← Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
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The Ranch it up radio show starts right now. Good day everyone and thanks for riding with us on this all new episode of the Ranch it up radio show. I'm Jeff Tigger Earhart.
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And I'm Rebecca Wanner, AKA Beck.
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A big thank you goes out to our sponsors and partners for today's episode. CK Bar Ranch Jorgensen Land Cattle Livestock Market.com Ranch Channel.com Sire Buyer Wolf cattle Westway Feed Products in this fine radio station.
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First and foremost, thoughts and prayers to so many in Nebraska affected by wildfires. 750,000 plus acres have been burned making this the largest wildfire in Nebraska history. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen issued an emergency proclamation on March 13th in response to the fire deploying the state National Guard to assist local fire crews in an effort to help producer the Nebraska Cattlemen Disaster Relief Fund activated the disaster relief account and is accepting monetary donations until further notice. We have the link to the fund in the show notes at ranch it up show.com included in that link will be information to donate hay and supplies and several hotlines that are set up around the state. Now I know for myself I've not dealt with wildfires. I've seen way too many blizzards, one too many floods in my life. Mother Nature can be brutal is all I can say. Teachers Tigger, you've been up and close
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with wildfires when I lived in Oklahoma and what Was that like 10 years ago? Something like that. I think that terrible fire was. I tell you what, it is such a scary situation when you get to that point where you just have to start cutting barbed wire fence and you have to start tearing corrals apart just to get livestock out because that minutes turns into seconds. So I mean we can't say it enough. Thoughts and prayers out to so many people affected in Nebraska. So again we do have the link to the Nebraska cattlemen in the show notes@ranchitupshow.com A number of different hotlines and numbers but there are relief efforts I know that are set up across the state. The Salvation Army, I mean many, many, many communities. So you just have to google and you will find somebody within a stone's throw that is willing to help out. But again, thoughts and prayers to so many people in Nebraska. Okay, news, what else you got for us?
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Thousands of workers for the world's largest meatpacking company began a two week strike Monday in Colorado threatening to make already costly beef even more expensive for U.S. consumers. The first walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse in four decades follows accusations from union officials that the company retaliated against workers and committed other unfair labor practices, they said. The company offered wage increases of less than 2% annually, which is below Colorado's inflation rate. Union officials said 99% of the plant's 3,800 unionized workers voted to strike. More than 2,600 showed up at the picket line by early Monday afternoon, and others were expected to check in over coming days. The union said its workers perform some of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in the country and deserve higher wages and better health care. It said JBS in many cases has charged workers in 1100 dollars or more to offset the company's expenses for personal protective equipment. The strike comes at a 75 year low in US cattle numbers, with a January 1st inventory of 86.2 million animals, down 1% from the prior year. The decline has been driven in partly by drought and low prices offered to ranchers. Meanwhile, beef prices have soared to record levels. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, have also curbed imports. Pressed to act on affordability issues after Republican losses last November, Trump accused foreign owned companies of driving up US Beef prices and asked the Department of Justice to investigate. The price of 100 ground chuck beef more than doubled over the past two decades, from $2.55 to $6.07 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase has added to economic anxiety in the U S. The Trump administration has promoted a trade deal with Argentina in efforts to lower prices for food, including be. According to a livestock market advisor for industry consultant Everegg, the Greeley plant has about 6% of the total U.S. beef slaughterhouse capacity. I am sure Kirk will cover a bit more about this later in the program. Beef prices have climbed steadily over the past several years. Ground beef that once felt like a dependable value now commands a noticeably higher price per pound. Steak prices have risen sharply since 2020. Retail averages remain near historic highs. The Wall Street Journal put it plainly, the high prices are the new normal in the US Beef market. Under normal market conditions, sustained price increases soften demand. This hasn't happened with beef. Despite elevated prices, consumer spending on fresh beef continues to grow. Beef remains the largest contributor to fresh meat sales in the United States, and total retail dollar sales are at record levels. The most important story is not the price itself, but the durability of demand. The economic explanation is real, but it doesn't fully capture what's happening in people's kitch. The deeper story is cultural and psychological. Beef holds a distinct place in American food culture with survey data from Beef Research Consumer Insights program showing that 71% of Americans eat beef at least weekly. Burgers, tacos, brisket, meatloaf and steaks for celebrations are woven into routine and tradition. These meals represent familiarity and share experience. When budgets tighten, households often reduce discretionary spending before giving up coffee. Core food rituals Consumers prioritization of protein for strength, satisfaction and overall wellness reinforce that loyalty. Beef benefits from strong perceptions around protein quality and nutrient density. That positioning supports willingness to pay. Consumers are responding to higher prices, but many are adjusting within beef rather than leaving it. Ground beef remains the volume leader at retail and often becomes the practical option to when premium cuts feel out of reach, shoppers shift from rib eyes to ground beef, buy larger packs, watch for promotions and move between branded and private label offerings. Beef staying power is not accidental. It is rooted in culture, nutrition, perception and consumer habits. Those fundamentals remain durable. That's all for the news. Time for a quick break. The Ranch it up radio show will be right back.
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Wolf Cattle presents the 38th opportunity sale of 2026 4-2-300 registered limousine, lymph Flex and Angus bulls, Fall yearlings and spring yearlings plus 30 registered females online only with live bidding through Superior Livestock and DV Auction. Sale details@wolfcattle.com DV Auction Superior Livestock and Ranch Channel Wolf Cattle where beef is our business.
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Bull and female sales, commercial heifers, products, services and information. It's all on ranchhannel.com make it easy on yourself. Head to ranch channel.com on your phone. Click those three little dots in the corner and save it to your home screen. Use it like it? Love it. Ranch channel.com welcome to Sire Byer, a
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place where we connect cattlemen, the nation's number one destination for buying and selling breeding, genetics in depth reviews and upbeat news on your favorite sires. Sire Byer features the top Angus bulls across the country. Be sure to sign up to receive your directory by emailing infoirevire.com if you're looking for the best place in breeding genetics, you've just found it. It's the sale worth waiting for. CK Bar Ranch, Simmental and Simangus bulls designed to add pounds in profit to your program where bulls offer the best of both worlds with proving calving ease and growth to maternal strength. Join the CK Bar Ranch crew Friday, April 3rd at 6 Saint on Livestock in Saint on South Dakota. Bid and buy online at DV auction and videos, catalogs and sale information available at ranchhandel.com and ckbarranch.com. join us April 3rd in St. On South Dakota for a powerful set of bulls ready to go to work for you. Welcome back to the Ranch it Up radio show. Customer service is not just important. It is the foundation at wolf cattle. In fact, it's mandatory. Their open house and production sale is coming up. It's right around the corner, featuring limousine Lim Flex and Angus genetics. Casey Fanta joins us today talking about the wolf cattle program and how they help customers find the perfect walk in booths to fit their outfits. Hey, Casey, thanks for coming on the program. Let's first talk about the open house that's coming up next week. Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Yep.
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And because I know that's very important. Important that's coming up next week on Tuesday and Wednesday on the 24th and 25th. That is an extremely important part of your operation, not just for customer service, but creating matches, finding just the right genetics, getting to know customers. Why did you start that and how does that kind of fit into your program? And then we'll get into how the bulls are going to actually be sold, which is interesting in and of itself.
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Yeah. So we started with the open house format when we had, when we were. Well after we were forced to go online with our bull sale. During the COVID we went online with the bull sale and everybody really liked it. We had them come in ahead of time and look at the bulls and we got to spend extra time with them and, and discuss their programs. And we feed a lot of our customers calves. So we went over their carcass data with them and their health, you know, the health history on their calves and that type of thing. And we just really liked how, how it worked. And so the, the year after, we could have went back to a live sale. I mean, things are still a little shaky as far as people getting out and about, but we could have went back to a live sale, but we decided to leave the sale online and continue with the open house format because it just gave us so much more time to connect with our customers. You know, the typical bull sale, guys are running late and they get there the hour before, an hour before it starts, and they rush through the pens and you might get to say hello. And that was about it. And so we figured that when guys take the time to come look through our bulls, we'd like to spend time with them and look through them with them and make suggestions. And it's just worked out really well for us.
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Now, if I'm interested in moving into wolf cattle genetics, if I haven't before, I know, you would prefer that if I could come to the Sandy Ridge ranch in Nebraska and you could visit with me and my family and find out, you know, a lot of those fine tuned details, but get there especially in light of, you know, what's going on environmentally around everybody right now with fires and blizzards and you name it, I can still come in and purchase a bull. I can still call one of the crew from wolf cattle and do that. Right Case?
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Yeah, no, no, you can call me or anyone else anytime. And you know, if the open house dates don't work, we can set up a different time. We do a lot of site unseen purchases. You know, if you, if you, we buy something for you or you buy it online, you're not happy. You, you basically don't know it. So we do a lot of that stuff and it's, you know, it's, it's nice to, it's nice to meet in person. But nowadays everybody's busy. Got a lot going on and, and you know, Atkinson, Nebraska is a long ways from a lot of, a lot of places where we do business. So we sell a lot of bulls that are, that are sight unseen and, and we just make sure that you're happy when you get them.
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But I do know that that is a very important part of your program. Especially, you know, that's maybe one of the good things that came out of COVID If you could say something good happened because of it, that it forced you into a situation where you really had to spend some time with your customers, be it on the phone, be it if you could actually get in person, if you could see cattle, if you could see their cattle and vice versa. And that has almost become kind of the moniker, I think of wolf cattle has been exactly what that customer needs versus let's just sell them a bull.
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Yeah, well, and sometimes the reasons are just a little bit selfish because we feed those cattle. So we want, we want success all the way through the chain.
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Right.
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We want to make sure that they're using the right genetics that work for their program, that enhance their program and give us the best cattle to feed possible. We like to know the nuts and bolts of their, their operation and, and make sure that we got a good fit.
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Does that same scenario apply for feeding some of my calves where I maybe purchase genetics or I'm trying to move in. Can I talk to one of the representatives and say, here's the type of cattle that I've been raising. Would you be interested, Casey, in purchasing these, of feeding these, of, of partnering or some of the other different arrangements that you have.
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We don't have any set arrangements with anybody, but we do have people that we've been feeding their calves for, you know, 25, 10, whatever years, you know, and we just continue to do, to do business. We just offer that, you know, if you're breeding the kind of cattle that we want to, want to feed, we're going to have a competitive bid come sale time. And that's been our goal in our objective of our program.
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And having that competitive bid, it just takes two when it comes to the auction business.
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Right, right, right. We buy a lot of calves direct off the farm. They know that we've been competitive over the years and that we're going to pay for those cattle because we want them back in our yards.
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And now moving into the bull sale, and you and I have talked about this before, and you just said it a little bit ago that the online format worked so well you decided to stay with it. But it's with a twist. It's online only with live bidding. So there's that little caveat. Explain exactly what that is. Yeah.
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So the sale starts at 12 o' clock noon on April 2nd, and you'll tune in to EV Auction or our superior livestock. And it's just like a live sale. The auctioneer sitting there. And we go through, we start, we sell in catalog order. So we start with lot number one and sell all the way through to lot 330.
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And so do you have some different people sitting in front of some computer screens there, live in Fort Worth where you're going to be at?
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So we have, we have superior representatives are sitting there. You can contact them even by phone and they'll place their bids. Our representatives handle a lot of bids. Our, you know, the DB are even superior now. They both have a click the bid format, so you can just, just click the bid and everybody's pretty comfortable with it anymore. Like I say, you know, some guys were kind of hesitant when we first started it this way, but once they found out could do all this from the comfort of their own home or their office or the casino or wherever they choose it, they've kind of taken a liking to it.
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So now let's talk a little bit about the cattle. There's, you know, 300 plus bulls that are going to be offered. Spring yearlings, you've got fall yearlings in there representing limousine, limb, flex, Angus bulls. You've also got a selection of some registered females in there as well. Let's talk a little bit about the cattle, the type of cattle that are going to be represented, we're going to
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offer right at 300 bulls. That's what we ended up cataloging. And then we've got, we've got limousine, Lim Flex and some Angus bulls. We strive for cattle that got some muscle to them. We still, we still value high dressing percentages. We like a high percentage of retail product in our cattle. But over the years we have worked to improve the marbling. Everybody knows the, the value of a good quality grade these days, too. So first and foremost, we like, we like muscle on the bulls and we like cattle that'll convert. We do a lot of feed efficiency testing. The feed efficiency is something that's very important to us as we, you know, we feed, like I said, we feed a lot of these cattle out and, and it's the one thing that nobody can, you know, nobody can say they don't want in the cattle business because nobody wants to feed extra feed that they don't need to.
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Casey Fanta with wolf cattle. The open house next week, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sandy ridge Ranch, Atkinson, Nebraska. The sale Thursday, April 2nd. Tune in on DV Auction or Superior Livestock to bid and you can call Casey at any time to ask questions about the cattle. We have all that information at your fingertips on ranch channel.com or you can head to wolfcaddle.com thanks, Casey. That was just part one. For the rest of the story, where we go in depth into the bull offering the type of cattle, finding the right genetics to fit your outfit genomics, all of those details, check out the complete conversation by heading to the sales series found only on ranchchannel.com you're listening to the Ranch it Up radio show and we'll be right back after this. When you're looking for the best way to raise beef, whether on pasture crop residue or in a dry lot, choose Westway Feed products. Our liquid supplements boost forage utilization, efficiency and sustainability. Find your nearest rep at 800-875-17 or visit westwayfeed.com stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. Call 800-875-17 or go to westwayfeet.com today.
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If you're buying or selling cattle, make your first stop. Livestockmarket.com Livestock market features private treaty sales, online auctions and live production sale bidding. You'll also find horses, sheep, goats and hay. Check out the free Livestock Market magazine wherever you pick up tractor house and download the Livestock Market mobile app. Today
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Jorgensen Land and cattle, the nation's largest seed stock supplier invites you to the ranch in Ideal, South Dakota for the 54th annual Top Cut Anchor Angus Bull Sale. Powered by the motherlode, featuring 200 registered Angus bulls backed by proven maternal strength and long term cowherd value. All sale information@ranchchannel.com and jorgensenfarms.com for 54 years the top Cut Sale has been the standard for practical performance driven Angus genetics. Jorgensen Landon Cattle at The Ranch Monday, April 20
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well, I run a 150 cow calf operation.
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Two years ago Nick Small of Fullerton ran into scours in his cow calf operation.
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I had a big problem with coccidiosis scours and it went through my whole herd.
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The next year, after getting his herd on a dosage of farmitan Sweet Chestnut tannin, how many cases of scours did you have?
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Zero. I'm not kidding. I didn't have any.
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Learn more at pharmatanusa.com or call Joe Knopfett, 402-340-3323. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it up radio show. Y' all know what's next. It's that time in the program we check in with Kirk Donsbach, Stonex Financial Incorporated. Recap in the markets from the previous week. So Kirk, numbers wise, what do you got for us today buddy?
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Well good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. As of Friday, March 13, we had the big news that the Greeley JBS plant was not receiving any cattle. Obviously that shook the markets a little bit. As far as the futures go, April Feeder futures closed the week at 343.72 and a half. That's down 767 and a half on the week with the CME feeder index down 897 at 358.35. That left the basis at a positive $8.62.5 versus March futures. April live cattle closed the week at 230.15. That's down 417.5 on the week. Cash trading 235 in all regions with some 236 is traded in Texas. That left a 5 area weighted average down 523, closing the week at 234.77 with the basis at a positive $3.92 versus April futures. Choice boxes rallied again this week up 1070, closing the week at 397.92. Weekly slaughter was 525,000 head. That's 4,000 head above last week and 61,000 heads below the same week Last year, dress weights were up 1 pound at 896 pounds. That's 25 pounds higher than the same week last year. The combination left yearly production up 2.10of a percent at 7.6% below the same week last year, fresh beef imports were up 1% to 11% more than this time last year. That increase was driven by Brazil, which increased 4% on the week to 31% over on the year, and Mexico up 3% on the week at 14% above this time last year. To wrap this up, December corn futures closed at 491. That's up $6.50 on the week. The big concern with corn is spring fertilizer. Prices have rallied dramatically with the increase in oil. There's a real possibility that corn acres will be cut and switch to soybeans if corn can't rally enough to offset the increase in fertilizer.
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So before I say fare thee well, I got a question for you about the the Greeley plant not receiving any beef. What kind of impact does that particular plant have on the overall production and processing capacity in, say, a week's worth time here in the United States?
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Do you know that JBS Greeley kills about 5,000 a week roughly? The numbers are not, are not the concerning factor relative to the market. There's plenty of hooks available relative to the low cow herd numbers. The concern is the leverage that gives the packer over the feedlots. The packer needs to buy cattle a little less than the feedlot needs to sell them this week because that plant is closed. So it's not, it's not a hooks question. There's plenty of hooks. It's a leverage question. And as you can see by the cash market, that clearly swung leverage towards the packers a little bit.
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Are you curious about eids fit into your current tagging system? Hey. Hey. I'm Shea Wanner and I host the casual Cattle Conversations podcast. I recently visited with Brittany Kelsey from the Cattle Tags Team and she explains how eids can fit into your current tagging system. Here's a portion of our conversation. The EID tags, we get a lot of questions about those and it's not really a complicated system. It's just very unfamiliar for producers and they haven't used them as much, so they're not as confident with it. One of the biggest benefits with these EID tags is it, it reduces that error and it helps to contain all of your information within that. That EID number one thing that we get a lot of questions about is, oh, hey, I bought a bull from so and so and he has an EID tag. Can I scan that and see on all of his life information? That would be really cool if it could do that. But they don't. So all those EID tags do is just they store that premise ID number that the bull originated would have originated from, but they don't actually store information. So that is one of the big misconceptions about that. Ready to tune into the full conversation? Check out the casual Cattle Conversation podcast on your favorite podcast player as soon as you're done listening to the Ranch it up radio show.
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The Ranch Channel Sales Calendar Monday, March 23 Miller Angus Farms Yearling and 2 year old Angus bulls and registered Yearling Heifers at Glacial Lakes Livestock Watertown, South Dakota Tuesday, March 24 U2 Quality Seed Stock 254 Red Angus and Angus bulls along with 35 commercial heifers Coaldale, Alberta, Canada Tuesday, March 24 and Wednesday, March 25 the Wolf cattle Open House along with seminars tour the cattle and find the perfect match of over 300 limousine limflax and Angus bulls at the Sandy Ridge ranch in Atkinson, Nebraska. Then on Thursday, April 2nd is the online sale with live bidding through DV Auction and Superior Livestock ISA Beefmasters Private Treaty Bull and Heifer Sale is open for bids. Get a hold of Lorenzo to view the Beefmaster Bulls and Heifers at the ranch, San Angelo, Texas Friday, April 3rd CK Bar Ranch Semitol and Sim Angus bulls Saint On Livestock in Saint On, South Dakota we talked to Kelly just the other day and he said this is phenotypically the best set of bulls he has ever offered. Saturday, April 4 Six Mile Ranch Angus Red Angus and Scimitl Yearling and aged bulls along with seven elite Red Angus Heifers and a select group of commercial Red Angus and Angus Heifers at the six Mile Ranch, Fir Mountain, Saskatchewan, Canada. Other sales coming up in April from some of the nation's most recognized seed stock providers Volmer Angus Ranch, Prairie View Farms, Thomas Ranch, Jorgensen Landing Cattle and Gill Red Angus. All catalogs, videos and online bidding platforms and sale information is available@ranch channel.com A
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big thank you goes out to our partners for today's episode. CK Bar Ranch, Jorgensen Land Cattle livestockmarket.com ranchchannel.com Sire Buyer Wolf Cattle, Westway Feed Products in this fine radio station crew.
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So glad you're all able to join us one more time as we ranch it up. Be sure to follow and like us on Facebook at Ranch It Up show our email ranchituphowmail.com and call us 24. 7@707, Ranch 20. That's 707-726-2420. Spread the good word and join us again next week where it's always Tigger and Beck approved.
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I usually end up saying that part.
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Stay ranchy and ranch it up,
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Sam.