Episode 3.3 - Chelsea Nelson (Tyson Foods/Enfield Club Lambs) + The Essentials Product Spotlight

Summary

Championdrive Podcast – Episode 3.3: Chelsea Nelson (Tyson Foods/Enfield Club Lambs) + The Essentials Product Spotlight

Date: August 25, 2025
Host: Steven (Championdrive.com)
Guest: Chelsea Nelson (Director of Pricing, Tyson Foods; Enfield Club Lambs)
Segment Guests: Jill Keller (Novel Designs), Barrett Carlisle (Essentials Product Spotlight)

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Overview

This episode of the Championdrive Podcast dives into the diverse career of Chelsea Nelson—Director of Pricing at Tyson Foods, and co-operator of Enfield Club Lambs. Steven explores Chelsea’s journey from a non-farm Iowa upbringing into a central role at a major agri-food corporation, all while maintaining deep roots in the show sheep industry. Additional segments include a deep dive into sheep nutrition products with Barrett Carlisle, marketing advice for breeders, and insights into upcoming podcast topics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Team Spotlight: Jill Keller’s Background (00:01 – 06:22)

• Jill’s Early Involvement:

  • Started with horses via 4H, then moved through several livestock species before focusing on sheep.
  • Success in the show ring, including reserves at the American Royal and Denver. (01:15)

• College & Novel Designs:

  • Attended Kansas State (K State), heavily involved in agricultural communications, magazines, and events. (01:37–02:34)
  • Transitioned through a college internship into a full-time role at Novel Designs. She focuses on social media, graphic design, content curation, and running Champion Drive’s platforms. (02:37–04:22)

• Marketing Trends and Tips:

  • Noted the evolution and importance of social media in marketing livestock. Emphasized organization for clients submitting ad design requests.
  • Quote: “The more that you have organized for us, the easier it is … to get a quality product out to you.” – Jill Keller (05:10)

2. Essentials Product Spotlight – “Chub” (06:39 – 07:42)

• Chub Product Details:

  • Described as a high-energy, high omega fatty acid pelleted supplement supporting bloom and bulk in show sheep. Useful both as a top-dress and offered free-choice to lambs. (06:39)

• Ordering:

  • Sold in buckets (10, 25, 40 lbs) and bags via Essential’s website and dealer locator. (07:19, 07:31)
  • Resource info available on Champion Drive’s Product Spotlight page.

• Quote: “If you just need extra, just bulk or bloom, highly recommend that product.” – Barrett Carlisle (06:42)

3. Podcast Roundtable Preview: Barn Renovations (07:42 – 10:27)

• Upcoming episode will feature Cody Schmincke, Chad Charmeson, Jake Warntjez, and Brian Riley discussing practical and regional considerations for retrofitting or expanding livestock barns.
• Focus is on modifying existing structures for better herd management and adapting to regional weather/challenges.
• Encouragement for listeners to submit questions for inclusion.

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Main Interview – Chelsea Nelson (13:09 – 34:39)

Getting Started in Sheep (13:22–14:03)

• Background:
  • Chelsea grew up in SW Iowa; her family wasn’t traditional farmers. Early sheep involvement came through 4H.
  • Quote: “My dad was like, nope, you’re gonna do 4H. So that’s really how it all evolved.” – Chelsea Nelson (13:37)

Career Path: Iowa State, Cargill, Smithfield, Tyson (14:46–19:26)

• Education & Early Career:

  • Iowa State University, started as ag ed major, switched to industry track. (14:46)
  • Sales trainee at Cargill—first exposure to the breadth of roles in the pork industry. (15:24)
  • Positions with JBS, smaller Iowa processor (sold to Smithfield), moved from sales to procurement/buying hogs.
  • Current role at Tyson as Director of Pricing for fresh pork (handles pricing for retail meat cuts).

• Professional Skills from Showing Sheep:

  • Skills in problem-solving, resourcefulness, work ethic.
  • Quote: “It taught me to be resourceful and savvy…those are the same things I do on a barn.” – Chelsea (19:33)

Insights on Corporate Agriculture (20:08–22:39)

• Addressing Misconceptions:

  • Large corporations get negative narratives—importance of attitude, problem-solving, teamwork.
  • Industry needs both large corporations and independent farmers; both sides are vital for the food supply chain.
  • Quote: “We both need each other to put food on people’s tables…It is really the truth.” – Chelsea (21:42)

• Diverse Career Opportunities:

  • Beyond production/sales—legal, accounting, HR, and more.

Enfield Club Lambs – Flock Evolution and Management (23:04–26:24)

• Flock & Genetics:

  • Partnership with Nick and Andrew Enfield in Maxwell, Iowa. Roughly 40 blackface ewes and 20 recips; genetic base heavily influenced by Impact Hampshires.
  • Transitioned from Dorsets/white-faced sheep to blacks following a family loss and market changes. Dorsets now a small part of herd, often as recips. (24:48)

• Breeding Philosophy:

  • Don’t chase fads; focus on raising sheep they like and building through strategic purchase and genetic retention.
  • The importance of hands-on experience as both showman and occasional judge.

Work-Life Balance: Career and Sheep (26:24–27:41)

• Balances Tyson role in Arkansas with Iowa-based sheep farm—six-hour commutes on weekends. (26:30)
• Quote: “Not being able every night to go out and do chores and stare at the ewes...that’s been really challenging.” – Chelsea (26:58)

The Judging Ring & Developing Successful Showmen (27:41–29:39)

• Judging:

  • Loves working with kids and livestock; values hands-on interaction and mentor influences (shoutout to Joel Morkle). (27:50)
  • Quote: “It’s just talking to people, listening, understanding…and then being able to get in a ring and sort through good livestock. It’s just a lot of fun.” – Chelsea (28:32)

• Showman Advice:

  • Today’s youth have strong support networks; encourages appreciation, gratitude, and recognition of the effort others put in.
  • Quote: “I just hope they understand some of the struggles that others had to help them get to where they are.” – Chelsea (29:06)

Reflection, Giving Back, and Final Advice (30:15–32:45)

• Most Rewarding Aspect:

  • Giving back—mentoring youth, assisting their transition from the ring into the workplace. (30:15)

• Full Circle Moments:

  • Being able to help others just as mentors (like Megan Hobbs) helped her.
  • Quote: “I love, in my position, hiring livestock kids because they know how to work hard and ... handle challenges.” – Chelsea (30:52)

• Advice to Next Generation:

  • Don’t be afraid of taking risks or making mistakes—be proactive and learn from experience. (31:42)
  • Humor about being warned not to enter the meat industry due to bad meat lab grades, but ending up running pricing for pork.

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Highlighted Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Topic | Speaker | Timestamp | Quote | |-------------------------------------- |--------------- |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Organization for Design Requests | Jill Keller | 05:10 | “The more that you have organized for us, the easier it is... ” | | Product Endorsement | Barrett Carlisle| 06:42 | “If you just need extra, just bulk or bloom, highly recommend...” | | Origin in Sheep | Chelsea Nelson | 13:37 | “My dad was like, nope, you’re gonna do 4H…” | | Work Ethic from Livestock | Chelsea Nelson | 19:33 | “It taught me to be resourceful and savvy...those are the same…” | | Balance in Ag Industry | Chelsea Nelson | 21:42 | “We both need each other to put food on people’s tables...” | | Farm/Career Balance | Chelsea Nelson | 26:58 | “Not being able every night to go out and do chores…” | | Showman Attitude | Chelsea Nelson | 29:06 | “I just hope they understand some of the struggles that others had to help them get to where they are...” | | Giving Back/Full Circle | Chelsea Nelson | 30:52 | “I love, in my position, hiring livestock kids because they know how to work hard...” | | Risk and Opportunity | Chelsea Nelson | 31:42 | “Don’t be scared...We all have to make mistakes to learn...” | | Career/Irony | Chelsea Nelson | 32:29 | “Whatever you do, just don’t go into the meat industry…” |

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Fun & Personal Segment (33:15 – 34:39)

• Most Unique Place Lived: Kanawha, Iowa – “middle of nowhere, cornfield part of Iowa.” (33:15)
• Favorite Sheep Show: Iowa State Fair for camaraderie, Louisville for tradition.
  • Quote: “It’s hard to beat Louisville. There’s something about the green chips.” (34:08)
• Best Moving Hack: “Don’t. Don’t move.” (34:32)

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Episode Flow / Timestamps

• 00:01 – 06:22: Jill Keller career and marketing advice
• 06:39 – 07:42: Essentials Product Spotlight – “Chub”
• 07:42 – 10:27: Podcast announcements and roundtable preview
• 13:09 – 19:26: Chelsea Nelson’s early career path
• 19:26 – 22:39: Corporate ag discussion
• 23:04 – 26:24: Enfield Club Lambs genetics, market, flock management
• 26:30 – 27:41: Balancing career and sheep operation
• 27:41 – 30:15: Judging shows and mentoring youth
• 30:15 – 32:45: Full circle moments and advice
• 33:15 – 34:39: Fun questions, favorite shows, moving hacks

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights the intersection between a high-level corporate ag career and deep dedication to the show sheep industry. Chelsea Nelson’s journey underlines the value of risk-taking, adaptability, and giving back. Insightful advice for youth, a realistic look at industry dynamics, and genuine reflections make this a compelling listen for anyone in livestock or agricultural careers.

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For more info on products or to get involved, visit ChampionDrive.com.

Transcript

[A]

Now entering the ring, another episode of the Champion Drive podcast presented by Novel Designs. Hey all, welcome back to another episode of the Champion Drive podcast. This week I have Jill Keller from our team with us. Tell all the listeners who are probably familiar with working with you, let them get to know you a little better. How did you get started in the livestock industry?

[B]

Well, I grew up on my grandparents cattle and racehorse operation that they had and my mom actually was the one that got me started because she grew up showing horses. She dabbled in sheep and cattle and other things, but horses were her main focus. So when I was old enough to show, she started me out on horses actually. And it was never something I was really interested in. And then I did get bucked off at the county fair one year, so that kind of that it wasn't my thing anymore. Then I kind of went through each species like I focused on cattle for a little while but ultimately ended up on the sheep side of things. And I've been showing those ever since. And my brother kind of followed in that footstep too, and he's just about to finish up this year.

[A]

I know you're a pretty humble person, but you've had a lot of success. Like your reserve at the American Royal when you showed had a good run in Kansas, you know, dominant on the national level. Your brother was just reserve at Denver a couple years ago. You know, you guys have shown all over, so definitely pretty well versed even though you're pretty humble. Like you have a pretty strong background in it. Where did you go to college?

[B]

I went to college at K State and I actually went to K State as a sophomore. So my senior year of high school I took way too many college credits and transferred into K State as a sophomore and spent a couple years there studying agricultural communications and marketing.

[A]

And then were you involved in anything there like club wise?

[B]

I was kind of involved in the agcom department. I worked on a couple magazines while I was in college. I worked on the Agriculturalist, which is the agcom department's magazine, I guess. And I was the associate editor for that one semester. And then I also was just someone that added to the stories and photos before. I was the associate editor and then I also did a couple stories for the K State Family and Friends reunion. They usually put together a magazine for that big reunion that they have in the fall every year.

[A]

Nice. And how did you get started at Novel Designs?

[B]

I actually interned all through college for Steva at Novel Design. She reached out to me, I believe one year about maybe being Interested in an internship after we had kind of been. I'd been showing with Brayden for a couple years by then and I kind of just stuck around ever since. After I graduated college, she offered me a full time job and I just decided to stay on.

[A]

Casey was started as an intern. Kaylee started as an intern. You started as an intern. And it's been really fun because you started and you kind of came up for the summer and helped in the barn. And then, you know, I thought, well, you could learn some, you know, you're interested in marketing, I'll kind of teach you some of that. And you've just never really, really left. And fun fact, Jill actually moved to Wisconsin and only lives a couple miles from us. So she's been a huge asset to us here at Novel Designs and kind of hops in on everything we need and even hops in on some big branded shipping days. My biggest challenge with Jill is she will go golf with us, but she has yet to swing a club. So we're going to need to work.

[B]

On, I don't know, the group we go golfing with. I don't think I'd ever be able to limit them if I missed the ball, honestly.

[A]

Did you see how bad I golf last night? Jill? Okay, let's talk a little bit more about your current job with Novel Designs. Obviously you started as an intern and you've kind of been involved in a lot of different things, but what do you currently do?

[B]

I take on a lot of just day to day graphic design. Your social media graphics that you request. I usually grab those. Your stub ram showcases. I do a lot of those and we had a lot come in this year, really. Just any design that isn't necessarily print. I do a lot of social media content and online content and then I also run Champion Drive. I update that every day for you guys. So see what's going on there.

[A]

What are you most excited about in terms of marketing or things we have coming down the pipeline at Novel Designs or just the marketing in general? What are you most excited about?

[B]

Just how social media is evolving and we're kind of evolving with it. Like we brought out a bunch of new packages and products for you guys that maybe that kind of take the stress off of you.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. I think that it's kind of, you know, you and I work back and forth a lot of like, how do you think we should post this? Or how do you think we should market this? And it's always nice because you might have a different spin on it than I do or Kaylee might have a different spin or Catherine might have a different spin and we can all kind of work together because it's not the same as it was a year ago. It's not the same as it was when you first started or when I first started. So I would agree that it is kind of exciting and I guess kind of the last thing. Do you have any marketing tips or tips for design customers?

[B]

My tip would be is when you send in for a design ad, the more that you have organized for us, the easier it is on us to be able to get a quality product out to you. And by the time we are able to start on it, we can get it turned around a lot faster when we don't have to sort through a bunch of content that doesn't need to.

[A]

Be in the most people probably don't realize there's a lot of back and forth between our team of hey, do you have a second? Can you look at this? Do you think I have this laid out right? Or you know, like we all kind of collaborate on stuff. Like you might have one designer but we're all kind of talking behind the scenes and you know, being a set of eyes before it ever gets to the customer. It's gone through a couple of us. And so if you have all your information in, we might lay an ad out a certain way because it's we've got four pictures and this for a pedigree and then this for like a small write up or this is like the main tagline of the ad. If all of a sudden we get another chunk of information, we maybe would have laid that out differently to begin with. Let's go into our Essentials segment this week we're going to talk about the product. Chubb caught up with Barrett Carlisle to get the details on that. We're back with another Essentials product Spotlight this week. The question we want to ask is what sort of product would we use if we were wanting to get some more bloom on? Maybe our state fair sheep or sheep going into the fall or for our Southern listeners as we're trying to get those sheep kind of ready to go out and show and bloomed and bulked up? What product would we use from Essential?

[C]

I'd highly recommend product we call Chub would be a pelleted kind of high energy top dress supplement that's very high in omega fatty acids. If you just need extra, just bulk or bloom. Highly recommend that product. Some people kind of use it free choice in a creep pen situation. Or if you get lambs weaned and have them in group feeding situations, we can offer that free choice. Or obviously we can top dress that product as well. But just in terms of bulking them up, getting some cover and some fat pelleted product called Chub Works great.

[A]

How is that sold?

[C]

Comes in buckets, 10 to 25 pound buckets. Or we can get you a 40 pound bag.

[A]

Gotcha. And if any of our listeners were wanting to order that, what is the best way to do so?

[C]

So you can find a dealer near you? You can find that on our dealer locator on the website. You can order different bucket sizes of Chub off of our website directly.

[A]

Perfect. Well, thanks for joining us. And like Barrett mentioned, you can find the Essential website on ChampionDrive.com Interested in having your product featured on the podcast? Be sure to reach out to us. This is something we started with this season's podcast. It's called the Product Spotlight. And you can also find more about those products on Champion Drive. An ad up on the homepage about this week's product, which is Chubb. But then you can also go to the Product Spotlight page on Champion Drive, which is much like our Studram Showcase page, and you can find information on all of those past products. We think it'll be a really good resource. We're excited to get more people on and we're really pumped that Essential jumped at the opportunity when we kind of presented it to them. Let's go into the segment that we're going to call Heard Ya, which is about the questions we get for the podcast. We get quite a few of them. Jill actually helped me work on some graphics for the upcoming Roundtable podcast. And we had you drop your questions on either Instagram, Snapchat, you go to the website and fill it out. And we got a bunch of really good questions for that. And we're going to be recording that roundtable discussion here next week. So you still have a few days to get your questions in. This week's topic is barn renovations. And this isn't so much about building new barns. It's more about retrofitting what you have or maybe adding on to an existing barn. We kind of heard from a lot of our listeners that maybe that's something that they were interested in. And so we're really excited. We have Cody Schmincke on from Schmincke Genetics. I think he'll be really interesting because they not only farm, they raise hogs, but they have sheep as well. So I thought he would be really good about that. They're located in Iowa, so we can talk about some weather concerns that we have to deal with. Chad Charmeson is going to be on. He was on our last roundtable and is a really good wealth of information. And for any of you that know Chad, he's pretty particular about some things. So I'm actually really interested to hear some of his tip about what he's done in his barn and how his organization is, because that's something that I think is a real strength of his. We also have Jake Warntjez on and Jake has moved. They've lived, they grew up in Oregon, they raised sheep in California for a while. He's in Oklahoma now and Chad actually recommended that we have him on. And so I'm excited to get Jake on for the first time. So he's a younger, younger guy and I think he'll have some really good insight. And then our fourth person is Brian Riley of Impact Camps. Brian lives just down the road from me. He actually is a dairy nutritionist and he was on our last podcast or our last roundtable podcast. Brian's always been really smart. I feel like about like airflow and ventilation and so he was kind of one that I thought would be a great person to have on as well. So that'll be our next podcast. We're excited to get that recorded. Be sure to shoot us an email or go on the ChampionDrive.com website to submit any questions you might have. And maybe it's something just in general or maybe it's a specific scenario you have in your barn. But the roundtables have been so informative and I think this one will maybe be our best one yet.

[B]

So Steve, what's on this episode? So you suck.

[A]

This week we're going to talk about web redesigns. A lot of you have been customers for a long time and that's great. We appreciate it. If you think about how marketing was or websites were when you probably got your website five to ten years ago, things are a lot different now. Now is a great time to maybe have us either do a refresh or redesign. If you think about like a winter picture from five years ago when you look at that now versus a winter picture from this year, like just the show lamb itself. The type of sheep we're showing have changed. So maybe it means it's as simple as like just having us update your site with some new cover pictures in it. Maybe you want to upgrade to a mobile friendly platform that helps you with search results. You know, we can Do a lot of like sleek, whistle and bell type things with that. Some integrations on social media. A lot of our customers, when they would have first got websites, there was no such thing as social media. So now's a great time when we're not busy with sale season. Breeding and flushing is kind of winding down. Bread U. Sale season hasn't started. Now is a great time to get on the books for web redesign. Jill works on a lot of these. Catherine on our team works on a bunch of them. Kayleigh works on a bunch of them. And then Sarah and Casey are really good about dropping in content form and everything. So now's a great time. Reach out to any of us at Novel Designs. Web traffic has been really good and is a good, good resource. We need. It's all part of the marketing mix that we talk about. Like you need to have a presence on social media, but there's still people that make buying decisions that want to see a website or maybe they want to see, you know, a printed piece such as a flyer or maybe they want to listen to a podcast or maybe they want, you know, to see you at sales or have signage at sales. So it's all part of your mix. So now's a great time to get started on your web redesign and holler at any of us at Novel Designs and to get going on that. With all that, how about we stop yapping? Jill and I aren't big talkers, so this, this is the most we were going to talk today and you guys got it from us. But this week we have Chelsea Nelson on. I remember her when she was showing. She's younger than me, so I remember her showing her and her sister. She's been involved in the show limb industry for as long as I was around Iowa and she has a really cool career path and has some interesting challenges that she's facing and kind of taking some big leaps of faith on her career and moving away and then raised sheep in Iowa while still being in Arkansas now. And I thought her career path would be really interesting because, Jill, I'm sure when you went to Kansas State, you didn't think I was going to move to Wisconsin and work for Novel Designs and Champion Drive. You probably thought you were going to do something different. I'm sure Chelsea thought she was going to do something different. I know I thought I was going to do something different and I think we all go through that. So I thought Chelsea was a really good guest to have on. Let's get right into her episode.

[D]

Today.

[A]

I'm Here with Chelsea Nelson. Chelsea is the director of pricing at Tyson Foods. But well, before that, we've all known her through the show lamb industry. Thanks for joining me today, Chelsea. Let's talk first. How did you get involved in showing sheep?

[D]

Yeah, so I grew up in southwest Iowa. My. My parents weren't farmers, so my dad worked construction, and my mom was a nurse, and we raised a few commercial. She, like, went to the Corn Belt sale in Des Moines every year and bought a purebred Suffolk ram. So really got. So we always had sheep. But I'll never forget, I came home from school one day with like, the Girl Scout sign up, and my dad was like, nope, you're gonna do 4H. So that's really how it all evolved. I started showing sheep first year I could in 4H, and I don't think my dad really realized how. How far it was gonna go.

[A]

That's kind of how mine was too. I ended up getting a couple sheep when I was younger, and it's just kind of never left. So now you had a sister, Correct? Both of you showed.

[D]

Yeah, my sister's a nurse in Omaha. She's a travel nurse. She likes to travel around the country. She has very little involvement in the livestock industry anymore, but I always get her home a few weekends to help me with something on the farm, so.

[A]

Perfect. Yeah, I definitely remember you guys hitting the show ring a bunch. You're younger than me, but I remember you guys showing quite a bit. So after you start showing sheep, you showed all through your 4H and FFA years. Where did you go after high school and kind of, how did you stay involved in the sheep industry and then kind of lead us on your path to where you are now?

[D]

Yep. So I. I went to Iowa State right out of high school. I went straight to a four year. I was actually an ag ed major for three years at Iowa State. And about the end of my junior year, I realized that I probably didn't need to teach kids. So I went the industry route and didn't really know what I wanted to do at the end of my college career. I had been dating Nick for four years at this point. Nick Enfield and I have been together forever. So I met Megan and Joe Hobbs through him. And Megan had mentioned that Cargill had an open sales training position. And I was pretty good at talking to people. Just things you learn showing sheep and going to livestock shows. And so I actually interviewed for the position and I was offered it. And that role with Cargill really gave me a really wide breadth of what all the opportunities that there are within the pork industry. So I was with Cargill for a short amount of time, and then just through multiple different opportunities and people that I'd met, I was able to take on new roles and kind of step outside of my comfort zone on a few of them. But ultimately that led me to Tyson Foods in the role I'm currently in. And I've been down here in northwest Arkansas for about two years now.

[A]

Let's go back to your Cargill stuff. So you did after Iowa State, you went to Cargill. Did you move around quite a bit? Did you just go to one location or I guess tell us a little bit about your Cargill days.

[D]

Yep. So Cargill, the division that I worked for, was actually bought out by jbs. And so I had the opportunity to move back to Iowa, which is ultimately where I wanted to be. That's where the farm was, that's where my family was. So I took a position with a small company in Des Moines, Iowa, that harvested sows and butcher pigs and went on as a sales trainee at that role and then just took multiple positions within that company. That company was ultimately bought out by Smithfield Foods. So I worked for Smithfield for about four years, took a position the last couple years of it on the live side versus the sales side. So went over and bought hogs for the harvest facilities for a couple years. Gosh, there's so many people that you meet through this livestock industry that have had an impact on my life. I went, Brad Anderson was actually my boss at that time when I. When I bought hogs. And I'm sure most of the people listening know Brad got to learn a lot from him. He's a really intelligent guy. I really appreciated my time there. But ultimately this job at Tyson came open and so I took a chance. This would probably be the biggest step, the biggest risk I'd ever taken, and it was going to require a big move. We haven't completed it fully yet, so came down to northwest Arkansas and then hopefully within the next couple years, we will be relocating Enfield Club Lambs down to this area.

[A]

Very nice. I did not know that. Let's talk a little bit. What is your current role like? Let's talk about what is your day to day job look like for. And part of my reason for wanting to ask is kind of like you said, like, you know, Cargill kind of opened your eyes to the, like, all the different opportunities. I feel like when I went to Iowa State, I was under the impression, you know, when I Left high school, went to, I would say, like, oh, I can be a pharmaceutical rep, I can self feed and that's it. And I feel like there's a lot of kids that maybe don't necessarily know all the different opportunities. So part of my reason for all the questions about your current role is like, I think you have a job that's different than a lot of us that, you know, like some people might go be a teacher or some people might go, you know, to nine to five in office. Like what? Let's talk about what your daily job at Tyson looks like.

[D]

I'm like you said, I'm a director of pricing for the fresh pork division. So any sales that we make on fresh pork that you'll see in a grocery store. So think of the items that when you walk into Walmart or Hy Vee or Kroger and you see, you know, butts and loins and ribs and tenderloins, those are the items that I manage the pricing on. So any of our customers that come to our sales team and say, hey, I'd like to buy X amount of something, I provide the upfront pricing for that and then ultimately get to make the decision if I want to take on that sale. So with that, we also get to manage a bunch of different projects within the company. Whether we're going to, you know, start some new items or rebrand a program, all of that would fall under my scope.

[A]

How do you think your background in showing livestock and raising livestock prepared you for your job today?

[D]

We all know how hard it is to raise livestock and show livestock and travel. So I really think that that was a lot of it. My parents instilled a lot of work ethic. We are a very competitive family. So every family event that we go to, Nick gets to get to be in some part of a competition. But it just, it taught me to be resourceful and savvy and I use those skills every day. I have to problem solve on a regular basis. And those are the same things that I do on a barn. They just might not be about the same items.

[A]

Sure. What is one thing that you think or that you wish people would understand better about the role of large companies like Tyson and Agriculture?

[D]

Oh, I like this one. There's. I have a few things here. So large corporations get a lot of smear campaigns on social media about how rough it is to work there because you have to put in all these hours. It's. It doesn't matter what company you're with. It doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur like yourself, or you work for a corporation, or you want to be an electrician or something in with your hands, you're going to get what you put in. Working for a big company, your attitude is everything. So if you come into it with a bad attitude, you're probably not going to have a very good experience. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't situations that you might run into, but going back to being resourceful and being able to problem solve and work through your day is going to be a big portion of it. Being able to time manage, and that's not one of my strongest skills. I get distracted as easily as anyone. But it is what you make. It is what I'll end that piece with. There's also a lot of really negative narratives out there about corporate farming pushing out the small farmers. And we know in the sheep industry how expensive things are. Cost of doing business goes up every single year, whether it's feed or services, semen. It's no different on the commercial livestock side. So we need each other to be able to, for our businesses to operate. So I think us saying that we're pushing out the independence, it just. It's just kind of hard to listen to at times, especially when you're on one side or the other. We both need each other to put food on people's tables. I know that's kind of the political sound for it, but it is really the truth. And then you mentioned it. But I think people fail to realize how many opportunities there are within a large company. And it's not just, you know, being a feed salesman or coming and selling pork or, you know, going to the plant and working on the line and cutting up the products. We have accountants, we have legal staff, we have nurses on staff. There's so many opportunities that, that you can get coming to a company like Tyson or any other large corporation. It's not just the selling seed or selling feed or selling pharmaceuticals. There's tons of other opportunities within a large company.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. I never thought about it until we point out, you know, like there's all sorts of opportunities, whether you're interested in the business side of it or the sales side or the procurement or anything like that. So, yeah, let's talk a little bit now. Now that we've kind of covered the Tyson stuff, let's talk about infield club lambs and your sheep operation. Kind of tell us a little bit about your flock location. The infield boys tell me head you run all, all the goods, Nick and.

[D]

Andrew Enfield and myself operate Enfield Club Lambs. We're located in Maxwell, Iowa. We currently run about 40 blackface ewes and about 20 recips. Our genetic base is really heavily influenced by impact Hampshires. We are probably the original tire kickers, to be quite honest. We've been going up there for a lot of years looking at ewes, their buck sale, their weather sale and just over time we're able to start affording a few of them and piecing together a decent sized herd. So then for the black side of things, Nick and I bought our First Ewe in 2013. Coming back from oye from Doug and Reneta walk up on their online sale. That ewe happens to be the grand dam to our 0043 donor that's had a bunch of our best ones. We did flush her a couple years and now we are flushing a daughter of her and have two bucks on on hand that are that both go back to her. So with that we've pieced, we've just pieced together a lot of use. We try to buy a few use every year. We visit a lot of farms, we, we try to get out and see the herds that we find interesting. Most of the times we couldn't afford them. So Nick's very much a savvy sheep guy. I leave the sale and then he buys one is usually how it works. But really we just took advantage where we could and then it's really just keeping the ewe lambs and getting them mated. Right. And keeping them alive.

[A]

Back like when I would have first met you, you guys had a lot of white face sheep. What was kind of the decision to transition? Do you still have some of those? What was the decision to transition to more blacks or how did the black faces come about? You know, because before it was pretty much all Dorsets, right?

[D]

Yep. So Nick, Andrew and their dad obviously were the original OG Enfield Club Lambs dorse. We still retained a few of those ewes, but once, once we lost Cal here a year ago in June and since then we sold off a majority of the white ewes. Cal like to keep everything, so we just didn't see the need to be able to market that many Dorsets. So we kept, we're currently AI ing about eight of them for specs and whites and the rest we're currently using as recips.

[A]

With your experience not only showing but judging some, how does that maybe shape your approach to breeding and livestock? A lot of times I've told people like, man, once Braden started showing it Kind of changed my view on things. And so I guess kind of how does you know being in the ring as a judge and then also your past experiences kind of dictate some of your breeding decisions.

[D]

It's nice to be able to get on top of those animals, whether you're showing them or judging them. Just really see like actually how things feel. Because I think sometimes as I don't judge that much and a lot of times I'm seeing the show from the outside of the show ring and then afterwards you kind of get to get up on those animals, you understand what the judge is speaking to. So I think that really helps, like touch and tone of some of these weathers, how their joints work when they're moving away from you or coming at you. I think that has honestly helped. We don't really chase any fads. We kind of just like to raise the ones that we like. But understanding what some of our, how some of our speed and what we need to do to just to get better.

[A]

Are there any unique challenges you've encountered trying to balance your career and raising sheep?

[D]

Yes. I currently live six hours away from the farm during the week and then get to drive back to Iowa on Friday nights and then back to Arkansas on Sunday afternoon. So that obviously hasn't been easy. Nick and Andrew have had to take a ton of the responsibility. Nick, it gets to manage, you know, all its breeding season, so all the breeding protocols, all the flush protocols, making sure that Cedars get in on time, that's really been tough the last couple years. I love to work on the farm. That's kind of my getaway. Not being able every night to go out and do chores and stare at the ewes or help feed the bucks or help take sale pictures. Having to really plan that to the weekends that I'm on the farm, that's been really challenging. It hasn't been fun. Hopefully we're getting towards the end of that. Yeah.

[A]

Well, it looks like you've improved your golf game by having some free time at night.

[D]

So. Yeah, I'm not made for the, the town life. I just, I get so bored. Nick tells me I have it easy, which I do. I'm not complaining because he doesn't have it that easy, but I get to play some golf. I get a place of slow pitch softball. I'm on an old man league now. So, yeah, it's definitely quite a bit different.

[A]

Let's switch over a little bit and talk about livestock judging. We talked a little bit about this, but what do you enjoy Most about judging livestock shows when given the opportunity.

[D]

I mean, I think the easy answer is getting to work with the kids, which I do love that. But I truly love being able to work through the livestock and getting to see the animals up close and getting to put my hands on them. I mean, I don't. I didn't judge in college, so really my. What I have learned is just studying other. Studying flocks and. And getting to argue with Nick in the barn on weekends. And Joel Morkle is a huge influence of both Nick and Eyes. Joel is so highly intelligent. He can describe things, and you have to tell him four times, like, can you break that down for me? I'm not following. And once he gets through it, you're like, oh, that makes complete sense. So it's just talking to people, listening, understanding, and then. Then being able to get in. Into a ring and sort through good livestock. It's just a lot of fun.

[A]

What do you feel our showman as a whole are missing out on?

[D]

I've toyed with this question. This one was kind of tough for me. I think the team aspect that we kind of have going right now in the showing industry or in the sheep industry is great. I grew up on sports teams, but didn't have that when I was showing sheep. So I had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own and ask a lot of questions and be really bad at it for quite a few years. So I don't want to say that the kids today have it easy, but they have help from people who have had to kind of grind it out and learn. I hope that they are appreciative of the people that are willing to help them and go out of their way and just thank them for. For the grind that they had to put in. Their parents, their friends, other people that they know in the industry. I just hope that they understand some of the struggles that others had to help them get to where they are and not just be so wrapped up in just the right now because there's so much more to have from this industry.

[A]

It's interesting to hear you say that because it was me and my dad and same deal. Like, boy, we weren't very good at it and we had to work really hard to figure it out. And, you know, like, you try and, like, now you can help other kids do the same thing. Or, you know, even I had breeders that helped me when I was younger, but not to the degree that I'm able to get help from or that we provide help from. Like, that's A really good network to have. So that's interesting that that really landed well with me. Like, that's kind of where I'm at on things too. Let's kind of talk a little bit more. I guess we'll be being a little bit sentimental, but what has been the most rewarding aspect of being involved in the livestock industry, I think it's being.

[D]

Able to give back to other kids, being able to help them and, you know, provide them more success than maybe I had. And not just like in the show ring, like in, like the workplace. I work with quite a few people that showed livestock, so I understand, like, what their experience is and, and what their work work ethic is, because I grew up doing that. So being able to like, mentor and move them along and help them in their careers and try to kind of, you know, keep them out of the weeds on the stuff, that's not quite as important.

[A]

Have you had any full circle moments?

[D]

Yeah, I was just thinking about this. Megan Hobbs helped me get my first. She, you know, she recommended my first position to me. I got to do the same thing for multiple kids here over the last few years. I love, in my position, hiring livestock kids because they know how to work hard and they know how to handle challenges. So that's been a lot of fun to help kids get to the next level, whether it's in the sheep ring or in. In their. In their careers.

[A]

So if you had someone who is just getting ready to kind of be coming out of college, and we kind of touched on some of this already, but what would your one lesson with the next generation of kids that are maybe looking to go into an ag career or even like a next generation of kids looking to raise their own. She. Raise their own, you know, have their own flock and raise sheep. What would your one lesson be that you would. Would pass along to them?

[D]

Don't be scared. I think, you know, it's easy to mull over decisions and kind of question if it's the right move. We all have to make mistakes to learn, to learn from. So even if it's maybe something you didn't quite think was the perfect fit for you, which is very much how my career started. Don't be afraid. I'll never forget the late Sherry Olson was my teacher at Iowa State in my meat lab, and we had to bone a ham for the. For the lab. And I did a terrible job. Like, I'm lucky I didn't fail that lab. And afterwards Sherry told me, chelsea, whatever you do, just don't go into the meat industry. That was her joke to me. And then, you know, 10 years later, here I am pricing and selling pork products, too.

[A]

Well, see, it's good. There's different, like, you know, stages of the industry, different roles you can have in the industry. You just didn't need to be in.

[D]

Procurement, so I didn't need to be the one on the line cutting up the hands.

[A]

And I bet you Sherry is awfully proud of you. Now, for those of you who knew Sheri, Sherry was a great friend of the industry and passed away probably a year or two ago. But she definitely was kind of a big encourager to all of us that went to Iowa State and was always, you know, never a stranger around the ring, always had a smile to share and was, I guarantee she's awfully proud that you're in the meat industry. So let's move into a few fun questions to finish this up. What's the most unique place you've lived and how did it influence your lifestyle?

[D]

Kanawha, Iowa, probably, if you don't know where that's at, it's in the north central, middle of nowhere, cornfield part of Iowa. It's like 30 minutes to the closest grocery store. Nick and I lived there right out of college when he was working for a company up there. So we got to be really good about creating a grocery list, which I'm still terrible at today.

[A]

What is your favorite sheep show?

[D]

Oh, I love the Iowa State Fair. There is something about the camaraderie that we have in Iowa. Doesn't matter what team you're on or who you kind of cheer for ringside. Like, we all look out for each other and, you know, and high five and congratulate each other, but still, once we step into the show ring, want to beat each other as good as anyone. So I love the Iowa State Fair for that fact, but it's hard to beat Louisville. There's something about the green chips.

[A]

I would agree. I thought you were going to say that Iowa State Fair is your favorite because you have the best people to go to the free concerts.

[D]

Not this year.

[A]

I'll be back next year. Had a blast a couple years ago, so we did not feel the greatest the next morning, but it was fun. All right, and the last one, what is your best moving hack?

[D]

Don't. Don't move. It's quite possibly my least favorite thing.

[A]

It was great to catch up with you. Thanks for joining us, Chelsea.

[D]

Thanks, Steven. Sam.