Greetings from San Antonio!!!

This will likely just be a short entry today, as we have retreated back to our room in the middle of the NCBA Cattle Convention and Trade Show. What a great experience for Levi and I to have together. We are meeting producers and other folks involved in the cattle industry from across the country and getting to share our stories with one another.

I think that this is a cruical part of no matter what profession you are involved in. It is so important to get out and see the world and talk to others around you to gain a fresh perspective. This was no more evident than in 2016 when Keri, Levi, and I traveled to San Diego for our first NCBA convention. This was my first time to be in California, so I wasnt sure what to expect. When we got to the convention, we immediately noticed a group of protestors across the street from the convention with anti-beef signs. This was the first time in my life that i had experienced a protest like this. Being in a small Missouri town where much of the local economy is dependent upon agriculture, I couldn’t imagine anyone having such an issue with it.

Four years later, I’m very thankful for that experience because it opened my eyes up to what the world was really like. It helped me to see, as beef producers, we have a long way to go in telling our story to those who are not informed on our product. I had a great chat with my friend Jake Renner regarding this topic this morning. It is crucial for us to get out of our comfort zone to see the world around us.

In episode 16 of our podcast, Dave Pratt talks about the importance of getting out of your area to attend events. I was joking that I would love for there to be a Ranching For Profit school in Missouri or Oklahoma so it would be easy for me to attend. Being the teacher and challeger he is, Dave encourgaed me that it is very important to get outside our home area to attend an event like this.

I plan on writing a more comprehensive blog and recording a podcast detailing our time here at NCBA, so please be on the lookout for that. Thanks for reading today and be sure and head over and leave us some reviews on the podcast!

Until the next time!

Jason