Podcast Summary: Cattle Chat – "Cattlemen’s Day Questions" (March 27, 2026)
Main Theme
In this engaging episode of BCI Cattle Chat, veterinary professionals from the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University answer questions collected from attendees at Cattlemen’s Day. The team tackles practical and strategic topics relevant to cattle producers—from expanding a small family herd and cattle market trends, to best practices for calf health and key advice for students aspiring to careers in the industry. The tone is conversational, candid, and infused with personal anecdotes and expert wisdom.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Tournament Memories (00:14–03:18)
- The hosts open by sharing NCAA basketball tournament anecdotes, reminiscing about classic buzzer beaters and personal fan experiences.
- Notable Quote: "I was an undergrad at Missouri. They were undefeated in the Big Eight, and... UCLA inbounds the ball, drives the court, makes a layup, and wins the game, kicking Mizzou out of the tournament." – Brad White (00:14)
- Lighthearted banter sets an approachable tone for the episode.
2. Advice for Small Family Farms Looking to Grow (03:44–05:31)
- Start with a Clear Objective: Decide what you want to produce (e.g., weaned calves, freezer beef) and develop local expertise.
- Bob Larson: "Develop your local sources of expertise... your veterinarian is a good place to start. Your extension agent, other people... you’re gonna need a lot of ideas." (03:44)
- Relationships Matter: Cattle operations thrive on networking and local knowledge. Partnering with those wanting to retire or cost-sharing land/cattle are valid growth strategies.
- Dustin Pendell: "There’s more than one model... think about depending on your resources, your capital... is there a way to look at a different model?" (04:14)
- Perspective for Families: The larger goal may be to raise responsible kids rather than just cows.
- Todd: "At the end of the day, you’re really raising kids here, not cows... teach them how to work, and appreciate the connection that we have as a society to the land." (04:55)
- Patience is Key: Growing a herd is a long-term process; consider market cycles when making decisions.
3. Expected Cattle Prices: The Next Few Years (06:08–09:09)
- Market Outlook: Current low cow inventories and strong demand suggest continued high prices for sellers.
- Dustin: "I don’t know that we’re going to see prices come down anytime soon... prices might be higher [for longer]." (06:08)
- Supply-Demand Dynamics: Supply is "very inelastic" in the short term; demand remains robust but could shift quickly if trends or diseases emerge.
- Todd: “Demand could also crater pretty quickly if something... new dietary fad came out.” (08:04)
- Imports/Exports: Trade can buffer supply, but base expectation is for steady or gradually changing prices barring external shocks.
- Brad: "Those changes in prices we expect, without some external shock, to be relatively slow over time." (09:09)
4. Lighthearted Interlude: Dry Erase Marker Preferences (09:43–10:39)
- Fun Faculty Fact: Dr. Larson’s favorite marker color is purple, used for highlights, and he carries 15–20 at a time.
- Larson: "Purple. I try to use purple as my highlight color and black as kind of my base color." (09:43)
- Classroom Color Coding: Other panelists also use black as the base with purple highlights, sharing a moment of camaraderie.
5. Implanting and Vaccinating Day-Old Calves (10:40–16:58)
- Implanting: Research suggests more benefit if implants are administered at around two months old, not at birth.
- Larson: "An implant at birth... isn't all that beneficial. You start really seeing benefits if you delay that first implant..." (11:21)
- Vaccinating: Neonates can mount an immune response to certain vaccines (depends on route/pathogen), but colostrum intake and passive immunity play pivotal roles.
- Todd: "The most important thing immunologically you can do for a calf is make sure they get high quality colostrum and get lots of it early." (12:11)
- Systems Approach: If many calves require early vaccination, this indicates a systems or management issue, not just a vaccine issue.
- Todd: "What I might be doing with that vaccine is actually just creating a fix that backfires... We kick the can down the road." (13:46)
- Density Consideration: High calf disease rates may signal overcrowding or management issues.
- Todd: "Sometimes the reason why we have these diseases [is] because we start creating animal densities that aren't well suited for the environment..." (16:24)
6. Course Recommendations for Aspiring Cattle Industry Professionals (High School & College Students) (16:58–20:27)
- Balance Breadth and Passion: Develop basic business, husbandry, and production knowledge, but lean into your core strengths/interests.
- Larson: "Lean into the things you’re good at doing... but also develop a broad understanding of agriculture..." (17:19)
- Specific Classes: Introductory economics, ag finance, farm management, data analysis, marketing, and production/agronomy all recommended.
- Dustin: "Introduction to micro/macro economics ...a basic farm management type course... data analysis." (18:48)
- Todd: "The most useful class I ever took was ag finance... understanding balance sheets, profit and loss statements..." (19:47)
- Exploration Encouraged: Take a variety of classes to discover both strengths and latent interests.
- Brad: "Take stuff that you may not want to take because you may learn something there that is useful or you find a passion." (20:27)
7. Applying to Veterinary School: Essays (20:27–23:22)
- What Reviewers Want: Evidence of critical thinking, understanding of the profession, depth beyond platitudes, and audience awareness.
- Larson: "I want them to understand life. I want them to understand how you generate value for your community... So I want to read something that sounds like somebody that could be my peer very soon." (21:31)
- Todd: "We just want to know that you can think critically, that you can evaluate something from all angles and come up with your own conclusions." (22:37)
- Proofreading is Essential: Essays with significant grammatical errors suggest lack of preparation.
- Brad: "...it is challenging if there are typographical errors, grammatical errors that change the meaning... Make sure that those [are correct]." (23:15)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Expanding Family Farms:
“At the end of the day, you’re really raising kids here, not cows... if you do that, you will be successful.”
– Todd (04:55) -
On Current Market Dynamics:
“Cattle are really expensive right now, and you don’t necessarily need to go out and buy land and buy cattle. ...think about ... a different model.”
– Dustin (04:14) -
On Calf Health Strategies:
“If I feel the need to give a lot of vaccines at birth, I think I need to take a step back and look at the overall system...”
– Todd (13:46) -
On Courses for Students:
“The most useful class I ever took was ag finance... I would strongly recommend an ag finance class to anybody interested in agriculture.”
– Todd (19:47) -
On Veterinary School Essays:
“I want them to show evidence of really thinking that through. And that usually means a little bit deeper than just simple platitudes of ‘I like animals and things like that’.”
– Larson (21:31)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:14 – NCAA memories and icebreaker
- 03:44 – Growing a small family herd
- 06:08 – Expected cattle prices in coming years
- 09:43 – Dry erase marker preferences (lighthearted interlude)
- 10:40 – Implanting and vaccinating day-old calves
- 16:58 – College class recommendations for cattle careers
- 20:27 – Advice on vet school application essays
Tone & Final Notes
The panel’s relaxed camaraderie and practical, personalized advice make this episode an invaluable listen (or read) for cattle producers, ag students, and anyone aspiring to work in the beef industry. Each answer is grounded in real-world experience, and listeners are encouraged to seek local relationships, explore broadly, and take a systems-level view of challenges.
Questions for the show can be submitted via email or social media, and resources like the BCI newsletter are also available for ongoing education.