Logan Sampson — 2025 Angus Board Candidate

Logan Sampson, Ruby Valley, Nev., is seeking a first term on the American Angus Association Board of Directors.

The elected delegates will choose five directors; a president and chairman of the Board; and a vice president and vice chairman of the Board during the Association’s 142nd Annual Convention of Delegates, which will convene at 10 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) Sunday, Nov. 2 in Kansas City, Mo.

Visit AngusJournal.net to learn more about each candidate.

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Transcript

Miranda Reiman (00:02):

Looking to the challenges and opportunities ahead in the cattle business, the breed must have strong leadership ready to address the needs of the industry. There are 10 candidates running for five open spots on the American Angus Association Board of Directors. I'm Miranda Reiman with the Angus Journal team and I'm introducing you to each of them before November's annual meeting. Today, I'm here with Logan Sampson of Ruby Valley, Nevada. How are you doing today, Logan?

Logan Sampson (00:30):

I'm doing great. How are you doing?

Miranda Reiman (00:31):

Good. Why don't you start by just telling me a little bit about yourself, your history with the breed and your current involvement.

Logan Sampson (00:38):

Okay. Yeah, thank you. Well, first of all, I want to let you know I appreciate you taking the time to give me a platform so everyone can get to know me. I think that's a really important part of the process and I'm grateful for that. My name is Logan Sampson. I currently live in Ruby Valley, Nevada. I've been here for the last about 25 years, and I'm a fourth generation rancher. We run a commercial cow calf operation primarily for the last 15 or so years. But about oh eight or nine years ago, I decided to get into the seedstock business and that's been a very eyeopening experience for me because moving from a commercial production program into seedstock is a bit of a challenge and it can be quite expensive. And so it's been pretty neat. I didn't necessarily didn't grow up in this.

(01:47):

My parents actually met out here in Ruby Valley years and years ago before they got married. And my mom grew up on the ranch out here and my dad was a hay boy and they ended up getting married and worked out here for a while. But business took us to other places and we ended up living in the Bay Area in California for quite a while. That's where I grew up. We always had the desires to come back to the ranch, and when my dad retired, we were able to return. And we've been here since 2000. So I've lived here longer than anywhere else in my life and it's, it's who I am now and I love the lifestyle. I'm married, my wife is a school teacher. We've got a one room schoolhouse out here. We're about 70 miles from civilization and she teaches K through eight in one room and has every single grade in there this year except for eighth grade, I believe.

(02:52):

And she's awesome. She's pretty impressive with everything she's able to do. And then I have three kids, a boy, the youngest is in seventh grade. And then my next oldest, the middle child, he is going to be a sophomore this year. And my oldest daughter is going to be a freshman going into college at Utah State University going into rangeland ecology management. So I've got a great family behind me. They work hard on the ranch. I also work with my dad every day, which is just an awesome opportunity to work with family, which is, that's why we're in this business is so we can work with our family and enjoy the lifestyle. As far as the Angus breed, we started with Simmental cows back in 2000 when we came back to the ranch and we quickly made the transition to Angus. And since about 2006, 2007, we've been straight Angus. And that's the heart and soul of our herd is the Angus cow. And I would argue that's probably everybody else in the breed as well. They focus on the Angus cow and her maternal abilities, and we just really appreciate the lifestyle we're able to live and where we're at and we love it.

Miranda Reiman (04:25):

So with your unique vantage point you have there, what do you think are some of the breed and the Association's biggest strengths that you think we can build upon?

Logan Sampson (04:34):

So the Angus breed is, I mean by far the most dominant breed. There's more Angus cows out there than any other breed, and it's very evident in this part of the country and throughout the United States. There's other breeds out there that are represented, but I think if you put all those other breeds together, it still doesn't match the power of Angus. So we have that, we have very dedicated and committed breeders out there that they know, they know their customers, they know what they desire to buy or know what works in their climates and their environments and what doesn't, and they can breed for those things because the Angus cow is very diverse. We can breed for breed for higher marbling and still maintain some fertility. We can focus on a ribeye, we can focus on lots of different attributes that the Angus cow has. And what's really neat about the Angus breed is we can adjust, I mean from Ruby Valley, Nevada, the high desert, where there's no feed resources essentially to the middle of Kansas or Oklahoma or North Dakota where there might be more feed resources or even to the heat of Florida, the Angus cow can adapt. And I think that's the strength. I mean, the breed is unmatched, and I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm grateful for everything that the Angus cow does for us. And yeah, I mean, we're just a strong breed.

Miranda Reiman (06:20):

So zooming out just a little bit more to the greater beef industry, what do you think are some of the biggest changes that will face the beef industry in the next five to 10 years?

Logan Sampson (06:32):

Yeah, so we're in a unique situation. I mean, historically low numbers right now, and I mean the big question that I hear from people all the time is where are we going from here? I don't think we've seen really the beginning of a rebuild, but it's going to happen. It's going to happen soon, I believe. And it's going to be a challenge to build no doubt. But one of the benefits that we have where we're at in our position as Angus breeders is we're in a very good spot. We've got a great position to be able to grow the breed as we begin to rebuild the herd in America. And I really hope that we can take advantage of that and put ourselves in a better position to gain more market share and continue to grow. I mean, there's no doubt that we've lost maybe a little bit of membership in the last few years, and I think this is our time to maybe turn that around and grow and become stronger. And I'm excited. I think the future is bright for us and we've got a younger generation coming in and they're excited about agriculture. I'd like to keep that excitement up and build on that as well. And I mean, we've got a lot of things going for us. No doubt there's some challenges out there, but we've got a ton going for us, and I'm pretty excited. I think we're set up pretty well for some pretty impressive growth.

Miranda Reiman (08:17):

That is actually a great transition into the next question, which is what do you feel the Association needs to be doing today to position our breed and our members for success in the face of those challenges?

Logan Sampson (08:32):

I've thought about this a lot. There's no one single answer, but I was reading through the charter and bylaws last night. I wanted to highlight some things that I read. And the very first thing that I read, it talks about the purposes why the Angus Association was formed. And the very first part is to maintain the purity of the breed. And then the second thing that's highlighted is to collect and verify and preserve and publish pedigrees, which was fairly obvious to me. That's what a breed association is. And then I got into it a little bit more and started reading, and the next part of it really kind of stuck out, and it's to perform other acts that promote the interests of the breed. And one other part that I found spot on, which is the Association shall promote the common business interests of its members.

(09:40):

And so for me, I guess if we can focus on that last part and promoting the common interests of our membership, I feel like that is where the biggest challenge might be right now, because we have so many diverse operations out there, we have so many different views on where the breed should go and how we should operate and what kind of cattle we should raise. And that can be a challenge. And so I'd like to see us focus a little bit more on that. I was told a story recently that I want to share with you, and I think it might highlight the challenges that we have within the breed.

(10:28):

And the story starts like this. There's a young couple recently married, and they're an ag couple, and the wife says to the husband, I would really like to raise a few cows. And so the husband says, absolutely, I will do whatever I can so we can be in that position to raise some cows. And so he goes out and he works hard and earns some money, and he's able to invest in some cows and some land, and he has great success, he and his wife, and they build this cow herd. And then he's so enthusiastic, enthusiastic and excited about where they're going. He builds more and he gets more cows, but in order to feed more cows, he has to get more feed resources. And so he branches out into other business opportunities and other income streams. And pretty soon what started is just a couple cows has now turned into a feed mill and it turns into farm ground and it turns into other business ventures that all has the primary purpose of feeding back into raising cows.

(11:42):

At the end of the day, he talks to his wife after several years and says, how do you think we're doing? And she says, well, I think we're doing great, but all I asked for was a couple of, and now we have this vast empire that we're working hard for. She says, I really appreciate that. But life was a lot simpler back then when we just had a couple cows. What I see happening within the breed right now is we've built and we've grown and Certified Angus Beef is just an absolute monster in the game. They have a ton of reach out there, and we have these secondary organizations of the Association that do great work to help the membership. And sometimes I feel like we may get sidetracked on a lot of these things that we put in place to help the breeder. And a lot of times when we do those things, it complicates matters. And I'm not suggesting that we should stop doing those things. My point is we need to refocus our energies back on the primary purpose of what we've set out to do in the first place. And that's the challenge that I think is before us right now, how do we manage so many different viewpoints on how to breed cattle?

(13:11):

How do we keep everyone happy when we have so many different things going on within the breed? From my perspective, I think we can do a better job reaching out to those who might feel left out, those who feel like they don't have a voice within the breed, those who are just lost and feel like they're not being heard. And one of the goals that I have if I am blessed to be able to be on the Board of Directors is to give those people a voice and help them to feel heard. We don't always get what we want when we make suggestions and we look to make improvements, but at the very least, people want to be heard and they want to feel like their opinion matters. And my goal is to make sure that happens. So I would suggest that that's where we can go as a breed, and those are our challenges before us, and we have the ability to make things better. We just need to maybe be a little bit more open and transparent and listen and give people an opportunity to express where they're coming from and fight for everyone's interests.

Miranda Reiman (14:36):

It's almost like you knew my next question, but I'm going to ask it anyway in case you have more. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope you can contribute?

Logan Sampson (14:46):

Well, I didn't know that next question, but it did feed well into that. So I've got a lot of reasons I'm running. I would say the number one reason I'm running is because I feel like service is really important. I've spent a lot of time in my life in a lot of service capacities. I, I've been the fire chief out here in our community. We service an area of over 500 square miles. We've got 25 firefighters. I've been the fire chief here for, oh, since 2008, 2009. And to me, it's important to be involved in community. I'm very involved in my church and I serve in my church in various capacities. And I feel like that's important too, to serve God and to show our appreciation for everything that He does for us. And I think service within organizations like the American Angus Association is important too, to give back and to, I mean, if people don't volunteer to do things like this, then we don't have good leadership, and that's extremely important for us to participate in.

(15:56):

And years ago, I can remember going to my first convention and I remember walking in and seeing all these breeders and just being so impressed, but so overwhelmed. I mean so many well-known programs and really very successful people in the room. And I didn't know where to go. I felt out of place. And then I leaned on some mentors that I've had very early on in my Angus career, I'll call it. I had some very good people behind me, and one of 'em is Dave Hinman, and the other one was Bill Davis that passed away a couple years ago. And they were the people I went to when I had questions and I needed some direction and they were as supportive as one could expect and even more so. And to this day, I lean on Dave quite a bit to get some advice and see, Hey, I've got this problem.

(17:04):

How do you think I should handle it? And I think in the Angus breed, we're a family and sometimes we lose that because we get intimidated by those people that we see. And I'd like to maybe be able to offer that to other people who maybe feel like they're overwhelmed. They walk into a room of these big breeders that are very successful and they don't feel like they're being seen or heard. And that's not because the big breeders aren't recognizing them. That's just because they don't know where to go. And so if we can offer that up to our membership and be more available and be more transparent about what's going on and be welcoming, to me that's a important role as someone sitting on the Board of Directors to bring those people in and recognize who they are and what they're trying to accomplish. And as I mentioned before, we've got young breeders coming into the business, and that's the future. If we can't support them and help them in a way that is going to keep them in the breed, then we're going to be in trouble and we need to focus on that. And that's another area that I feel like I can be a strong addition to the board.

(18:31):

I think sometimes commercial producers feel like they're the heart and soul of the business right now. And seedstock producers are nothing if they don't have the commercial producers behind them. And so it's extremely important for us to recognize their struggles and understand what they need. And we derive a lot of our income from our commercial program here. And so I feel like I can relate well to what they're going through and how we can better help them. So yeah, I would say my focus and why I'm running is to accomplish those things so we can bring more people in so we can make a bigger pie for everyone to enjoy. And I feel like I'm in a unique position to be able to do that, and I have a lot to offer.

Miranda Reiman (19:28):

The Angus breed definitely runs based on volunteers willing to throw their hat in the ring. So we thank you for that. Is there anything else that you'd like people to know before November's annual meeting?

Logan Sampson (19:41):

Well, first of all, I just want to tell you thank you. I really do appreciate the time that you took today. It was great to get to know you, and I'm glad we have people like you in the breed and working for us and helping us to accomplish what we need to accomplish. The American Angus Association, they have a great staff. Every time I call in from the very first contact I have all the way throughout the process, everyone is just super helpful and very friendly and kind and very welcoming. And so I just want to express my appreciation to you and to the rest of the staff because I mean, you guys are the heart and soul of the Association. And I mean, really, you get everything done that needs to get done. And so it's great. I'm very optimistic about our future as I expressed before, and I think we've got great things ahead of us, and I really want to be able to work together and maybe offer up different views and opinions.

(20:46):

And as I do so, we can do that with respect. We can do that. We can offer up opposing views or different ideas and have those discussions. And at the end of the day, whether it goes one way or another, we can still have that respect for each other and for the institution, and we can move forward. And I feel like that's an important part of serving on the Board of Directors is showing that respect and being able to work together as a group, even if we may not agree on everything that's going on. And I mean, certainly there's been a little discord, but I think there's ways to bring that back in and to unify people and to build and grow and be ready for what I would consider a pretty significant opportunity to rebuild. And lastly, I would end with this. I think it's important to have open lines of communication.

(21:43):

And so I would offer up to anybody that has any questions or wants to know more about me or where I stand on certain things. I encourage you to call me. I am always willing to have a discussion with someone and to hear what they have to say and hear their ideas and make things better. Because if we can't be open and honest about how we're feeling and where we think the breed needs to go, then we might face some challenges that may be difficult to overcome and we can overcome them. It's just we need to work together and be able to communicate and respect each other's views and work to do better. So I would end with that, that I encourage you to contact me and we can have an open and honest discussion about where we can go as a breed.

Miranda Reiman (22:33):

Well, thanks for your time today, and we'll look forward to people getting to know you between now and Kansas City.

Logan Sampson (22:39):

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Miranda Reiman (22:41):

Elections will take place at the 142nd annual Convention of Delegates during the annual meeting on Sunday, November 2nd in Kansas City, Missouri. Not registered? There's still time. Visit angusconvention.com to learn more. To read full biographies and for the latest news and stories from the breed, visit angusjournal.net. And while you're there, subscribe to the monthly Angus Journal magazine. You'll get ongoing Angus convention coverage and the latest news, Association updates, stories of fellow breeders and more. Visit Angusjournal.net to subscribe today.