a whole lot of that, whatever that orange color that, you know, after being in Stillwater for a little bit. Hokie pokie or something like that.
Logan Newsom: Hokie pokie. Yeah. But those guys can, they can make you some, make you some cool stuff. Absolutely. You can customize them, you can put your name on them. You have some sweet paint jobs on your hard muzzles. So yeah, Muzzle Co. and Madden, a core partnership with us for the se- foreseeable future, so we're pumped about that.
Sam Silvers: A- and another sponsor of ours, Judy's Western Wares, blankets, muzzles, wraps, the whole nine, all of it. They can do it all. They can customize your stuff for you. Check them out on judyswesternwares.com.
Logan Newsom: You know what's impressive about Judy's deal? And we talked about this a little bit in the, in the commercial that we put together, you know, for our sponsorship package on that deal with them.
Logan Newsom: But it kind of made [00:05:00] me kind of reach back and think about they've been in this game for a long time. Long time. And, and whenever we, you know, got some of their history, and obviously knowing that family for a long time, one time Judy... I had this final sheep that had these super big horns.
Sam Silvers: Cuernos. Cuernos?
Sam Silvers: Is that what
Logan Newsom: y'all call them? Cuernos.
Sam Silvers: Just-
Logan Newsom: Cuernos. All right. She built me a blanket that actually had a zipper on it, 'cause you remember back in the day, you know, we just had to like cut them and split them and all this stuff. She actually built me one of her, you know, first generation blankets that had a zipper on it for my cuernos final.
Logan Newsom: I, I, I'm- That's how long they've been playing that game ...
Sam Silvers: I'm sorry, but I'm really trying to concentrate with your brother sitting on his little scooter over here with his cooler strapped on the front, and it's very distracting.
Logan Newsom: Yeah. I
Sam Silvers: mean, two... That couldn't, y'all couldn't be further apart.
Logan Newsom: It li- he literally looks like somebody from Walmart.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: That's where he fits in.
Sam Silvers: If we could pan the camera around on him right now, I would. Yeah.
Logan Newsom: Somebody from Walmart.
Sam Silvers: Anyways.
Logan Newsom: Yeah.
Sam Silvers: Judy's Western Wares.
Logan Newsom: Hey, and they did the Stock Show Moms. I think that was kind of one of the- [00:06:00] Yeah ... initial offerings that, uh- Mm-hmm ... that Judy wanted to, you know, kind of be a part of, and obviously with, with her and, and Tammy and, um, the involvement they have on the Stock Show Moms scene.
Logan Newsom: But that's an episode that I can't wait to drop. I know that there's gonna be... Well, I say that. I don't know if I'm ready for that one to drop or I'm not ready for it to drop. Like-
Sam Silvers: Yeah ...
Logan Newsom: I'm sure Jurahee and JB said some stuff on there that There's no telling
Sam Silvers: Uh, yeah, I'm... I know. It... And I remember, I remember a kid, uh, when we got our first Judy's Western Wear blankets, I'll tell this story.
Sam Silvers: Before that, we had these old canvas kinda crappy ones, you know, and we would r- Did
Logan Newsom: you ever have the-
Sam Silvers: No, I never had those, but-
Logan Newsom: What do we call those? What's the politically correct term for that? 'Cause I have a term- Mm,
Sam Silvers: yeah ... but I just don't know if I
Logan Newsom: should use
Sam Silvers: it. No, we better just stay away from that.
Sam Silvers: Um, but we had these old canvas blankets, and we used to track with the blankets on, and if they caught something, you know, it would just shred it to pieces or whatever. And we got our first Judy's blankets, and I remember this vividly, 'cause they're tough, and they're built to last. [00:07:00] And we're running a sheep round, and he catches that blanket on some of the track somewhere, and it absolutely just shuts him down.
Sam Silvers: I mean, it ripped maybe an inch, and then it put the brakes on him. Does a back flip, lands on the back of his head, and I remember me and my dad standing there going, "Damn, those things are tough."
Logan Newsom: Yeah. Yeah. How about that? No, they, uh, they have... I remember whenever all that was st- was taking place, and we did...
Logan Newsom: Gosh, you would just go through blankets like... Kids these days don't even know how hard we had it.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, I know. My, my grandma used to take the blankets and sew them back together for us with patches of my granddad's old wore out Levi's.
Logan Newsom: Denim. Absolutely.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: Yep. Denim patches. What
Sam Silvers: it was like.
Logan Newsom: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: Anyways, thanks
Sam Silvers: to those.
Logan Newsom: So, yeah, thanks to our sponsors. Uh, so fortunate and blessed to have a chance to work with you guys. Um, excited for what, what's coming down the pipe. Uh- Yeah ... a whole lot more sponsorship, but also those guys are really wanting to step up and, and do some stuff just [00:08:00] from some giveaways and some things we've got to-
Sam Silvers: Yeah, and, and as always-
Sam Silvers: to throw back to our listeners ... be sure to follow us on all our social media platforms. Um, check us out on drenchline.com. Um, like, subscribe, share, all the good stuff. Uh, yeah. That's all I got for today.
Logan Newsom: Absolutely. Great day. Enjoyed it. We'll be, uh, coming up with... I guess we talked about this a little bit. I don't know if we need to hit on it now, but we have been maybe not quite as educational lately as we had been originally starting out.
Logan Newsom: Like, we've had some-
Sam Silvers: I feel
Logan Newsom: like
Sam Silvers: we- You- ... we're always educational.
Logan Newsom: Well, always educational, but we're gonna try to get back a little bit to, you know, fall prep stuff, fall fair prep, I guess- Yeah ... you could say. Uh, some of the stuff that we've been seeing in, in the barn, some stuff coming down the pipe, things that need to be happening, uh, that we feel like need to be happening with maybe some cooler weather setting in.
Logan Newsom: Yeah. I'm
Sam Silvers: ready for it.
Logan Newsom: Heck yeah. So, yeah, so we got some stuff coming on that. So if you are one of those listeners that has been eagerly awaiting [00:09:00] Sam's tidbits and tips for success as he heads into fall prep, it's coming. It's coming. Thanks, guys. Take care.
Sam Silvers: See you down the road.
Logan Newsom: I actually did wanna talk about this a little bit before we get into everything that's going on.
Logan Newsom: Driven is obviously a product of Jurahee's imagination, 'cause I can't think for one second, outside of you potentially seeing the ability to sell sheep to all of these unsuspecting folks. This is obviously a product of Jurahee's imagination. But what is this? Is it the third year y'all have done it?
Sam Silvers: Third year, yeah.
Logan Newsom: And surely it hasn't been this big. Like, this is the biggest one?
Sam Silvers: This is the biggest year so far. I think we have, uh, finally outgrown, um, this facility. We're probably gonna have to find a bigger facility next year to host this
Logan Newsom: I don't know, for you guys listening, like it is, [00:10:00] uh, I'm not gonna, again, as I say this, like this is zero- What
Sam Silvers: are you...
Sam Silvers: Don't, just don't. Get...
Logan Newsom: Come on This is zero tooting of Sam's horn. What Jurahee has done here-
Sam Silvers: God, he's an
Logan Newsom: asshole ... and put together from a, from an educational perspective, from a timeliness, she's got people in spots, stuff going on. You get your ass here, you're supposed to be there. Like, there's a schedule, there's an agenda, there's T-shirts, and then there's all these kids that have been successful in this game running around helping Here, here's the point of all of it that I wanted to make with it.
Logan Newsom: If you can't find help and you're one of those... Uh, we're gonna talk about it throughout this episode, because loser talk has been the big thing on Facebook as of late in my opinion. You know, people that can't be successful in this game because they weren't, you know, born a son of George Bush or a, you know, father that- Silver
Sam Silvers: spoon in their
Logan Newsom: mouth
Logan Newsom: silver spoon in their mouth or whatever.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: Hey, if you can't find help-
Sam Silvers: [00:11:00] Quit ...
Logan Newsom: well, I don't know about that. But, like, there is literally 150- I'm kidding ... people here.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: And there's 75 to 80 kids, adults, industry personnel that are helping these children succeed and try to be successful. This stuff that as of late, again, we call it the house loser talk.
Logan Newsom: Like, feel sorry for me because, you know, I don't have daddy's unlimited checkbook, and I can't go around and buy the most expensive one that I've got. There's 150 kids out here that said, "Screw that. I wanna be better. I'm gonna, I'm gonna reach out to some people that'll help," and- Yep ... damn, it's, it's been good, so.
Sam Silvers: Dang.
Logan Newsom: High five, Jurahee. She's killing it. Yeah. And Sam is here as a supportive husband in a supportive role that he should be.
Sam Silvers: That's right.
Logan Newsom: So-
Sam Silvers: That's right. So- Prez- Jordan 2027 ...
Logan Newsom: yeah. Let's go. Blood beer.
Sam Silvers: Hey, before we get into this, this nice young man we have over here to my left, I, I wanted to add real quick [00:12:00] about the cap you're wearing today.
Logan Newsom: Yes. So- We talked about this, and I had, I told Sam that I wanted to, you know, make sure, um, and highlight this on one of the episodes, because we got a chance to, um, go and play golf on, on his dime- Mm-hmm ... on Jeff's dime-
Sam Silvers: Yep ...
Logan Newsom: um, while we were at Ag Teachers Convention, and he hooked us up there at one of those country clubs-
Sam Silvers: Yep
Logan Newsom: in Corpus, Robstown area, and, and, and he came out there and, and met us, and, and man, had a, had a great experience and enjoyed the time that we got to spend with him. And, um, I told Sam after it was over, like, I wanted to kinda hit on that, because I know they're doing a lot of good stuff, but I wanted you to kinda, you know, backstory that deal just a little bit.
Logan Newsom: And folks that are listening, tune in here, 'cause this is an organization and I think a foundation that's doing some really, really good stuff, and, um, one that I'd certainly encourage you to kinda- Yeah ... follow up with.
Sam Silvers: So quick background. Um, Jared Dale Hunt, um, his dad Jeff Hunt from the Corpus [00:13:00] area showed sheep, um, sh- showed under our tutelage.
Sam Silvers: Um, Jared went on to school at, at, at Texas A&M, um, and then left this earth unexpectedly. Um, great human being. Um, did a lot for his community, was highly involved. Um- Just the all-American kid. I mean, a great kid. And, and I say that we hear that a lot. Jared Hunt was a good kid, a damn good one, and we lost him too early, and, um, they're continuing that.
Sam Silvers: Uh, Jeff is having this scholarship thing and a memorial golf tournament down there every year. Um, and that's what that hat symbolizes. Uh, Jeff gave us a bunch of golf towels and, uh, gave us some of the caps. So, um, support that if you can. Find that online. I know NexGen, uh, NexGen's gonna start doing a sale, a benefit sale, um, to help that scholarship fund.
Sam Silvers: So, um, look that up or, or contact one of those two.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, and we'll make sure and have Katie, you know, maybe [00:14:00] get like a, you know, a QR code or, you know, post a little deal. Yeah. I found them on Facebook after we left and, you know, I'd, I'd seen those guys, didn't know them as personal as, you know, Sam did, but had always seen Jeff around and, you know, knew them guys growing up and showing and whatever.
Logan Newsom: And, um, man, just enjoyed that time that we had to play golf with him and, you know, obviously a very, very unfortunate accident that happened. But- Yeah ... um, I looked up that foundation on Facebook and they have a ton of support. I mean, people sharing stuff, people liking stuff, people pulling the rope to make that thing successful.
Logan Newsom: So for our listeners out here, you get a chance, you're looking for somebody to, to reach out to, to help, to donate, whatever that looks like, man, look that deal up because that could be something that I think, um, I think, I think you'd be very, very pleased with the response. 100%. So-
Sam Silvers: So without further ado, I want to introdu- introduce Mr.
Sam Silvers: Sterling Yurrita. Sterling, uh, I, I've known you since you were a little kid. Um, give us a little background [00:15:00] please of, uh, y- you know, o- obviously you showed growing up all those things, but give us a little background. Where were you born? Where were you raised? Family history, all that, what you're doing now, where you're at, the whole nine.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. So, uh, born and raised in Bandera, Texas, and lived there my whole life till we graduated. From graduation, went to Blinn Junior College, got some livestock over there with those guys. Transferred to, um, Angelo State, judged there as well. Got my master's from there and coached a judging team. Um, helped coach a wool team.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, after that, went on the block and, um, went out to Idalou, got to do the ag teacher experience, and, uh, that was a really great program that I was with at Idalou with Bud Robertson and Michael Collins. Those guys, they get it.
Sam Silvers: Great
Sterling Yerrita: ag teachers. And, um, went back on my master's, did that. Graduated, took a job as a banker.
Sterling Yerrita: So I was a banker for two years. Try to tell people not to hold that against me.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. I
Sterling Yerrita: was not a very good banker. [00:16:00] Uh, jumped ship there, went to the oil field.
Sam Silvers: Okay.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, spent four years there. When I left, was managing a pretty large account in the Permian Basin. Um, got married to my wife Callie, had our little boy Sage, and, um, they had some Some personnel changes in the company, so she had to come back home and help mom and dad with their company.
Sterling Yerrita: And so shortly after that, started trying to find a way back over here. Landed at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, was the operations director there for three years. And, uh, just recently jumped ship again, hopefully for the last time, and landed at Stock Show Secrets with Steve.
Sam Silvers: Okay.
Sterling Yerrita: And so pretty excited about that opportunity.
Sam Silvers: Awesome. What are you gonna be doing for Steve over there?
Sterling Yerrita: So, uh, right now just a facilities m- uh, manager overseeing the whole property. Okay. He's got a venue there, making sure everything's working. Um, fixing to expand his production facility, so that's exciting. Gonna help oversee that. [00:17:00] And, um, then we've got some stuff we're working on in the future that-
Sam Silvers: Okay
Sterling Yerrita: we've teased a little bit if you watch my, my socials and see some of the videos I'm putting out.
Sam Silvers: Because correct me if I'm wrong, now y'all, you and your wife and, and family are living here in Fredericksburg, but- Correct ... they... Your, your wife's family owns a pretty big r- uh, game ranch, the High Point Ranch, right?
Sam Silvers: Yes,
Sterling Yerrita: sir. High Point Ranch
Sam Silvers: and Resort. And that, that would actually be between here and my house, isn't it? I mean, it's not far from where I live.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. If you draw a triangle between, uh, Junction, Mason, and Menard, it's kinda right in the center.
Sam Silvers: Yep. Yep. Awesome.
Sterling Yerrita: Yep. So they've got a high fence game ranch that I kinda help them with a little bit when I can, you know, just the typical son-in-law stuff.
Sterling Yerrita: Yep. You know, help work the cows.
Sam Silvers: Understand.
Sterling Yerrita: Got to guide a little bit.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: Pushing some hunts. Good. The fun stuff.
Sam Silvers: Now, what we're really here to talk about is, is YM Club Lambs. Yes, sir. Right? A- and that's something that, that, um, y'all have been raising 'em for a while, but when we talked initially about this, this is...
Sam Silvers: You- you're fixing to put y- you know, foot on the pedal to the gas a- [00:18:00] and try to grow this thing even more. And, and that's really why you're here, is to tell us about YM Club Lambs. Kinda give us a, a background on what that is, what it looks like. Ewes, bucks- Yeah ... where you're headed, what you're doing.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, sure.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, so been raising sheep, like I said, I think 15, 16 years now with my dad. Um, shout out Dad. Enrique does- Enrique ... all of the hard work. Um, so certainly glad to have him and, and do it with my dad. That's a pretty cool deal for us. Got a little boy named Sage. He's, uh, fixing to be five at the end of September, and so started thinking about his future show career and kinda what these things are selling for and, um, you know, how long we've been doing this, and we...
Sterling Yerrita: I just kinda had a come to Jesus meeting, you know? We need to put the foot on the, on the pedal or we just need to get out.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, obviously not, not real big on quitting, so skinny pedal down, um, reached out to Chance, uh, got a donor bought from him, 21554. She's a Bishop Officer Dufy, uh, [00:19:00] 9154. I'm pretty excited about her.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, I think you actually had a class winner maybe a couple years ago out of her.
Sam Silvers: Yep.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, really excited about that opportunity. While we were over there, called Tanner Stokes, went and looked through his ewe lambs and, um, he priced a ewe lamb to me that I, I was surprised that he priced her. She's a 2.0, 9431, and, uh, got her in the donor pen.
Sterling Yerrita: And so we're, we're hammered down. We're trying. We're gonna flush nine ewes this year. Next year, probably try to do, like, a January set, maybe five, six donors, and then roll them back into a middle of February type deal.
Logan Newsom: Okay. Awesome. I think that's probably a, an approach that, you know, all of us have had at different points.
Logan Newsom: Like, what are we doing? Like, you know, get a couple years of frustration or whatever, and then you're like, you know, we're happy to either dig in and, you know, fight a little harder, changing things up, revamp, spend a little money. I mean, you know, that's unfortunately- Sure ... part of it. Um, but you guys have had, [00:20:00] like...
Logan Newsom: I mean, you say that, and I, I don't wanna downplay that. I felt like that was probably a little bit implied there, but I know the first year we had Blue Bloods, y'all won a class at Houston- Yes, sir ... with that sheep, correct? Yeah. Yeah,
Sterling Yerrita: Jimmy Key.
Logan Newsom: Um, yeah. And so, you know, you win, win a class at Houston, and I mean, this is a family that for guys that are listening or, you know, folks, uh, that are outside of, you know, the Hill Country and, and maybe haven't, you know, been to the sales in San Angelo area and some of the stuff, you know, that we all typically frequent, I mean, these guys have been successful for a long time.
Logan Newsom: Um, backstory, and, and I'm, and I'm having to reach back and, like, I mean, y'all were always in Bandera Your grandparents were out west
Sterling Yerrita: Yep. Yep. Jimmy Don.
Logan Newsom: Yep. Yep. And so McNeil-
Sterling Yerrita: Mm-hmm ...
Logan Newsom: uh, be cousin.
Sterling Yerrita: So Jim Bob and my mom would be brother and sister.
Logan Newsom: Brother and sister. So for guys that have been in this game for a long time, Jim Bob McNeil was, you know- Quite a character
Logan Newsom: quite a character, a world renowned golfer-
Sterling Yerrita: You
Logan Newsom: bet ... uh, [00:21:00] someone that we all got into plenty of mischief with- Uh-huh ... at various points, um, throughout our show careers. But these guys have been in this game for a long time- Long time ... and, you know, like been, been successful at it. Um, and I think that's, you know, get- wrapping back around to that point, like we've all been there.
Logan Newsom: Like, you know, you kinda... Not that you feel like you've gone stagnant, but you know, you're just kinda like, "All right, we're selling some sheep, you know, we're doing some good things." But like, what's that next step? Like, where does that look like? Like, and sometimes it does, you know? And I said it like at the beginning, the unfortunate part is sometimes it takes stroking a check, you know, and reaching out to somebody you feel like is, is in a good position and, you know, you can reach out to somebody and, and luckily you have that relationship obviously with Chance and even with Tanner.
Logan Newsom: But stepping up and saying, "All right, we're gonna have to figure out what we're gonna do to make that next step." And the crazy part is sometimes you can't do it, you know, at, in, in, in-house. You know, you gotta reach out and kinda outcross that stuff. And even if, even if it's from a, a breeding [00:22:00] standpoint or just finding that missing piece of the puzzle, we always talk about it on here.
Logan Newsom: Like somebody asked what it's like breeding sheep with, you know, 1,000-piece puzzle upside down on a table.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, you bet. Um, you know, like to kinda reiterate some of what you said, you know, seven years ago we decided to start our, our AI program and we, we bit hard on Bishop Bullwinkle and AI'd everything we had to him.
Sterling Yerrita: Uh, did that again the next year and just kept breeding, you know, through AI, uh, for probably five, six years before we finally added a flush. Um, you know, if you, if you're a breeder out there and you're not sure if you should be AI'ing or, or, or flushing, um- I understand it's a big expense, right? But that's the easiest way to make your sheep better.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, at the end of the day, I'm not raising sheep to try to, to get rich. I wanna raise, I wanna raise a winner. I wanna raise one that everybody likes to see.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, so that embryo program has, has helped tremendously the last three years we've done that. We'll do it again this year, like I said. But, um, made big strides for sure.
Sterling Yerrita: Had that class winner with Jimmy Key, had another couple [00:23:00] sale makers at some major shows. We've had some success, um, just stroking that check, really trying to get the right female, you know, breeding up those... trying to make our own donors. We finally got there, where I had some of those genetics like I wanted on, on both sides of the pedigree.
Sterling Yerrita: Kinda got our, our nucleus herd more consistent genetically, um, and did it all with, you know, some of the best bucks in the country, thanks to technology nowadays. Um, which is, I think, a big part of why it's so tough. You know, you think about the guys that we talk to all the time that raise these medium wools, they all got barn burners, at least a couple.
Sterling Yerrita: I mean, this technology's just made it way more competitive, which is, I think, even more fun.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, absolutely.
Logan Newsom: Yeah. It's a, it's a... it's interesting, you know, and I know me and Sam have had this conversation, you know, a lot recently. Um, and we've both probably been a little bit on the, I would call it, the embryo transfer frustration train.
Logan Newsom: Sam, Sam, for you guys that were wondering, he did not- We,
Sam Silvers: we... Hey, now, if we're gonna [00:24:00] be honest with the audience, we... me and you have had some personal loser talk conversations.
Logan Newsom: Abso- Nah, it ain't loser talk. It ain't loser talk. It's getting kicked in the mouth 17 times, and you don't know if you can get back up, and find all your teeth.
Logan Newsom: That's what it is. It ain't nothing about loser talk. I did not post all of my FSH and cedars for sale on Facebook, just for the record. Sam
Sam Silvers: did. Hey, I was just trying to give back to the community. I had extra... I was trying to help people
Sterling Yerrita: out. Oh, man. Hey, I almost called you. I was in a jam.
Sam Silvers: Um- Yeah, you shoulda called.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, you'd have been a- Barn cooler- ... step late. That, that- Barn cooler went out right b- That- ... a week before
Sterling Yerrita: we had to give shots ...
Logan Newsom: that, that Chance Neff, he was on it. He was on it. He was, he was driving to Junction while the rest of us were scrolling Facebook to see that Sam was frustrated with his embryo program,
Sam Silvers: but- And Logan calls and says, "You sold all your stuff and did not call me?"
Logan Newsom: But like- Yes ... it is, for, for guys out there listening, and I, I reiterate what Sterling said, it is the fastest way to improve quickly. Like, there is no question. The ability to reach out and breed to the $150,000 buck, to one [00:25:00] ewe, to one flush, buy a partial jump, whatever, we all know that that is. But-
Sam Silvers: It's the
Logan Newsom: most expensive
Logan Newsom: in the same token, it is the most expensive, and there is nothing that I would say in this game As frustrating is if you get your ass whipped on flush day
Sam Silvers: It is bad
Sterling Yerrita: It does suck. It makes it really hard to ante up again
Logan Newsom: I have been notorious at our flushes for being the guy that could ride the wave and ride the rollercoaster 'cause I knew if there was a low spot, there was...
Logan Newsom: I mean, we were gonna... Like some- some ewe was fixing to get flipped upside down and we were gonna get 10/12/14. Like, I just rode the wave till the end of the day. What we all flushed in August, you know, and it's 197 degrees and miserable and... I mean, we did. We got, we got our teeth kicked in a- and there was obviously a lot of other people that we've had dialogue and conversations with
Sam Silvers: and- So for those listening, between me and Logan, there's some late-born sheep coming your way
Logan Newsom: Yes, we are re-rackin' and you better [00:26:00] be interested in some of those margins.
Logan Newsom: I don't know where Sterling's at on his, his embryo program. We dang sure gonna have us some young ones Mm-hmm. Yep But it is, it is, um, it is without question has opened new doors and broadened the horizon from a pedigree standpoint, from the ability to try things, from the ability to quickly, um, get those ewes, you know, into production and generating.
Logan Newsom: I mean, whether we're talking IVF stuff, AI stuff, IV- or, uh, embryo program, all of it. I'm curious from your perspective, and you said that... And I think that's a really good approach and I, and I wish... To be completely honest, I wish that I would've started off a little bit like that- Yeah ... AI-ing, you know, for five or six
Sterling Yerrita: years-
Logan Newsom: It just saves you a lot of years
Logan Newsom: as opposed to just, you know, jumping in the rat race of, "Oh, we gotta start flushing, we gotta start flushing." 'Cause I do think that you can... Maybe it can't happen quite as fast, but you can probably have more consistency. I think you can probably, if we're really looking at this from a dollars and [00:27:00] cents and business standpoint, your bottom line can look better, and in turn, that could potentially allow you to maybe do some things that if you did have a few bad flushes, I mean, that can certainly impact you in ways.
Logan Newsom: I'm curious what your thoughts are- W- especially with the ability to breed outside bucks, do you think... I'm gonna put you a little bit on the spot here 'cause I've got an opinion on this, and I think we'll probably cross at some point. Do you... There's no question that it gives you an, an ability to improve each person individually.
Logan Newsom: Do you think it's been better for the industry as a whole in terms of quality of sheep? The same, worse?
Sterling Yerrita: Ooh, that's, that's interesting.
Sterling Yerrita: [00:28:00] I mean, I think that the... I mean, I, I could ask you to define quality, right? 'Cause that's a pretty subjective term right now. Um-
Logan Newsom: Very subjective ...
Sterling Yerrita: but I'd, I'd... I would have to say that as a whole, we've made the top end better, and we've made the l- the bottom end worse.
Logan Newsom: That's fair. I think that's fair. I think that's interest- I mean, I think that's, uh... And again, you know, I've had this conversation with a lot of people and, and, you know, the last little bit, and I don't think there's any question we made the top end better. Because I think if you look at it, and we're both affiliated with the Finewool breed a fair amount, and I think if you look at what the Finewool breed offers in terms of top to bottom as compared to maybe some of the other breeds...
Logan Newsom: And I, and I, and I'm, I'm not picking at, at hear this 'cause I'm sure I'm probably gonna... Well, I won't get a call, but Sam will probably get a call. You know, I'm not knocking on the Finewools, but [00:29:00] that's probably been the one breed that has not been maybe utilized in AI and flushing quite as much a- as Downs and, you know, obviously Blackface sheep.
Logan Newsom: And so you see that breed generally speaking, and maybe it hasn't progressed as fast. So I don't think there's any question that, you know, top end has gotten way better. I think it's interesting to watch how maybe people's mindset is when you talk about breeding to bucks. And I think what I've noticed more than anything, and a part that I've been a little frustrated with and maybe why it's a little, you know, hot topic or whatever- People just look at a picture or, you know, find a buck that they like- Yes
Logan Newsom: and then as opposed to really jumping in the truck, driving down the road-
Sam Silvers: And, and- ...
Logan Newsom: trying to make them better ...
Sam Silvers: I think i- is that where we're at? Do we, do we have too many... And, and I'm, I'm guilty of it too. Is there too many of us just chasing to breed that one great one, and we're not worrying about the bottom half?
Sam Silvers: [00:30:00] Is that- I
Sterling Yerrita: think there's definitely some people that do that.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. Um, y- you know, our goal in, in our program is to raise more consistent sheep. Um, that's where we wanna be. Um, we don't wanna... try not to chase the fads and just raise the one that's gonna win Houston and then we're done. Um, y- you know, we want the kid that comes and buys a $750 one, or the kid that comes and buys a $15,000 one, he's got just as good a shot to place that animal in a sale as anybody else.
Sam Silvers: Sure. Um, and, and I think maybe as an industry, that's where w- maybe we need to get back to that. I don't know.
Logan Newsom: I thought... And, and, and that's why I, I'm glad you said that because what made my hamster wheel, I guess, start spinning there was, you know, Sterling talks about like-
Sam Silvers: Cobwebs on it ...
Logan Newsom: well, maybe. Smoke coming out the ears.
Logan Newsom: But what... When, you know, when you talk about sale makers and class winners at Houston, don't ever downplay that. Sure. Because, you know, like, there is 99% of... probably [00:31:00] 100% of it if we're being honest, like, hey, if you could go through the year and you could win a class at Houston and make the sale with your other ones, uh, like we're all swinging for the fence, or, you know, a handful of idiots are out here, Sam.
Logan Newsom: But- ... damn, at the end of the day, like, that, that's a very, very successful year, 'cause there's a ton of people... And I've had this conversation a lot with a lot of our customers. I've had it a lot with some of our kids. I've had a lo- you know, a lot with my kids. Like, sometimes when you really think about it, like, you know, being very gracious and appreciative of a success like that because it's not...
Logan Newsom: Those don't come easily. Uh, those little H trophies, you know, we said it before on here, they don't pass them things out like- That's
Sterling Yerrita: right ...
Logan Newsom: that is something that you have to claw and bite and dig in and, and then, you know, get lucky and whatever else, so.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, you gotta be like real special to get the glass one, though.
Logan Newsom: You do. You do have, you do have to, uh- Thanks a lot Okay, so what is, um-
Sterling Yerrita: I wanna circle back real quick, Logan- Yeah ... 'cause y- I think you brought up, um, you know, you talked about just breeding to [00:32:00] a buck maybe just on pictures rather than getting in the truck and, and seeing what will fit your sheep the best, and I, you know, I have to admit that when we were AI'ing, um, I was not really doing the, the best job of mating each individual ewe up the way that I could best see to make competitive show wethers.
Sterling Yerrita: I was blanketing my stuff, and so that buck may have been the best option for a handful of them. He may have been the, you know, terrible option for a few others, but I couldn't... To me, it was way more valuable to get that genetic nucleus that's consistent so that I could try to achieve what you were talking about of just having good sheep from, from top to bottom.
Sam Silvers: Mm-hmm.
Sterling Yerrita: But, but now that I've got that nucleus put together, and I've got some donors selected, and we've kinda grown and evolved, um, you know, now I can take my donors, and I can go get fresh doses or buy some frozen semen, and I can miss and... I can mix and match, um-
Sam Silvers: Now, is, is that something that, like, I mean, as a future, is that your goal, is your plan, is to go out and go across the country and look at different bucks?
Sam Silvers: [00:33:00] And... Or, are, are you just trying to hone in on a single genetic line? Or y- you know, I guess I'm asking what's your, what, what's your plan, for the audience, like-
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. Um, I haven't, I haven't historically traveled around the country looking at bucks in the past just because my job was really demanding. Um, and it, it made it really tough, especially now that we have a second kid at home, little Statler.
Sterling Yerrita: Um-
Sam Silvers: He's born on my birthday, wasn't
Sterling Yerrita: he? Yep, 7:20.
Sam Silvers: That's it.
Sterling Yerrita: Yep. How about that? Have some birthday parties. Um-
Sam Silvers: Destined for greatness ...
Sterling Yerrita: but it, it made it really difficult to travel and see those bucks in the time of year where it makes sense for everybody to do that. Um, you know, now that I'm working with Steve, um, I've got a much more manageable schedule.
Sterling Yerrita: You know, the after hours, weekends, late nights, that kinda stuff is not really an issue for me anymore, so hopefully it'll allow me to travel, um, quite a bit more. You know, like, I'm gonna breed you some bucks, uh, from Ty, and I've kinda sh- told him that I'm interested in a couple of them that I haven't even seen yet.
Sterling Yerrita: But I'm gonna drive up there to pick up my semen. I'm gonna look at all the bucks and make some [00:34:00] decisions and... So I, I think to answer your question, I don't, I don't have a plan to just try to visit as many farms as possible. Um, I think genetically I kinda know where I'm headed and, and what I've got for sure, and try to tie something in that's maybe...
Sterling Yerrita: that ties into what I've got and is also an outcross at the same time without just going just a hard outcross all the time.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, yeah. Well, I think we all probably get into that. You know, you kinda get, um, you know, in a routine or whatever, you know, and kinda... You... And, and- I sometimes feel like it can be kind of spun in a little bit of a negative light, but you kind of just get into that rut of you like what you like and you want to make what you may, you know, like, and those are the kind you want to raise.
Logan Newsom: And I think that's a, I think that's what you're talking about. Like that's a good philosophy from a breeding perspective. And, you know, obviously your stuff's very affiliated with, with, with chances and keep tying into that. And, you know, whenever it's time for that outcross and kind of reach out and do some other stuff.
Logan Newsom: I mean, I know that's something that we've, I probably fight a little bit with us as I get in the routine of doing what I like, doing what I [00:35:00] like. And sometimes I have to reach back and say, all right, we got to change this up a little bit. I'm not quite as forward thinking as Sam. I don't like to go everywhere.
Sterling Yerrita: But man, like those bucks that I bred to, those bucks that I bred to, you know, early on when we started doing the AI ended up being way better than what I expected them to be just because I just kind of in the right place at the right time. You know, I was working for Chance. We were roommates for a little while when I was in Angelo.
Sterling Yerrita: And so his stuff I was very familiar with. I knew what they were. I knew what they'd done. I knew what they were doing. And so trying to get a genetic consistency, you know, that was a system that I kind of had a little bit of a peek behind the curtain. And so I kind of wanted to follow suit. And yeah, I've learned a pile from Chance and thought getting my hands on those genetics to kind of start my nucleus of genetic consistency was a good idea.
Sterling Yerrita: Just got really lucky that the next few years he goes on and wins a pile.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, absolutely.
Sam Silvers: Tell us what, what's your, what's your vision for the future? What do you, what [00:36:00] do you see for YM Clublands?
Sam Silvers: Where do you wanna be? What do you... You know what I mean? What do you want it to be? Um, is it gonna con- stay in Bandera? Is it-
Sterling Yerrita: Ooh, man, that's a good question ...
Sam Silvers: you know, like, w- what do
Sterling Yerrita: you see? My dad and I were having that question just the other day. Um, you know, so I, I live here in Fredericksburg, and, and we live in town, and it's a beautiful home, not conducive to raising livestock.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. Um, and my dad was kind of asking me, you know, "What, what's your plan? What are you gonna do with all these things?" Man, right now I don't have a good plan. Yeah. Um, I can tell you that now that I'm working in Mason, Texas, I like that a heck of a lot. Um, I could see us maybe moving to Mason one day. My in-laws also have some property around here, so, you
Sam Silvers: know.
Sam Silvers: Ah, Sterling, I just don't know. You know, being a Junction Eagle, I don't know that I could handle you being a Mason Puncher. I just, you know- You
Logan Newsom: think so? Sam is so upset- Oh ... with the
Sam Silvers: Puncher
Logan Newsom: Dome
Sam Silvers: at the moment That's why my voice is gone a little bit, because Thursday night Junction Eagles were playing them Punchers, and I was screaming at the refs [00:37:00] quite a bit and, you know, I mean, I
Logan Newsom: just- How, what was the verdict?
Logan Newsom: How did that end up?
Sam Silvers: Oh, it's bad. They, they whipped snot out of us, but
Logan Newsom: still. Yeah, that Puncher Dome, I'm telling you, like- That
Sam Silvers: Puncher Dome will get you ... Man They
Sterling Yerrita: always seem to have a pretty competitive football team.
Sam Silvers: Oh, yeah, yeah. See, Junction's beat them the last two years.
Sterling Yerrita: Really?
Sam Silvers: And, uh, y- yeah, and we didn't get it done this year.
Sam Silvers: Didn't get it done, so I don't know.
Logan Newsom: He- he's been Snapchatting all week his distaste for the Puncher Dome.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. I'll- There you go ... I'll have to forgive you if you move over there to Mason County.
Sterling Yerrita: Man, uh, we, you know, we're still just talking about it. It's really early, but it makes a lot of sense for us. My wife does a lot for the ranch.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: So that's obviously way closer to Fredericksburg with the ranch. Um, I'm working there at Stock Show Secrets, and, um, man, just the community in Mason, you gotta love it. You know, they got a really- Yeah ... good school system.
Sam Silvers: Great
Sterling Yerrita: school system. They do. It's great. And they got great show families that live there.
Sterling Yerrita: Uh, Jim Bob's daughter, Taryn, and her husband, Fletch. Yeah,
Sam Silvers: Fletch. Yep,
Sterling Yerrita: that's right. They're
Logan Newsom: there.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, Fletch is
Sam Silvers: there.
Sterling Yerrita: Their kids are showing now, and they're right there in Mason. You got Sierra Nauman in Austin.
Logan Newsom: Yep.
Sterling Yerrita: Their kids are coming up and showing now. You know, it's [00:38:00] just a great community. That county
Logan Newsom: fair should be a blast.
Sterling Yerrita: It's gonna be tough.
Sam Silvers: It's a hell of a county fair.
Logan Newsom: What, um... Okay, let's, I wanna wrap back around to something because you had mentioned it earlier and then Sam g- jumped the gun a little bit on, you know, the script for the podcast and started- Jeez ... talking.
Sam Silvers: Sorry.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, I know. You didn't, you, you- He's kind of been
Sam Silvers: hammering me all
Sam Silvers: day ... you
Sterling Yerrita: didn't look at, you didn't look at your script We need to discuss this on camera right quick. Yeah, I mean- I'm noticing all the stuff you get credit for is categorized.
Sam Silvers: I- Has he gave me credit for anything? It's all negative. No, just all the negative stuff. Yeah, it's just been negative. Yeah. I, I know.
Sam Silvers: I found some. So negative. I-
Logan Newsom: You, did... i'm curious, um, 'cause we talked, we, you, I wanted to, I wanna just kinda highlight for folks that don't know you, maybe like, you know, or been around as much as we are.
Logan Newsom: 'Cause you, you rolled through it a lot, and you have been a well-traveled individual A couple questions. Um, were you the one that took away the fast passes at San Anton?
Sterling Yerrita: No.
Logan Newsom: Okay. For the record, Sterling
Sterling Yerrita: was not the one- I thought for sure after three hours of talking with Brian about that you would have it all figured out by now how it happened.
Logan Newsom: We- Hey, no ... we did have a lot of dialogue and a lot of back and forth. I'm not sure [00:39:00] we actually ever figured out how it happened. Um, bad internet, that's what it was. Bad internet. Bad internet, yeah. Uh, you were not the one. Okay. But with Stock Show Secrets, you know, we, we sat there and we met with Steve.
Logan Newsom: So, a- and I, and I, I wanted to kinda hit on this because, you know, I think it kinda all ties back with where you started, your, your involvement in the industry throughout. You went to Angelo, coached on the j- coached at Angelo. Were- did you have the last judging team?
Sterling Yerrita: I sure did.
Logan Newsom: That's what I... I thought you probably had the last one.
Logan Newsom: So, uh, couple of, you know, Rams huddle up- That's right ... kinda deal. That's right. There's not a Ram. Yep, Sam wouldn't, Sam wouldn't get that joke. Little inside track for you guys that were ASU alum. Um, but you've been in some capacity in this industry, you know, the whole time. And so then not only to, to have an opportunity with somebody like Stock Show Secrets, but I think that can kinda all go the stairstep process of where you've been.
Logan Newsom: I think it's very similar to maybe kinda where the sheep deal's at. Like, success, but [00:40:00] what's the next step? Success, but what's the le- what's the next step? How did that look from your standpoint? 'Cause, you know, like, we can give San Antonio, you know, a little grief, whatever, but, like, that had to have been a pretty solid gig.
Logan Newsom: Man,
Sterling Yerrita: that was an awesome job.
Logan Newsom: I mean, and being involved in that. I mean, you know, and, and I, and I think we had some eye-opening experience, you know, talking with Dr. Faris a little bit and, you know, even just some things that we both agreed on that, you know, on air and off air that we need to do better as far as our involvement and, you know, pushing things to families.
Logan Newsom: But, like, that's one of those deals where you're, you're in the thralls of it in a different capacity than maybe what we are, but you kinda see it, you know, from our standpoint, the 30,000-foot view. But the knife fight and the day-to-day and the dog fight of putting on a show, you know, I mean, kinda what that looks like.
Logan Newsom: So hit on that just a little 'cause I think that, I think that was something that we kind- we maybe kinda skipped over a little bit that I wanted to-
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, absolutely ... wrap back
Logan Newsom: around to.
Sterling Yerrita: Uh, man, that was a [00:41:00] super cool job, and I mean super cool. I thought for sure, "That's my dream job. I'm done. You know, set it, forget it.
Sterling Yerrita: This is where I'm gonna be." Um, you know, I, I come from a rodeo family. Mm. My dad rode bulls when he got over here from Guatemala. Um, my half-brother's a six-time qualifier in the steer roping. and kind of always been adjacent to rodeo as well. And then I started roping calves, uh, when I was in college.
Sterling Yerrita: Johnny Powell, uh, Powell Ranch Dorpers out there in El Dorado. Uh, got connected with him, started roping with him. So the San Antonio deal was like awesome for me, right? I'm getting to put on the third-largest rodeo in the world. We're taking all this money. We're giving it back to kids who grew up just like I grew up.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, it was awesome. It really was. And, um I have the utmost respect for those, those guys that I was working with there. To put on a show and a rodeo of- and an event of that size and magnitude, and control the parking, the traffic flow, you know, all the stuff that, you know, frankly [00:42:00] we as patrons like to bitch about, right?
Sterling Yerrita: Because it's-
Logan Newsom: Absolutely. Yeah ...
Sterling Yerrita: it's a problem. It's, it's- Yeah ... it's irritating. Right? But to try to make it flow as well as they do, man, those guys are putting in long hours and meeting with several people. Um, you know, for example, the traffic, the traffic. We bring in an expert that does all of the, the Texas A&M football traffic, and he helps us with our traffic flow, or the rodeo.
Sterling Yerrita: And, um, you know, the, the effort's there. It... And it takes... It's an im- insurmountable amount of work.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: It really is. And, um, a lot of people don't realize this, not all of the staff, but there's, you know, some key people on staff that are gonna have to be there 24 hours a day, and that's about 35 days, give or take, for what my role was, being in operations.
Sterling Yerrita: You know, because we start the tear... We start the, the build process, and then obviously have to be there to, to see the finalized cleanup product, uh, and turn all the properties and buildings back over. And so it ends up being, [00:43:00] it's a haul.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: But they are doing some incredible things. If you don't follow and keep up with the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, please do.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, they're, they're fighting a battle right now, I think, with some government stuff. Uh, the politics I'm kind of oblivious to, frankly. But they're trying to go year-round and, and build some amazing facilities that would be awesome for people like us. Uh, it'd be awesome for some Western events to happen in, you know, in a 12-month appointment on those, on those grounds to keep, keep the, the life and the identity of that, that place alive.
Sam Silvers: [00:44:00] here's my next question to, to get a little juicy here. What's your honest opinion and thought process on the stock show world, where it's heading, things you like, things you don't like?
Sterling Yerrita: Well, man, that's an interesting question for me 'cause it, it... I can't say it's something that I've contemplated a lot here lately.
Sterling Yerrita: You know? I
Logan Newsom: think it's interesting, and I'm gonna interrupt you real quick- Oh, go ahead ... 'cause I, I think it's interesting because you have been, like we talked about, you've been involved on it on the other side as what we are. You were on the same side, and I'm not saying that... Th- th- this is probably gonna sound somewhat negative, and Dr.
Logan Newsom: Ferris is listening, he's gonna probably be grumpy, because I'm not saying... You think he listens?
Sterling Yerrita: Yes.
Logan Newsom: Oh. Um- Bet he
Sterling Yerrita: does now.
Logan Newsom: Yeah. [00:45:00] Like, I'm not saying that there's a line, because, you know, we talk about that some. Like, I'm not saying that it's, you know, stock show verse- You know, stock show dads For sure.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. But-
Logan Newsom: But
Sam Silvers: you're kinda on the other side now
Logan Newsom: You're on the other side. You've been on one side, you went to the other side more in a management-type role. Um, so I think that that's interesting, but also foreseeable future, you're gonna be back on the other side as far as stock show dad. Right. So I think that's an interesting question to decipher and interpret on what that looks like.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. I, I think what's important to remember is that a lot of these rules that they're trying to come up with, they are solving real, like, real-world issues, right? Um, you know, the, the shags been a big topic of discussion obviously, and Brian brings up a really fair point about all the fitting mats and the people out in the alleys and the, and the camps, and how they've grown, and the chairs.
Sterling Yerrita: And when the fire marshal walks through there, he's calling me saying, "Hey, you know, we can't have this. If we have to evacuate this barn, [00:46:00] there is no way. It's gonna be a cluster." You know, and so there are some, there's some valid points to be made- For sure ... I think on both sides. Um, you know, if I have to take a personal stance on where things are going and where they're heading, um, you know- I'm kind of of the opinion that I like that we're the dog and pony show of the market industry.
Sterling Yerrita: I don't think that we are an old school market show, right? Because if you talk about the market fundamentals of, of sheep, right, there's only two things that anybody will ever teach you about, and that's muscle and cutability. So if we really wanna hang our hat, in my opinion, on it being just a market show, and that's how we need to keep our fundamentals and we don't need to lose sight on that, we don't need to show 'em.
Sterling Yerrita: We just show up and-
Logan Newsom: Hang 'em upside down ...
Sterling Yerrita: That's right, and take some measurements. So,
Sam Silvers: y- you know, may- maybe that's an opportunity for one of these major stock shows. You bring that point up to, to create a, a, another avenue like they've done with the, with the, i- in the cattle show, you know, the direct fed w- [00:47:00] what I don't even know- Feedlot
Sam Silvers: feedlot type scenario. Feedlot
Logan Newsom: or, yeah, feedlot steer, whatever.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, yeah. And, and maybe, you know, it, it's a pen of sheep and, and it's fed that way and they, they talk more on, you know, a record book type setting and how they cut, how they hang, you know, that c- um, almost a commercial show- Yeah ... if you would speak.
Sam Silvers: And, and maybe that says, you know, there's the line, right? We're gonna have this commercial aspect of it, and we're gonna have this market, junior market lamb show side of it that is, if you wanna call it the dog and pony show, right?
Sterling Yerrita: Right.
Sam Silvers: And, and just leave it alone and leave it at that.
Sterling Yerrita: So I'm gonna play devil's advocate here, right?
Sterling Yerrita: Because I have been the guy on the other side of the fence, and, you know, having just recently left that job, just hearing you say those things started to give me a little bit of panic, right? Because those are... That's a great solution, and it solves a ton of problems, but it also creates a ton of obstacles.
Sterling Yerrita: Because now you've got to answer where are you gonna house them, where are you gonna pen them, when are you gonna have it? You know, the schedule on the livestock side is so tight [00:48:00] already because we've got so many of these big Texas shows, which we all love and enjoy and are grateful for, but it makes those, those schedules really tough.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, you know, I'm not sure e- people even realize, but the livestock show actually starts two days prior to fairgrounds being open.
Logan Newsom: Yep.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, and so that was something I had to kinda learn quickly my first year. You know, I'm, I'm hustling and bustling, and I got my checklist, and I know of everything that we gotta get done by the time we open, and it, I mean, it just completely slipped my mind.
Sterling Yerrita: I saw the dates, you know, and just never put it together. Like, we got swine people showing up. Well, there are certain things that have to be barricaded off to, you know, for safety so that we can continue to build. And so, you know, when you talk about adding a show like that in, it, it's a great idea, and I think you could get a pile of people to support it.
Sterling Yerrita: But logistically, there's some things that have to be thought through and worked through. Um, and then on top of that, you've got scholarship money, and, you know, how many sales spots are you gonna take from where? It just becomes a whole ordeal.
Logan Newsom: I just don't know if it's- Well,
Sam Silvers: you got the fast pass
Logan Newsom: money. I don't know if [00:49:00] it's your day.
Logan Newsom: Like, I thought it was a freaking great idea. It is a great idea. And then, like, I just don't know if it's your day. Like, every good idea, like, somebody's just... They're kinda beating you down today.
Sam Silvers: No, I, I mean, I... But anything that's been great has obstacles, right? Yeah, I mean, it's
Sterling Yerrita: gonna be.
Sam Silvers: Yeah, 100%. And it, it's, it's a matter of, of whether they're, they're willing to cross those obstacles or not.
Sam Silvers: I mean, it's easy to say- And is it worth it? Like ... "Ah, that's hard." Yeah. "We're not gonna do that."
Sterling Yerrita: No, no, no. You know? I'm just, I'm just expressing to you, you know, some obstacles that have to get worked through.
Sam Silvers: Sure.
Sterling Yerrita: I wanna nod my hat, tip my hat to those guys that I used to work with because I think if, you know, somebody comes to, to them with an idea like that, and I think that they'll see the value in it, and they will, you know...
Sterling Yerrita: That we would do leadership training, right, when I worked there, and it was phenomenal stuff. Um, and just saying no or refusing to change or saying, "That's how we've always done it," like, those are big no-no words over at that place, you know? Sure. That's good. They live in an environment of figured out how can we do it?
Sterling Yerrita: You know, let's... It can be done. It doesn't matter what it is. Yeah. I [00:50:00] mean, I,
Sam Silvers: I
Sterling Yerrita: think you could easily- The, the thing is, it can be done ...
Sam Silvers: go on the same time as a commercial steer- Yeah ... project part of it. Yeah. And, you know, you just-
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah.
Sam Silvers: That's probably a conversation worth having, really ... maybe you just add, you add sheep and goats to that, right?
Sam Silvers: Yeah. Yeah. A- and obviously, like Logan said, there are things, and we realized that after, after talking with Brian, there are things that we can do to help make that better. And, and, and, and Brian said it, you know, there's things that we could do that would take the spotlight off of those issues, right? And, and he, he said that, and admitted that there's, there's bigger fish to fry right now.
Sam Silvers: I mean, there's-
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah ...
Sam Silvers: than the leg rule deal, right? Sure. I mean, and we all know that. Sure.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, and Brian and I have had those conversations. You know, he knows where I stand and, and I'll be honest, um, Brian's position at that organization is not one that you could pay me enough to do. Yeah,
Logan Newsom: that's probably- 100%.
Logan Newsom: Yeah,
Sterling Yerrita: I, I could probably get behind that. Brian's... Oh man, it... Brian's managing just a crazy amount of logistics with the schedule, the [00:51:00] traffic flow, the unloads, you know, making sure the volunteers are all up to speed and that everybody's on the same page. Like, his job is incredibly tough, and then you factor in the fact that every show dad and family's gonna have an opinion about everything you do.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, you know, there's obviously some things that Brian and I don't see eye to eye on, but I can respect the guy for how hardworking he is. Um, you know, that's a, that's a really tough job that he has-
Sam Silvers: Sure ... in
Sterling Yerrita: my opinion.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. I
Logan Newsom: don't want it.
Sam Silvers: No, I don't. It'd be a thank- thankless job.
Logan Newsom: Yeah.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: That's right.
Sam Silvers: It's kinda like my friendship with Logan. It's, it's hard. It's pretty thankless. It's pretty thankless. But, you know, somebody's gotta do it.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, absolutely. \, Tell us what's on the docket for next year, YM Club Lambs-wise. Uh, you talked about flushing. Now, did you say y'all are gonna have some early ones this time or no?
Sterling Yerrita: No, probably next year.
Logan Newsom: Probably a good- Yeah ... good idea. Sometimes I wish- So- ... that I didn't have as many early ones.
Sam Silvers: Well, yeah. What are you, what are you gonna breed to? What-
Logan Newsom: Yeah ...
Sam Silvers: what are
Sterling Yerrita: we looking at here? Yeah. Uh, good question. Just kinda been ironing all that out. Um, you know-
Logan Newsom: Oh, you said you were gonna do some Sevitt Daz.
Logan Newsom: I heard Never a Doubt is freaking incredible.
Sam Silvers: Is that the-
Sterling Yerrita: Uh, I've heard some good things about him, too ... is that
Sam Silvers: the one he
Sterling Yerrita: owns? I haven't seen [00:52:00] him. Is
Sam Silvers: that one of the 19 you own up there?
Logan Newsom: I only
Sterling Yerrita: own a few. He does own... He's got his name next to a pile of them things.
Sam Silvers: My goal in life is to get Logan to own a buck- No walks, no steers
Sam Silvers: with me. It's blowing
Sterling Yerrita: out only. No walks, no steers Um, we're gonna, we're gonna flush one to Never Say Never. Um, probably another one to Tariff. Um, really interested- Where
Logan Newsom: are you at on the FF deal? Like, are, are you guys dealing with it, fighting it, kinda- Good question ... middle ground? Man,
Sterling Yerrita: there's some, there's some times...
Sterling Yerrita: I'm, I'm breeding FDs to FDs all the time. I like it. All the time.
Logan Newsom: I like it.
Sterling Yerrita: Um-
Logan Newsom: Love
Sterling Yerrita: it ... you know, w- I'm trying to make the best sheep I can possibly make, and I think if you put too much emphasis on the FF deal, you can kinda hinder yourself in some cases. But, um, all that to say that FF bucks haven't come a long ways in five years, 'cause they have.
Logan Newsom: For sure.
Sterling Yerrita: You know, the, the options that you have at FF bucks now, in my opinion, are way better than they were five, six years ago.
Logan Newsom: Yeah.
Sam Silvers: I'd agree with that
Logan Newsom: Yep. We're still, we're still a little on the fence on what we're breeding too. We got flushing AI dates coming up. I'm still a little on the fence. Oh, [00:53:00] you're,
Sam Silvers: oh, you're still rolling on flushes.
Logan Newsom: Yeah, dude. I didn't sell all my FSH. I'm all gas. You said it over there.
Sam Silvers: I still have some in the refrigerator. We have an IVF coming up. Calm down. Golly. I'm gonna have sheep for you to buy.
Logan Newsom: Kenny, I just didn't... I just never thought that you'd be one of them guys that would fall, fall in that trap.
Sam Silvers: It's not a trap.
Sam Silvers: It's called financial stability.
Logan Newsom: What the hell does that mean?
Sterling Yerrita: I think he doesn't wanna be poor.
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Logan Newsom: You got
Sam Silvers: Jurahee for that. You keep digging that hole. I mean, that hole, you can't crawl out of it after a while.
Logan Newsom: I kind of feel like, I saw on the news this morning at Lake Allen Henry, at down, you know, the over there by Post, a man had fallen into a cave and the cave collapsed on him
Sam Silvers: That, that sums up about my sheep operation this year.
Logan Newsom: I feel, I feel like that's Newsom Livestock on the daily, and I'm just waiting for one of them cave rescuers Y-
Sam Silvers: you know, the first [00:54:00] flush when, when, uh, that culture donor that I own with Tim wigged out on the meds, jumped the fence, and snapped her back leg, I should have just called it right then. I should have said, "Nope, pack up your stuff, boys.
Sam Silvers: We're done for today. We're gonna try again in the fall."
Logan Newsom: For you guys that are listening, um, Matt Kennedy and his reproduction services are a sponsor of ours, so we're just kidding. You guys keep flushing and AI-ing as much as you can.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah. It's funny, you know, that's, uh... We talked about Jim Bob early on.
Sterling Yerrita: Like, that's kind of a little bit of Jim Bob that I have in me, I think, when we started talking about the philosophy behind some of that stuff. Like, we had a flush that wasn't very good, and Dad's of course like, "Well, we need to probably reflush this one and, and that one, and I... You know, I don't... I know she...
Sterling Yerrita: I know you like her a lot, but she didn't, she didn't give us anything. I don't think we should do that again." I'm like, "No, we're gonna do it again, and we just need to flush more of them. Like, we just gotta have more of them."
Sam Silvers: Yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: I'm, I'm a, I'm a numbers guy. I think-
Logan Newsom: Home run hitter ...
Sterling Yerrita: the averages, the averages will kinda...
Sterling Yerrita: 333 will get you in
Logan Newsom: the Hall of Fame.
Sam Silvers: Yeah. That's
Sterling Yerrita: right.
Sam Silvers: Well, Sterling, I, I, I wanna thank you for coming on with [00:55:00] us. Um, I'm gonna enjoy getting to see what, what y'all do in the future, you know, still having two kids that are showing. I, I hope that maybe we can show one of your sheep at some point. Um- Heck
Sterling Yerrita: yeah.
Sterling Yerrita: That'd be
Sam Silvers: awesome ... I think that'd be really cool. Glad to see, I, I think... H- how old are you now?
Sterling Yerrita: I am... I just turned 35 on the 12th.
Sam Silvers: So younger than... Well, you're still in your 30s, but I'm in the 40s. To me, it's refreshing to still see some young people come into this, right? 'Cause I feel like we're losing that at an alarming rate.
Sam Silvers: Um, and it's good to see some, some young, hungry folks come into the sheep industry and wanna raise them. So I, I wanna commend you on that and, you know, wish you luck in, in all your future endeavors and- Absolutely ... hope you kick some ass, man. Yeah, appreciate
Sterling Yerrita: that. No, we actually have some stuff, kind of goes back to your bucks I didn't mention, uh, and I probably should.
Sterling Yerrita: So sorry, Denton Low, but Low Livestock, we bought, uh, ewe from him. Yeah. That's a Compass
Sam Silvers: Matador. Okay. That
Sterling Yerrita: stuff's worked- Bocancoso, Creature, 1010, you know, he's got that on the bottom side- It's worked
Sam Silvers: really good for
Logan Newsom: Denton ...
Sterling Yerrita: man, it has. Yeah, yeah. And she's, [00:56:00] she's looking really good. Awesome. So pretty excited about that.
Sam Silvers: Glad to hear it. Well,
Logan Newsom: keep me posted on what she does.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, absolutely
Logan Newsom: Very good. Enjoyed it. No, great, great conversation. you know, reiterate what Sam said. I've obviously known Sterling for a long time, and that's, uh... I, on the other hand, don't feel like I'm that old. I feel like we're all still the young guys in this game, but I guess that's changing at a equally alarming rate.
Sam Silvers: Um, I, I got my first pair of cheater glasses and-
Logan Newsom: That is, we, we did. We, we talked about that at Medina, that we are in the market for another co-host that doesn't have to wear readers.
Sam Silvers: I mean, good luck trying to find somebody as entertaining as me.
Logan Newsom: Yeah. Anyways.
Logan Newsom: It's a frustrating game that we can play, but, uh, it can have its moments, and it does have rewarding times. And as much shit as we give each other about the frustration level of it all, it's, um...
Logan Newsom: Hell, I don't guess there's anything, be any better to do, so- Yeah. Yeah ... glad to have you in the dogfight.
Sterling Yerrita: Yeah, thank you for having me, guys. Enjoyed the conversation. This is super cool. I, I think that this podcast is, is something that the livestock industry's been craving, you know?
Logan Newsom: Sure.
Sterling Yerrita: Um, [00:57:00] you know, not to, like, fangirl with you guys, but I've, I've listened to every episode.
Sterling Yerrita: It's... I got to commute, right, to work every day. If I gotta listen to something, I'd, I'd rather listen to something like what I care about, which is the sheep industry. So thank you guys for doing it. I hope you guys keep it up, and thanks for having me.
Logan Newsom: Absolutely. Appreciate you, man. Thank
Sterling Yerrita: you. Yeah.
Logan Newsom: That's it, folks.
Logan Newsom: Take care.