Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on
the boots and a working hand. From the milk house
home to the auction call. These are the folks
standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome
to the Bullvine Podcast, where we dive deep into
the stories shaping the global dairy industry.
I'm your host, coming to you from TheBullvine
.com, your premier source for dairy industry
insights, analysis, and the stories that matter
most to dairy professionals worldwide. Today,
we're bringing you an extraordinary conversation
with Chandler Barber, a young man from Statesville,
North Carolina, who has revolutionized one of
the dairy show industry's most crucial but often
invisible roles. Chandler became the first ever
Nightman of the Year at the Royal Agricultural
Winter Fair in Toronto, one of North America's
most prestigious cattle shows. But here's what
makes Chandler's story truly remarkable. He never
grew up on a farm. His journey into the elite
world of cattle care began with beekeeping, led
him through a chance encounter with a retired
dairy farmer. and culminated in him earning nearly
$900 a night caring for show cattle during those
crucial overnight hours when most people are
sleeping. In this conversation, you'll discover
what a night man actually does, why this role
is absolutely critical to the success of elite
cattle operations, and how Chandler's systematic
approach to animal care is setting new standards
for the industry. We'll explore his unique feeding
philosophies, his obsessive attention to detail,
and why operations like Kingsway Farms offered
him a lifetime contract after just one show.
Whether you're a dairy producer, show cattle
enthusiast, or simply someone interested in agricultural
careers, this conversation will change how you
think about animal care, dedication, and finding
your calling in unexpected places. So settle
in for an in -depth look at the night shift revolution
in dairy showing and the young man who's proving
that some of the most important work in agriculture
happens when everyone else is asleep. Well, first
of all, and the term night man, I don't know
if too many people actually know what it means,
especially if you're not familiar from in the
show scene. So do you mind just telling us what
is a night man and what is the role at the cattle
shows for a night man? Well, in my opinion, night
man or night guy, night woman, night lifer. It's
the process of continuously taking care of animals
throughout the night as the day crew leaves to
go get some shut -eye. As a night man, you're
supposed to feed, keep them clean, make sure
there are no sick animals in the pack. And if
so, you have to be one to make the decision,
what do I do when there's a sick animal? Do I
continue to watch her and try and keep her progressing?
Is she too cold? Is she too hot? Should I call
the boss in? There's a number of different options
for you, but not only that, though, the display.
You want to keep the display all clean and tidy,
and you want to make sure the whole string itself
looks as good as whenever the crew left it, and
as soon as they come back in, it looks like it's
new again. You want to treat the cows as good
as you can, with the most respect you can. I
mean, like, for instance, one of the things I
do is, As I'm feeding or something, I'll talk
to them. Sounds weird, but I know. I'll constantly
talk to them. I'll give them validation. I'll
say they're doing a good job. Keep going, girls.
Keep going, girls. As they're constantly building
rib, as they're constantly eating more hay or
eating whatever I'm feeding them, whether I'm,
let's say, feeding silage at 10 p .m. at night
or continuously feeding hay or switching over
hays to feed to them, you just want to continuously
keep them growing, keep them eating. One of the
things I actually like to do is keep them coasting.
Like on the first day they're getting settled
in, I'll coast them on hay, you know, give them
what they want, but I won't hammer them that
day. Second day, I'll go a little harder. I still
won't hammer them, but I will feed a bit more
aggressively. Third day, depending on which one's
show, I'm either filling or I'm just continuously
going. I like to go in a bell curve when I'm
feeding because... As you know, a bell curve
keeps rising until it hits a plateau point. And
then once it hits that plateau point, you switch.
Then it rises again and hits another plateau
point. Then let's say you switch one more time.
Rises again, another plateau point. And so on
and so forth. Because cows like variety. But
not only that, they like good quality forage
and hay. Not to mention that they like the long
stem stuff too. I have run into my fair share
of picky eaters. And if you continuously do it
right, you are able to maximize their potential
through eating. And not only that, as you continuously
wash them and keep putting them on your show
program every day and push them to their maximum
potential, they will give you back the maximum
results. If you take care of them, they will
take care of you. And I'm a firm believer in
that. And for many, it is a newer term, but it's
also they've come up with a new award. I think
the Macmillan boys and Armstrong and a few of
them were so impressed with the work you did
at the Royal that they started a whole new Nightman
of the Year award. And can you explain to everyone
what that award meant to you and what that award
is? That award meant the world to me. It really
skyrocketed my career, honestly. I still remember
the day that Kyle Stockdale called me after Expo.
I was planning on coming to Royal anyway, but
it wasn't guaranteed that I was going. And Kyle
called me and said, hey, you want to come to
Royal? I'm like, yeah, for sure. Kingsway wants
you. Kingsway? Who the heck is Kingsway? Keep
in mind, I've only been doing this for two years.
I'm still trying to figure out who everybody
is and who's who. But from that moment on, changed
my career forever and made me a new Canadian
family. Nightmare of the year, basically what
I had to do to get it is I had to go the extra
mile, as Kyle's prefix is, and basically work
my hardest while also keeping the little things
in mind. Whether you're sweeping more to keep
the floors clean, whether you're shaking straw
so that they can just pitchfork it in whenever
cows are getting washed and brought back. Consistency
is key, but not only that, you want to be fast
with it. The more time you can cut down on work
whenever you're moving animals, getting them
to and from the pack, the better. Because the
last thing you want to do is keep a cow waiting
on the wash rack because you're not done shaking
a straw bale. So, at night... What I would do
for those guys is I would constantly shake straw
for them. That way I'd be ready for them in the
morning. I would sweep the floors. I would clean
the chute, wrap up everybody's cords. And yeah,
I would just try and make the string look as
pretty as I could possible. While also keeping
the cows dandy. I mean, they were comfortable.
They were making milk, chewing their cud, eating
hay. Everything was going right. And on top of
that, well, at Royal, of course, it gets cold.
You kind of got to know when you want to cut
the fans off and when you don't. Because the
barn can get kind of dusty, but as long as you
keep some air moving through there, which we
were right beside of a big sliding garage door
type thing, you know, with the chain on it. Yep.
So there was naturally wind blowing in from that
side. And we also had fans running. So every
now and then I cut maybe one or two fans off
and I'd cut them back on just to keep air moving.
keep cows healthy keep them eating keep them
looking healthy in my term and on top of that
you know it genuinely worked out perfect it worked
out beautifully i mean the animals they looked
astounding on show day and i'm just really proud
i'm very prideful about that string whenever
i think night shift memories that string will
always stick out for me because Not only was
that my first row ever, but I got Nightman of
the Year at my first row ever, and that will
always be special to my heart. Now, you're from
Statesville, North Carolina, which is not quite
Madison, Wisconsin when it comes to dairy cattle
shows, and you didn't grow up on a farm. So how
did you get into that? Well, actually, funny
story is I got into farming for bees. I was doing
bees with this guy named Craig Conley to start
with, and also this guy named Thomas Bates to
start with. Thomas is who I originally started
with because he's the one who caught that swarm
out of the tree, and I watched him do it. But
through time, I ended up trying to get more and
more serious into bees, and my hive numbers grew
more and more, and I got connected with this
guy named Craig. Now, Craig is a funny guy. He
also really loves bees. He used to be commercial
and have his own honey company out in the beach
area. He'd sell whipped honey. He'd sell barrel
-aged honey. He'd sell a lot of varieties of
stuff. And, yeah, Craig basically taught me what
I knew on steroids, essentially. Like, he really
went into depth. Really showed me how to get
through hives fast while maintaining a consistent
time and just basically continuing to remain
vigilant, working through this hive, seeing what
I need to see, close it up, working through that
hive, seeing what I need to see, close it up.
Time was important to him. And through teachings,
he learned me that, well, learned me, he showed
me that time was important as well. Because the
more you're in a hive, the more they get agitated
with you. the less work you're going to do because
they're busy focusing on you and not getting
pollen for hunting. And with time, we eventually,
he told me one day, there's this guy in Harmony,
North Carolina. He needs help. His name's Charlie.
And we went over there to help him with some
bees. And, well, Charlie was the organic dairy
farmer. And he had this one cow in the pasture.
She was a Jersey. With time, I started helping
Charlie more and more. And this is actually how
I got into showing and whatnot. This cow had
coliform mastitis. Her udder was dead. She couldn't
make milk. But he kept her just as a little souvenir
because he was retired. And I eventually asked
him, hey, can we breed that cow to like a show
bull or something so I can show the cows? And
he was like, yeah, I'm not doing nothing else
with her. So that's what we did. She came out.
I wouldn't say she was the prettiest thing on
the block, but she got second at our state fair,
and that wasn't even really the highlight of
my state fair. But I went there, and after she
showed, I wanted to keep her clean. I wanted
to keep her looking pristine and in good condition,
but while also continuing to progress her and
make her better. And as I was doing this, one
string asked me to night shift for them for the
first time. And then another, and then another,
and then another. And eventually, I mean, I was
looking after nine strings, making $900 a night.
It was crazy. I mean, God throws blessings in
some of the strangest ways, but that kind of
shaped my whole career. And, you know, I've made
friends through this industry, both some alive,
some past. I'd say one of my greatest friends
in North Carolina. It was probably a man named
Wayne. You ever heard of him? Yep. Yep. He's
responsible for Deerview. He made the bull, Ballaston.
I think Ballaston is the bull responsible for
Spritz, if I'm not mistaken. Correct. Yeah, he
was overall a great person. He never stopped
to help. I mean, he always stopped to help people.
He was always there if you needed a talk, and
he was just overall a very compassionate Jersey
guy. I miss them. Now, you talk about that first
time and making $900. Was that when you realized
this was your calling? Is that when the passion
started for you? Kind of, sort of. I knew I would
walk around and do that, but I wasn't good yet.
I can keep them clean. I can keep them fed. Whenever
you're working that many strings, it's hard to
fully commit to that animal. At that point, you're
mainly focusing on just keeping hay in front
of them and keeping them clean. That's it. You
can't really see who's doing who or what's doing
what until you walk around that next time and
see those animals. So that's why I like working
strings of like 15, 20, 25. I mean, at New York
Spring Show, I was working a string of 36 by
myself. And, yeah, you can really commit to those
animals and you can really judge what they're
going through, what they need, what they don't
need. Like, for instance, through night shifting,
I've taken care of animals who, if you filled
up too much, they would break behind their shoulder
slightly. Or cows, for instance. I've accidentally
made a cow too cold from the fans. To combat
that, I'd cut the fan off, and I would let her
naturally heat up, because we made our packs
pretty deep, so the straw would help with that,
and she'd start chewing her cud. And then, depending
on what she'd do, I'd check her ear temperature
with my fingers, like I'd walk up beside her
and check her ears, and if they were doing warm,
perfect. And, yeah, the cows end up doing fine.
Cows mainly take care of themselves, for the
most part. But you do have to keep an eye on
them. Some of them can be kind of finicky. Now,
you've commented that you feel you weaseled your
way into the industry. Why do you feel that way?
Because in my point of view, I kind of just came
out of nowhere. Like, one day I was just someone
that nobody knew, just trying to do my job right
and do it proper. It feels like I'm everywhere.
I was at Triple T. I was at the Kingsway Tag
Sale. I was at the Mount Elgin Sale. I was at
Ratliff Sale. I was at New York Spring Show and
so on and so forth, just to name a few. I mean,
and now this upcoming, I'm going to be at a number
of places. I'm going to be at Erie County Fair.
I'm going to be at... Kentucky State Fair I'm
going to be at Madison Summer Showcase Madison
aka World Dairy Expo I'm going to be at Royal
and a couple others you know it's wild how many
opportunities that I'm getting blessed with from
other people but honestly I'm also just very
grateful for it because these guys are trusting
in me to take care of their animals throughout
the night so I'm very prideful over that and
I just can't thank everybody enough for it. You
know, they're giving me opportunities that I
didn't even know you could have. Someone had
told me that I'd be going to Canada for a cow
show. Two years ago, I'd laugh and say, what?
What's a cow show? Now it's my life. You know,
I live and breathe it, and I never want to stop.
Speaking of never stopping, Kingsway, boys I
know, quite well and have had a lot of success
and take a lot of pride in the work they do.
We're so impressed that after your first time
working with them, they gave you a lifetime contract.
What was that like for you? Well, I don't want
to be superstitious or nothing, but that day
I was wearing my lucky shirt. Just saying. That
meant quite a bit to me. The fact that someone
liked my work so much, to give me an opportunity
such as that for such a legendary string full
of animals. I mean, Kingsley has had countless
95 points. You got alley, you got gummy, you
got orangutan, just so many legendary animals.
And honestly, it's just such an opportunity to
have. And then for them to also give me a lifetime
opportunity, it just makes me feel so grateful.
I mean, because. The way I think about it, anybody
could have gotten that opportunity. Anybody could
have worked for him that year. But somehow the
stars lined up and God made it possible for Ethan
and Morgan to give me an opportunity such as
that. And I look forward to doing my second Royal
with those guys. Now, when I was talking with
Ethan, one of the things he really highlighted
is how. Did the little things like the details
he says it like you're It's insane in a good
way that you worked so hard on the little details
What are the little details that you think make
the biggest difference? I Walk around barns and
you know, let's just say you're a cattleman and
You want to be by yourself and you want to buy
an animal. But you want to do it in private.
You know, you come through the barns at like
10, 11 p .m., just walking, seeing everything
laying down. Let's say you walk into the Kingsway
stream. Ooh, Kingsway. They have some good animals.
Wow. Oh, there's straw over the floor. Oh, my
gosh. The cows have manure on the ground. Oh,
why does she have a spot on her? Just name it
off. Checking boxes that are not good. First
off, for me, my cows have to be spotless. I can't
stand it when they have manure on them. It just,
it messes with my mind. And on top of that, I
need to make sure the floors are clean. I sweep
all night long. Because whenever I'm feeding
hay, you constantly have that one little piece
that falls on the floor or something. Whenever
you're coming in and out of the cow pack, sometimes
you have straw that connects to your jeans and
comes out with you and other stuff like that.
But not only that, you want to make, let's say,
people overlook the clipping station sometimes,
but that's a part of the string just like everything
else is. You want that to be spotless. You want
the clipping to be spotless. And whenever I'm
usually in a string too, I usually try to organize
the string myself. Like, I'll put the tables
over here. I'll line the chairs up beside the
hut. I just like to make everything look all
tidy and neat for everybody to see because you
never know when that one person might come down
the string ready to buy an animal or when that
one person might come down the string with his
kid or his daughter to show them Kingsway's legendary
animals. And I feel like you owe it up to them
and you owe it to the cows to have them looking
their prime. Because, I mean, if I was in a pack
and I had someone taking care of me, I'd want
the best care they can give me. I mean, after
all, show cow, show is in their name. So I feel
like we should treat them like the princesses
they are. I mean, in my opinion, they are athletes.
They have contracts with different companies
like CMEX, Select, and some other small fire
directories. So I feel like we should give them
the ultimate care. Whenever it comes to that,
I mean, it's just... I get pretty obsessive with
these small things. Because, like, for instance,
we went out to dinner. I think it was the last
night. And, well, nothing was in the string.
And then we went to... I went to a horse party.
The horse people were throwing parties. But afterwards,
I left. And, yeah, I dismantled the string. I
took down all the cage. The fence was already
down. I took off the railing. rolled up all the
signs and whatnot, took off the signs from the
top. I just organized everything. That way, when
everybody pulled in with the trailers, the pack
trailers, we could just pick up everything and
place it here, here, here, here, here, without
having to go through the hassle of reorganizing
things. Everybody could just carry out their
stuff, and it would just be there, ready to go.
Taking an extra hour or two to dismantle everything
we put up. I took apart the running board. Did
all that stuff. And on top of that, whatever
they told me to do, I did it. No questions asked.
You know? And if there were any special instructions,
I would ask. Hey, what about this cow? What do
we need to do for her? Are the instructions the
same as yesterday? What kind of hay are we feeding?
What's the variety? Feed this and that hay. Okay.
You want me to feed this? Towards the end of
the night or do you want me to feed this towards
the beginning? There's questions like that You
want to get into the animal state of mind and
you want to figure out what they've been going
through during the daytime so you can replicate
it and also Although and also alter it throughout
the night as well Now it's quite new to most
people the title night man or the role of it
the role has been there forever Maybe some people
didn't put as much effort into it but now there's
a lot more attention especially thanks to yourself
and the work you've been your social media and
the work you've been doing for people who are
looking to get into it one of the questions i
think they kind of have or would be wondering
is you know how does it pay like how does the
uh compensation work or how do you structure
your compensation for when you're looking after
cattle at night everything is usually paid for
um like flight hotel food um everything is usually
paid for but in my opinion to get my to first
get my foot in the door i mean i had to start
off pretty cheap i mean i didn't charge much
my first deck so i only charged 100 a night and
i'm just being real with everybody probably not
the most expensive out there but i did a good
job for what i had and that was just my way of
getting in Whenever you start, it's not about
the money. And even whenever you're five, six,
seven years in, it's still not about the money.
Only the true survivors will know this. It's
about the animals. Yeah, you make money in the
industry. Yeah, you develop a reputation, but
it's not about you. It's about the animals you're
taking care of. What can you do to help that
animal succeed on the shavings? How can you get
that animal to grow ribs? How can you get that
animal to look better than the day before? What
are some ways you can alter her? How can you
make her more comfortable in her surroundings
with all of these loud noises and clippers buzzing
and fans blowing on her? What can you do to get
her to chill? Well, pun intended, chill out with
the fans blowing on her. But what can you do
to get her to calm down, relax? Be herself like
she's out in a beautiful green pasture on the
mountain. And that's the key. It's got to be
for the animals. The money will come. But in
my opinion, it's all about just keeping your
priorities straight. And once you figure that
out, it's golden. Because once you put the animals
first, nobody can stop you at that point. Not
to mention. You can tell a difference with the
animals too. The people who do it for money,
they don't love it because they're looking for
that check at the end of the week. That's what
they're focusing on. And the people who do it
for the animals, they have a smile for their
face or they have their game face on and they're
constantly working harder and harder, going harder
and harder each day because they know in a couple
days' time it's going to be game time for this
specific animal and she has to be looking for...
for that day. Now, when I was talking with Ethan
about you, doing homework for this, he made the
comment that a good night man or night person
is extremely hard to find, and that's part of
the reason he wanted to lock you in for the lifetime.
Why do you think there is a shortage of people
willing to do this? Hmm. Well, actually, If you
want my honest opinion, I think because it's
not the funnest job out there, you know. Same
as fitting. I mean, night people and fitting
go hand in hand. You're both doing cattle care.
Most people don't like fitting because it's uncomfortable.
People don't want to be hot. They don't want
hair in their arms, et cetera, et cetera, et
cetera. With night, being a night person, people
don't want to be up at 3 a .m., nobody in the
barn. No music blaring, no parties cracking off.
I mean, like, if you look at day people, there
is a surplus. I mean, everybody wants to do days,
and, I mean, who can blame them? I mean, you're
out in the parties and whatnot. But the important
stuff is showtime for day people, like getting
animals ready, getting them to the ring. The
fitters are shining them up like a new quarter.
They're putting in top lines as hard as diamonds.
I mean, they're getting them dialed. Meanwhile,
everybody else, they're feeding, getting hay,
feeding pulp, feeding silage, whatever they'll
eat, essentially. Getting that big cage on them.
You want them to have a giant cage with a great
udder, veiny rear. That's the cow for me, just
big cage, big udders, you know. But good feet
and legs, too. You want her to be balanced. And
when it comes to that, yeah, I just believe that
most people don't think night shift is fun because
it's solitary. You're by yourself most of the
time. But it's a worthy sacrifice because I promise
you, between that job and sitting, there isn't
a more important one. Because let's say it's
before the show, the night before the show, and
there's no night man. Animals have manure all
over them. Let's say one of them could have gotten
really sick or had an allergic reaction to the
hay you put in front of her. To name a few scenarios.
Let's say an animal got loose and just spent
the whole night running around the barn. Or just
something of that nature. You need somebody there
to monitor them. To make sure everything is going
right in a mannerly fashion. And not to mention,
you need someone you can trust. Someone who you
know, if something goes haywire, they will pick
up the phone because they don't have too much
pride to admit their mistakes. Or they know,
hey, this animal needs help. She is very important.
Call this person now, you know. Just being able
to identify those type of problems and also be
a problem solver is just what I think it needs.
And also night shifting, you can always get better
at it. Same with fitting. I mean, the show world
is constantly progressing. It's constantly moving
forward with genetics, with cattle, with setups,
with crews. There's always more opportunities
out there to get better. Practice makes perfect.
Practice also makes permanent. The more you do
it, the better you'll get. And that's why I'm
never really satisfied with my job. I think I
do a good job, yes, but there's always something
else I feel like I could do better. Like after
the Royal, I wrote down a little list of things
that I thought I could have done better or done
more frequently for the animals. And this year,
I plan to correct all those things and do an
even better job because I feel like I owe it
to them and I owe it to myself to show myself
that I can do those type of things without hassle.
Now, you've worked anywhere. You've had a lot
of experience in the short period of time. You've
had county fairs. You've hit Expo. You've hit
the Royal. You've had some big -name sales. How
would each one differ? Do you have to approach
each one differently, and is there different
pressure with each one? Without a doubt, yes.
Whether it's living conditions. For instance,
at Kingsway, they actually just built the new
barn. They have free packs. At that cell, we're
not wearing halters. They were free doing whatever
they pleased. Yeah, they had ropes on them with
their numbers, but they were free packs. And
they were free to walk up and eat hay whenever
they wanted and then go back. So you'd naturally
have to go through and pick out the packs and
make sure everything stayed clean. Mount Elgin
was the same way. They also had free packs. But
let's say you go to a cell like Triple T, those
animals are also unpacked, but they're on halters.
So naturally, they can't walk around freely like
they want to do. They're naturally on halters,
so they will continuously eat hay, but it's harder.
I mean, not harder. It's easier to keep those
type of animals clean because they're not walking
over one another to get to some hay. So therefore,
they're not leaving hoof prints on one another
and all that other stuff. Not to mention, if
you put them on halters, too, you can fit a lot
more animals in a smaller space. as well now
it's more compact that's the right word yep for
sure the uh one of the things i'm extremely impressed
with with you is the amount of thought you put
into everything and uh in looking into that i
i realized that your grandmother had a big impact
on you um how has your grandmother helped you
impacted you and how do you what do you learn
from her that you apply to this Always give it
100%. My granny is usually the deciding factor
for me when it comes to these decisions. Recently,
she just had to get surgery. But the recovery
time wasn't too long. That's why I'm not hitting
any shows in the month of June. I just wanted
to stay by her side and make sure she was okay.
I just wanted to be there for her. But come July,
I'll be hitting more shows. A big part of my
life, you know, she's my biggest supporter. She's
always supporting me whenever it comes to something
positive. But then again, whenever I do something
wrong, she isn't afraid to snatch me up either.
She's a great woman, though. Definitely a role
model for me. And I don't know what I'd do without
her. She's definitely my granny, without a doubt.
And I'm proud to call her my granny. Now, another
person I think that has had a big impact or helped
you quite a bit is, you've mentioned him already,
is Kyle Stockdale. How did you meet Kyle, and
how has Kyle helped you out? I met Kyle on Facebook.
I was searching for a Madison opportunity so
I could work there and get to see Madison for
the first time because I've seen it online a
time or two, and I was like, wow, look at these
cows. Look at that equipment. I need to be there.
Yeah, I ended up on the kai vision group chat
And I said hey anybody looking for Madison opportunity
and I Take Kyle was the first person to hit me
up out of the deal and after talking with him
for a bit I got the job walked in and yeah, I
will be working with that same crew this year
at Madison He's the manager of the crew. And
the crew, I mean, the string is owned by a man
named Ryan Ferris. Also a really good guy. Just
great people, you know. They highly respect.
They have great animals. And we all get along.
So there's just, I couldn't see it any better.
And as we progress, the string is just going
to continuously get better and better. The best
part about that string is he has kids. That's
who he does it for is his kids. I mean, last
year, whenever we were doing it, they were showing
me pictures. There's just nothing like having
a kid go to that ring with their animal, get
success, and then having them flash that Showtime
smile at you after they get a medal. Absolutely
unreal. And, yeah, just brings a smile to my
face every time I see it. I hope with the animals
we bring this year, we can replicate the same
feeling for them, because I think they deserve
it. They've worked hard. Now, you mentioned that
you owe it to the cows. A lot of what drives
you is you owe it to the cows. Sure. What makes
you connect? You seem to really connect with
the cows, and you seem to really care about the
cows. Where does that come from, and how does
that drive you? Cows have shaped my life. Definitely
changed my life for the better. I don't know.
At first, I didn't know what I wanted to do.
And the moment I got into the dairy farm and
started working with animals and started making
forage and whatnot, I just, it's a game changer.
And I don't know what I'd do without them. You
know, working at Garmack Farms and doing all
that stuff. And now I'm doing show stuff. Now
it's just. amazing you know like these cows they
go through so much and they do what they gotta
do like from making milk to high fat and protein
to making eggs and selling genetics they're so
versatile not to mention they're such hard workers
to be able to do that every day and continue
chewing your cud and continue doing your thing
i feel like if you go to a show That cow has
earned her spot in that string. She is worthy.
Especially at these big shows like Madison and
Royal. She didn't just get brought there to pull
a check. She earned that spot. So if she had
to work that hard to do that, she is special.
You can't tell me any different. That cow is
special. She's not special to me. She's special
to someone. Like I said, I feel like, yeah, I
do owe it to that cow to treat her with the utmost
of respect and quality care. Because if she had
to work that hard to get to that spot, I feel
like I owe it to her to give her the best chance
of winning. While also keeping her as comfortable
as possible. And while also giving her the most
amount of respect that I can give her to the
fullest of my ability. Now, you sound very competitive.
And I think that applies to the Nightman role.
I think I've heard you say that you work at taking
away someone else's shine. Can you describe what
you mean by that and what drives that? Well,
I've always played sports when I was little,
and I've always been competitive. I've always
wanted to be the star out of the bunch. And,
well, it all really started at Madison. That
was one of the first times I've ever really had
someone, beside me working nights. Well, no,
no, no. It started at Harrisburg, actually. It
was one of my first bigger shows, and then it
was Madison. But, yeah, I was working beside
someone, and I took great pride in the string
I was working with because I was keeping them
clean, keeping them fed, keeping the floors swept,
keeping everything looking, trying to look pristine.
Now, back then, I didn't exactly know what I
did now. nor and with my adhd do i become pretty
honed in on the little things because every little
thing equals a big thing eventually it just takes
enough little things to make a big thing and
um whenever i was doing that yeah i was very
competitive because i wanted to be the best i
wanted my animals to look the best i wanted them
to have the best feel on them And I just wanted
them to look like they made a transformation
with time. And I wanted you to be able to tell,
hey, who took care of these animals? They look
totally different from the day they walked in
to now. What happened? Who did this? I wanted
to be that person that did that. I wanted to
make a difference. I wanted to make a change.
But to do that... You have to stand out with
your work ethic. Your work ethic is all you got.
If you're not going to work, this isn't the best
life for you because dairy farming, all it is
is work. Yes, you have your fun, happy moments,
but you got to be able to say, hey, I'm going
to do this. We are going to get this done. I
am going to work my butt off the whole week and
get these animals to where they have to be no
matter what. And then you have to own up to that
because along with work comes your word. You
have to be a firm believer of your word because
you can't go back on your word after you make
a commitment such as that. It's too important.
So you just you have to do it. And then once
you once they go in the ring and they have success,
like I've had a couple of success stories myself.
Like, for instance, my newest success story was.
Red and White at the Northeast All Breed Spring
Show. She got JC Red as well as Reserve JC in
the Blacks. So, just stuff like that makes it
worth it. Like, keep going. Eventually, you know,
you're like, man, wow. I was there when that
happened. I was there when this happened. This
animal got this award, and I was helping her
out. I helped prep that one. You can just string
together a whole line full of memories and jobs
you did. That's another really cool feature about
working the night shift for a while. You can
do stuff like that. You can string together memories.
Every now and then I like to scroll through my
camera roll or scroll through my Facebook posts
just to reminisce on past memories that I've
made. It's important. It almost brings a tear
to your eye. whenever you look at that stuff
you realize just how far you've come and just
how much progress you made and who's giving you
these opportunities and who's giving you those
opportunities and it's just amazing it's nostalgic
it's interesting you mentioned about the ad um
i don't know if you're familiar with temple grandin
he has autism but one of the great things about
her is that She feels that helped her connect
with the cows because she understands them more
and can relate to them. And I would say that
you seem to really relate to the cows as well
yourself. So that's really cool. Thank you, sir.
One of the other things here, one of the things
here is you mentioned about someone like the
first time. If you were to speak to someone who
was nervous or doing it for their very first
time, they're going to be a nightmare at a local
show or somewhere. What advice would you give
someone who's getting into it? Don't take too
many strings too fast and hone your skills. Focus
on getting better. For me, I do make a lot of
posts on Facebook and Snapchat and stuff like
that, but we all start from somewhere. Just because
you see one person taking care of 36 cows by
themselves, I mean, yeah, that's... It's cool
to take care of the big strings, but there's
a lot of hard work that goes into that, and it
gets pretty stressful at times, especially whenever
it's about to be game time and all 36 animals
are soon to go in the ring or something like
that, or half of them are going in the ring.
It gets pretty nerve -wracking. If I was to give
any advice to a person starting out in the night
shift, take it one step at a time. Don't get
distracted by how much money you're making. And
put the animals first. That's it. Put the animals
first. Because at the end of the day, those animals
are the reason why you're here. Not to mention,
your skills are also the reason why you're here.
Those two key factors are what got you that opportunity.
So I think you should become very obsessive and
isolate those two skills. isolate yourself with
the animals and get in their head, get in their
mind. Use their instincts to your advantage,
whether it's for them to drink water, whether
it's for them to eat hay, maybe switch up the
hay whenever they get really tired of it so that
they'll gorge on the next variety. Use their
natural instincts to their advantage so that
way as you're making them progress, they're not
fighting you with progression. They're making
themselves progress. So they already think they're
doing it themselves. So yeah, just my, my first
thing I would tell those guys is don't get distracted
by the money. Put the animals first, hone your
skills, and then the rest will come. No, you
mentioned you got, go ahead. Sorry. Um, One more
thing, have a good attitude. Nobody likes someone
who complains all the time. Have a smile on your
face and have some manners because that will
take you a long way as well. That's great advice.
You seem like someone who really thinks about
the whole process, especially with the cows going
through animal behavior. And you said you got
started with bees. uh when you were doing with
the bees did you is there some the beekeeping
is there lessons you've learned from that that
you applied to hear about the behaviors of bees
or things that way or you seem to really think
about this stuff um with bees is there any lessons
i learned with bees yeah timing matters like
with bees let's say you're working 90 hives in
a big blueberry field or something. And you're
working a bunch of mean hives. The more you work
in a mean hive, the more agitated they will get
and the more they will try to sting you. It sucks,
but that's just the way it is. You want to get
in that hive, do what you have to do, and get
out of that hive as fast as possible. while being
as efficient as possible. You don't want to accidentally
kill 30 bees because you put the frame in the
wrong way. You don't want to accidentally kill
the queen of the hive because you accidentally
shook her onto the ground and another bug ate
her or something like that. You want to be careful.
You want to be light. You want to be gentle.
Yet, you want to be fast and efficient. And that's
how I am with cows. I want to be careful. I want
to be gentle. But I also want to be fast, efficient.
But I want to be very vigilant with them like
I am bees. Bees, you pay attention to every detail.
How many eggs are in that cell? How big is the
honey border on the outside? Where's the queen?
You're very vigilant about every little thing.
Cows, I think it's the same way. Not only are
you vigilant about every little thing, cows are
too. Cows can tell when something's changed.
I mean, if you've ever watched a jersey or beef
or Holstein walk into an unfamiliar space, they're
going to take it slow because they're not used
to it. Now, as they're at these shows, some cows
get used to it eventually, but I think we've
all brought an animal to their first show. That
animal, at the start, is super vigilant, super
touchy. She's very alert. But the thing that
I like about good night people and just good
crew overall, they know how to get these animals
comfortable. They know how to make them calm
down and settle in with the rest of them. And
I think that's the beautiful part about it. Now,
you mentioned that bees, you've been stung up
to 60 times a day. Most people would have quit.
What keeps you working with the bees? The job's
got to get done, you know. Yes, you'll take stings.
Whenever I first learned how to beekeep with
Thomas Beatty, I didn't have enough money to
buy a suit. All I had was a smoker in my hand
and a hive tool in the other hand. So I'd constantly
get stung over and over working bees. But, you
know, it really taught me how to be careful and
how to work my way around it because, I mean.
Sometimes I go willingly without a shoot. Like,
if it's 90 degrees and 89 % humidity, and I only
got, like, five, six, seven hives outside, yeah,
I'll go out in a short -sleeved shirt and some
swim trunks with a high -filling smoker, and
I'll work them like that. But if you got some
mean bees and you know it, it's best to wear
a veil, at least. Yeah, jobs just got to get
done. It's actually kind of funny. Mean bees
make more honey than nice bees. And everybody
thinks it's the queen that controls the temperament
of the hive, which they do. But it's also the
workers as well. Workers actually control the
hive because they are the ones that make the
queen. They don't want a queen anymore. They
will replace her. It's been done countless times
in my hives. I mean, I walked in one week and
the queen has been here and it was this color.
And then I came back. Okay, where's the queen?
She's gone, and the bees are all out. Okay, let
me close them up. Oh, but there's a couple cells
right there. They're doing something new. Let
me come back later and see what they do. One
week later, okay, cells capped, and then I come
back again. Boom, there's a whole new queen in
there laying eggs everywhere. And it's just,
yeah, jobs got to get done. Once you commit to
something, you have to finish it, and that's
how I look at it. doing a string in cows like
i get hired by these people and you know regardless
of the circumstances once i commit to something
i'm not quitting that that's what it is it's
set in stone for me and i'm going to give it
my all from beginning to end same with these
i'm going to give it my all from beginning to
end because if you don't treat your hives if
you don't do proper things properly They are
not going to make honey to their maximum potential
because they're not healthy. You know, you got
hive beetles to worry about. You got wax moths.
You got varroa destructor. That's a scientific
name, but regular names, varroa mites. You got
other animals. You just, you have to keep them
healthy. You got to keep them treated. You got
to keep them flowing. But not to mention, bees
would not mind a little help. You know, if you
want to catch, let's say, some hive beetles,
put a, What's it called? Menthol paper. Not only
will it drive the hide beetles out, the bees
will chew it up and hide beetles will get stuck
in it. And if you want to get Varroa destructor
out of your hive, I use this thing called Apivar.
It's a treatment and what happens is bees eat
it and it gets all over their legs with the hairs
and it sticks to them and that will kill Varroa
mites and they will drop to the bottom board.
And every now and then I go do bottom board cleanings
and I will shake. the bottom board sediments
onto a tray and go through it with a magnifying
glass and see if i can find varroa mites and
yeah it's very scientific and it's very informational
now you've started be cool uh your honey business
can you describe how that's going and what what
you're doing there um well since i started doing
shows i don't really do these as often as i did
i've kind of started to slowly sell hives and
downgrade a little but If I'm not mistaken, I
think I've got my brand be cool from Another
brand. I was like man. I like that name, but
They have be cool be equipment. I'm just gonna
be cool, honey But that names not trademarked
or nothing. So, um, yeah, basically it It's going
well. What I usually do is I mainly sell it to
family members. All my family loves honey. I'll
either get them in glass pint jars with screw
-on tots, or I'll get special bottles during
the holidays and put quartz in them just to spruce
them up a little bit, make them look special.
And I'll either give them away as presents, or
I will sell them to family members, or I got
a couple friends that take them to farmer's markets
for me. Sell them like that, and then they get
their cut for selling the honey for me, and then
they give me the rest. And, yeah, I've been doing
that for a couple years now, and I've liked that
method quite well. Now, I just changed the thing
here a little bit, but talking about memories
and things, you've had a lot of experiences in
a short time. Are there certain nights or experiences
that you've had being a night man? That stand
out to you that you think you'll never forget?
Certain experiences. What are your most memorable
events? Coming into Canada for the first time.
This was during the Kai Vision tag sale. I was
on the plane. I was looking outside. I was like,
man. what is all that white stuff on the ground
i'm not used to this no snow everywhere and um
it was just it was surreal because i was i wasn't
used to seeing all that stuff and i got off the
plane and oh sweet jesus i thought my lips were
going to fall off my face it was that like my
i was waiting at the airport for powell to pick
me up It was so cold. I couldn't keep my hands
in my pockets. It was that cold. I underdressed
for it big time. I didn't expect for it. I thought
it was going to be like 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heck no. The wind chill was ridiculous. And that
also went along with one of my coldest nights,
too, because the day before the tag sale happened,
I wanted to keep everything clean, and I wanted
to keep everything eating, looking good. So I
ended up staying the night in the barn. And I
brought, like, three long sleeves with me, a
hoodie, and some overalls, et cetera, et cetera.
And I was still cold. Like, I was shivering.
I was over here running, pacing back and forth
in the barn just to keep warm. And that hot chocolate
machine that was in there became my best friend.
But holy moly, I've never been that cold in my
life. But would I do it again? Yeah. It was a
good time. It was a fun time. I really enjoyed
that sale, even though I froze my fingers off.
It was definitely quite the experience. Royal,
though, honestly, Royal wasn't that cold. It
had its nights where it was kind of chilly, but
for what it was, it really wasn't cold. Madison
wasn't that cold either, honestly. Like I said,
it had its moments where... Maybe for one night
in the week, it was super cold. Other memories
that I got is just making friends with people.
Of course, you got getting Nightman of the Year.
That's a pretty big -time core memory for me.
Meeting the crews, like meeting Ryan and Kyle
and James Spruce and those guys, they're all
family to me. James Spruce and Kyle and Ethan
Morgan, all those guys are probably some of my
closest friends in the industry. James actually
fits. He's a pretty good fitter. Throwing that
in there for a little plug. But, yeah, just meeting
those guys, those guys have been like family
to me. You know, I know they would do anything
for me if I needed it. Now you talk about the
cold. What's harder, extreme heat or the cold
for taking care of the cows at night? Heat. Extreme
heat. Oh, well, well. Well, it depends where
they're from, actually. Like, let's say you have
cows from North Carolina and you take them to
a New York show. They are going to freeze their
butts off. But if you have York cows and you
bring them down or you take them to California
to show, they are going to be, it's just going
to be miserable for them. Because they're not
used to those climates. And that's another thing
that helps whenever you have a really good cruise.
They've seen this stuff before. I mean, let's
say you got someone, a bud John or someone, and
they're taking tie -ins. I mean, you got animals
from all over coming to Expo. And some of those
animals aren't used to... The Madison climate,
let's say Vieira Dairy from California. Those
animals aren't used to the colder climates in
Madison. With time, going through that kind of
stuff, the animals can start to get kind of sick
because they're just not used to it. It kind
of upsets the balance of their body. With time,
they will walk back in, but it's just a matter
of how fast can you get them to do so. Not only
that, how fast you can get them to do that while
remaining healthy and getting their bodies to
fire on all cylinders. One of the things that
people mention to me about you is you like to
listen to music while you work. Is there a particular
type of music and how does that help in? Well,
whenever the crew is around and whatnot, I'll
play... Well, it depends. If they have kids,
I'll play kid -friendly music and stuff with
no cussing in it or anything like that. But if
it's just me by myself, I'm usually playing either
some pop if I'm feeling it or heavy metal whenever
I want to focus or regular rock if I want to
focus. I used to be big time in the country,
but recently after I figured out what rock and
metalcore was, I really never looked back. I
think it's probably one of my favorite songs.
is Keeping Secrets by Fit for a King. You got
God Complex from Bleed Within. You got Cold Hard
Truth from Fox Lake. Kerosene by All That Remains.
The Piper, All That Remains, Return to One by
Invent, Animate, and Silent Planet. That was
a collab. Yeah, just songs like that, you know,
from the guitar riffs to the singing to the solos.
they really just get my energy skyrocketing and
they get me going. I feel like music has a way
of giving you different types of energies and
moods. I feel like that helps you out because,
like, if you're just working by yourself at nighttime
and it's completely quiet, it gets hard because
you can't really sit down. Because the moment
you sit down, you're going to want to get comfortable.
And the moment you get comfortable, it's lights
out, buddy. But if you have something playing
or if you have any background noise or anything
like that, you're good. Or if you have a secondary
night person, you're good because you have another
thing to focus on other than just staying awake.
You can socialize with that person while you're
working or you can listen to the lyrics while
you're working, getting towels ready and whatnot.
Not to mention that stuff makes the time pass
a lot faster. Time goes really slow when you
think about it, but it goes really fast when
you're not thinking about it. I mean, if time
gets away from you and you're not thinking about
it, it's already time to do this, and you're
not even ready. So you've got to be vigilant,
stay focused, and keep your head in the game.
You talk about the game, and one of the things
that's really changed is I think when Nightman
started, or when I think of Nightman, when I
was a fitter, the main job was just to keep him
alive and half clean. Now you talk about helping
them progress, which is a huge difference. But
where do you see the role of a night man evolving,
say, in five, ten years from now? Where do I
see it evolving, huh? Well, for one, I think
younger and younger people are going to get into
it, hopefully. I actually, at New York Spring
Show, there was these two girls working nights.
for Maple Downs. And one of them was like 30,
20, 30. The other one was like 12. I was watching
them from across the park. It was like two aisles
over. And I was honestly impressed because that
12 -year -old was keeping up with the 20 -year
-old. And for how young she is, I think she's
going to be a great night woman one day. Without
a doubt. If not, she already is. And it's just
kind of wild. I think younger and younger kids
are going to want to get into it without a doubt.
And hopefully, you know, maybe I can spark a
couple people to get into it myself. Like, that'd
be pretty amazing to do. Like, to have someone
say, what got you into nightshifting? Oh, I watched
this kid do this and this work and I got inspired.
You know, that really touches my heart because
I know I did my job good enough for someone to
want to try it themselves. And, you know, nightshifting
also brings you opportunities. So, yeah. Pull
the youth in more. Maybe get some of the older
guys who can't fit anymore to do it. That would
be fun. Yeah, just overall, keep people into
it. Keep people progressing. Keep people finding
solutions to make animals progress faster and
further than they ever have. Keep it constantly
moving forward because if it remains stagnant
for too long, It will become outdated, and then
it's going to have to find something to progress
with, you know? So I feel like, yeah, just keep
it moving forward while also getting more and
more people into it at the same time. That's
where I see it going in five years. It's interesting
you mention one of the things when I think of
Nightman is it connects to recognition for it.
We did an article with David Diamond, who is
probably one of the greatest showmen of all time.
And he was a fitter. I know him. Yeah. And he
was a fitter, but became a showman because when
a cow won, everyone congratulated the leadsmen
and didn't even acknowledge the fitters. And
nowadays I'd say some people acknowledge the
fitters, but they don't acknowledge maybe the
barn crews and the people in the night. So that's
one of the reasons, especially for highlighting
your work is. I think the people that really
helped make this happen deserve recognition and
hence part of the reason why we're interviewing
yourself because of how key the role is and giving
recognition for the hard work is Very much do
It's always team effort, you know, it's not just
me everybody pitches in a part to make this happen
and You know, we we all play our roles whether
we get congratulated or not As long as the animals
do what they need to do. That's all I care about,
you know, like recognition will come but that
show is now you know like that i'm not really
i'm focused on the future but whenever i'm at
a show the future is now the future for that
cow could be altered at that show like let's
say you're at madison or something and you have
cows going into the ring that that little walk
through in the ring that class that she's in
change her life forever because if she pulls
a medal and gets top ten or gets top five or
even places first in her class, everybody will
look at that animal differently from that moment
on. Oh, yeah, she placed first at Madison 2025.
Oh, really? No way. Does she have your eggs out?
And then there it goes. You just spark the cell
right there. These shows are a testament to cows,
but they're also a trial to the barns you know
winning doesn't just start at shows winning starts
at the barns what are you doing at home to get
these animals to where they need to be because
you can't just have a cow go in a free stall
and not take care of her whatsoever and then
just take her to a show and win something like
well sometimes you can like there's a special
cow every once in a while that happens like that
but You know, most of these heifers, they have
extensive eating and showing programs back at
home. And then whenever you take them to these
shows, it's a testament to all the hard work
the farm crew has put in to get these heifers
to where they need to be. And once they get them
there and take them to the shows and those heifers
do what they need to do and hopefully succeed,
their lives are completely altered. And everybody
definitely looks at them. With eyebrow raised
and a smile and says That's a nice effort. I
like that. It's so balanced. They're square with
the strength between their legs She's so stylish.
Look at it. What's that rib? And yeah, yes It
really makes you appreciate The quality of some
of these efforts because yeah, you can have a
really good heifer reading wise But is she special
in the ring? I mean, you'd be surprised how many
good heifers you can turn from good to special
just by putting them on a different show program
and being more intensive to them and giving them
what they need on the daily. It really works
out for them that way, and that's a prime example.
Whenever I say, if you take care of your animals,
they will take care of you. And by take care
of you, I mean they will do what they have to
do, and they will get you recognition, whether
it's your prefix, your farm name. or even just
making sales, selling eggs, selling genetics.
They will do what they need to do if you do what
you have to do. No cutting corners, none of that
stuff. Just do an honest job and give it your
all. I think if you talk to all the top herds,
if you go to Farm Jacobs or Farm London or Bud
John or even Ernie Kiefner, they'll all tell
you it's a 365 day a year. job getting the cows
are ready for elite shows and i when i think
about that and i also think about the late richard
caverly who used to always tell me that you know
he'd come to shows and people would do all this
work and then they just leave them at night and
not take care of them and you put all that work
in to get them to the show and ready for the
show and you got to also keep make sure that
you're keep as you say progressing them through
the show and i think that's a huge huge point
that you make that you work so hard to try to
keep them progressing because there's a lot of
work goes into it from the whole team, as you
mentioned. Without a doubt. And, you know, people
like Ernie Fiefner, Terry Packard, and even Rexel
Holskins. Rexel was actually my first ever sell.
You ever seen the sign Fiefner's Barns? Yep.
That sign speaks wonders. It's legendary. I've
never seen it before in real life, but if I'm
not mistaken, it goes about like this. In this
barn, these cows are females. Treat them as they
are. I think that's how it goes. It's something
like that. They had it when they were in Arethusa.
It was in these barns, these cows are queens
and treat them like it. Yeah, without doubt.
And also, Recto Holstein. That was actually my
first ever sale that I worked, whenever I was
first getting into it. They have a sign, and
it says, she is so much more than just a cow.
And she actually is. When I first started doing
the nightline, I didn't know what that meant.
I didn't know that she's so much more than just
a cow, because whenever I look at an animal,
back then, I saw what they were. And to me, they
were just Holsteins or Jerseys or Swiss or Jerseys.
They were bovine to me. But through doing this
and taking care of them, I've realized they really
are so much more than just a cow. They are family.
These animals are athletes. They have, I mean,
these shows, I mean, Expo is like the Olympics
of showing. It's the premiere show of the year.
It's what every... big person and every marketer
and every person dreams of going to see these
animals and it's i mean they they are like i
said they're athletes they're family and through
working i bonded with some of these animals and
i've created great bonds you know like for instance
you got king's lace gummy bear uh i've never
met her until last year but the first day i got
to touch her felt nostalgic. It felt unreal.
That's probably the... I even got to look after
her one night or two. Such a cool moment to be
able to touch a 95 -point cow and give her a
head scratch and a boop on her nose. I did the
same thing with Trixie at Kingsway. Another big
-time cow I was taking care of that night was
Chapter 23. At Red So. And just cows like that,
you know, they're a firm testament to just breeding
with elegance. I mean, what else can make that
much milk and work that hard and still be so
beautiful at such a tender age of 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10 years old? I mean, it's absolutely wondrous.
And it's mythical. Stuff like that, like the
art of breeding, it's amazing to see how far
you can take an animal in two to three generations
with the right breeding pairing. I mean, some
of these cows, from where they came from, like,
the art of breeding, like, for instance, you
got the Frosty family and Oakfield Footloose.
If I'm not mistaken, aren't they the first? Daughter
damn to win Expo get back -to -back like that.
Yep Yeah, the art of breeding is wonderful and
cool part about that is I mean that family originated
in Virginia Which is a park North Carolina, so
there's an answer from you. Yeah And it strikes
home for me. Yeah You really don't know if you
grow up on a farm you do but something from a
person who never grew up on a farm You don't
know what that means until you really experience
it for yourself. Now, you say about experience
for yourself, and you said two years ago if someone
had told you you were jumping on a plane and
going to a cow show in Canada, you'd have thought
they're crazy. So now, what do you think's next
for you? What are your goals in the next two
to five years? My goals in the next two to five
years? Well, my number one goal is to keep nightshifting
and keep progressing in cattle care. Every aspect
of cattle care to the fullest of my ability.
I want to move with the times and constantly
progress with everybody else. And not to mention,
I want to keep at it. I want to keep getting
better. Keep proving why I'm here. Keep showing
everybody that these animals, they're worth it.
these animals they come first these animals they
have great potential they are supposed to be
here and they will have success i want to keep
at that but not only that you know like recently
i haven't really been posting this much or anything
but i've been dabbling and sitting a little bit
too like i put cows and whatnot but you know
one day i wouldn't mind doing both clipping and
doing nights but for right now The only thing
on my vision, sightline -wise, is nights. I want
to do night shift. I want to do it full -time
one day if I could. I just want to commit to
that. Now, you talk about the commitment to that
work. What would you want? I asked someone you'd
worked for or someone who had seen you work at
a show doing night shift. What would you want
them to say about you, or how would you like
them to remember? the work you've done he's very
intense do you want like a the full play -by
-play he's very intensive he focuses on the small
things but he also focuses on the big things
it's airy it's intense it's powerful let's get
this going let's move forward he loves progression
he always puts the animals first but He's a very
polite young man who has a great attitude and
isn't afraid of anything. He's not afraid to
do this task mask and he's not afraid to do that
task mask. I just want to be remembered. I don't
want to be remembered for Chandler. I don't want
to be remembered for my brand, Nightlife. I just
want to be remembered as a very good cow guy.
Someone who knew how to take care of cattle and
someone who knew... how to keep them moving,
keep them going. I just want to be remembered
for my cattle care experiences, my quality experiences.
And that's what I would want, yeah. I would want
to be remembered as one of the better guys to
do cattle care if it came down to it. Now you've
come a long ways from the young kid who was afraid
of the beehives to your journey now. What would
you tell the young kid? if you could go back
and tell them about the journey ahead that you've
had, what would you tell a young Chandler? What
would I tell a young Chandler? Keep at it. Don't
give up. No matter what people say, do what makes
you happy. Don't live your life trying to search
for validation from somebody else whenever you're
the only one who needs validation from yourself.
Don't be afraid to take risks or do things a
little differently. And not to mention, be around
people who celebrate you, not people who talk
bad about you. That was Chandler Barber, the
first ever Nightman of the Year at the Royal
Agricultural Winter Fair. sharing his incredible
journey from North Carolina beekeeper to one
of the dairy show industry's most sought -after
overnight cattle care specialists. Chandler's
story reminds us that excellence in agriculture
can come from the most unexpected places, and
that dedication to animal welfare and attention
to detail can create opportunities that transform
entire careers. His systematic approach to night
shift cattle care is raising the bar for the
entire industry and inspiring a new generation
of agricultural professionals. If you want to
learn more about Chandler's work, or follow his
continuing journey in the dairy show circuit
you can find him on social media and for more
stories like this one profiles of the innovators
dedicated professionals and game changers shaping
our industry visit us at thebullvine .com at
the bullvine we're committed to bringing you
the stories behind the statistics the people
behind the progress and the insights that matter
most to dairy professionals around the world
Thanks for listening to the Bullvine Podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it
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keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible
in dairy.