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- [00:03]
Host
Welcome to season four of Empower youw.
- [00:05]
Weston Hendricks
And I'm your host, Weston Hendricks and I developed this platform alongside my team.
- [00:10]
Host
With the objective of aiding to your.
- [00:11]
Weston Hendricks
Interests as an individual in the livestock industry. Our goal is to empower you while gaining insights and trust and consuming it from some of the most significant people in our industry. With that said, a new episode is released every Friday with a sneak peek available on social media platforms a day prior to. So as usual, thank you for tuning in and enjoy the episode.
- [00:32]
Host
Here's to empowering you. We're live once again. We're just keeping it real with people. It's gonna be episode seven of season four on Empower you. And not only do we get to represent Trademark Genetics here today at the place Live, but we get to talk about their story and all the intels here in Hempstead, Texas, as well as some other places that y' all have. I know Mandy and Madison do a lot for this industry. They care about this industry and they're very passionate about what they do. So I'm glad that we get to represent their story and what they stand for. Mandy, if you'd like to introduce yourself first and let the listeners get to know you a little bit and then Madison, you can do the same. After that, we'll dive into some questions.
- [01:15]
Mandy Fisher
Sure. Mandy Fisher, my husband and I own Trademark Genetics along with our daughter Madison here reside here in Hempstead. Here at the place in Hempstead's where we house the show cattle and donors that were flushing out throughout the year replacement females and show prospects. Backstory on me grew up showing cattle proud product of 4H and FFA program and that's where I kind of fell in love with the. The show cattle livestock industry as a whole and. And believe in. Believe in it wholeheartedly and graduate to K State. Proud of that other. Yeah, other than that, kind of My crowning achievement in life is probably that little girl sitting over there in the chair. But some days not so much. Just kidding. All days. But. But anyway, that's about it, I guess.
- [02:18]
Madison Fisher
Well, my name is Madison Fisher. I'm from Hempstead, Texas. I'm currently a student at NOC where I'm on the livestock judging team, which we're really excited about. We believe we're going to have a good season this year. A little backstory on me. I've been showing Red Angus and Red Brangus cattle for about 13 years now. Makes me feel really old. Yeah. So I've been really passionate about livestock judging and showing cattle that's kind of where I got it started in the industry. It's all I've ever known, honestly. I mean I grew up in the show barn. I. I mean as far as I can remember, I always attended Houston Livestock show and all the Texas majors and now the national shows. So that's kind of a backstory on me.
- [03:01]
Host
So for any listeners, we, me and Madison are sharing mics. I don't have enough mics, but it's all good. Mandy, I want to talk about first.
- [03:09]
Weston Hendricks
Is, is how did you get started.
- [03:11]
Host
Showing specifically and what brought you into wanting to proceed in that industry? Going into college, after college, you obviously started trademark as well. So kind of play us through that time of your life.
- [03:26]
Mandy Fisher
Okay. So I guess on how I started out showing was a little bit different than the most kind of, I guess junior members path. I convinced my dad that we'd always had commercial cattle and stuff and I convinced him to let me pick the. The herd sire that year because every two years we get new bulls in and go pick. So I decided that I wanted to get one and. And it be my project to show it and all that. So in order to convince him to do that, he told me that I had to pay for it. So that was kind of a. Kind of threw a bird in my saddle. But hey, I got it done. And that same miser, and it was a red brainless bull I got from a gentleman there in Grapeland, Texas and went on the bull was reserve at Houston and he won the Washington County Fair which back in the day was a really big open show for, for breeders and whatnot. So. And then that was kind of our first splash in the, in the purebred deal. But yeah, that's how it kind of started from there.
- [04:38]
Host
But. So then why go to K State?
- [04:42]
Mandy Fisher
Well, I guess I've always been hard headed in my life and everybody, everybody else was, was going to A M and I, you know, I toured A M and a lot of other schools and in Oklahoma and in various places like that. And I toured a lot of schools when I was trying to decide where I wanted to go to school. And you know, most people from our little community went to Sam Houston. Really. It just really wasn't for me. Nothing against Sam. I just, you know, I don't know, it just didn't seem like the right fit for me. And I went and toured K State. Gentleman by the Name of Miles McKee met me at the airport and Manhattan and took me on a tour and I fell in love with the people there. And the community and the university and never look back. So I kind of a. I guess a cool fact is I was Miles McKee's last graduating class. So that's pretty cool for, for a case Daver, I guess.
- [05:47]
Host
Yeah, for sure.
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Mandy Fisher
Miles McKee for sure.
- [05:51]
Host
So then after K. State kind of talk me through what happened after. How did that lead to trademark genetics and maybe the story behind the name?
- [06:00]
Mandy Fisher
Well, I mean, it kind of. There was kind of a brief pause and my father was killed in a car accident. And so I kind of had to put my college career on hold for about 18 months to kind of get things sorted out in my personal life and what we were going to do with the ranch and, and that sort of thing. So once we got all that kind of figured figured out and I ended up buying my brother's portion of. Of our cattle company out and John and I kind of hit the ground ground running and kind of took it a different direction with wanting to go more purebred and, and turning the commercial cattle program into reset herd and kind of grow it from there.
- [06:50]
Host
So then you started out Red Brangus. How did that lead to Red Angus?
- [06:55]
Mandy Fisher
Well, we'd always use, traditionally we'd always use Red Angus sires on our herd, on a Red Brangus herd. So I was already kind of familiar with, with several breeders, you know, and whatnot. But then when we had Madison, she kind of, she wanted to show a breed that could show at, you know, the bigger shows, the Denver's, the Louisvilles, the, the Kansas City's, things of that instead of just being here in the, or in the state. And you know, along with that goes all the different opportunities of the, of the, some of the larger breeds and whatnot. So that, so then we started pursuing the Red Angus. The Red Angus from a, from a female standpoint. And she purchased her first heifer from Silver Spur in Colorado and kind of never looked back.
- [07:54]
Host
So run me through how long did it take to build that herd, specifically the Red Angus, because that's something y' all are fairly proud of around here.
- [08:03]
Mandy Fisher
Some impact realistically, probably eight to 10 years to get to where kind of where, where we are now, realistically from a, from a donor perspective and you know, the, the amount of bowls we sell annually and things of that nature. It, it took a, a lot of, lot of embryo work and things of that to accelerate that. And then two, three years ago we had acquired Los Rojas, heard from Christy Collins and that that kind of really accelerated our numbers and, and because we, we acquired the Herd in its entirety. So we got all the donors, all the herbs, ours and everything. So that, that allowed us to do a, you know, a lot more things. But with that being said, it also came with a lot of pressure. I don't know if Madison felt as much as I did just because the, the relationship we had with Christy and we'd purchased cattle from her before and you know, it was. There was a lot of, I don't know, pressure I felt to, to make sure that those cattle perform like she had built them to do and we didn't, you know, let her down and, and all that stuff. I mean, Christie doesn't feel that way, but I sure do because I, I want to make sure that, that those cows continue to excel and perform in the breed like, like they have been as well.
- [09:30]
Host
So mentioning Christine, talking about her, what I want to know is how have those genetics benefited y' all and helped y' all go to the next level? And both y' all can answer this if y' all want to.
- [09:40]
Mandy Fisher
I mean, I guess from my perspective on Christie's cattle, when we started buying cattle out of Christie sale, all the show up first, that made Madison's first big when at Fort Worth was a. A 112 daughter and that we referred to as Danny. And she's kind of been the cornerstone of our, our breeding program and all subsequently after that, most of the, most of the females before we acquired our herd all tied back to that, to that one cow. Our pictures over there on the wall. But I mean, they're just, they're never going to never the biggest as far as frame wise, but they've always, they have tons of belly and stoutness and soundness and capacity and things of that nature. And, and you know, I don't, we don't get hung up on trends. We really like cattle that once they're done showing, they can go out and perform just like they, you know, we're able to excel in showing because at the end of the day we're, you know, we were, we were acquiring cattle, but the gen. The end goal was all the same at some point, you know, you can't show them forever and they have to go out and be in production and be cows. So that was always really important to us that they met a certain criteria to be able to, to excel and do that. And those cattle have gone above and beyond that for sure. And if, I mean, Betsy's kind of the, you know, the cow Nazi. If they don't, you know, open cows don't get to hang around and, and she's not one of baby cows. So I mean she has a strict, you know, 60 day cabin window and if they can't fit in that, they don't get to stay. So I mean we don't. She won't let us bury. She holds our feet to the fire on that. And I think that that's, that's another reason that the cow herds excelled as well. Just because the. Nobody gets an excuse.
- [11:41]
Madison Fisher
So, yeah, I think that's what set us apart the most honestly is, you know, aside from all the show industry trends of okay, we're chasing that long attractive front end, that's great. But I feel like most of the cattle nowadays that you see, I mean, especially being on a livestock judging team, I get to travel all over the country. And most of the cattle I see that have that long and attractive front end, it's really hard to get them to come with that same power and stoutness. I think that's where we kind of make up some ground and catch some other cattle is we always maintain feet and bone. And I think that's something that's really important, especially in our breed. And Red Angus needs to kind of especially focus on it because Red Angus cattle aren't the best footed. But I assure you, each heifer calf or bull, calf or cow, whatever the case may be, that, you know, if anybody has the chance to come out to our place and look, there's not one that's bad footed at all. And that's something that has to be required, especially living in southeast and northeast Texas, is you have to be sound and you have to be moderate. You have to have some body shape and dimension. And if you don't have it, you can't live here. It's that simple. And I think that's what really set us apart and help excel. Our cow herd is sticking to those basics and fundamentals. And I wish every producer and breeder could really agree that that's something that we need to stick to, is keeping cattle good footed and keeping them with enough body shape and dimension.
- [13:14]
Host
So y' all had mentioned donor quality or quality of females here. What I want to know is what does the foundation donor phrase mean to y'?
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Mandy Fisher
All?
- [13:25]
Host
And maybe give me and the listeners a glimpse of some of yalls favorites that have been around here.
- [13:33]
Madison Fisher
This is probably one of my favorite questions. I think some of the top five, my favorite foundation theme donors and females that we have in our donor battery are probably 8115. That's a cow we call Sugar Free.
- [13:47]
Betsy Bradley
She won Dallas and she was top.
- [13:51]
Madison Fisher
Five at junior nationals that year as a calf actually she's produced some of our top selling females. Then another one is 9103. It's good to be queen. That's a female that was reserved at Louisville. She's also has been competitive at all these national shows. She won Heart of Texas, a few other major shows. We also were one of the high selling embryo Watts in the Angus elite scene. Sale in December. Also has had some really good show heifer prospects out of her. Then like we said earlier, the 6050 Danny Heifer. That was one of my first heifers that I actually purchased from Christy Collins. That one Fort Worth. She went on to win a few other shows that was been that has been really successful for me. It seems like every year that she has a calf that calf is one of the best out of the calf crop. That's one of my favorite females as well. Oh I can't forget old Grant. We call her grandma all 29U.
- [14:57]
Betsy Bradley
She's actually as old as me.
- [14:59]
Madison Fisher
That sounds kind of funny. She's 19 year old cow. She goes back to a lot of the special donors we have here in our donor battery. But she also goes back to Red Flying K Dynamo which that no longer exists anymore that her dispersed in Canada. So it's she goes back to something that's a complete outcross to everything. So she's made a significant impact on the breed I think for sure. And then Lastly I think 112y which is another cow we call Piglet. She is basically the grandmother to the whole herd and everything almost goes back to her. But that has to be my top five favorite donors of all time.
- [15:42]
Host
About you man.
- [15:43]
Mandy Fisher
You got any favorites on the red Angus side? I would add 6,101. Yeah. So 113 daughter. You know maybe not so much from a show heifer standpoint but power and making bulls year after year. You know me said, you know she mentioned mentioned that sugar free female from a shower standpoint but she's also the elite. She's probably without going and looking it up. I'm pretty collected pretty confident in saying that her bulls probably average the the highest of collectively year after year. And the the last Angus elite cell she her embryos were the the high selling lot there. Madison mentioned that. So we were excited about those. Went to a breeder in Kansas and we're excited to see see what those do for for that gentleman when those calves hit the ground. But I mean there's There's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of, lot of. A lot of those donors that all go back to that one. That one particular cow. So it, it just shows you the impact of the, the cornerstone of that one particular feature. Female pretty much, pretty much made the entire herd, you know, or has a footprint on the entire herd. You know, if you were going to. To name some of the Brangus cows, she, she n all the ones she named her were the Red Angus. The herd. If you, if you talk about the Red Angus donors, we purchased a. A female from Villa Ranch. They're in Hempstead. I was going to say Brookshire, but Hempstead. And by the. Her name was Catalina. They showed her. We, we wanted her strictly as a donor and we brought her home from the cell, clipped her and I mean she took an awesome donor picture. Her fat first calf is in the bull calf is in the barn. Now we're gonna try to promote him some next year because we have a lot of high hopes for him as well. You know, 3:17 juicy orange crush. Some of those females, the Casey female, we flushed her a lot this year. She won the. The Brahman Influence show there in, in Louisville. That was kind of an exciting for us to take a floppy eared one to Louisville, Kentucky and have everybody look kind of crazy at us in the stalls wondering what that was. But we're thankful that the judge thought as much of her as we do. But looking forward, I think those females on. On growing our purebred red Brangus herd will have a lasting impact for sure because we sure like the calves that are on the ground now.
- [18:42]
Host
So talk to me about the bulls that y' all utilize throughout this entire process and maybe some of the new ones that y' all have recently here purchased and started promoting.
- [18:55]
Betsy Bradley
So one of my favorite bulls is actually Duff.
- [18:58]
Madison Fisher
No fear.
- [18:58]
Betsy Bradley
I found him at a workout at Kirk Duff's place. It was during winter workout before one of our big contests and it was before his sale that winter. And I wrote down this bull's ear tag that I thought was pretty good. That was in one of the classes we had judged. And I went back, I told my parents about him. So he ended up with the bull. But what's the most unique about him is not his foot size, not his power, not his look, not his body shape. What's the most unique about him is his sire. And he's sired by a black bull that's called Fearless. That makes him a complete outcross because he's the first red calf out of that bull. And so you can breed him to almost anything. And he wouldn't interfere with any kind of matings or anything like that. So not only will he add the power and stoutness, but yet he's a complete outcross. So I think that's what makes him so unique. Then another bull that's one of our favorites in the program right now that's pretty popular on the market is Duff Riz. He's more on the moderate side that's a cavity specialist. But something also that's great to mention on that bull is he's out of. He's sired by Duff hd, which is not available anymore. So I think that only ups him in value. He's just so good numbered and good footed. And I think that's what's something that needs to be hound in on. On the Red Angus breed specifically. Then another bull that's my favorite in terms of stoutness and frame size and absolute power is Duff territory. That's a bull that's so stout out of his hip and pinsa. I think that's one of the stoutest Red Angus bulls I've ever laid my eyes on. He's not as good numbered as Riz. I think that's where he kind of.
- [20:38]
Madison Fisher
Falls short a little bit.
- [20:40]
Betsy Bradley
But I think if you want one that wants power yet still is sound enough at the surface, I think that's your bull. Another one that we purchased in, I believe it was the spring in 2020 is duff red Bear. He's also not available anymore. But that's another bull that's been pretty popular, especially as far as putting some look on into him. He was very. All his calves are still very uniform. They're all dark, dark red. Still, he still throws a good attractive look on him. Then another bull also to mention is Johnny Cash. He was reserve at Cattlemen's Congress this past year. That's another bull that still comes with so much luck. His neck attaches high on the top.
- [21:23]
Madison Fisher
Side of his shoulder, yet he's still.
- [21:25]
Betsy Bradley
Good in his body shape and dimension. And what's the most impressive about this bull, and it's really hard to find old mature bulls and especially in this breed. But he is so good footed, his toes are even. He comes with plenty of flexibility out of his hock and hind leg. And that's what's so impressive with that bull. Just watching him go and on the move out in the pasture following cows is something that's my favorite thing to watch about that bull. And yet especially he's still good numbered out of John Wick, which is another sire that people sought after as well.
- [22:00]
Host
And Johnny Cash is out here breeding cows right now.
- [22:03]
Madison Fisher
Yeah.
- [22:04]
Weston Hendricks
All right guys, we're gonna take just a minute to recognize the businesses and operations that have powered this episode. And we pride ourselves in standing by businesses and operations that make an impact in this industry, and Trademark Genetics is one of them. At Trademark Genetics, they are committed to excellence in every aspect of their family owned and operated business specializing in elite Red Angus and Red Brangus genetics. They pride themselves themselves on breeding cattle that perform exceptionally in real world conditions, delivering superior quality and lasting value. Whether you are in search of a project for a young exhibitor or looking to enhance your herd with fresh, proven genetics, their mission is to produce high caliber livestock while fostering lifelong relationships. Their bull battery and donor females are rooted in generations of proven performance, maternal strength and impeccable structural integrity traits that add tangible value. Whether your focus is on cow power or carcass quality, they are pleased to offer embryos and semen from standout sires and proven donors across both breeds. Whether establishing a foundation or elevating an existing program, their genetics are designed to advance your operation with confidence. Owned and operated by John Mandy and Madison Fisher, Trademark Genetics is dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through unparalleled quality and service. We encourage you to connect with Mandy at 713-204-7535 or Madison at 832-963-4233 to explore how they can support your goals. Discover the latest cattle offerings and stay informed on their journey by visiting trademarkgenetics.com and follow them on Facebook and TikTok. But if you're looking for a club calf producer that's diverse in almost every aspect, Reed Vessel Ranches is your answer.
- [23:54]
Ethan Prop
Reed Vessel Ranches is a premier ranching operation specializing in the production of top tier show cattle offering a wide range of American, British and exotic breeds. Over the course of just five years, RVR has grown from four donors and 20 AI cows to over 50 donors and 500 AI cows, ensuring their commitment to quality and excellence. Their success is rooted in in a strategic, intentional approach, planning years in advance to maximize the potential for their customers to succeed in the showroom.
- [24:24]
Weston Hendricks
In addition to breeding competitive show cattle, Reed Vessel Ranch's team is dedicated to offering a full range of services for show preparation, from clipping and fitting to feed management, expert show assistance. RVR ensures that their clients are fully supported throughout the entire process.
- [24:40]
Ethan Prop
For more information about Reed Be Vessel Ranches, including their private treaty cattle SARS donors and upcoming sales, visit their website at reedvesel ranches.com but if you're looking.
- [24:52]
Weston Hendricks
For proven club calf sires, then stay tuned in at Hartman Show Cattle.
- [24:57]
Ethan Prop
They believe and stand by the saying, in order to predict the future, you must create it. Which is one of the reasons why they have become so profound in terms of promoting their bulls and show progeny.
- [25:08]
Weston Hendricks
They have focused on promoting bulls that are backed by pedigrees, knowing that their cow families have a proven track record and their cow families and legacy is what helps ensure predictability and consistency when using their bulls on your cows.
- [25:22]
Ethan Prop
Speaking of promoting bulls, have you heard of pure Reflection? Well, if you have, you've noticed many of his high sellers and contenders in big ring settings. He speaks for himself and is only DS positive.
- [25:34]
Weston Hendricks
And when I say he speaks for himself, he sired the next promo bull named Born to win and he's a TH&DS carrier. And the Dame herself has produced over 175,000 in 2024 on just six head.
- [25:47]
Ethan Prop
But if you're looking for no genetic defects, that's built into a gray hided bull named Return on Investment, this triple clean bulls damage also produced the grand champion steer at Denver in 2024.
- [25:59]
Weston Hendricks
If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to reach out to Aaron Hartman himself at 502-655-8323.
- [26:08]
Host
Okay, but now I also want to talk about some of the red bring us bulls because there's not just a huge selection of quality red bring us bulls out there, but luckily y' all have yalls hands on some of the best. I want you all to talk about those bulls and how maybe those bulls have progressed.
- [26:25]
Mandy Fisher
I guess that's one of the reasons why, you know, a lot of people turn their nose up at American don't understand the American red brain versus international red brain guess and all that. And to me, I used to work when I was in college for a gentleman oats landed cattle named Jim Sherm. And I and I always and they had Red Brangus and Red Angus. And I asked him, well, you know, when are you gonna stopped putting so much Red Angus in them? And he told me and I've never forgotten and he said I'll stop when the cattle quit getting better. And I was like, huh? So with that being said, when you just being honest and on the red, red, Red Brangus side, I can probably count the, the Red Brangus bulls that, that I consider top shelf. I could probably count them on maybe one one hand. You know, on And I just, you know, I think there's a huge need there to introduce new blood and new genetics into the red side. And that's what we're trying to do and build up our purebred program to offer some new genetics. And because the red Brangus has a breed up program, so we're infusing some of our top donors, breeding those, flushing those to red brain gaslight or what we consider some of the top red brain now that are on the market to get 3:16 and keep breeding on them so the you can until they become pure rud.
- [28:05]
Host
Could you explain that? International and American red. Bring your steel for all right, so.
- [28:13]
Mandy Fisher
On the international deal, it's to be registered in their herd books. It has to be 3858. Anything else won't be certified, that sort of thing. But they allow you to take Angus cow and breeder tub purebred, vice versa and you can breed two generations of that, then the resulting progeny will be a registered animal. So on the American side, how they're their bottles are written as you can float your percentage. So. And the reason why all that was established was people can argue it, but it was simply so that if I was in north Texas or if I was in South Texas, I could add more Brahman or I could add more Angus or how I could adjust my breeding program to whatever my environment called for, whatever my customers needed and all that. So it allows you to breed your cat however you want to versus, you know, being in a strict bloodline percentage. So you can have a quarter blood. Personally, I think the best red Brangus cow that could ever breathe is a 3 16, you know, and that's just my opinion. I think it's just enough, just enough Angus with just enough Brahmin to where they can survive anywhere. They still out grazing on to 110 degrees and hit the ground running, you know. But again that's personal. But I think that, I think a lot of the cattle you, a lot of the things that the Red Angus offer to the brainest cattle they need, you know, cleaning up the feet, cleaning up some sheets, cleaning up, you know, some chest floors, all that you can accomplish that with one generation of Red Angus. And I think, you know, back, I don't know, four or five years ago, people just thought, you know, you could go get any Red Angus bull and breed it to a red, Red Brangus cow and make it better. But there's still the whole mating concept of, you know, you have to find something that's gonna, you know, you have to select a sire that's gonna fit whatever your cow is lacking. And, you know, you have to put some thought into it and all that good stuff. So you still have the. The mating selection where.
- [30:37]
Host
Okay, so the last five years, let's just base it off that what have y' all done to change and target a larger audience in terms of maybe embryo lots or being able to show off some of your heers and building a bigger family base to come and purchase cattle from y'?
- [31:01]
Mandy Fisher
All? I think from the embryo side, what we. What we kind of focused or tried to hone in on were specific cells of our top. Whatever we feel is kind of the cornerstone females or cornerstone donors for us at the time. We've offered, you know, cream of the crop as far as, you know, it really in two cells. Embryos on Snow was one of them. We. We featured embryos there out of the Danny cow, which is a $112. And then the other sale was the cell in Vegas, the Angus Elite sale. We've sold various donors there. We're pro. Real happy with the fact that I think the last two or three years already, Angus embryo lots have been the highest selling lots. But in order to do that, we've had to sacrifice, you know, putting the. The top shelf, what we consider the top chef shelf matings in there and offering the best of the best. You know, the one thing that's kind of a leak to Embryos on snow, so from a marketing standpoint is you can't offer those matings anymore for the entire year sales year. So gives the. The seller that purchases them a unique, unique opportunity to. To have genetics that won't be offered again for that calendar year. So it's. It's a interesting sales format that has some marketability, I think, from. From the buyers as well as the same sellers. So those are the kind of the. The two cells that we've kind of focused from an embryo sales perspective. And I'm sure in the future we'll. We'll look at some other ones. I know that. That we. We had talked about this year putting some in the. The sale at Cattleman's Congress and things of that nature. But, I mean, really, it's just kind of a. When the opportunity presents itself, kind of see what we have available and. And what we think will best appeal to the. To the buyers and. And see if we have a fit, and then we just go for it.
- [33:16]
Host
So something we talked about here recently was something coming up in October.
- [33:22]
Mandy Fisher
And.
- [33:24]
Host
What do y' all think of that? Are y' all excited? Y' all want to talk about it?
- [33:30]
Mandy Fisher
Yeah. It's Halloween. Well, I guess the kind of the end goal's kind of always been to, to build a cow. Build a cow herd in a, in a calf crop that, that we figure that we ultimately would feel that the quality would be deep enough to offer some of the elite females for a show heifer set sale and not get so much caught up on numbers and volume, just on sheer quality. And you know, whether it's, you know, we're offering five heifers or 15 heifers, you know.
- [34:10]
Madison Fisher
Yeah, I think it's definitely quality over quantity for us. I mean, like mom said, Whether it's five heifers or 15, we want to ensure that there's quality spread all within the sale. And I think we're pretty excited because it's our first calf crop that's going to be out of our new sires riz and territory. So we're pretty excited for what's to come this fall. Hopefully we can put a sale together.
- [34:33]
Host
Okay. One thing that I want to talk about now is the priorities of show heifers haven't changed much, but the quality has. How do y' all keep up with that? And what do you think separates Yalls females compared to the rest? I mean, y' all do different things such as distributing semen and such to the families that buy heifers from y'. All. So what have you, what do y' all do that that separates y' all from the rest?
- [35:04]
Madison Fisher
I think keeping up with the show heer trends, you know, like I said earlier on in the episode, I think especially from what I've seen just traveling around the country and nation, I think a lot of these people chase this flashy front end that's so long and extended, but they don't look at the other fundamentals. And I think, I wish as producers, you know, not just speaking Red Angus or Red Brangus, but across all breeds of cattle, I think, and I wish people would all come to the conclusion that we need to keep the fundamentals right. You know, we need to keep these cattle good footed. We need to keep them with plenty of body shape and dimension and still be functional. Because at the end of the day, they're not just show cattle here at Trademark for us. They're always going to go out and produce and they're going to go out and perform in the pasture, whether that's in the show ring or not. So I think that's something that really separates us is it's not all about the show ring aspect. It's also about out in the pasture and their performance there as well, because that's what we have to thrive on as well. But you know, like I said, keeping up with the trends and things like that. Every time we sell a calf, it's not about a person coming out to look and you know, they purchase an animal from us and then that's the last time we ever see the kid or the calf. That's not the case with us. You know, I think, I don't know of anybody else, but we give them full access to our bull battery. We are able to provide them semen and help with breeding services and things like that. And also when they go to shows, you know, obviously we keep it communication with our customers, but we also always provide help for these customers as well, whether it's fitting, clean flipping, helping with management, showmanship. And that's kind of some of the things that I've really enjoyed too is teaching kids how to show, teaching kids how to fit. I think it's not so much about just how they learn what they take away and what they learn from this prospect animal, but it's more about their career. You know, if we can make sure, ensure that this kid goes on and stays successful and achieves their goals, then we're satisfied. And I think that's something that really separates trademark from other places.
- [37:27]
Host
You want to add anything to it, Mandy?
- [37:29]
Mandy Fisher
I mean, I think pretty much reiterating what she said, you know, we're all real, real proud of, of the customers that have became family and I mean they, they got a calf from us. Yes, that's great. But I mean it's, it's more about building the relationships and networking those relationships and, and you know, we wish that, that every kid that, that bought a calf here could, you know, we could guarantee they were going to win the world, but we all know that that's not the reality. But if that kid can have a good experience and, and build some self confidence and, and learn about the ag industry and all that, then I think it's beneficial for everyone. One, you know, however we can support them along that journey. I mean, we, I get just as much out of that probably as they do. You know, to be honest with you, I enjoy seeing kids reach their goals and, and have success and, and if we could share just a little bit of that success, it's rewarding for all of us.
- [38:29]
Weston Hendricks
It's time to recognize the other operations that have powered this episode.
- [38:33]
Ethan Prop
ECP Cattle is a purebred Charolay and commercial simming is out for in Northeast Oklahoma. Located in Adar which is around 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, ECP cattle is owned by Ethan Prop and his family. A fifth generation cattle operation, this purebred Charolais segment originated in 2015.
- [38:52]
Weston Hendricks
Ethan and his family specialize in selling commercial and seed stock bulls as well as show heifers, prospects, replacement females, semen and embryos. Sales are made privately through online sales as well as through special purebred consignment sales. Promotional and AI sires include the 2022 South Dakota State Fair Supreme Champion Bull DPC Copy White 087 CET and the 2022 National Champion Charolay Bull 3 Aces Crushing Hearts G879.
- [39:22]
Ethan Prop
Please reach out to Ethan at 918-864-6567 for more information on their program, semen sales or sale cattle.
- [39:32]
Weston Hendricks
Now on a serious note, do you want to get more out of your supplement program?
- [39:36]
Ethan Prop
Then you need to try showbiotics and Feed, the secret that countless champions from coast to coast keep in their barn. Their products include Yeti Sauce, Unwind, Jump Start and Show Glide. No fluff and no filler.
- [39:48]
Weston Hendricks
Check them out@showbiotics.com or reach out to the office at 806-279-1700.
- [39:56]
Ethan Prop
But now, if you're wanting diversity in terms of products for all species, look no further.
- [40:01]
Weston Hendricks
Every new person that gets into the stock show world thinks it there's tips, tricks and secrets to finding success. Well, there's only one company that has the secrets and that's Stock Show Secrets.
- [40:12]
Ethan Prop
Well let me tell you, these guys are different from all the others. They're different because they have accumulated over a hundred years of practical stock show knowledge. And they're also different because they educate you on how to do things for the outcome you're trying to get and not just sell their own products.
- [40:28]
Weston Hendricks
They're a company with dedicated full time folks who work hard to make you successful and they may be the only company in the country who can guarantee that their products are free of banned substances and biological contamination. They are serious about the stock show business and your success.
- [40:43]
Ethan Prop
They offer supplements to feed through the entire feeding process and effective products to use while you're prepping your animal for shows.
- [40:51]
Weston Hendricks
You can find them at over a thousand dealers across the United States or check them out at their website@stockshowsecrets.com.
- [41:00]
Host
So now what I y' all mentioned the Show Ring and so what I want to talk about now is how do you think the judging lineup here recently has been like, do you think that we should start incorporating younger generation or maybe just trying to find more diverse people in terms of having actual producers judge shows? Do you think that'd be more beneficial or, or what do you, what do you think about all of this?
- [41:30]
Mandy Fisher
I mean, I think that it's always good to. I think sometimes, especially here in Texas, we get stuck with the same handful of judges judging over and over. And it's not to say that any of those people aren't qualified or anything of that nature, but it just, it seems like you get on a two year kick where you're a two year rotation of having the same people over and over. I mean, I think it would be a good to have a fresh perspective and, and some different people that to come in and judge and fresh views and all that. I mean, as long as they're, they're qualified, you know, I mean I love to see when you know, cowman judges a cow show. I mean because at the end of the day that's what it's all about, you know, not somebody that chases trends, that sort of thing. I mean, but, but I think, I think, you know, giving a young person an opportunity. Absolutely. As long as they're, you know, if they're qualified and if they get asked to step up to the plate, they can do it, do it with, with integrity, you know, and sort it as they see it that day and don't let politics or anything else get involved.
- [42:42]
Host
But just keeping integral people in that circle of being a judge selection. Right? We got to find integral people that won't put themselves outside the box. But I think as long as we as people in the industry strive to find integrity and a level head and keeping things competitive, yet still Christ like so with that said, something I want to talk to you all about is you've got a lot of quotes and you've got a lot of quotes. I want to know some of yalls favorite quotes.
- [43:19]
Madison Fisher
One of my favorite quotes especially Jennifer Bagwell has hone this in on my teammates and I, my mom kind of dislikes it because I chose it as my vice president quote for the NHRE board and it's think long, think wrong. And this really emphasizes when I'm in a judging contest or really any kind of situation, you know, I, it's really to stick to your intuition and to stick to your what you know and your knowledge. I think that's something that I stick to and it's something that I live by every day now. Maybe I should think about things a little bit longer before I make a decision. But it helps keep me confident and with my decisions, and especially when I'm in a judging contest.
- [44:08]
Host
What you got, Mandy?
- [44:14]
Mandy Fisher
Kind of like the motto here, trademark. Kind of our hashtag on our marketing pieces and stuff is kind of make your mark. And, I mean, that just kind of works in all facets. And, you know, Madison knows that we're real goal oriented here. And, you know, we've always. We've always been real gritty and real driven, and, you know, that's. I think that's something you just can't. You're either born with it or you're not. You know, a sense of drive and a sense of urgency and all that. And I. And I don't know, growing up, if losing my dad early in my life, if that made me put me on a different path of urgency than, you know, it probably annoys my daughter sometimes, my sense of urgency. But I just always, you know, we can go win a show, and then I'm already thinking about the next show. What do we have to do to get ready for that? And so, you know, I kind of kick myself sometimes, and I can't draw back and. And enjoy the moment for a little, little bit, but I'm always, well, okay, now what? We've done that. Now what's the next goal? So, I guess make your mark of your mind.
- [45:26]
Host
Why purple?
- [45:29]
Madison Fisher
Emo, baby.
- [45:31]
Mandy Fisher
I mean, purple's always been my favorite color ever since I was a kindergartner. So back when the dinosaur drone. I still like purple. And just so happens I went to K State and it worked out being purple. So if I'll just.
- [45:46]
Host
Just had to do purple.
- [45:48]
Mandy Fisher
Long time. Long time. Purple.
- [45:50]
Host
Both of y' all can answer this next question. I've kept it since season one. It is. Is it? I didn't know that.
- [45:58]
Mandy Fisher
It is. What are your bangers when you get a show?
- [46:01]
Host
Oh, they're purple.
- [46:02]
Mandy Fisher
Yeah, there you go.
- [46:04]
Host
Maybe not.
- [46:05]
Mandy Fisher
What's my email address recipe?
- [46:06]
Host
In the purple. Now you know, in the purple.
- [46:10]
Mandy Fisher
Okay, secrets out.
- [46:14]
Host
I've kept this question since season one. Perspective that I get from every guest that I've ever had on. And so what I want to know from both of y' all is what empowers y' all to be better than who you were before.
- [46:35]
Madison Fisher
I think something that empowers me and my mom always taught me this, especially when I just started showing even before, is to remember who's watching that. You know, there's little kids, the Youth are watching you especially, you know, you may not always get the outcome that you want to when you're at a show or at a judging contest and such. And, you know, you have to keep that reaction to yourself, even if you're not happy, but also stay humble as well. I think that's something that empowers me, is to remember the little girls that are out there watching that grow up to. To just want to be like me and my friends and girls my age. And that's something that's really important for especially other people in the industry to remember is, you know, to. To really keep your composure. I think that's the biggest thing, especially in this industry that's more needed, if not, is to really keep your composure and your cool. And that's what really empowers me, is to know that the youth are watching always.
- [47:40]
Mandy Fisher
What empowers Maggie Fish? That's a loaded question. Better bring a cyclone to a lawn chair. You know, I guess it's the fear of failure more than anything. You know, we lost a real good friend about a week or so ago, Doc Grim, and that was always his biggest thing is, you know, his biggest fear was being a failure. And, you know, you kind of think a lot about that. I guess that's. That's mine. So you do. You put yourself in a position and do work, do the hard work and all that so that. That you can ensure you're in the best spot for success and your customers and your program and leaving a legacy, you know, I think that's. That's kind of more than anything so that, you know, when. When John and I are gone and then we've, you know, we built a. We've built something for. In hopes that. That Madison will carry on and. And all that. I mean, that's. That's kind of what empowers me, I guess, from a standpoint of leaving. Leaving a legacy, you know, and not, you know, leaving something that's worth carrying on, I guess, you know, and seeing it through the eyes of young people, I think, is kind of what empowers me, because if, you know, you really and truly, it's. It's a lack of a better term, a dying sport. You know, back when, you know, when I started, when we started showing and all that, it was a. It was a lot more common thing than it is now, you know, and people that are in, you know, in schools and in urban areas and all that, it's getting harder and harder for those kids to have agricultural opportunities. So if we can help in some way to keep all that going, then I think that's kind of our duty to try to help where we can.
- [49:40]
Betsy Bradley
Yeah, I think something that's important for juniors to think about is it's not about, you know, you going out in the show ring and winning that banner. It's about what's behind the scenes and the hard work that it takes to get there. You know, if it wasn't for our herd manager and one of our best family friends, Betsy Bradley, a lot of those banners wouldn't be accomplished. And so the things that she did for our cow herd have been phenomenal and tremendous. So that's someone that's made a huge impact on mom and I's life.
- [50:13]
Madison Fisher
Shout out to BB shout out to Betsy.
- [50:19]
Mandy Fisher
110%. Betsy has traveled a million miles with us, and we wouldn't have a lot of these banners behind us if it wasn't for Betsy's hard work. And still she puts in 110% every day for us. And we're extremely thankful. Grateful for all her help, for sure.
- [50:37]
Host
Well, that's something that y' all have definitely stamped here in the industry is building a legacy that's for sure lasting. And one thing that I want to say is, you know, we all, we have been talking about creating a family and creating a good experience and environment. I want to tack on the flood victims here that we've been seeing here lately. Empower you and I'm sure, trademark as well, I'll speak for them on this. We all stand behind the people that have been suffering in that situation, and we will be praying for them consistently. And, you know, bad things happen to good people, good places, but you have to take it on the chin sometimes and realize that you got to grind through it and know that the Lord has something for you in the future. One thing that I. I did forget, but maybe I won't see here. We're going to ask Google what the random Bible verse is today, but at the end of the episode, pretty much every episode, I put a Bible verse in here, and I wasn't prepared for it, honestly. Let's see here.
- [51:45]
Mandy Fisher
Shucks, Shucks.
- [51:47]
Host
Okay, this one comes from Proverbs 11:18. It says, the wicked worketh. Oh, that's KJV. I need NIV.
- [51:59]
Mandy Fisher
Scratch that one.
- [52:00]
Host
Scratch it. Okay, here we go. Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. And what I get out of that is the Lord is saying people who do right will be well deserved for their rewards.
- [52:19]
Weston Hendricks
And you do bad.
- [52:20]
Host
Well, I guess hit the boats with all this said, I appreciate y' all coming on. Y' all been a huge sponsor this season.
- [52:27]
Madison Fisher
Texas Strong, so Texas Strong, baby.
- [52:32]
Host
This is Empower you with Mandy and Madison Fiser. Thank y' all for tuning in. We'll see y' all next time. Make sure to check out our new and improved website@empoweryupodcast.org where you'll find the.
- [52:46]
Weston Hendricks
Team'S background, our sponsor stories and merchandise. But also check out our social media.
- [52:51]
Host
On Facebook and Instagram @empowerupod, where you'll.
- [52:55]
Weston Hendricks
Find sneak peeks of episodes and their.
- [52:56]
Host
Release dates, as well as sponsor recognition and much more. We are proud to have you as a listener on and hope you enjoyed.
- [53:03]
Weston Hendricks
Make sure to give us a five star rating and have a blessed day.