How A Lawyer-Turned-Rancher Leads Cattle Growers And Builds Resilient Beef Operations with Tom Paterson

We sit down with Tom Paterson, rancher and new president of New Mexico Cattle Growers, to talk stewardship, drought strategy, and how data and design make cattle calmer and beef better. From policy wins to local processing, we share a clear path to resilient ranching.

• law-to-ranch journey and Spur Ranch origins
• role and scope of New Mexico Cattle Growers
• drought, culling decisions, and infrastructure pivots
• Temple Grandin handling systems and hydraulic chutes
• breeding with EPDs for calving ease and moderate milk
• written protocols for vaccines, minerals, and breeding
• water development expanding wildlife habitat
• coalition policy wins and legislative focus
• mentorship, asking for help, and leadership growth
• local beef markets, state inspection, and processors

"Join our team. Join our team to protect rural New Mexico, to protect the men and women and children who live in rural New Mexico, protect them from the craziness that sometimes goes on, protect them from the additional cost burdens, tax burdens that make it more expensive for us to do our work. Work with us on rural health care, work with us on rural education, join the team." -Tom Paterson

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Transcript

Meet Tom Patterson & Spur Ranch

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome back to another episode of Behind the Burger. I'm Carolyn Romo, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Beef Council, and I am here with Tom Patterson, the newly uh coming into office president of New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Good morning, Carolyn. Howdy.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Yeah, howdy. Um, so we are sitting here in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Cattle Con. Uh, kind of like I like to say it's like Comic-Con, but it's for cow cowboys and cattlemen and women. Uh and we've been in and out of meetings and all kinds of things, and we we both carved out, you know, an hour, but we probably really actually have 43 minutes. And uh so we'll get this done. But thank you so much for taking the time to be on the podcast and thank you for the work you do. First, will you just introduce yourself and and maybe start with the start with the ranch? Tell me about your ranch and your background and just who's Tom?

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Sure. Uh my name is Tom Patterson. Uh the summer before I was born, many years ago, my folks bought a small ranch uh up at Luna, New Mexico, which is right on the Arizona border in the southwestern part of the state. No matter where I've slept, Luna's always been home for me. I graduated from Silver High School. I was a bicentennial senior. Uh that dates me a little bit. I went off to school at Texas AM, got a degree in ag economics, went to the University of Wisconsin and got a master's, a PhD, and a law degree, went back to Texas and practiced uh natural resource law, primarily complex commercial litigation, for about 40 years. Along the way, uh met my wife, had two wonderful daughters, and realized that practicing law wasn't nearly enough for me because there was there was something in my heart that needed to be dealt with. And it was a passion, continues to be a passion, to participate in an industry such as we're doing this week at NCBA's cattle con. 10,000 cattlemen and cattle women, the people who produce the protein that America covers, covets, the world covets. I wanted to be part of that operation. And I wanted to give back to the land that supports us. So we began our ranch, uh, which we call Spur Ranch Cattle Company in 1997. We named it Spur Ranch because there was an author, widely regarded author, uh Montague Stevens, who wrote a book called Meet Mr. Grizzly. And he was the founder of the Spur Ranch back in the 1800s. Fascinating career. Highly recommend Meet Mr. Grizzly to all of the listeners. Uh and we wanted to revive that name, so we called it Spur Ranch. We started small, we're on our own, doing it all by ourselves. No one gave anything to us, we didn't inherit it. And so we um we bought some private property, we bought a grazing allotment because in Catron County there's not a whole lot of land if you don't have grazing allotments. We've added to that over on the Arizona side of the border. We had a what we call Spur Ranch 1.0, which was a stalker operation. We transitioned that to a cow-calf operation in about 2012 with an operation we bought down at Alma, New Mexico, just south of us. And then we've been in three years of drought, terrible drought in Catron County. And so now we find ourselves at a point where instead of running about 600 head, we've had to vastly cull the herd. And until we get through this drought, until we get some water resources re-established, uh, we're going to be focused primarily on raising the the cattle we have left, but also on doing infrastructure projects that have needed to be done. Uh, and now's the time to do them.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Yeah, I think uh it's such an interesting journey you took and such a cool thing. Actually, the last podcast guest was a lawyer, but he was he only practiced law for a year, uh so a bit different there, but but it's just neat to see when someone has a you know different career and does other things, lives other places, but the ranch and and the ranch in New Mexico specifically brings you back, right? Or the the dream of that. So I I love that. Well, um kind of bringing it back to why we're here in Nashville and and why, you know, you might hear some background noise today, and you might hear uh you might see us uh you know watching our friends walk by us. Uh tell me about your role uh with the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.

What Cattle Growers Actually Do

SPEAKER_01 4:55

The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association represents the beef producers, the men and the women in New Mexico who produce cattle, beef cattle. The men and women who live and do that in rural New Mexico. So our charge is to represent them, to advocate for their for them on the issues that will advance the industry, things that we need to help us do a better job at it, and also to work diligently to keep bad stuff from happening. As we record this, the New Mexico legislature is in session for our 30-day session. And there's some good things in the legislature going on. There's some really bad things going on in the legislature that we've been actually working on here this morning. And there are just some plum crazy things going on in the New Mexico legislature, which I hope never see much of the light of day. So uh New Mexico Cattle Growers advocates for our producers and the rural communities in which they live, uh at a local level, at a state level, and at a at a national level.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

I it's such an important work, it's such important work that you do, and I always like to make sure and clarify too that the New Mexico Beef Council is we are not a lobbying organization, right? So we don't touch policy, we do promotion, education, and research. But it's really important for our cattle producers that there is an organization that does that. And so I'm always impressed and grateful that you guys lead that charge and and um those of us as individuals can be, you know, um involved politically, but we are not as an organization because I I'm not ready for that, right? The the organization you lead is is in good hands with Oh come on, Carol Ann.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Let's be fair here. What you do for the producers in New Mexico is unbelievable. We've watched it over the last couple years. Here we are in Nashville, Tennessee, this week, and we're watching the New Mexico Beef Council balloon fiesta balloon uh go up here. And there is a level of excitement here. And that's just one of the things. During our state meeting the other day, I was deliberate and saying, I calling you out and saying, I want you to also tell these guys and women about the uh Dion's pizza that you're behind. And those are just two of so many different initiatives that you and the Beef Council, many of whom are here, uh, have been responsible for over the past couple years. We could not be prouder of the work you do.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Oh, thank you. You're gonna make me emotional. I I it's an honor. It's an honor to uh serve the producers. I know we we love to say that that um you know I work for you guys. I work for the producers of New Mexico, every producer of New Mexico, um, and I work and then that that uh beautiful uh Beef It's What's for Dinner Hot Air Balloon belongs to the producers of New Mexico, right? And that's why your spur brand is on there on the door. And um any producers, if we have time, we'd love to get your brand on there if you haven't already. Uh we've tried to, you know, have some public opportunities to do that, but it's it's just really important that that to say that that I work for you all, and it's it's such an honor because um you know I always say at the end of the podcast, but I'll say it now too, I'm grateful for people who are willing to take the risk and put themselves out there for the opportunity to grow food and and put you know food and clothes on our back, right? It's a risk, it's small margins, it's so many factors, there's so many things you guys deal with, and so I'm I'm honored to represent those kind of people. Yeah, absolutely. Uh so um we've we've kind of talked about your your operation and the history of it, um, but what is something that um what is like the most rewarding part for you, whether it's at the ranch or whether it's at cattle growers, but what's the most rewarding thing?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

I'm living Genesis 1 from the Bible. The Lord said to man, be a wise steward of his creation, of his land and of his creatures. And that's what we aim to do every day. And I get to do it in the midst of his creation. And I get to do it with his people, who are likewise committed to wise stewardship of our land and of our animals. That's pretty special.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Oh, that's beautiful. That's that's absolutely beautiful, and and I will say that rural New Mexico specifically, and and being uh amidst the creation and the and the environment in New Mexico is beautiful, right? What a what a wonderful place to to do business. Amen. Amen. You know, uh amidst the the you know the drought and the struggles and the things, it's still a very beautiful place to live.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Do you know even that drought and the struggles we face force us to think harder and better about overcoming obstacles that where we can't. And I guess one way I'm trying to learn to teach myself to look upon those issues is not that I want a lot more of them, we have enough, but as the way God's training us to take on bigger and bigger challenges.

Tools, Temple Grandin, And Low-Stress Handling

SPEAKER_00 10:22

The the word adaptability uh comes to mind, you know, that you have to be adaptable and you have to, you know, uh weather weather through it, right? And find find new solutions. Absolutely. Uh which is fun too. We've been walking around the trade show here and seeing all of the innovations and technology. That's really impressive. Do you have any particular like piece of uh technology or or innovation that you guys use on the ranch that's a favorite?

SPEAKER_01 10:48

It has to be my hydraulic squeeze shoots. I mean, to a couple weeks ago we were down processing cows. I think we did 80 head in about 45 minutes. We were re-ear tagging them. Uh and everything, the the hydraulic squeeze chute worked perfectly. It was quiet. Uh those cows kind of went in, got their new, got their old ear tag taken off, got their new ear tag put on. We were able to look at them. Uh, it was great. I love my I love my hydraulic squeeze shoots.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Yeah, well, and that's a that's a really fun thing to talk to producers about, is is kind of the toys or the tools, right? They're tools, but sometimes they feel like they're so special that it's it's like giving a kid a toy, but it's really just making your life life uh so much easier and the animals' lives.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Absolutely. And let's not forget the animals in that equation. This is something that really enhances the quality for them.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Yep, that was kind of the next thing I was thinking is those those uh chutes, the hydraulic chute is designed to give the animal comfort. Um, sometimes, or some of the things we learned, I think, in in my opinion, one of the first people that that really went public about it was Temple Grandin, about animals like enclosed spaces, right? And so they they feel comforted, they feel confident being in that enclosed space. And so these this piece of technology makes it easier to get them in that spot where they're confident, they trust you, and you can get the work done that they need. And those ear tags are important for identification and knowing you know how old they are, what what uh what their growth pattern is. So if something's wrong and they're not growing or anything like that, that it's very important.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

If you're if listeners haven't watched the movie uh Temple, I highly recommend that. It's about Temple Grandin, who's responsible for transforming our industry in so many respects, including on how we take care of our cattle.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Absolutely, absolutely, I would recommend that.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Everything we have on the ranch is Temple Grandin design because we started from scratch. If we made a mistake, it's on us. But everything we did, we did based on Temple Grandon's designs. Twelve-foot alleys, tubs, hydraulic squeeze chutes, covered processing area. She's had an amazing impact on the cattle production industry in the United States. Very, very grateful to Dr. Grandin.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And and I think uh grateful for universities that are working to study more of that, right? I know she still is uh, I think an adjunct professor at Colorado State University and they still do research there, so uh that's something for a consumer to know that there's people actively studying how to treat cattle the best possible way, right? We're always trying to do better. We're always trying to learn, trying to figure out a better way to do things, uh, because treating the animal better, I always like to compare it to it, it ends up in more profitability, right? So it's not even just a the kindness of our heart and the care of our livestock, which is true, it's also financially responsible to take better care. And so uh I always I always like to draw those two conclusions too. Yep. Um so how do New Mexico's landscapes and climate shape the way you ranch?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

From the beginning beginning, you know, we select our bulls and our cows to fit the landscape, to fit the climate we have, to fit the rainfall patterns. So we look for about a 1600-pound bull. We look for cows that are gonna weigh probably about a thousand fifty to eleven hundred pounds, because we don't want to put animals out on the range that are gonna require more in the way of groceries than the land can provide. So we uh we insist on that. We also make sure that when we're selecting bulls based on our our first stop when we are considering bulls is to look at their expected progeny differences, their EPDs. So I want a bull that's gonna have a heifer that is going to have uh calvinese, high score on calvinese, because the chances are she's gonna be out in a pasture, and I'm not gonna be there to help her if she has a problem when she's calving. So I need a calvinese. Um I don't want a cow out there on the landscape that is gonna produce 35 uh pounds over the the herd, uh the industry average in milk because we don't have the groceries for it. I want one that's probably gonna be producing about 17 to 23 pounds over. Uh that's kind of the target we set for that. My I have fortunately I have a brother, Dr. John Patterson, who's Montana State, who's been an incredible resource for uh our operation for many, many years, who makes me toe the line on all those things. And then we and then we go look at the bulls. We weed it down to a certain certain bulls fit our profile, and then we go look at the bulls for confirmation and other stuff and cost.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Absolutely. No, I'm glad you you said the EPD uh the name because that's always my job is to do help with the acronyms in the podcast. And that one I was having trouble the other day remembering that difference word. I knew it was expected progeny, and we were you know going back and forth, so thank you for that. And yet I think that data that there is on cattle is really important and really neat and shows how far we've come, right? We we're not picking bulls because they're beautiful and they they look like the bull my grandpa had, right? We're picking because of exactly the the things you said, and that's I love that technology aspect. Um we don't have that much information about ourselves.

Breeding For The Land: EPDs And Fit

SPEAKER_01 16:43

And you know, and and that's on our just our our bull and our cow selection. Um but we also, as we as we work the ranch, we want to put in our fences and our drinkers in ways that are consistent with the landscape. So the fences that we put in, we want to design those or have those fences in places so that we can funnel cattle down to processing areas. It's easier to gather them, it's easier to move them. Uh in terms of our water, we're gonna put our our wells, our pipelines, our storage tanks, our drinkers in areas that are underserved, uh, where there aren't natural uh sources of water and there are no stock tanks otherwise, or we can't even put in a stock tank. Uh we're gonna focus on those areas. So it's it's across the board we're trying to work with the environment, with the the landscape as we select our animals and as we uh build the ranch.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Absolutely, as as you have to, right? Can you give an example or another example because now we've talked about a couple of how you care for your cattle to support their health and well-being?

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Well, with a brother who is a was the beef cattle extension specialist in Montana for about 25 years, John Patterson, I have a protocol for everything that he has insisted on. So we have a uh a bull protocol, the kind of bulls, and we've talked about that. We have a cow protocol, the kind of cows we we lay it out. Uh we have a protocol on vaccinations. These are the vaccinations we're going to give every year. I run it by Dr. Allred, um, our herd veterinarian. Uh, every time we get ready to uh to vaccinate our cows and calves. I also run it by Dr. Wenzel, our extension uh veterinarian for New Mexico, who's just done an amazing job in so many ways. We have a supplement protocol. These are the supplements we're gonna put out, the protein, the mineral. What are the minerals that our area is deficient in? For example, if you're deficient in copper, you need to add more copper. If you're deficient in selenium, you need to add more selenium. So we want to make sure that what we're giving is what these cattle need. Um we have a sales, a sales protocol about when we sell, how long the calves have been on the cows, how long it's gonna be until the cow is gonna give a have another calf. Uh the breeding protocol, we do a we typically do a protocol where we put the uh bring the cattle in, the cows in, the open cows in to an area. We put bulls in with them for a couple days, and then we run them through the chute, and we give them a shot of lutilice, and then we put them out there with uh a bunch of bulls for a while, and then we put them in small traps. Um and for our country that gets us higher conception rates than you might otherwise expect.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

What's the lutilice?

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Lutilice is a um oh, I don't know if it's a progesterone or or what, but it but it enhances the cow coming into estrus so she can get bred.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Yep, okay, okay. Make some make some cycle or or yep, okay. Um perfect. Yeah, so there's there's so many things, right? So many things and and all of your protocols lead towards better cattle health. Yeah, absolutely. What's one thing most people don't realize about raising cattle in New Mexico? Or or maybe even what's kind of a something that you want to you want consumers to know about it.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

I want them to know about our commitment to doing it right. If we don't take care of the land, as you hear this over and over again, and it's true, you should be hearing it over and over again. If we don't take care of the land and the water resources, they won't take care of us. I think there's actually lots of common ground that we have with many people across New Mexico. If they would just stop and come out and actually go to a ranch and or listen to your podcast, Carol Ann, about the commitment we have to wise stewardship of our land and of our cattle. Um I don't think people in New Mexico, for example, know the role that we play in establishing habitat for wildlife. When folks started coming into New Mexico, and at least into western New Mexico and some other parts in the 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, wildlife were largely confined to riparian areas. What the ranchers have done is put water elsewhere in unwatered areas. We put in the stock tanks, the wells, we've developed the springs, we put in the pipelines, the storage tanks, the drinkers. And it's not just cattle that go water there. It's everything the elk, the deer, birds, you know, the I call environments. Uh they're they're watering in there too. And so we've been able to spread wildlife habitat out beyond the riparian area substantially, and that increases opportunities for our hunting community, uh and and for people who just like looking at wildlife. A lot of that depends on the ranchers. You take the rancher off the landscape, who's gonna do it? It's not the Forest Service, it's not the BLM, it's not the state, it's not these organizations that say they're out there to to protect the wildlife. It's the rancher. It's the rancher who does all that work.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

I I I find that a really, really fascinating way to describe it, and I I haven't even thought of that myself, of of understanding that the ranchers did develop a lot of those water systems. So that's that's new information or a new new storytelling version of it that that I appreciate and I can picture that right of that. So thank you for that. That's really, really a great, great example. Uh what's something you're excited about in your operation right now?

Protocols, Vet Partners, And Herd Health

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Given where we are in the drought, we have some, we're gonna have to pivot a little bit and spend more time on infrastructure projects that have are overdue getting done. Uh I want to make sure that when I pass the ranch on to my daughters, who are both heavily engaged, even from a distance, in managing the ranch and are not shy about offering opinions to their dad about what they think I should be doing. I want to leave it to them so that we are what they have is not going to require a lot of maintenance or uh, for example, we do uh metal or rock or uh anywhere close to the ground. We want to have our woods that are, we've managed the woods so we're not going, we're not as at risk of a wild of a of a bad wildfire. Uh we want to take care of all those issues, and we have an opportunity now that because of the drought actually to to deal with a number of those issues. We want to get it right. And it also, having gone through Spur Ranch 1.0 and 2.0, now it's time for us to think hard about what Spur Ranch 3.0 is going to look like so that we're doing it um in a way that's profitable because if we can't do it profitably, we can't do it at all. And um and consistent with our passion about fulfilling God's commandment to us to take care of the land and the livestock.

SPEAKER_00 24:48

Again, beautifully said, and and I love that specific uh using using metals and and rock and and things instead of wood because we live in a state where wildfire is a is a problem. I what a what a great solution, right? Maybe a more expensive solution or a more difficult solution, possibly, but but it makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Storage tanks, drinkers in the corrals, multiple drinkers in the corrals, you know, if a helicopter needs to come in and and get a a big load of water, we keep all those drinkers open during fire season. We got to do that.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Absolutely. Think thankful, we're thankful you do. Uh so tell us something you're excited about with New Mexico Cattle Growers.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

New Mexico Cattle Growers is on the move. We are I am so proud of the officer team that I have, um Dave Kenneke in Northeastern New Mexico Vice President, Jeff Decker, Southeastern New Mexico Regional Vice President, uh Tracy Drummond for the Southwestern Regional Vice President, Marjorie Lantana for the Northwestern Regional Vice President, Marshall Wilson, who is at the core of doing so many things to protect livestock in New Mexico, is our vice president at large, and Tamara Hurt, CPA from down in Deming, is gonna be serving as our Secretary Treasurer. I'm very proud of them, but I'm also really proud of our committee chairs. Each of them is gonna be heading up a committee this year, and we have a fabulous group of committee chairs and vice chairs. We'll actually be doing a training session on uh this next week where we talk about what are the issues in your wheelhouse and what are the resources you need to get them across the finish line. But whether it's at a state or a federal level, Cattle Growers is actually doing stuff. And I'm very proud of the work that we've been doing in the legislature, with the agencies, the crazy stuff that we've gotten stopped, like the heat, the heat rule that we got stopped this past year, the progress that we've made on managing Mexican wolves, um, in just so many different the spectacular work that has been done to shut down to the extent we've been able to, the prospect of NITSI, the national interest electric transmission quarter over along the eastern part of the state. That's New Mexico cattle growers. We're the ones at the forefront of all of those initiatives. And I'm very with allies. Let me just say, we got great allies. The Farm Bureau, um, the the dairy producers, uh, so the Association of Conservation Districts. We got great allies in our ag group. And I I couldn't be prouder or more humbled to be able to work with all of them. But here within Cattle Growers, we are committed and we are passionate. We're gonna get it done.

Wildlife, Water, And Working Landscapes

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Yeah, it takes that commitment and takes that passion. So we're we're uh I'm sure um I everyone's excited that that you're at the lead and and yeah, you have a great group of people and um and excited, excited to see where see where it goes. So wish you all the best with all of that. Yeah. Um to the report. Oh good, oh good, absolutely, absolutely. Um what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Ask for help. My mom grew up in central Minnesota. She wore flower sack dresses, she managed to become a nurse. Uh, she was last class of nurses trained for World War II. And she told me one day, as I guess I was in high school, she said that along the way she learned that if you do it a good job, don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask for advice from other folks. Because chances are they're more in her experience, and it's proven true in my life, they're willing to help. They're willing to pay it back, pay it forward. And um that's probably been one of the most invaluable things I've had to be teachable and to be able to ask for help and advice.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

Oh, that's great advice. Absolutely the best advice. We uh yeah, I I I can't even add on to that. I I need that, I need to learn that or remember that because uh yeah, the more we can get help. I know uh being welcomed into the New Mexico agriculture and and beef community has been really wonderful, and I've I've received a lot of advice and kindness, and I'm uh ever grateful. And I'm grateful that uh, you know, being here at NCBA makes me think of the other State Beef Council execs and and the Federation and all of that, uh, all of the community that gives me that help and makes it easy to shoot a text to somebody and say, is this, am I doing this right? Or what's your gut check? And I I'm so grateful for the help I've received.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

That's who we are in agriculture. Let's just remember, ask for help. Absolutely. Ask for a mentor, whether you're a man, whether you're a woman. I've gone to so many sessions last couple days where the key point has been mentorship. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I know if it hadn't been for my brother, I we never would have had as successful an operation as we do today. I'm very grateful to him and to so many others from whom I've learned.

unknown 31:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Absolutely. I I've only uh you know been been at the New Mexico Beef Council for a year and a half, but we wouldn't be able to do any of the things we've done without without the help I've received. So and the and the support from a wonderful board. You talk about your team, and I started thinking, oh yeah, we do have we got some great New Mexicans on our teams.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

And you're gonna have New Mexico cattle grower representatives at your board meetings henceforth.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

Yeah, we love it. We we appreciate the support, and again, like I said, I think it's really neat that we have our our different, you know, main goals, but the the overall goal is to support producers and and you know make ranching something that happens for generations, which is often the the goal of each individual rancher, and so we I'm I'm glad that we can work together while uh while still f filling our certain roles in in a lot of ways.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

And meeting, doing what it is that the American consumer absolutely wants. I think one of the big issues that they've talked about during this uh uh NCBA convention is the food triangle. I mean, it beef is no longer at on the bottom level, it's at the top. And that's a ta that takes a community to produce that protein, to convert grass to protein that the American consumer covets. That's what we're about, and we're gonna do it right.

Drought Pivots And Spur Ranch 3.0

SPEAKER_00 32:28

Absolutely. I know uh NCBA specifically as a as a contractor to the checkoff showed that when they were pr creating the dietary guidelines, more than 20 pieces of their research projects that were funded, checkoff funded research projects, helped inform the information that came out in in the new dietary guidelines. And that science and fact-based information helped the helped our government make an informed decision, a science-based decision and realization that that absolutely animal protein is a is a high quality protein and an important part of everyone's diet from infancy to to six months on. Yeah, from six months on, yeah. So uh that's a that's a great win and a great thing, like you said, meeting meeting the goals of the American public. Yep. Um we've we've kind of already talked about it, and I I um never want to miss any questions or cut you off, but we all do have other places to go here in Nashville and meetings, so I don't want to take too long. But um one of my uh one of the most important questions we ask, why do you do what you do? Why do you work to improve your ranch, and and why do you work to fight for other ranchers? And and again, you've already said it, but just to reiterate, what makes you keep going?

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Passion. Passion to fulfill what God commanded me to do. And that's to take care of the land, to take care of his creatures, and to work with my fellow man to accomplish that. That's why I do it. It's passion.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

That's the ultimate, ultimate motivator, ultimate uh uh a beautiful response, right? Um is there anything anything that um when we talked about we've talked about doing this podcast for a while, but then you're busy, I'm busy, and and uh the only place we could meet up together is is you know a thousand miles away from from home. Or I'm not sure how many miles. Yeah. Uh but what a what a neat opportunity, and we've got this fun backdrop and great spot, so I'm I'm excited, and we see I keep seeing friends walk by. So we're getting some advertising for our podcast out as people are.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

Well, just remember, I've been talking to the folks in Wyoming about having it them to issue an invitation for the New Mexico Beef Council to take the balloon up to Cheyenne for Frontier Days this summer. Wouldn't that be wouldn't that be great?

SPEAKER_00 35:03

That would be fun. That would be very fun. Yeah, the balloon is kind of out for hire, right? We have a price list of of what it costs us to get places. We're not trying to be, you know, largely profitable on it, but the NCBA convention team paid for it to be here in Nashville so that it wasn't costing us uh money, but part of their wow budget, you know, instead of paying another entertainer, they they paid for the balloon to be here. So but yeah, if if if um other uh cattle organizations, beef councils, uh agricultural organizations, sports teams, anything, if you guys want to have a beef it's what's for dinner balloon, we usually come with with friends and and goodies, whether it be you know cards or pins or beef sticks, uh we'd we'd be uh excited to go somewhere. But um with all of that, we've talked about doing the podcast for forever. Was there anything that you wanted to make sure and and get said while we were on the podcast or something else, something else you'd like to add?

SPEAKER_01 35:57

I am enormously humbled to be in this position as a rancher and then more specifically today as president to the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association. Join our team. Join our team to protect rural New Mexico, to protect the men and women and children who live in rural New Mexico, protect them from the craziness that sometimes goes on, protect them from the additional cost burdens, tax burdens that make it more expensive for us to do our work. Work with us on rural health care, work with us on rural education, join the team. We are committed to it, and Cattle Growers is there to make it happen. That's what I want your listeners to know.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Thank you. And what advice would you have for someone that that uh wanted to follow in your footstep, whether it be starting a ranch on your own or or joining cattle growers or advocating for for the industry, what's what's advice for that you'd have?

Policy Wins, Coalitions, And Momentum

SPEAKER_01 37:16

I want people to follow their own passion, whatever it is that's laid on their heart. Dream. Dream hard about it. Plan. Plan on how you're gonna execute on your dream. Review how you're doing with executing on your dream. Analyze, is it is what you're doing still consistent with what you set out to do? And lastly, tweak it. Tweak it as necessary. So I set out when I was 18 years old, graduated from Silver High School as a bicentennial senior. Bicentennial senior for the state of New Mexico that year, actually. I wanted to go off to college and grad school, law school, and come back to New Mexico to represent rural New Mexico against concentrations of economic and political power that in my short lifetime at that point were always hampering what we could do in agriculture. It took me a little longer than I had expected. It took me more like 50 years, but the education, the experience, the training, all of that has come together and given me just a profound uh opportunity to represent the people I care about deeply. So what I need is I need support. Uh I need folks to get on the team and join us in doing this stuff.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Absolutely. Well, I think if that's not a call to action, I don't I don't know what it is. What is um okay? So my my last question, and then we'll you know rush off to to meetings and and meet you in New Mexico for the next the next thing. I think I'm sure we'll see each other in a few weeks. But my last question, um, what is your current favorite way to eat beef?

SPEAKER_01 39:29

Well, it's been sort of a long-standing way. I want spur ranch beef. It's grass-fed beef. I know what went into producing that beef because I did it. I want to take a spur ranch grass-fed filet. I want to take it out of the ice box, the freezer of the icebox, and salt and pepper it on both sides. I want to cook it for four minutes on each side in a cast iron skillet and then enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 40:01

Ooh, that's good details. We like that. Absolutely. Absolutely. You might have have to send us a picture next time you do that so we can add it to add it to the video. And uh Yeah, yeah. Well, and I I think I I understand that that gratification of a of an animal that you raised and a and a quality meat that you you created or you uh helped finish the end end product, right? Um, and uh is is quite quite delicious and quite wonderful. And I should say a a quick little side plug that if you want local beef, you're looking for somewhere to buy beef at um in New Mexico. We do have a local beef directory on our website, and you can find ranchers in your county, um or direct-to-consumer family-owned businesses.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

We have worked so hard for a number of years to get to get state meat inspection, and my understanding is that by March or April of this year, the program will be up and running. I am so proud of our legislature and the people at the Livestock Board uh who have been responsible for getting that done. Now go. And so we have processors that cattle growers have been supporting for the last last year and again this year to make sure that they can access the technology they need to get rid of the animal waste products and the air and water waste uh that are generated when you harvest an animal. So, um, and it's going to give our ranchers another outlet for for their beef. So, and it gives consumers, it gives our schools, our elderly, our senior center, senior uh citizen centers access to another source of beef, grass-fed New Mexico beef. And that's what we're all about is increasing alternative uh market outlets for our producers. So eat New Mexico beef.

Mentorship, Asking For Help, And Leadership

SPEAKER_00 41:55

Absolutely, absolutely. And we we always say too, if we the biggest way to support ranchers is to buy beef where you are. And if you want local beef, we have a directory that tells you how the beef was raised. You can talk to a rancher and have a conversation, and those those those processing um policies and things that have gone to place in grants uh to help New Mexico processing is solving a need that's been there for quite some time.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

Absolutely, and and it's also employing the local folks. It's giving them job opportunities. And we're absolutely all about that.

SPEAKER_00 42:28

Yeah, and uh, I mean a special shout out to uh to all of our uh New Mexico processors. I've I've had the opportunity to meet some of them and and they're all just great people working hard and working against a lot of difficulties because of you know things that are now hopefully being being fixed and being improved.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

And so And don't forget the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, those folks there, Jason New, Nick Franzini, uh Secretary Whitdy, they've done an outstanding job of supporting these folks to put New Mexico beef on the plate of New Mexicans.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

Absolutely, absolutely. I'm a huge fan of the New Mexico Department of Ag. They've been great, they've been they've been uh so much fun to work with, and uh we even had Secretary Whitdy on the podcast, and that was quite a fun one. Yes, indeed.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Of course, it would be with Secretary Whitty.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, well, Tom, I so appreciate your time, um your your passion, your willingness to work hard, and then and and even specifically your kindness to me and my team. You've been so supportive and so kind, and I I just appreciate that as a human and as a as a consumer and then a representative of the beef industry. Thank you for continuing to work hard to put healthy, safe options of beef on our plate and and working to help other producers do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

Thank you, Carol Ann. It's our pre privilege and our honor.

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Awesome. Thank you again. Behind the burger is a podcast produced by the New Mexico Beef Council with the goal of telling the stories of the cattlemen and cattle women of the New Mexico beef industry. Thank you for joining us for today's episode. If you would like more information, please visit nmbeef.com. Whether it be a burger, a steak, or another beef day, we hope you are enjoying the beef.