← Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
Loading summary
Transcript39 lines
- [00:02]
A
The latest news updates plus we head to Miles City, Montana Crew, let's Ranch It Up. Good day everyone and thanks for riding with us on this all new episode of the Ranch It Up Radio Show. I'm Jeff Pigger Earhart.
- [00:21]
B
And I'm Rebecca Wanner, AKA Back.
- [00:23]
A
A big shout out to our partners for today's episode. The American Galvie Association Pharmatan by Imogene Ingredients Jorgensen Land and Catt Livestock Market.com, ranch Channel.com, the Sales Series, Sire Buyer, Westway Feed Products, the world famous Mile City Buck and Horse Sale and this fine radio station, Cow Country News. You know the cow stuff.
- [00:47]
B
These are the best of times for cow calf producers, at least on paper. The CME Feeder Cattle Index, which tracks the price of feeder cattle at various auctions, is currently 28% higher than a year ago. Even when adjusting for inflation, current feeder cattle prices are higher than the previous cyclical peak in 2014. However, the dramatic increase in cow calf returns has not caused producers to retain more heifers for cowherd replacement. The sharp jump in returns in 2014 resulted in a 7% increase in beef cow replacement heifers to start the new year. Last year may have been the best on record for producer returns, but replacement heifers increased just 0.4% with the beef cow replacements up less than 1%. The Livestock Market Information center, or LMIC, expects cow calf producer returns to be even better in 2026 and 2027. The surge in futures has caused LMIC to raise calculated returns for 2026 by 32% versus October, while returns for 2027 are now 54% higher than estimated six months ago at nearly $1,100 per cow. There is certainly interest on the part of producers to invest in their operations, but but there are several critical hurdles. The main one is drought. We do not yet have a full reading of pasture conditions, but expectations are that conditions are far worse than last year. According to USDA, about 45% of U.S. cattle are now in areas experiencing severe or more intense drought. Producers with hay stocks are working through them as they wait for spring weather to green up pastures, but that is not guaranteed. Producers may have the best intentions to breed more heifers, but but if feed is not there, they may opt to replace older cows rather than expand the herd. The other challenge is uncertainty about beef demand not today or tomorrow, but in 2027, 2028 and beyond. The economy is on solid footing and combined with a growing consumer appetite for protein, this has helped push beef demand to the highest point in 30 plus years. Consumers are fickle and taste change after many years of battling drought packers and changing consumer diets. For some producers, this golden opportunity to cash out. Heading north to Canada Changes to Canada's beef traceability regulations were set to take effect in spring 2026 under Part 15 of the Health of Animals Regulations. But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has paused publication of the proposed amendments after significant pushback from cattle producers. The complexity of the regulatory package has fueled misunderstanding across the industry and opposition has been vocal and including a petition launched January 8 that has drawn nearly 30,000 signatures. Traceability efforts began before the 2003 BSE crisis as the disease spread across Europe and Canada prepared for its arrival. The system was built to identify where infected animals came from and where they went so the Canadian market could reopen as quickly as possible. Rick Wright of the Livestock Markets association of Canada said one without industry being at the table from day one, we may have been slapped with something that's closer to what Europe is than what we've got today. Producers have raised concerns about several elements of the proposed changes the requirement to use Premises Identification Numbers to purchase identification tags, the Seven Day Movement reporting window, and the expanded role of the Canadian Livestock Tracking System, particularly for those without reliable Internet access. Other concerns include government overreach, the administrative burden on producers who move and sell cattle frequently, and what many see as insufficient communication from both the CFIA and the producer organizations. Some producers have said publicly they do not intend to comply. Access to large animal veterinary care continues to be a growing concern as livestock producers in Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado State face ongoing shortages in rural veterinary services. Much of the region has been identified as underserved through the U.S. department of Agricultural's Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which designates areas lacking sufficient veterinary coverage and offers incentives to attract practitioners. These designations underscore a widespread challenge in maintaining adequate care for livestock. Heavy States in these states, livestock operations are often spread across large geographic areas, meaning veterinarians cover extensive territories. Even a small decline in available practitioners can have significant impacts, leading to longer response times, increased travel distances, and limited availability during critical periods. For producers, access to timely veterinary care is essential for herd health, productivity and regulatory compliance, especially during high demand seasons such as calving. Federal and state programs across the Northern Plains show a growing recognition of the issue, but also highlight the scale of the challenge. Incentive based programs in states like Nebraska aim to recruit veterinarians into rural practice, while proposed federal legislation seeks to strengthen those efforts. Wyoming's investments, meanwhile, support the broader animal health systems that depend on veterinary capacity. Even with these efforts, the shortage of large animal veterinarians remains a long term concern. Sustained focus on education, recruitment and retention will be critical to ensuring livestock producers across Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado have access to veterinary care they depend on.
- [06:39]
A
I'm going to jump in on this one with McDonald's. McDonald's efforts to balance prices and value in the face of more expensive inputs and inflation stressed consumers is leading the chain to upgrade burgers. And even as chicken takes up more menu space. That is according to the CEO Chris Kamczynski. He went viral recently in a video promoting McDonald's newly introduced Big Arch burger. Have you had one of those? Drawing social media ridicule for taking just a dainty bite, Bosses from competing chains made videos chowing down their own sandwiches, but the hoopla ultimately dramatically raised the awareness of the new burger. Kempczynski said in a recent video interview with the Wall Street Journal that there's a group of consumers out there who want a really big burger that's a half a pound of beef in the Big Arch. He went on to say, as you look at what consumers are buying and perhaps other places, fast casual restaurants or even fine dining or full dining, there's a desire to have a sort of elevated burger experience. And he says, I think we've done that with the Big Arch, the bun, the sauces that we have with it, the crispy onions, all those things. He says that was for us a way to offer that more elevated burger experience if you can afford it. Kabzinski said that there's been quite a bit of cost inflation. There you go, both on the input side. So food and packaging, those costs are up pretty significantly. He said. Burgers and beef has probably been one of the most hard hit areas and then you also had quite a bit of labor inflation that's happened. McDonald's has been steadily adding chicken items to its menu over the years in part to manage input costs. Its expansion this year of value menu items has also been chicken centric Crew, it's time for a quick break here on the Ranch it up radio show. When we come back we head to historic Miles City, Montana. So keep it locked. Calf prices are good, but want to add another hundred bucks per calf? Here's the solution. Galvie and Balance are females and at an average maternal weaning weight advantage of 22.7 pounds per calf at a market price of 4.5 dollars a pound on five weight steers with a 22.7 pound weaning weight advantage. That's an additional $102.15 per calf. Galvie and balancer females, they make it work. The world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is back. Featuring one of the largest one day matched bronc riding events presented by Truvet Solutions. Join us on Sunday, May 17th for a PRCA sanctioned spectacle where over 30 elite bronc riders compete for a massive $75,000 purse in honor of the 75th annual Mile City Bucking Horse Sale. Visit buckinghorsesale.com for schedule and tickets. The world famous Mile City Bucking Horse Sale where the spirit of the west comes alive.
- [09:39]
C
If you're buying or selling cattle, make your first stop livestockmarket.com Bred cows, heifers, pears, bulls and frozen genetics. Even feeder calves. You'll find them all@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.
- [10:11]
A
Welcome back to the Ranch it up radio show. The most information packed into a 30 minute program that you can find. It's your all things Ranching newscast and so glad to be hanging out with y'.
- [10:20]
B
All.
- [10:21]
A
Questions, comments, concerns, criticisms, rants, it doesn't matter. You can text or call. That Phone number is 707-Ranch 20 at 707-726-2420. Our email ranchituphowmail.com and prowling around social media at Ranch It Up Show Now. In the world of Western entertainment rodeo rough stock, the world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale has got to be near the top of your bucket list. From horse races to the actual bucking horse sale, to the PRCA match bronc ride to the concert Parrot Mutual wagering, not to mention the incredible historic city of Miles City, the Bucking Horse Sale is one of our favorite destinations in May. Our friend and voice of the Bucking horse Sale pro rodeo announcer Steve Kenyon joins us today sharing about the rich history of the community and the event. It's just two cowboys talking ranching horses and rodeo. Oh boy, here we go. Steve, great to bring you on the program.
- [11:27]
C
Let's think about just our history and our heritage and and where we come from in the in the not just the rodeo business, but the Western way alive. The guys that started the Bucking Horse Sale back in the 1950s were ranchers and they created this event kind of by accident to be honest. They went and bought a load of Cattle and had a bunch of horses thrown in along with it. And that's where the, the bucking horse sale started. And they didn't know what to do with all those horses so they had a sale. And you know, it started from a three day event of selling horses. And you know, now it's a, it's a three day event that includes one day of nothing but selling horses and two other days of horse racing. And, and what's really become the highlight now is the bronc match that will take place on Sunday afternoon. And this year they're upping the prize money to match their number of years, $75,000. And guys like Zeke Thurston and Dawson Hay and so many of the greats have been there and won that. And it should be a lot of it should really be a unique year. I know that the tickets have been going like crazy. I hope the weather will cooperate. And you know, if you think about your history and your heritage, you talked about that a little bit. What is more emblematic of the western way of life than bucking horses? Maybe a cowboy hat. But you know, you, you think about it, you think about bucking horses, heck, a whole state, Wyoming's got bucking horses on their license plate. And it's just, it's just kind of the thing that, that so many of us gravitate to is one of the, the emblems and insignias of our lifestyle and our way of life.
- [13:14]
A
You know what? I've noticed this many times with the buck and horse sale. And when you talk about our heritage, you know, that's important to note that that's your heritage. Steve. That's my heritage. But there are so many people listening that it may not be there direct heritage. And that's where it's so important that they understand that when you have the opportunity to come to Miles City, Montana, you now have the opportunity to make that your heritage as part of it too. As part of America, as part of it's part of history. It may not be your direct descendants like it is ours, Steven, our way of life and livelihood, but that it's part of what another industry as part of this country of the way that it was. So when you come to Miles City and here I am getting all excited, I mean I just get pumped about when this time of year that brandings I get all excited about. But you get the opportunity to come and now it's not our heritage and we're sharing it with you. It's now we're all together and it's now our heritage and now you're part of it.
- [14:21]
C
You know how I got into the rodeo business?
- [14:24]
A
I have no idea. How did you get in the rodeo business?
- [14:26]
C
Well, kind of by accident, I was asked to announce a high school rodeo, Easter weekend, 1985. It's been that long ago and, and I really hadn't, I didn't grow up in the rodeo business at all. But what I knew about announcing rodeos, I knew from what I had learned going to events like the St. Paul Rodeo in Oregon, which was the very first rodeo I ever attended when I was like 10 years old, which was a really long time ago now.
- [14:59]
A
Yeah. Did they even have rodeos back then when you were 10 years old?
- [15:01]
C
Yeah, they, they did. Don't be a smart Al. And, and at St. Paul, the one thing I remember was the announcer fellow named Mel Lambert who was at the time, you know, one of the premier guys in professional rodeo, worked the nfr. He lived in Salem, Oregon, right up the road from St. Paul. And you know, when I went to see the St. Paul rodeo in 1969, 1970, whenever it was, I'm sure that I had a chance to watch guys like Larry Mahan ride there. I don't, I don't know that I remember many of the contestants, but I darn sure remember Mel Lambert. And when I was asked to announce my first rodeo just to help out a bunch of high school kids, that was who I remembered was Mel Lambert. And the, the point being to your point about, you know, for the folks who come to Miles City or wherever they might go who maybe are not embedded in the western lifestyle, this is our opportunity to help, to make them rodeo fans. Mel Lambert made me a rodeo fan. I'm convinced of it. When I was a 10 year old kid in 19, whatever, 69, 70, and we're enjoying that lifestyle now together and we get to celebrate 75 years worth of that history and that heritage in Miles City coming up before long and enjoy it. And, and I'm looking forward to it. And this year especially because of the history and because of the heritage and because of the tradition in Miles City, Montana. This is, this is for this weekend. I think it's probably bigger than Christmas for the community as far as the business community is concerned. It is, it is an event. That rodeo is unique because it. We take a bunch of small towns. Pendleton, Oregon is not a small town, but everybody knows around or not a big town, I should say, but everybody knows the roundup. Cheyenne, Wyoming's got what, 60,000 people that live there Everybody knows the Cheyenne frontier days. Miles City, Montana is a little town of a few thousand people. And lo and behold, here we are with it being known worldwide for the world famous bucking horse sale.
- [17:16]
A
So what is just kind of landing a plane? What is your favorite thing about the world famous Miles City bucking horse sale?
- [17:24]
C
Well, I'd be, I'd be lying if I didn't say Sunday. And, and, and all of the build up to it, you know, they've done a really good job of, of taking each day and giving it its own separate flavor and its own separate feel. And to me, and having been there for six or seven years, there are a lot of people in Miles City that have been in at the bucking or sale a lot longer than I have. But to me, that Sunday afternoon, that extreme bronc match, they will have all of the biggest names in saddle bronc riding and professional rodeo. There's, they'll have Zeke Thurston, they'll have everybody from the Wright family, they'll have Kate Bruno, they'll have all of those guys there. And they will all be competing on a unique set of horses because the stock contractors that come really load that place up. You take the Birch boys and you take Sparky Dresden and you take the JBar J and you take, you know, all of the contractors that are there and you get into that 10 man championship round where the odds are really good somebody or some group of somebody's are going to all be in high 80s, low 90s. It doesn't get much better than that. And, and, and if you're a bronc riding fan, you know, it's, it's one of the best days of the year. And, and so, you know, I mean I love the horse races. I love the courage of the wild horse racers. I really enjoy watching the young men, the, the 19, 20, 21 year olds to compete in the permit challenge on Friday night. But it all kind of builds to a crescendo. And that crescendo is Sunday afternoon and the, and the, the this year at $75,000 added, this is going to play a major. You know, it took $148,000 to make it into the NFR last year. Somebody's got a chance to win 25,000 of it on Sunday at the world famous bucking horse sale or more. I don't know what the total payoff's going to be, but it's going to be a big number for the championship of the saddle bronc running.
- [19:35]
A
Steve Kenyon, the announcer for the World famous Miles City bucking horse sale May 14th through the 17th in historic Miles City, Montana. For tickets in the full schedule, just head to ranch channel.com or buckinghorse sale.com and if you're planning on heading to Miles City, Montana, I would plan on getting your tickets immediately because they are going fast. It's time for a break here on the Ranch it up radio show. When we come back, the market recap and more of the cow stuff found only here on the Ranch it up radio show, so keep it Looking for the best way to raise healthy, productive beef? Try Westway Feed Products. Westway's liquid supplements boost forage utilization, efficiency and sustainability, ensuring faster weight gain and better health. Visit westwayfeed.com or call 800-875-17 Westway Feed Products raising the bar in beef production welcome to Sirebuyer, the nation's number one destination for buying and selling breeding genetics. Sirebuyer features the top Angus bulls across the country.
- [20:41]
C
If you're looking for the best place
- [20:43]
A
in breeding genetics, you've just found it.
- [20:46]
D
I run 150cow calf operation 2 years
- [20:51]
E
ago Nick Small of Fullerton ran into
- [20:53]
A
scourge in his cow calf operation.
- [20:55]
D
I had a big problem with coccidiosis scours and I went to my whole herd.
- [20:59]
A
The next year, after getting his herd on a dosage of Farmitan Sweet Chestnut Tannin, how many cases of scours did you have?
- [21:06]
D
Zero. I'm not kidding.
- [21:08]
A
I didn't have any. Learn more@farmitanusa.com or call Joe Knopf at 402-340-3323. The 2026 World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale starts with horse racing six days with Pari Mutuel wagering May 2nd and 3rd on Derby days coinciding with the Kentucky Derby. That'll be shown live in Miles City, Montana. Mother's Day is extra special with moms free to the races and more races added. May 15th through the 17th the world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale where the spirit of the west comes alive. For a full schedule and tickets, head to buckinghorseale.com. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it up radio show. That time in the program we check in with Kirk Donsbach with Stonex Financial Incorporated. We recap the numbers from last week. So Kirk, what do you got for us today, buddy?
- [22:05]
D
Good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. As of Friday, April 24, we had an interesting week in the headlines. The Cargill Fort Morgan plant is going through a labor dispute. They did not kill Thursday or Friday or the next Monday. And we also had Secretary Rawlins leading into a big news release down in Arizona at the border rumored to be the opening of the Mexico border that was canceled Friday morning, so no news on that front. Relative to futures May feeder futures closed the week at 367 and a half. That's down 492 and a half on the week with the CME feeder index down.835 at 369.32. That left the basis versus April futures at a positive 197. June live cattle closed the week at 244.87 and a half. That's down 227.5 on the week with cash mostly trading 246 in all regions and some late 247s in Kansas. That left the five area weighted average down 208 at 246 and that was on a very good test of 17,262 head. The basis versus April futures is negative $2.27.5. Choice boxes closed the week at 387. That's up 594 on the week, so good movement there. Weekly slaughter was 529,000 head. That's 15,000 head above last week, but still 26,000 head below the same week last year. Dress weights were down 1 pound at 901 pounds, which is 24 pounds above the same week last year. The combination of higher dress weights and lower slaughter has left yearly production up 3.10of a percent at 7.4% less than this week last year. The big topic fresh beef imports were 14% over last year, with Mexico increasing 2% on the week to 20% above this week last year. To wrap this all up, December corn closed the week at 4.84 and a quarter. That's up 8 cents on the week. Corn continues to be supported by the bullish weather news and high fertilizer costs.
- [24:08]
F
Want to know why some ranches get passed down to the next generation while others get sold off?
- [24:14]
B
Hey hey.
- [24:15]
F
I'm Shea Wanner and I host the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast. I recently visited with Andrew Bredaway about how technology has played an integral role in passing their farm down to generation and generation. Here's a portion of our conversation.
- [24:30]
E
We were some of the first people in our area to start feeding cattle with a TMR mixer and drive along bunks. I know that sounds pretty basic for a lot of your listeners, but it doesn't happen a lot around here. I kind of feel like we were pretty early to, to kind of see that that was the way to go. We could feed a lot of cattle with a lot less labor, a lot less machinery, cost a lot less depreciation. So we're pretty early to adopt that. I know we've talked a little bit about the performance beef app that's been pretty big. Kind of saw early on, just through some advertising that they had and stuff, how valuable that was going to be and kind of a few things that that could open up on the custom feeding side. So I was pretty quick to jump on that and I wouldn't be without that technology. I think that there's a fine line. You can't jump on every single thing that comes across or, you know, a person would go broke pretty quickly. But on the other hand, if, you know, I don't have a lot of used horse implement dealerships in my county. So, you know, at some point in time, some agricultural folks have adapted technology and that's what's took their operation to the next generations.
- [25:28]
F
Ready to tune into the full conversation? Check out the casual Cattle Conversations podcast on your favorite podcast player as soon as you're done listening to the Ranch it Up radio show.
- [25:37]
A
And now that's going to wrap it up for today. A big thanks goes out to our crew. Steve Kenyon, the announcer for the world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, Kirk Donsbach with Stonex Financial Incorporated. Shea Warner with Casual Cattle Conversations and the boss lady, Rebecca Warner, AKA Becky.
- [25:54]
B
A big thank you to our partners for today's episode. The American Galva Association Farm, a trademark by Imogene Ingredients Jorgensen land and cattle, livestockmarket.com, ranchchannel.com, the sale series Sire Buyer, Westway Feed Products, the world famous Miles City Buck and Horse sale and this fine radio station and crew.
- [26:15]
A
So glad y' all came with us one more time as we ranch it up. Be sure to follow and like us on Facebook. Facebook at Ranch It Up show. Our email is ranchitupshowmail.com you can call and text 247 that phone number, 707-RANCH20. That's 707-726-2420. Spread the good word and join us again next week where it's always Tigger and Beck approved.
- [26:38]
B
Stay ranchy and ranch it up.
- [26:45]
D
Sam.