← Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
Tribute To A Beef Industry Icon: Troy Thomas of Thomas Ranch
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The latest beef tariff news and a special tribute to one of the greatest cattlemen and how you can acquire some of those genetics 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 Kidger Earhart.
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And I'm Rebecca Wanner AKA Beck.
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A big thank you goes out to our partners for today's episode. Imogene Ingredients bringing us Farmitan and Keller Broken Heart Ranch Their elite have for sale coming up December 10th. The Thomas Ranch in their mature Dispersion and cowherd reduction sale coming up December 11th at the ranch in Harold, South Dakota. More details on that event coming up a little later on in the program. Moose Creek Red Angus their dispersion sale coming up December 22nd and 23rd. Ranch Channel.com and Westway Feed Products Cow Country News. You know the cow stuff earlier in.
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The week, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order modifying the scope of reciprocal tariffs that he first announced on April 2, 2025. Specifically, certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject to those tariffs. On April 2, the president announced global reciprocal tariffs to address the national emergency posed by our large and persistent trade deficits, which are driven by the absence of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships. Among other things, the president also determined not to impose reciprocal tariffs on certain products, including certain critical minerals, energy and energy products. President Trump has now determined that it is necessary and appropriate to further modify the scope of the reciprocal tariffs. Specifically, certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject to those tariffs, such as certain food not grown in the United States. Some of these products include coffee and tea, tropical fruits and fruit juices, cocoa and spices, bananas, oranges and tomatoes, additional fertilizers and beef. Amid tight cattle supplies, record beef prices and a heightened focus on broader consumer inflation, the action could especially impact ground beef. The bulk of US Beef imports are lean trimmings for ground beef blends. Trump, who has insisted that tariffs are paid by foreigners importers actually pay the tariffs before goods are released by U.S. customs, conceded that the tariffs had raised prices in some cases. He did not mention the beef tariff reduction after repeatedly commenting on rancher profits while launching an investigation of beef packers. In light of these recent actions, the DOJ closed a multi year beef probe just before Trump ordered the new investigation. According to meetingplays.com on November 7, when President Trump ordered an investigation of the nation's largest beef processors, the status of an earlier Department of Justice probe, originally announced in 2020, was unclear. According to a new report from Bloomberg. That five year old case was closed just weeks before Trump's announcement, though the DOJ did not issue any statement about its closure. First announced in June 2020, the DOJ's earlier meatpacking antitrust probe began under the first Trump administration and continued through the Biden administration, according to Bloomberg's report. National Beef confirmed the 2020 probe's closure with no findings and that the company has received no word from the DOJ about the new investigation.
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Now to the Ranch Channel Sales Calendar the DLCC Ranch Hallmark Legacy Sale is going on as we speak. This is a private treaty sale where the Dargeist family is selling 85 registered South Devon cows and heifers. The sale runs through December 12th. Thanksgiving weekend the 27th 29th Prairie Hills Galvie presents the Princesses on the Prairie sale. Galvie Balancer and Red Angus open and bred heifers backed by generations of proven maternal genetics and performance select embryo packages and semen packages. This is an online only sale through D.V. auction. Wednesday, December 10 the Keller Broken Heart Ranch presents their first annual Simmental and Simangus heifer sale featuring 100 red heifers along with select choice female lots. It's in Mandan, North Dakota. Bidding available through DV auction. Wednesday, December 10 Gill Red Angus in their annual Fall Bull and female sale selling 130 coming 2 year old bulls, 275 commercial bred heifers and 20 bred cows. Timber Lake, South Dakota don't forget about their feeder cattle buyback program. To maximize value, you buy their bulls, they bid on your calves. Bidding available online through DV Auction. Wednesday, December 10th and Thursday, December 11th the Thomas Ranch presents a lifetime of production sale selling over 300 head of Angus and Charolais including open and bred heifers, fall calving Angus cows with heifer calves on their side and elite embryo and semen packages bid online through CCI Live. Moose Creek Red Angus, one of Canada's premier Red Angus breeders located in Southwest Saskatchewan. With over 53 years of breeding, Superior Red Angus Genetics presents their complete dispersal sale Monday and Tuesday, December 22nd and 23rd, selling over 1,000 head of Red Angus cattle. Everything goes Kisbee, Saskatchewan. And don't forget about those top dollar Angus certified feeder cattle verified in the top 25% for growth and carcass traits. Those feeder cattle listings, when and where along above mentioned sales, their details, sales reports and more can be found at your fingertips with ranch channel.com Time for a quick break. Coming up, how to get your hands on some ranch it up gear and a special tribute to one of cow country's very best and how you can acquire elite genetics. We hear the story about Troy Thomas crew. You're listening to the Ranch it up radio show and we'll be right back. Looking for the best way to raise beef, whether on pasture, crop residue or in a dry lot? Choose Westway Feed Products. Westway Feed Products boost forage utilization, efficiency and sustainability. Find your nearest rep by calling 800-875-17 or visit westwayfeed.com stay connected with the crew from Westway Feed Products on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. Call 800-875-17 or go to westwayfeed.com today Keller Broken Heart Ranch, a leader in Simmental and Simangus genetics invites you to their first annual Heart of the Herd Fall Elite female sale, Wednesday, Dec. 10 at the ranch in Mandan, N.D. selling 86 registered bred heifers, eight breed leading donors and 12 elite young cows. Literally the absolute top of the herd. Bid and buy online at dvauction.com catalogs, videos and sale information available at KBHR, cemetal.com and ranch channel.com don't miss this exciting Simmental and Simangus event. Wednesday, December 10 Keller Broken Heart Ranch.
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Looking for a Christmas gift that really rocks? Surprise your friends and family with tickets to the world famous Miles City Buckenhorse Sale. Not only will they experience world class rodeo action, parades, shopping and classic western fun, this year's concerts are bigger, louder and more unforgettable than ever. Featuring Corb Lund, Kenny Fiedler and the kickoff concert with Trace Atkins. You have the gift of live music, dancing and memories that last long after the lights go down. Get your Bucking horse sale tickets today@buckinghorsesale.com and ranch channel.com and make Christmas legendary.
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Cattle battle. 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'. All. Questions, comments? Concerns? Criticisms? Rants? It doesn't matter. Give us a call or text. That number is 707-Ranch 20. That's 707-726-2420. Our email is ranchitupshowmail.com and prowling around social media Ranch It Up Show. We take great pride in bringing you the latest news, information, ideas, strategies and management tips each and every week. But there comes a time when you get the opportunity to share the memory and the legacy of those who were so influential in helping guide and shape the cattle industry of what and where it is today. Callie Thomas, Kindred, the daughter of Troy and VB Thomas, joins us today to share a little bit more about an icon in the cattle business and the opportunity to acquire genetics from the legendary Thomas Ranch, known for Superior Angus, Charolais, Red Angus and Simmental cattle. Hey, Callie, thanks for joining us. You are super busy getting ready for the mature dispersal and cow herd reduction sale. And we'll get into that in just a little bit. And I'm going to start like this. If you are involved in the seed stock business, exhibiting or showing just plain old the cattle business in general, any capacity you have heard of Troy Thomas. Now, tragically, your dad passed away a few months ago in August. Now, to say that your dad had a passion for success is an understatement. Now, not his own success, but the success of others around him, especially the young people, the next generation. So let's start there with this tribute to your dad, Troy.
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You know, at the funeral or just reading through stuff on Facebook, my dad really had a passion for helping young kids out or people that were trying to get a start. And you could just see how many people he affected and really had an impact on their life. And that was just something that he was really good at, was making relationship with those kids and helping them get their own program going. And there's a lot of people now that we see in our industry and stuff that bought their first heifer, bought a really important heifer or something like that from my dad. And it was neat to hear everyone's stories and just get an idea of how much he really did impact a lot of people. I would say that he was a man who did what it took whenever it was needed. I think he was well known across the nation for being a great breeder of cattle. And a lot of people really valued his evaluation of livestock. There's a lot of people who, you know, know him from going to cattle shows or evaluating at cattle shows. I think what he would have instilled in to me and my family and all the crew that would go with us to those events and help make it happen was it really wasn't about the cattle show. It was about being there to promote your program, being there to represent and show people what you had and just making connections and relationships with people. And I hope that he will just be remembered for the impact that he made on so many people, the way that he treated people and really cared about having relationships with Them and trying to help in whatever ways he could.
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So what are some memories that you have about your dad kind of growing up? We're like, oh, I remember when I did this with a loader tractor, and boy, he come down on me, or. So what are some of those memories that you have that you think back about your dad and you hear these other stories from people that really resonate with you?
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We sent our catalog to print, and it should be up online anytime now. This is the first story that comes to mind because at the end of the catalog, we're selling a bunch of embryos. I had kind of forgotten about this memory, but when Firewater Stam went to Denver, we took her there, and she won as a pair. I had shown her. I had actually bought her from my dad. That's what he had us do as kids. Bought her for 800, showed her. Him and my mom both kept telling me, just don't worry about it. She's going to be a great cow. She's going to be a great cow. We loved her, but she didn't seem to do as good at the show as we thought she would. And they said, don't worry, she's going to be a great cow. So we went to Denver and we had her as a pair with a heifer calf on her. My dad had told me when we went to Denver that, hey, we're gonna have to sell either her the heifer calf that's on her, or firewater. So just be prepared. We're gonna sell one of them. And I. I was 14, I think, at the time, so I didn't really like that, but I. I said, okay.
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You know, I didn't like that idea at all.
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Yeah, he's teaching you about the business. And so the day of the sale comes around, and Troy sold all three of them. Oh, and I was so mad. And he kept telling me, it's gonna be okay. We're gonna. You know, we're still obviously involved in firewater, and it's gonna be good. And, you know, as a kid, you maybe don't fully understand, but it came all full circle. Firewater became a huge part of our story. Story and a lot of things like that. I mean, that's kind of how he raised us growing up. Me and my sister probably never got the most expensive heers or anything like that. We kind of got the ones that were left to show and the ones that we thought were going to make great cows and go into production and do something. I just always remember that about my dad. And whether it was showing or on the horse side of things or whatever, he always made sure that we had the best mentors. And whether it was the people that worked for us or where he sent us off to get some help or he'd send us, you know, later on he sent me to work for like Travis Pembroke and some people like that. And he just always made sure that we had really good people to look up to and learn from. And I think that was very beneficial to us growing up.
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Callie, your dad, Troy, was one of the greatest cattlemen I have ever known. But I'm not the only one to say that. And it may be a little hard and yet very prideful hearing how so many think of your dad that way.
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Yeah, I think it really sets in when you have so many people either messaging you or the sheer amount of people that showed up for that funeral and prayer service. And to have that many people that have so much prestige and honor in the industry. You know, they're in one room that all showed up for us. And there's been so many of them that have reached out and offered to help us, given their advice, and even a lot of them that have showed up to help us pull off this cow sale. Just how many people from across the whole United States we've were there and what an impact he had on them. It really makes you think, wow, like you said, like you get to be around him every day and you get to talk to him every day, but everybody coming together for those couple days really did give us a understanding of how many people he made an impact on.
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Now let's talk about this cow sale and set the record straight. Because there was all sorts of speculation out there on social media on the future of the Thomas Ranch. So December 10th and the 11th, with the 11th being the main sale day, is the mature dispersal and cow herd reduction sale, restructuring and reorganizing, if you will.
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So this cow sale had actually been in the talks for a long time. And that's one thing that I definitely wanted to get that message out there. We'd been thinking about downsizing or selling some cows and needing to for quite some time. We just have gotten too many. We used to have a mature cow dispersal every so often and we haven't done it for a while. My parents 40th anniversary was 10 days or so prior to the accident and we had talked about it and said if we're going to do it, we should do it. We have a really good group of people working at the ranch that could Help us pull this off because you know how much work it is having a cow stale. And then after everything happened, there was probably a month or so in there where we just were like, oh, I don't know if we can get this done. We had so many things that we were trying to adjust and learn and figure out how to do. But after a little bit of time, you know, we were like, we've got to do this. It was already in the talks. It needed to happen. It's a great time in the cattle industry. We need to get more in line with the number of cattle that we should be running at the ranch. And we're blessed to have a lot of good people that said, okay, what can we do? Let's make it happen and get things going. I think by sell time they're going to look good. And I think if you do look at our catalog, the pictures we preg checked sorted cows that day. The next week we clipped them. They had pretty much came from summer grass and hit the pitcher pen. But I mean, they're basically coming to you guys in the condition that we would like them and that we would run them and hopefully that will serve them well. Going to the next slice, I wanted to make sure that we were offering some of our best cattle and best opportunities. Give people a reason to really come and look at my dad's lifetime of work and what he had put together. And we just figured out where we wanted our numbers to be. Kind of where we landed is anything that was 20, 20 and older on the spring calving is going to be offered. There's a lot of cows, really nice cows that have done a great job for us that have a lot of years left in them that will be offered on there. And then we made an age cut on the fall cavers as well. And we're actually going to sell you any of the Angus fall pairs that have heifer calves with them. So that's kind of a cool opportunity. You get a fall cow and has a heifer calf on it. And then we really needed to cut down on our heifers. We had way too many heifers to calve out. So we are also have a big section of later calving heifers. Then on top of that semen, we are cutting down on that and a lot of embryo packages. The embryos are going to sell on Wednesday night. The semen is going to sell on Thursday after the cow sale.
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And that is kind of tough to go through the cowherd. When you said you were preg checking them and say oh come on, can she stick around one more year? Kind of tough to let some of those cows go.
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Yeah, for sure. I told myself to pick the age of what was going to go. And like you said, you're standing there watching them come out of the chute when you're preg checking on that that one's going on the sale. These cows that are going on the sale, 5, 6, 7 year olds in the prime of their life looking how you want them to and it was hard to say are you, are you sure? But we didn't hold any back. If they were in that age group, they're on the sale. So there should be some really nice cattle there for people to come and take a look at.
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Callie Thomas Kindred thanks so much for sharing about your dad, Troy Thomas the future of the Thomas Ranch will continue with the cattle, the great hunting and top notch performance horses with their annual bowl sale coming up April 2026. But for now and your chance at these elite genetic packages. The Thomas Ranch a Lifetime of Production sale. The details December 10th and the 11th at the Ranch Herald, South Dakota. Over 300 head of Angus and Charlay are selling. You can bid and buy online at CCI Live. All sale information available at thomasranchcattle.com and ranch channel.com a truly exciting event in Cali. Your dad is certainly proud. Thank you for letting me share part of this story. You're listening to the Ranch it Up radio show and we'll be right back. Livestockmarket.com we hear from the crew@livestock market.com every week. Bulls, cows, bread, heifers, open replacement heifers, cow calf pairs, feeders and stockers, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, showstock, hay and straw and even alpacas. All listed on livestock market.com private treaty, online auctions and on site auctions. Buying or selling. Gauge the market, do some research, check out livestockmarket.com and don't forget they brought you auction time.com and equinemarket.com hi I'm Chase Keller.
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A little about farmer tan products on my operation here I feed farmer tan products year round have for two or.
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Three years now and I have not.
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Had to treat a single calf for scours. Haven't lost the calf scours. I believe fully in farmer tan products.
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And helping my profitability on my operation. For more information go to farmatanusa.com you can call it a dispersion if you want. We're calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity. For over five decades the moose Creek Red Angus cow herd has done what few ever do. And that's quietly shape a program that stood the test of time. And now is your chance to build that legacy. The Moose Creek Red angus dispersal sale Dec. 22 and 23rd at the ranch Kisby, Saskatchewan, Canada selling a thousand head of elite purebred Red Angus cattle. All sale information available@moosecreekred Angus.com and ranchchannel.com this isn't just a sale. It's an opportunity. A chance to bring home the kind of cattle that built a legacy. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it Up radio show. That time in the program we check in with Kirk Donsbach, Stonex Financial Incorporated. We recap the markets from the previous week. Try to give us a little gauge of what may be coming down the pike coming down the wire. So numbers wise, Kirk, what do you got for us this morning, buddy?
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Good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. As of Friday, November 14th, January feeder futures close the week at 32017 and a half. That's up a dollar five on the week with a CME feeder index down 223. At 34373. That left the basis versus November futures at positive five dollars. Versus January futures it's positive $23.55. So either cash has got to come down a lot more into January or the board will have to rally back up. But the board is definitely saying for continued weakness into January. December live cattle close the week at 2 1890. That's down two and a quarter on the week. Cash traded 228 in the south and 225 in the north. That left the five area weighted average down 362 at 2.25.35 basis versus December futures was positive. 645 choice boxes closed the week down 570 at 370. 73. The weekly slaughter was 576,000 head. That's 21,000 head above last week and 32,000 head below the same week last year. The combination of lower prices and higher slaughter, with the big fall holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, is not really what we want to see in this market right now. Dressed weights and yearly production have not yet been updated. Coming out of the government shutdown, March corn closed the week at 4. 56. That's up 14 cents on the week. We did have a USDA WASDE report on Friday that the market did not like at all. It did cut production, but only 7/10 of a bushel. The market was obviously expecting a lot more than that. However, that same report did have a note stating that some of the data sources typically used were not available leaves the market in a very weird spot. A report that it did not want to see does not really believe, with the disclaimer saying that it might not be accurate.
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Do Value Added Programs Truly pay off for ranchers? Let's find out. Hey hey. I'm Shay Wanner and I host the Casual Cattle Conversation podcast. I recently visited with Jean Ann from the Red Angus association of America about how cattle buyers respond to value added programs and the benefits ranchers see from participating. Here's a small portion of our conversation. I guess the biggest thing is my goal's always been to make sure that producers are able to capitalize on the value that they're already creating with their management practices at home. So allowing yourself to look into different opportunities that may fit your operation already and the different things that you can add to your calf crop when marketing them, that will allow buyers to see that and increase the demand and premiums that you may see come sale day. Angus Access, I do believe bridges that gap from ranch to marketplace. So if you are utilizing Red Angus Genetics, feel free to give our department a call, ask those questions, have a chat with us. We really do try to make it easy and make sure that you guys are well prepared for sale day. Don't leave the value on the table and we want to make sure that we help you capture that. 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.
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We said at the top of the program how to get some Ranch it up gear, some swag. This is what I'm talking about. Haven't done this in a while so we're going to have a little quiz and this is in honor of Troy Thomas Cali mentioned to me off air that Troy listened all the time to the Ranch it up radio show and reminded me that he called in and he won and even recalled when Troy got the package in the mail. And I remember sending that to Troy. So the hotline is 7:07-Ranch 20. That's 707-726-2420. Our email ranch it upshowmail.com you can fire us a message over messenger. We will take the first correct answer and each one of those replies will have a timestamp on it so we're going to know who came in first. All right, here's the question. It is about the Thomas Ranch. In addition to Superior Angus, Charolay, Red Angus and Simmental cattle and top notch performance horses, the Thomas Ranch is known for what other enterprise? The first correct answer 707-Ranch 2707-726-2420 our email ranchitupshowmail.com or fire us a message over Facebook.
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Good luck.
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And now that's going to wrap it up for today. A big thanks goes out to our crew Callie Thomas Kindred for that special tribute to her dad Troy Thomas Kirk Nonsbach Stonex Financial Incorporated Shea Warner with casual cattle conversations in the Boss Lady Rebecca Warner AKA Beck.
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A big thank you to our partners for today's episode. I'm a Gene Ingredients bringing us Farmitan Keller Broken Heart Ranch Elite Heifer sale coming up December 10th Thomas Ranch has a mature dispersion and cowherd reduction sale December 11th Moose Creek Red Angus dispersal sale coming up December 22nd and 23rd. Ranch channel.com Westway Feed Products Wrangler and this fine radio station and crew.
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So glad you all came with us one more time as we ranch it up. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook at Ranch It Up Show. Our email is ranch it up showmail.com you can call and text 24. 7. That phone number is 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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Stay ranchy and ranch it up.
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It.