Email: [email protected]
Hometown: Billings
Elected: 2024
Industry Involvement: Born and raised in Kansas on a farm and ranch, met my wife and moved to Montana to work for Joe Goggins and family in 2015. Since then I have started my own commercial cow herd of 300 head, background 500-1,000 head every year, and run around 300 yearlings every year. On the business side I manage day to day operations of Public Auction Yards and oversee budget and finance of Vermilion Ranch Corporation.
Leadership Service: Montana Beef Council 2000 – present, Livestock Marketing Association – 2013 – 2015, Regional Executive Officer US Cattle Trace – 2022 – Present.
Challenges Facing the Beef Industry: The beef industry challenges I see coming all revolves around the producer. The median age of the producers continually increase and with rising costs of land and production the access to capital for young producers to enter the livestock industry becomes daunting and almost impossible. The lack of industry connection and unification will further drive smaller producers out due to taxes, high input costs, and no way to protect themselves without large amounts of capital.
I also believe animal disease traceability will be further discussed as we move into the future but I also think with improved technology and the ever changing environment of handheld information we can see some exciting things that do challenge the industry to change but maybe change for the better.
The next ten years there will be alot of outside of money thrown and methane production and environmental type programs, like carbon, that will further challenge producers. I believe with correct knowledge and understanding producers could see some incentive and monetary capturing because I believe there will be alot of big money thrown and some of these programs. I also believe that “fake meat” will be a big push to see if they can lab produce the taste and quality necessary and this will be a huge challenge the livestock industry if they can produce this “meat” and get people to eat it.