WEBVTT

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Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on

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the boots and a working hand. From the milk house

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home to the auction call. These are the folks

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standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome

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to the Bullvine Podcast, where we dive deep into

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the stories shaping the global dairy industry.

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I'm your host, coming to you from TheBullvine

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.com, your premier source for dairy industry

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insights, analysis, and the stories that matter

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most to dairy professionals worldwide. Today,

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we're bringing you an extraordinary conversation

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with Chandler Barber, a young man from Statesville,

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North Carolina, who has revolutionized one of

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the dairy show industry's most crucial but often

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invisible roles. Chandler became the first ever

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Nightman of the Year at the Royal Agricultural

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Winter Fair in Toronto, one of North America's

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most prestigious cattle shows. But here's what

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makes Chandler's story truly remarkable. He never

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grew up on a farm. His journey into the elite

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world of cattle care began with beekeeping, led

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him through a chance encounter with a retired

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dairy farmer. and culminated in him earning nearly

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$900 a night caring for show cattle during those

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crucial overnight hours when most people are

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sleeping. In this conversation, you'll discover

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what a night man actually does, why this role

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is absolutely critical to the success of elite

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cattle operations, and how Chandler's systematic

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approach to animal care is setting new standards

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for the industry. We'll explore his unique feeding

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philosophies, his obsessive attention to detail,

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and why operations like Kingsway Farms offered

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him a lifetime contract after just one show.

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Whether you're a dairy producer, show cattle

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enthusiast, or simply someone interested in agricultural

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careers, this conversation will change how you

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think about animal care, dedication, and finding

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your calling in unexpected places. So settle

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in for an in -depth look at the night shift revolution

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in dairy showing and the young man who's proving

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that some of the most important work in agriculture

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happens when everyone else is asleep. Well, first

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of all, and the term night man, I don't know

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if too many people actually know what it means,

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especially if you're not familiar from in the

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show scene. So do you mind just telling us what

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is a night man and what is the role at the cattle

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shows for a night man? Well, in my opinion, night

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man or night guy, night woman, night lifer. It's

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the process of continuously taking care of animals

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throughout the night as the day crew leaves to

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go get some shut -eye. As a night man, you're

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supposed to feed, keep them clean, make sure

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there are no sick animals in the pack. And if

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so, you have to be one to make the decision,

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what do I do when there's a sick animal? Do I

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continue to watch her and try and keep her progressing?

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Is she too cold? Is she too hot? Should I call

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the boss in? There's a number of different options

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for you, but not only that, though, the display.

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You want to keep the display all clean and tidy,

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and you want to make sure the whole string itself

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looks as good as whenever the crew left it, and

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as soon as they come back in, it looks like it's

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new again. You want to treat the cows as good

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as you can, with the most respect you can. I

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mean, like, for instance, one of the things I

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do is, As I'm feeding or something, I'll talk

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to them. Sounds weird, but I know. I'll constantly

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talk to them. I'll give them validation. I'll

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say they're doing a good job. Keep going, girls.

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Keep going, girls. As they're constantly building

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rib, as they're constantly eating more hay or

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eating whatever I'm feeding them, whether I'm,

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let's say, feeding silage at 10 p .m. at night

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or continuously feeding hay or switching over

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hays to feed to them, you just want to continuously

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keep them growing, keep them eating. One of the

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things I actually like to do is keep them coasting.

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Like on the first day they're getting settled

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in, I'll coast them on hay, you know, give them

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what they want, but I won't hammer them that

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day. Second day, I'll go a little harder. I still

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won't hammer them, but I will feed a bit more

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aggressively. Third day, depending on which one's

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show, I'm either filling or I'm just continuously

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going. I like to go in a bell curve when I'm

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feeding because... As you know, a bell curve

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keeps rising until it hits a plateau point. And

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then once it hits that plateau point, you switch.

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Then it rises again and hits another plateau

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point. Then let's say you switch one more time.

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Rises again, another plateau point. And so on

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and so forth. Because cows like variety. But

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not only that, they like good quality forage

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and hay. Not to mention that they like the long

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stem stuff too. I have run into my fair share

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of picky eaters. And if you continuously do it

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right, you are able to maximize their potential

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through eating. And not only that, as you continuously

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wash them and keep putting them on your show

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program every day and push them to their maximum

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potential, they will give you back the maximum

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results. If you take care of them, they will

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take care of you. And I'm a firm believer in

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that. And for many, it is a newer term, but it's

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also they've come up with a new award. I think

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the Macmillan boys and Armstrong and a few of

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them were so impressed with the work you did

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at the Royal that they started a whole new Nightman

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of the Year award. And can you explain to everyone

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what that award meant to you and what that award

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is? That award meant the world to me. It really

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skyrocketed my career, honestly. I still remember

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the day that Kyle Stockdale called me after Expo.

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I was planning on coming to Royal anyway, but

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it wasn't guaranteed that I was going. And Kyle

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called me and said, hey, you want to come to

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Royal? I'm like, yeah, for sure. Kingsway wants

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you. Kingsway? Who the heck is Kingsway? Keep

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in mind, I've only been doing this for two years.

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I'm still trying to figure out who everybody

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is and who's who. But from that moment on, changed

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my career forever and made me a new Canadian

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family. Nightmare of the year, basically what

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I had to do to get it is I had to go the extra

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mile, as Kyle's prefix is, and basically work

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my hardest while also keeping the little things

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in mind. Whether you're sweeping more to keep

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the floors clean, whether you're shaking straw

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so that they can just pitchfork it in whenever

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cows are getting washed and brought back. Consistency

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is key, but not only that, you want to be fast

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with it. The more time you can cut down on work

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whenever you're moving animals, getting them

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to and from the pack, the better. Because the

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last thing you want to do is keep a cow waiting

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on the wash rack because you're not done shaking

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a straw bale. So, at night... What I would do

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for those guys is I would constantly shake straw

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for them. That way I'd be ready for them in the

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morning. I would sweep the floors. I would clean

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the chute, wrap up everybody's cords. And yeah,

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I would just try and make the string look as

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pretty as I could possible. While also keeping

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the cows dandy. I mean, they were comfortable.

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They were making milk, chewing their cud, eating

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hay. Everything was going right. And on top of

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that, well, at Royal, of course, it gets cold.

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You kind of got to know when you want to cut

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the fans off and when you don't. Because the

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barn can get kind of dusty, but as long as you

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keep some air moving through there, which we

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were right beside of a big sliding garage door

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type thing, you know, with the chain on it. Yep.

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So there was naturally wind blowing in from that

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side. And we also had fans running. So every

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now and then I cut maybe one or two fans off

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and I'd cut them back on just to keep air moving.

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keep cows healthy keep them eating keep them

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looking healthy in my term and on top of that

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you know it genuinely worked out perfect it worked

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out beautifully i mean the animals they looked

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astounding on show day and i'm just really proud

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i'm very prideful about that string whenever

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i think night shift memories that string will

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always stick out for me because Not only was

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that my first row ever, but I got Nightman of

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the Year at my first row ever, and that will

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always be special to my heart. Now, you're from

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Statesville, North Carolina, which is not quite

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Madison, Wisconsin when it comes to dairy cattle

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shows, and you didn't grow up on a farm. So how

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did you get into that? Well, actually, funny

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story is I got into farming for bees. I was doing

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bees with this guy named Craig Conley to start

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with, and also this guy named Thomas Bates to

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start with. Thomas is who I originally started

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with because he's the one who caught that swarm

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out of the tree, and I watched him do it. But

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through time, I ended up trying to get more and

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more serious into bees, and my hive numbers grew

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more and more, and I got connected with this

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guy named Craig. Now, Craig is a funny guy. He

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also really loves bees. He used to be commercial

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and have his own honey company out in the beach

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area. He'd sell whipped honey. He'd sell barrel

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-aged honey. He'd sell a lot of varieties of

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stuff. And, yeah, Craig basically taught me what

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I knew on steroids, essentially. Like, he really

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went into depth. Really showed me how to get

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through hives fast while maintaining a consistent

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time and just basically continuing to remain

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vigilant, working through this hive, seeing what

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I need to see, close it up, working through that

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hive, seeing what I need to see, close it up.

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Time was important to him. And through teachings,

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he learned me that, well, learned me, he showed

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me that time was important as well. Because the

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more you're in a hive, the more they get agitated

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with you. the less work you're going to do because

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they're busy focusing on you and not getting

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pollen for hunting. And with time, we eventually,

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he told me one day, there's this guy in Harmony,

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North Carolina. He needs help. His name's Charlie.

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And we went over there to help him with some

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bees. And, well, Charlie was the organic dairy

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farmer. And he had this one cow in the pasture.

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She was a Jersey. With time, I started helping

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Charlie more and more. And this is actually how

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I got into showing and whatnot. This cow had

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coliform mastitis. Her udder was dead. She couldn't

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make milk. But he kept her just as a little souvenir

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because he was retired. And I eventually asked

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him, hey, can we breed that cow to like a show

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bull or something so I can show the cows? And

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he was like, yeah, I'm not doing nothing else

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with her. So that's what we did. She came out.

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I wouldn't say she was the prettiest thing on

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the block, but she got second at our state fair,

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and that wasn't even really the highlight of

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my state fair. But I went there, and after she

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showed, I wanted to keep her clean. I wanted

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to keep her looking pristine and in good condition,

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but while also continuing to progress her and

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make her better. And as I was doing this, one

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string asked me to night shift for them for the

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first time. And then another, and then another,

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and then another. And eventually, I mean, I was

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looking after nine strings, making $900 a night.

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It was crazy. I mean, God throws blessings in

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some of the strangest ways, but that kind of

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shaped my whole career. And, you know, I've made

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friends through this industry, both some alive,

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some past. I'd say one of my greatest friends

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in North Carolina. It was probably a man named

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Wayne. You ever heard of him? Yep. Yep. He's

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responsible for Deerview. He made the bull, Ballaston.

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I think Ballaston is the bull responsible for

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Spritz, if I'm not mistaken. Correct. Yeah, he

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was overall a great person. He never stopped

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to help. I mean, he always stopped to help people.

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He was always there if you needed a talk, and

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he was just overall a very compassionate Jersey

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guy. I miss them. Now, you talk about that first

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time and making $900. Was that when you realized

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this was your calling? Is that when the passion

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started for you? Kind of, sort of. I knew I would

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walk around and do that, but I wasn't good yet.

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I can keep them clean. I can keep them fed. Whenever

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you're working that many strings, it's hard to

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fully commit to that animal. At that point, you're

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mainly focusing on just keeping hay in front

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of them and keeping them clean. That's it. You

00:14:23.649 --> 00:14:26.370
can't really see who's doing who or what's doing

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what until you walk around that next time and

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see those animals. So that's why I like working

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strings of like 15, 20, 25. I mean, at New York

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Spring Show, I was working a string of 36 by

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myself. And, yeah, you can really commit to those

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animals and you can really judge what they're

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going through, what they need, what they don't

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need. Like, for instance, through night shifting,

00:14:53.710 --> 00:14:56.769
I've taken care of animals who, if you filled

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up too much, they would break behind their shoulder

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slightly. Or cows, for instance. I've accidentally

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made a cow too cold from the fans. To combat

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that, I'd cut the fan off, and I would let her

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naturally heat up, because we made our packs

00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:18.639
pretty deep, so the straw would help with that,

00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.460
and she'd start chewing her cud. And then, depending

00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.279
on what she'd do, I'd check her ear temperature

00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.179
with my fingers, like I'd walk up beside her

00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:29.000
and check her ears, and if they were doing warm,

00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:33.899
perfect. And, yeah, the cows end up doing fine.

00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:36.500
Cows mainly take care of themselves, for the

00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:39.500
most part. But you do have to keep an eye on

00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:43.039
them. Some of them can be kind of finicky. Now,

00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:45.440
you've commented that you feel you weaseled your

00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.360
way into the industry. Why do you feel that way?

00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:55.580
Because in my point of view, I kind of just came

00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:59.659
out of nowhere. Like, one day I was just someone

00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:02.679
that nobody knew, just trying to do my job right

00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:09.000
and do it proper. It feels like I'm everywhere.

00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.139
I was at Triple T. I was at the Kingsway Tag

00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:18.500
Sale. I was at the Mount Elgin Sale. I was at

00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:23.700
Ratliff Sale. I was at New York Spring Show and

00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:27.460
so on and so forth, just to name a few. I mean,

00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:31.019
and now this upcoming, I'm going to be at a number

00:16:31.019 --> 00:16:33.899
of places. I'm going to be at Erie County Fair.

00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:38.519
I'm going to be at... Kentucky State Fair I'm

00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.480
going to be at Madison Summer Showcase Madison

00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.840
aka World Dairy Expo I'm going to be at Royal

00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:50.860
and a couple others you know it's wild how many

00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:53.659
opportunities that I'm getting blessed with from

00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:56.860
other people but honestly I'm also just very

00:16:56.860 --> 00:17:00.740
grateful for it because these guys are trusting

00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:03.059
in me to take care of their animals throughout

00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:06.240
the night so I'm very prideful over that and

00:17:06.670 --> 00:17:09.210
I just can't thank everybody enough for it. You

00:17:09.210 --> 00:17:12.009
know, they're giving me opportunities that I

00:17:12.009 --> 00:17:15.170
didn't even know you could have. Someone had

00:17:15.170 --> 00:17:17.769
told me that I'd be going to Canada for a cow

00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:21.230
show. Two years ago, I'd laugh and say, what?

00:17:21.849 --> 00:17:27.329
What's a cow show? Now it's my life. You know,

00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:31.170
I live and breathe it, and I never want to stop.

00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:35.809
Speaking of never stopping, Kingsway, boys I

00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:39.599
know, quite well and have had a lot of success

00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:42.240
and take a lot of pride in the work they do.

00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:44.900
We're so impressed that after your first time

00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:47.279
working with them, they gave you a lifetime contract.

00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:53.299
What was that like for you? Well, I don't want

00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:56.079
to be superstitious or nothing, but that day

00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:00.799
I was wearing my lucky shirt. Just saying. That

00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.680
meant quite a bit to me. The fact that someone

00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.079
liked my work so much, to give me an opportunity

00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:10.420
such as that for such a legendary string full

00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:13.380
of animals. I mean, Kingsley has had countless

00:18:13.380 --> 00:18:17.480
95 points. You got alley, you got gummy, you

00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.700
got orangutan, just so many legendary animals.

00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:25.960
And honestly, it's just such an opportunity to

00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:28.259
have. And then for them to also give me a lifetime

00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:32.279
opportunity, it just makes me feel so grateful.

00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:35.930
I mean, because. The way I think about it, anybody

00:18:35.930 --> 00:18:39.089
could have gotten that opportunity. Anybody could

00:18:39.089 --> 00:18:41.910
have worked for him that year. But somehow the

00:18:41.910 --> 00:18:46.130
stars lined up and God made it possible for Ethan

00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:49.470
and Morgan to give me an opportunity such as

00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:52.410
that. And I look forward to doing my second Royal

00:18:52.410 --> 00:18:56.710
with those guys. Now, when I was talking with

00:18:56.710 --> 00:18:59.130
Ethan, one of the things he really highlighted

00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:03.140
is how. Did the little things like the details

00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:07.099
he says it like you're It's insane in a good

00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.420
way that you worked so hard on the little details

00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:12.380
What are the little details that you think make

00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:25.140
the biggest difference? I Walk around barns and

00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:29.279
you know, let's just say you're a cattleman and

00:19:29.869 --> 00:19:32.970
You want to be by yourself and you want to buy

00:19:32.970 --> 00:19:35.890
an animal. But you want to do it in private.

00:19:35.970 --> 00:19:37.470
You know, you come through the barns at like

00:19:37.470 --> 00:19:40.549
10, 11 p .m., just walking, seeing everything

00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:43.849
laying down. Let's say you walk into the Kingsway

00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:46.470
stream. Ooh, Kingsway. They have some good animals.

00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:50.910
Wow. Oh, there's straw over the floor. Oh, my

00:19:50.910 --> 00:19:53.710
gosh. The cows have manure on the ground. Oh,

00:19:53.789 --> 00:19:57.569
why does she have a spot on her? Just name it

00:19:57.569 --> 00:20:01.319
off. Checking boxes that are not good. First

00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:06.059
off, for me, my cows have to be spotless. I can't

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.420
stand it when they have manure on them. It just,

00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:13.799
it messes with my mind. And on top of that, I

00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:17.019
need to make sure the floors are clean. I sweep

00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:22.140
all night long. Because whenever I'm feeding

00:20:22.140 --> 00:20:24.839
hay, you constantly have that one little piece

00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.579
that falls on the floor or something. Whenever

00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:29.980
you're coming in and out of the cow pack, sometimes

00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.440
you have straw that connects to your jeans and

00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:34.980
comes out with you and other stuff like that.

00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:38.019
But not only that, you want to make, let's say,

00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:40.559
people overlook the clipping station sometimes,

00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:42.940
but that's a part of the string just like everything

00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:45.799
else is. You want that to be spotless. You want

00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.460
the clipping to be spotless. And whenever I'm

00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:51.960
usually in a string too, I usually try to organize

00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:55.240
the string myself. Like, I'll put the tables

00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.609
over here. I'll line the chairs up beside the

00:20:58.609 --> 00:21:00.930
hut. I just like to make everything look all

00:21:00.930 --> 00:21:04.569
tidy and neat for everybody to see because you

00:21:04.569 --> 00:21:06.490
never know when that one person might come down

00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:09.730
the string ready to buy an animal or when that

00:21:09.730 --> 00:21:12.150
one person might come down the string with his

00:21:12.150 --> 00:21:15.750
kid or his daughter to show them Kingsway's legendary

00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:19.829
animals. And I feel like you owe it up to them

00:21:19.829 --> 00:21:22.869
and you owe it to the cows to have them looking

00:21:22.869 --> 00:21:26.680
their prime. Because, I mean, if I was in a pack

00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:29.279
and I had someone taking care of me, I'd want

00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:31.160
the best care they can give me. I mean, after

00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:34.920
all, show cow, show is in their name. So I feel

00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:37.059
like we should treat them like the princesses

00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:40.759
they are. I mean, in my opinion, they are athletes.

00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:43.400
They have contracts with different companies

00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:47.579
like CMEX, Select, and some other small fire

00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:51.019
directories. So I feel like we should give them

00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:53.750
the ultimate care. Whenever it comes to that,

00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:57.589
I mean, it's just... I get pretty obsessive with

00:21:57.589 --> 00:21:59.430
these small things. Because, like, for instance,

00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:03.789
we went out to dinner. I think it was the last

00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:08.150
night. And, well, nothing was in the string.

00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:11.490
And then we went to... I went to a horse party.

00:22:11.950 --> 00:22:14.009
The horse people were throwing parties. But afterwards,

00:22:14.150 --> 00:22:17.230
I left. And, yeah, I dismantled the string. I

00:22:17.230 --> 00:22:19.250
took down all the cage. The fence was already

00:22:19.250 --> 00:22:23.920
down. I took off the railing. rolled up all the

00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.940
signs and whatnot, took off the signs from the

00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:31.319
top. I just organized everything. That way, when

00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:33.960
everybody pulled in with the trailers, the pack

00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:36.359
trailers, we could just pick up everything and

00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:39.799
place it here, here, here, here, here, without

00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:42.480
having to go through the hassle of reorganizing

00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:44.579
things. Everybody could just carry out their

00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:47.880
stuff, and it would just be there, ready to go.

00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.250
Taking an extra hour or two to dismantle everything

00:22:52.250 --> 00:22:56.069
we put up. I took apart the running board. Did

00:22:56.069 --> 00:22:58.029
all that stuff. And on top of that, whatever

00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:00.970
they told me to do, I did it. No questions asked.

00:23:01.589 --> 00:23:04.730
You know? And if there were any special instructions,

00:23:05.029 --> 00:23:08.269
I would ask. Hey, what about this cow? What do

00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:10.410
we need to do for her? Are the instructions the

00:23:10.410 --> 00:23:14.190
same as yesterday? What kind of hay are we feeding?

00:23:14.289 --> 00:23:17.329
What's the variety? Feed this and that hay. Okay.

00:23:17.589 --> 00:23:20.359
You want me to feed this? Towards the end of

00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.200
the night or do you want me to feed this towards

00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.460
the beginning? There's questions like that You

00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.119
want to get into the animal state of mind and

00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:29.059
you want to figure out what they've been going

00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:31.619
through during the daytime so you can replicate

00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:35.980
it and also Although and also alter it throughout

00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:41.420
the night as well Now it's quite new to most

00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:44.059
people the title night man or the role of it

00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:48.220
the role has been there forever Maybe some people

00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:51.220
didn't put as much effort into it but now there's

00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:53.119
a lot more attention especially thanks to yourself

00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:55.640
and the work you've been your social media and

00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:57.559
the work you've been doing for people who are

00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.380
looking to get into it one of the questions i

00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:00.980
think they kind of have or would be wondering

00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:04.259
is you know how does it pay like how does the

00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:09.200
uh compensation work or how do you structure

00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.140
your compensation for when you're looking after

00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:15.400
cattle at night everything is usually paid for

00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:21.579
um like flight hotel food um everything is usually

00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:25.460
paid for but in my opinion to get my to first

00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:28.460
get my foot in the door i mean i had to start

00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.119
off pretty cheap i mean i didn't charge much

00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:35.900
my first deck so i only charged 100 a night and

00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:38.539
i'm just being real with everybody probably not

00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:41.579
the most expensive out there but i did a good

00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:44.460
job for what i had and that was just my way of

00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:48.410
getting in Whenever you start, it's not about

00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:52.150
the money. And even whenever you're five, six,

00:24:52.190 --> 00:24:54.789
seven years in, it's still not about the money.

00:24:55.130 --> 00:24:58.369
Only the true survivors will know this. It's

00:24:58.369 --> 00:25:01.309
about the animals. Yeah, you make money in the

00:25:01.309 --> 00:25:04.069
industry. Yeah, you develop a reputation, but

00:25:04.069 --> 00:25:07.609
it's not about you. It's about the animals you're

00:25:07.609 --> 00:25:11.130
taking care of. What can you do to help that

00:25:11.130 --> 00:25:14.130
animal succeed on the shavings? How can you get

00:25:14.130 --> 00:25:16.289
that animal to grow ribs? How can you get that

00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:20.490
animal to look better than the day before? What

00:25:20.490 --> 00:25:22.890
are some ways you can alter her? How can you

00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:25.670
make her more comfortable in her surroundings

00:25:25.670 --> 00:25:28.869
with all of these loud noises and clippers buzzing

00:25:28.869 --> 00:25:33.390
and fans blowing on her? What can you do to get

00:25:33.390 --> 00:25:36.529
her to chill? Well, pun intended, chill out with

00:25:36.529 --> 00:25:38.430
the fans blowing on her. But what can you do

00:25:38.430 --> 00:25:43.940
to get her to calm down, relax? Be herself like

00:25:43.940 --> 00:25:47.019
she's out in a beautiful green pasture on the

00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:52.400
mountain. And that's the key. It's got to be

00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:55.980
for the animals. The money will come. But in

00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:58.779
my opinion, it's all about just keeping your

00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:01.519
priorities straight. And once you figure that

00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:04.640
out, it's golden. Because once you put the animals

00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:08.500
first, nobody can stop you at that point. Not

00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:11.470
to mention. You can tell a difference with the

00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:13.430
animals too. The people who do it for money,

00:26:13.529 --> 00:26:17.630
they don't love it because they're looking for

00:26:17.630 --> 00:26:19.670
that check at the end of the week. That's what

00:26:19.670 --> 00:26:22.269
they're focusing on. And the people who do it

00:26:22.269 --> 00:26:24.789
for the animals, they have a smile for their

00:26:24.789 --> 00:26:26.849
face or they have their game face on and they're

00:26:26.849 --> 00:26:29.849
constantly working harder and harder, going harder

00:26:29.849 --> 00:26:33.849
and harder each day because they know in a couple

00:26:33.849 --> 00:26:36.069
days' time it's going to be game time for this

00:26:36.069 --> 00:26:39.089
specific animal and she has to be looking for...

00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:45.220
for that day. Now, when I was talking with Ethan

00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:48.839
about you, doing homework for this, he made the

00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:51.279
comment that a good night man or night person

00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:54.059
is extremely hard to find, and that's part of

00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:56.460
the reason he wanted to lock you in for the lifetime.

00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:59.579
Why do you think there is a shortage of people

00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:07.630
willing to do this? Hmm. Well, actually, If you

00:27:07.630 --> 00:27:11.069
want my honest opinion, I think because it's

00:27:11.069 --> 00:27:13.549
not the funnest job out there, you know. Same

00:27:13.549 --> 00:27:16.369
as fitting. I mean, night people and fitting

00:27:16.369 --> 00:27:18.650
go hand in hand. You're both doing cattle care.

00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:21.369
Most people don't like fitting because it's uncomfortable.

00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:24.069
People don't want to be hot. They don't want

00:27:24.069 --> 00:27:27.450
hair in their arms, et cetera, et cetera, et

00:27:27.450 --> 00:27:31.990
cetera. With night, being a night person, people

00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:34.430
don't want to be up at 3 a .m., nobody in the

00:27:34.430 --> 00:27:37.539
barn. No music blaring, no parties cracking off.

00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:42.259
I mean, like, if you look at day people, there

00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:45.259
is a surplus. I mean, everybody wants to do days,

00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.500
and, I mean, who can blame them? I mean, you're

00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:50.619
out in the parties and whatnot. But the important

00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:54.660
stuff is showtime for day people, like getting

00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:56.980
animals ready, getting them to the ring. The

00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:59.519
fitters are shining them up like a new quarter.

00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:02.500
They're putting in top lines as hard as diamonds.

00:28:03.630 --> 00:28:06.190
I mean, they're getting them dialed. Meanwhile,

00:28:06.509 --> 00:28:09.789
everybody else, they're feeding, getting hay,

00:28:10.029 --> 00:28:13.170
feeding pulp, feeding silage, whatever they'll

00:28:13.170 --> 00:28:16.150
eat, essentially. Getting that big cage on them.

00:28:16.170 --> 00:28:21.150
You want them to have a giant cage with a great

00:28:21.150 --> 00:28:26.069
udder, veiny rear. That's the cow for me, just

00:28:26.069 --> 00:28:29.650
big cage, big udders, you know. But good feet

00:28:29.650 --> 00:28:33.140
and legs, too. You want her to be balanced. And

00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:36.099
when it comes to that, yeah, I just believe that

00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:38.839
most people don't think night shift is fun because

00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:41.400
it's solitary. You're by yourself most of the

00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:45.599
time. But it's a worthy sacrifice because I promise

00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.940
you, between that job and sitting, there isn't

00:28:48.940 --> 00:28:52.279
a more important one. Because let's say it's

00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:56.839
before the show, the night before the show, and

00:28:56.839 --> 00:28:59.440
there's no night man. Animals have manure all

00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.680
over them. Let's say one of them could have gotten

00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:05.900
really sick or had an allergic reaction to the

00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:09.299
hay you put in front of her. To name a few scenarios.

00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:13.500
Let's say an animal got loose and just spent

00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:19.240
the whole night running around the barn. Or just

00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:21.680
something of that nature. You need somebody there

00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.559
to monitor them. To make sure everything is going

00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:28.299
right in a mannerly fashion. And not to mention,

00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:30.990
you need someone you can trust. Someone who you

00:29:30.990 --> 00:29:33.650
know, if something goes haywire, they will pick

00:29:33.650 --> 00:29:35.769
up the phone because they don't have too much

00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:39.690
pride to admit their mistakes. Or they know,

00:29:39.890 --> 00:29:44.309
hey, this animal needs help. She is very important.

00:29:44.849 --> 00:29:51.390
Call this person now, you know. Just being able

00:29:51.390 --> 00:29:55.049
to identify those type of problems and also be

00:29:55.049 --> 00:29:58.430
a problem solver is just what I think it needs.

00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:03.400
And also night shifting, you can always get better

00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:06.500
at it. Same with fitting. I mean, the show world

00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:09.420
is constantly progressing. It's constantly moving

00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:12.559
forward with genetics, with cattle, with setups,

00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.599
with crews. There's always more opportunities

00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:18.359
out there to get better. Practice makes perfect.

00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:21.839
Practice also makes permanent. The more you do

00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.160
it, the better you'll get. And that's why I'm

00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:27.880
never really satisfied with my job. I think I

00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:31.180
do a good job, yes, but there's always something

00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:34.240
else I feel like I could do better. Like after

00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.519
the Royal, I wrote down a little list of things

00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:38.799
that I thought I could have done better or done

00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:42.559
more frequently for the animals. And this year,

00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:44.900
I plan to correct all those things and do an

00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:47.819
even better job because I feel like I owe it

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.279
to them and I owe it to myself to show myself

00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:55.119
that I can do those type of things without hassle.

00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:57.740
Now, you've worked anywhere. You've had a lot

00:30:57.740 --> 00:30:59.900
of experience in the short period of time. You've

00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:01.980
had county fairs. You've hit Expo. You've hit

00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:05.799
the Royal. You've had some big -name sales. How

00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:07.819
would each one differ? Do you have to approach

00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:09.599
each one differently, and is there different

00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:12.740
pressure with each one? Without a doubt, yes.

00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:17.240
Whether it's living conditions. For instance,

00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:19.740
at Kingsway, they actually just built the new

00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:24.529
barn. They have free packs. At that cell, we're

00:31:24.529 --> 00:31:28.190
not wearing halters. They were free doing whatever

00:31:28.190 --> 00:31:31.930
they pleased. Yeah, they had ropes on them with

00:31:31.930 --> 00:31:34.950
their numbers, but they were free packs. And

00:31:34.950 --> 00:31:37.089
they were free to walk up and eat hay whenever

00:31:37.089 --> 00:31:39.109
they wanted and then go back. So you'd naturally

00:31:39.109 --> 00:31:41.569
have to go through and pick out the packs and

00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:44.549
make sure everything stayed clean. Mount Elgin

00:31:44.549 --> 00:31:47.230
was the same way. They also had free packs. But

00:31:47.230 --> 00:31:50.329
let's say you go to a cell like Triple T, those

00:31:50.329 --> 00:31:52.910
animals are also unpacked, but they're on halters.

00:31:53.769 --> 00:31:57.390
So naturally, they can't walk around freely like

00:31:57.390 --> 00:31:59.670
they want to do. They're naturally on halters,

00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:02.549
so they will continuously eat hay, but it's harder.

00:32:02.690 --> 00:32:05.170
I mean, not harder. It's easier to keep those

00:32:05.170 --> 00:32:08.730
type of animals clean because they're not walking

00:32:08.730 --> 00:32:11.430
over one another to get to some hay. So therefore,

00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:13.490
they're not leaving hoof prints on one another

00:32:13.490 --> 00:32:16.390
and all that other stuff. Not to mention, if

00:32:16.390 --> 00:32:18.950
you put them on halters, too, you can fit a lot

00:32:18.950 --> 00:32:25.190
more animals in a smaller space. as well now

00:32:25.190 --> 00:32:29.690
it's more compact that's the right word yep for

00:32:29.690 --> 00:32:32.910
sure the uh one of the things i'm extremely impressed

00:32:32.910 --> 00:32:34.769
with with you is the amount of thought you put

00:32:34.769 --> 00:32:38.009
into everything and uh in looking into that i

00:32:38.009 --> 00:32:42.029
i realized that your grandmother had a big impact

00:32:42.029 --> 00:32:47.390
on you um how has your grandmother helped you

00:32:47.390 --> 00:32:49.309
impacted you and how do you what do you learn

00:32:49.309 --> 00:32:54.859
from her that you apply to this Always give it

00:32:54.859 --> 00:32:59.200
100%. My granny is usually the deciding factor

00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:02.259
for me when it comes to these decisions. Recently,

00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:06.200
she just had to get surgery. But the recovery

00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:08.240
time wasn't too long. That's why I'm not hitting

00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:10.940
any shows in the month of June. I just wanted

00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:14.079
to stay by her side and make sure she was okay.

00:33:14.299 --> 00:33:17.079
I just wanted to be there for her. But come July,

00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:21.660
I'll be hitting more shows. A big part of my

00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:24.420
life, you know, she's my biggest supporter. She's

00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:27.359
always supporting me whenever it comes to something

00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:29.859
positive. But then again, whenever I do something

00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:32.000
wrong, she isn't afraid to snatch me up either.

00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:38.200
She's a great woman, though. Definitely a role

00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:41.279
model for me. And I don't know what I'd do without

00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:45.380
her. She's definitely my granny, without a doubt.

00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:49.190
And I'm proud to call her my granny. Now, another

00:33:49.190 --> 00:33:51.990
person I think that has had a big impact or helped

00:33:51.990 --> 00:33:54.329
you quite a bit is, you've mentioned him already,

00:33:54.490 --> 00:33:57.009
is Kyle Stockdale. How did you meet Kyle, and

00:33:57.009 --> 00:34:01.109
how has Kyle helped you out? I met Kyle on Facebook.

00:34:01.230 --> 00:34:05.029
I was searching for a Madison opportunity so

00:34:05.029 --> 00:34:07.809
I could work there and get to see Madison for

00:34:07.809 --> 00:34:10.969
the first time because I've seen it online a

00:34:10.969 --> 00:34:13.869
time or two, and I was like, wow, look at these

00:34:13.869 --> 00:34:17.750
cows. Look at that equipment. I need to be there.

00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:24.300
Yeah, I ended up on the kai vision group chat

00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:33.380
And I said hey anybody looking for Madison opportunity

00:34:33.380 --> 00:34:38.519
and I Take Kyle was the first person to hit me

00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:41.639
up out of the deal and after talking with him

00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:44.679
for a bit I got the job walked in and yeah, I

00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:47.000
will be working with that same crew this year

00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:51.510
at Madison He's the manager of the crew. And

00:34:51.510 --> 00:34:54.469
the crew, I mean, the string is owned by a man

00:34:54.469 --> 00:34:58.190
named Ryan Ferris. Also a really good guy. Just

00:34:58.190 --> 00:35:01.690
great people, you know. They highly respect.

00:35:02.329 --> 00:35:05.269
They have great animals. And we all get along.

00:35:05.469 --> 00:35:08.929
So there's just, I couldn't see it any better.

00:35:09.090 --> 00:35:11.750
And as we progress, the string is just going

00:35:11.750 --> 00:35:16.099
to continuously get better and better. The best

00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:19.360
part about that string is he has kids. That's

00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:22.239
who he does it for is his kids. I mean, last

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.340
year, whenever we were doing it, they were showing

00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:29.679
me pictures. There's just nothing like having

00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.860
a kid go to that ring with their animal, get

00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:35.679
success, and then having them flash that Showtime

00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:39.079
smile at you after they get a medal. Absolutely

00:35:39.079 --> 00:35:42.880
unreal. And, yeah, just brings a smile to my

00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.489
face every time I see it. I hope with the animals

00:35:46.489 --> 00:35:48.809
we bring this year, we can replicate the same

00:35:48.809 --> 00:35:51.750
feeling for them, because I think they deserve

00:35:51.750 --> 00:35:56.190
it. They've worked hard. Now, you mentioned that

00:35:56.190 --> 00:35:58.369
you owe it to the cows. A lot of what drives

00:35:58.369 --> 00:36:03.309
you is you owe it to the cows. Sure. What makes

00:36:03.309 --> 00:36:05.570
you connect? You seem to really connect with

00:36:05.570 --> 00:36:07.329
the cows, and you seem to really care about the

00:36:07.329 --> 00:36:09.369
cows. Where does that come from, and how does

00:36:09.369 --> 00:36:14.989
that drive you? Cows have shaped my life. Definitely

00:36:14.989 --> 00:36:18.409
changed my life for the better. I don't know.

00:36:19.190 --> 00:36:21.750
At first, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

00:36:21.849 --> 00:36:24.969
And the moment I got into the dairy farm and

00:36:24.969 --> 00:36:27.530
started working with animals and started making

00:36:27.530 --> 00:36:31.610
forage and whatnot, I just, it's a game changer.

00:36:31.730 --> 00:36:34.010
And I don't know what I'd do without them. You

00:36:34.010 --> 00:36:37.449
know, working at Garmack Farms and doing all

00:36:37.449 --> 00:36:41.150
that stuff. And now I'm doing show stuff. Now

00:36:41.150 --> 00:36:46.590
it's just. amazing you know like these cows they

00:36:46.590 --> 00:36:49.650
go through so much and they do what they gotta

00:36:49.650 --> 00:36:52.929
do like from making milk to high fat and protein

00:36:52.929 --> 00:36:56.869
to making eggs and selling genetics they're so

00:36:56.869 --> 00:37:00.190
versatile not to mention they're such hard workers

00:37:00.190 --> 00:37:03.510
to be able to do that every day and continue

00:37:03.510 --> 00:37:05.710
chewing your cud and continue doing your thing

00:37:05.710 --> 00:37:09.760
i feel like if you go to a show That cow has

00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:12.599
earned her spot in that string. She is worthy.

00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:15.679
Especially at these big shows like Madison and

00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:18.480
Royal. She didn't just get brought there to pull

00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:22.599
a check. She earned that spot. So if she had

00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:25.280
to work that hard to do that, she is special.

00:37:25.860 --> 00:37:28.619
You can't tell me any different. That cow is

00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:31.239
special. She's not special to me. She's special

00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:34.570
to someone. Like I said, I feel like, yeah, I

00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:37.329
do owe it to that cow to treat her with the utmost

00:37:37.329 --> 00:37:40.929
of respect and quality care. Because if she had

00:37:40.929 --> 00:37:43.849
to work that hard to get to that spot, I feel

00:37:43.849 --> 00:37:45.809
like I owe it to her to give her the best chance

00:37:45.809 --> 00:37:50.190
of winning. While also keeping her as comfortable

00:37:50.190 --> 00:37:53.010
as possible. And while also giving her the most

00:37:53.010 --> 00:37:54.989
amount of respect that I can give her to the

00:37:54.989 --> 00:37:59.070
fullest of my ability. Now, you sound very competitive.

00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:03.599
And I think that applies to the Nightman role.

00:38:03.739 --> 00:38:06.599
I think I've heard you say that you work at taking

00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:09.559
away someone else's shine. Can you describe what

00:38:09.559 --> 00:38:13.760
you mean by that and what drives that? Well,

00:38:13.860 --> 00:38:16.519
I've always played sports when I was little,

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:18.760
and I've always been competitive. I've always

00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:22.559
wanted to be the star out of the bunch. And,

00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:26.260
well, it all really started at Madison. That

00:38:26.260 --> 00:38:28.360
was one of the first times I've ever really had

00:38:28.360 --> 00:38:32.289
someone, beside me working nights. Well, no,

00:38:32.329 --> 00:38:34.590
no, no. It started at Harrisburg, actually. It

00:38:34.590 --> 00:38:37.449
was one of my first bigger shows, and then it

00:38:37.449 --> 00:38:40.210
was Madison. But, yeah, I was working beside

00:38:40.210 --> 00:38:43.349
someone, and I took great pride in the string

00:38:43.349 --> 00:38:45.769
I was working with because I was keeping them

00:38:45.769 --> 00:38:48.530
clean, keeping them fed, keeping the floors swept,

00:38:48.829 --> 00:38:51.449
keeping everything looking, trying to look pristine.

00:38:52.409 --> 00:38:56.230
Now, back then, I didn't exactly know what I

00:38:56.230 --> 00:39:01.429
did now. nor and with my adhd do i become pretty

00:39:01.429 --> 00:39:06.489
honed in on the little things because every little

00:39:06.489 --> 00:39:09.789
thing equals a big thing eventually it just takes

00:39:09.789 --> 00:39:12.989
enough little things to make a big thing and

00:39:12.989 --> 00:39:16.030
um whenever i was doing that yeah i was very

00:39:16.030 --> 00:39:19.210
competitive because i wanted to be the best i

00:39:19.210 --> 00:39:21.610
wanted my animals to look the best i wanted them

00:39:21.610 --> 00:39:25.590
to have the best feel on them And I just wanted

00:39:25.590 --> 00:39:28.449
them to look like they made a transformation

00:39:28.449 --> 00:39:34.210
with time. And I wanted you to be able to tell,

00:39:34.409 --> 00:39:37.409
hey, who took care of these animals? They look

00:39:37.409 --> 00:39:40.449
totally different from the day they walked in

00:39:40.449 --> 00:39:45.510
to now. What happened? Who did this? I wanted

00:39:45.510 --> 00:39:48.789
to be that person that did that. I wanted to

00:39:48.789 --> 00:39:50.469
make a difference. I wanted to make a change.

00:39:51.170 --> 00:39:54.699
But to do that... You have to stand out with

00:39:54.699 --> 00:39:57.099
your work ethic. Your work ethic is all you got.

00:39:58.099 --> 00:40:01.840
If you're not going to work, this isn't the best

00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:04.440
life for you because dairy farming, all it is

00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:06.900
is work. Yes, you have your fun, happy moments,

00:40:06.920 --> 00:40:11.860
but you got to be able to say, hey, I'm going

00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:14.579
to do this. We are going to get this done. I

00:40:14.579 --> 00:40:18.159
am going to work my butt off the whole week and

00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:20.480
get these animals to where they have to be no

00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:24.150
matter what. And then you have to own up to that

00:40:24.150 --> 00:40:27.050
because along with work comes your word. You

00:40:27.050 --> 00:40:30.510
have to be a firm believer of your word because

00:40:30.510 --> 00:40:32.690
you can't go back on your word after you make

00:40:32.690 --> 00:40:35.010
a commitment such as that. It's too important.

00:40:36.409 --> 00:40:40.130
So you just you have to do it. And then once

00:40:40.130 --> 00:40:42.690
you once they go in the ring and they have success,

00:40:42.829 --> 00:40:45.630
like I've had a couple of success stories myself.

00:40:46.909 --> 00:40:49.670
Like, for instance, my newest success story was.

00:40:50.760 --> 00:40:53.420
Red and White at the Northeast All Breed Spring

00:40:53.420 --> 00:40:58.000
Show. She got JC Red as well as Reserve JC in

00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:02.800
the Blacks. So, just stuff like that makes it

00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:06.780
worth it. Like, keep going. Eventually, you know,

00:41:06.820 --> 00:41:11.099
you're like, man, wow. I was there when that

00:41:11.099 --> 00:41:12.800
happened. I was there when this happened. This

00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:16.760
animal got this award, and I was helping her

00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:20.289
out. I helped prep that one. You can just string

00:41:20.289 --> 00:41:22.829
together a whole line full of memories and jobs

00:41:22.829 --> 00:41:26.050
you did. That's another really cool feature about

00:41:26.050 --> 00:41:29.010
working the night shift for a while. You can

00:41:29.010 --> 00:41:31.550
do stuff like that. You can string together memories.

00:41:32.230 --> 00:41:34.190
Every now and then I like to scroll through my

00:41:34.190 --> 00:41:36.650
camera roll or scroll through my Facebook posts

00:41:36.650 --> 00:41:39.489
just to reminisce on past memories that I've

00:41:39.489 --> 00:41:44.510
made. It's important. It almost brings a tear

00:41:44.510 --> 00:41:48.380
to your eye. whenever you look at that stuff

00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:51.320
you realize just how far you've come and just

00:41:51.320 --> 00:41:54.280
how much progress you made and who's giving you

00:41:54.280 --> 00:41:56.739
these opportunities and who's giving you those

00:41:56.739 --> 00:42:01.179
opportunities and it's just amazing it's nostalgic

00:42:01.179 --> 00:42:04.820
it's interesting you mentioned about the ad um

00:42:04.820 --> 00:42:07.619
i don't know if you're familiar with temple grandin

00:42:07.619 --> 00:42:11.280
he has autism but one of the great things about

00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:16.070
her is that She feels that helped her connect

00:42:16.070 --> 00:42:18.989
with the cows because she understands them more

00:42:18.989 --> 00:42:20.670
and can relate to them. And I would say that

00:42:20.670 --> 00:42:23.409
you seem to really relate to the cows as well

00:42:23.409 --> 00:42:27.449
yourself. So that's really cool. Thank you, sir.

00:42:28.010 --> 00:42:30.050
One of the other things here, one of the things

00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:32.889
here is you mentioned about someone like the

00:42:32.889 --> 00:42:35.829
first time. If you were to speak to someone who

00:42:35.829 --> 00:42:38.110
was nervous or doing it for their very first

00:42:38.110 --> 00:42:40.809
time, they're going to be a nightmare at a local

00:42:40.809 --> 00:42:43.090
show or somewhere. What advice would you give

00:42:43.090 --> 00:42:47.289
someone who's getting into it? Don't take too

00:42:47.289 --> 00:42:52.190
many strings too fast and hone your skills. Focus

00:42:52.190 --> 00:42:55.789
on getting better. For me, I do make a lot of

00:42:55.789 --> 00:42:58.730
posts on Facebook and Snapchat and stuff like

00:42:58.730 --> 00:43:03.690
that, but we all start from somewhere. Just because

00:43:03.690 --> 00:43:07.809
you see one person taking care of 36 cows by

00:43:07.809 --> 00:43:11.619
themselves, I mean, yeah, that's... It's cool

00:43:11.619 --> 00:43:14.199
to take care of the big strings, but there's

00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:16.400
a lot of hard work that goes into that, and it

00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:19.059
gets pretty stressful at times, especially whenever

00:43:19.059 --> 00:43:22.500
it's about to be game time and all 36 animals

00:43:22.500 --> 00:43:25.860
are soon to go in the ring or something like

00:43:25.860 --> 00:43:27.679
that, or half of them are going in the ring.

00:43:27.820 --> 00:43:31.820
It gets pretty nerve -wracking. If I was to give

00:43:31.820 --> 00:43:34.880
any advice to a person starting out in the night

00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:39.179
shift, take it one step at a time. Don't get

00:43:39.179 --> 00:43:42.840
distracted by how much money you're making. And

00:43:42.840 --> 00:43:47.260
put the animals first. That's it. Put the animals

00:43:47.260 --> 00:43:52.500
first. Because at the end of the day, those animals

00:43:52.500 --> 00:43:55.599
are the reason why you're here. Not to mention,

00:43:55.659 --> 00:43:58.139
your skills are also the reason why you're here.

00:43:58.239 --> 00:44:02.260
Those two key factors are what got you that opportunity.

00:44:02.940 --> 00:44:05.760
So I think you should become very obsessive and

00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:09.840
isolate those two skills. isolate yourself with

00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:13.460
the animals and get in their head, get in their

00:44:13.460 --> 00:44:17.380
mind. Use their instincts to your advantage,

00:44:17.500 --> 00:44:20.559
whether it's for them to drink water, whether

00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:22.739
it's for them to eat hay, maybe switch up the

00:44:22.739 --> 00:44:25.199
hay whenever they get really tired of it so that

00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:28.539
they'll gorge on the next variety. Use their

00:44:28.539 --> 00:44:31.119
natural instincts to their advantage so that

00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:34.440
way as you're making them progress, they're not

00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:37.239
fighting you with progression. They're making

00:44:37.239 --> 00:44:40.539
themselves progress. So they already think they're

00:44:40.539 --> 00:44:45.139
doing it themselves. So yeah, just my, my first

00:44:45.139 --> 00:44:50.059
thing I would tell those guys is don't get distracted

00:44:50.059 --> 00:44:55.039
by the money. Put the animals first, hone your

00:44:55.039 --> 00:45:00.519
skills, and then the rest will come. No, you

00:45:00.519 --> 00:45:06.019
mentioned you got, go ahead. Sorry. Um, One more

00:45:06.019 --> 00:45:10.320
thing, have a good attitude. Nobody likes someone

00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:13.179
who complains all the time. Have a smile on your

00:45:13.179 --> 00:45:15.460
face and have some manners because that will

00:45:15.460 --> 00:45:19.559
take you a long way as well. That's great advice.

00:45:19.960 --> 00:45:23.099
You seem like someone who really thinks about

00:45:23.099 --> 00:45:27.920
the whole process, especially with the cows going

00:45:27.920 --> 00:45:29.780
through animal behavior. And you said you got

00:45:29.780 --> 00:45:32.800
started with bees. uh when you were doing with

00:45:32.800 --> 00:45:35.320
the bees did you is there some the beekeeping

00:45:35.320 --> 00:45:37.119
is there lessons you've learned from that that

00:45:37.119 --> 00:45:39.719
you applied to hear about the behaviors of bees

00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:42.099
or things that way or you seem to really think

00:45:42.099 --> 00:45:49.739
about this stuff um with bees is there any lessons

00:45:49.739 --> 00:45:57.480
i learned with bees yeah timing matters like

00:45:57.480 --> 00:46:00.699
with bees let's say you're working 90 hives in

00:46:00.699 --> 00:46:04.900
a big blueberry field or something. And you're

00:46:04.900 --> 00:46:08.400
working a bunch of mean hives. The more you work

00:46:08.400 --> 00:46:11.739
in a mean hive, the more agitated they will get

00:46:11.739 --> 00:46:15.380
and the more they will try to sting you. It sucks,

00:46:15.519 --> 00:46:18.519
but that's just the way it is. You want to get

00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:21.980
in that hive, do what you have to do, and get

00:46:21.980 --> 00:46:25.510
out of that hive as fast as possible. while being

00:46:25.510 --> 00:46:28.329
as efficient as possible. You don't want to accidentally

00:46:28.329 --> 00:46:30.769
kill 30 bees because you put the frame in the

00:46:30.769 --> 00:46:32.849
wrong way. You don't want to accidentally kill

00:46:32.849 --> 00:46:36.510
the queen of the hive because you accidentally

00:46:36.510 --> 00:46:39.389
shook her onto the ground and another bug ate

00:46:39.389 --> 00:46:43.690
her or something like that. You want to be careful.

00:46:44.130 --> 00:46:46.929
You want to be light. You want to be gentle.

00:46:47.989 --> 00:46:53.090
Yet, you want to be fast and efficient. And that's

00:46:53.090 --> 00:46:55.639
how I am with cows. I want to be careful. I want

00:46:55.639 --> 00:46:59.119
to be gentle. But I also want to be fast, efficient.

00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:03.159
But I want to be very vigilant with them like

00:47:03.159 --> 00:47:05.719
I am bees. Bees, you pay attention to every detail.

00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:09.139
How many eggs are in that cell? How big is the

00:47:09.139 --> 00:47:11.619
honey border on the outside? Where's the queen?

00:47:12.360 --> 00:47:14.760
You're very vigilant about every little thing.

00:47:15.039 --> 00:47:18.530
Cows, I think it's the same way. Not only are

00:47:18.530 --> 00:47:20.849
you vigilant about every little thing, cows are

00:47:20.849 --> 00:47:22.929
too. Cows can tell when something's changed.

00:47:23.250 --> 00:47:25.469
I mean, if you've ever watched a jersey or beef

00:47:25.469 --> 00:47:29.869
or Holstein walk into an unfamiliar space, they're

00:47:29.869 --> 00:47:31.789
going to take it slow because they're not used

00:47:31.789 --> 00:47:35.670
to it. Now, as they're at these shows, some cows

00:47:35.670 --> 00:47:37.489
get used to it eventually, but I think we've

00:47:37.489 --> 00:47:40.769
all brought an animal to their first show. That

00:47:40.769 --> 00:47:44.909
animal, at the start, is super vigilant, super

00:47:44.909 --> 00:47:50.019
touchy. She's very alert. But the thing that

00:47:50.019 --> 00:47:52.619
I like about good night people and just good

00:47:52.619 --> 00:47:55.539
crew overall, they know how to get these animals

00:47:55.539 --> 00:47:58.019
comfortable. They know how to make them calm

00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:00.739
down and settle in with the rest of them. And

00:48:00.739 --> 00:48:04.800
I think that's the beautiful part about it. Now,

00:48:04.920 --> 00:48:08.599
you mentioned that bees, you've been stung up

00:48:08.599 --> 00:48:11.539
to 60 times a day. Most people would have quit.

00:48:12.280 --> 00:48:16.449
What keeps you working with the bees? The job's

00:48:16.449 --> 00:48:20.710
got to get done, you know. Yes, you'll take stings.

00:48:20.750 --> 00:48:23.449
Whenever I first learned how to beekeep with

00:48:23.449 --> 00:48:25.309
Thomas Beatty, I didn't have enough money to

00:48:25.309 --> 00:48:28.150
buy a suit. All I had was a smoker in my hand

00:48:28.150 --> 00:48:30.929
and a hive tool in the other hand. So I'd constantly

00:48:30.929 --> 00:48:35.170
get stung over and over working bees. But, you

00:48:35.170 --> 00:48:38.710
know, it really taught me how to be careful and

00:48:38.710 --> 00:48:40.849
how to work my way around it because, I mean.

00:48:42.750 --> 00:48:45.409
Sometimes I go willingly without a shoot. Like,

00:48:45.409 --> 00:48:50.670
if it's 90 degrees and 89 % humidity, and I only

00:48:50.670 --> 00:48:53.090
got, like, five, six, seven hives outside, yeah,

00:48:53.150 --> 00:48:55.489
I'll go out in a short -sleeved shirt and some

00:48:55.489 --> 00:48:58.190
swim trunks with a high -filling smoker, and

00:48:58.190 --> 00:49:00.570
I'll work them like that. But if you got some

00:49:00.570 --> 00:49:02.530
mean bees and you know it, it's best to wear

00:49:02.530 --> 00:49:06.469
a veil, at least. Yeah, jobs just got to get

00:49:06.469 --> 00:49:09.150
done. It's actually kind of funny. Mean bees

00:49:09.150 --> 00:49:12.230
make more honey than nice bees. And everybody

00:49:12.230 --> 00:49:16.170
thinks it's the queen that controls the temperament

00:49:16.170 --> 00:49:20.530
of the hive, which they do. But it's also the

00:49:20.530 --> 00:49:23.610
workers as well. Workers actually control the

00:49:23.610 --> 00:49:25.289
hive because they are the ones that make the

00:49:25.289 --> 00:49:27.710
queen. They don't want a queen anymore. They

00:49:27.710 --> 00:49:30.650
will replace her. It's been done countless times

00:49:30.650 --> 00:49:34.010
in my hives. I mean, I walked in one week and

00:49:34.010 --> 00:49:37.090
the queen has been here and it was this color.

00:49:37.250 --> 00:49:40.440
And then I came back. Okay, where's the queen?

00:49:40.539 --> 00:49:42.659
She's gone, and the bees are all out. Okay, let

00:49:42.659 --> 00:49:45.119
me close them up. Oh, but there's a couple cells

00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:47.659
right there. They're doing something new. Let

00:49:47.659 --> 00:49:49.679
me come back later and see what they do. One

00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:53.079
week later, okay, cells capped, and then I come

00:49:53.079 --> 00:49:55.800
back again. Boom, there's a whole new queen in

00:49:55.800 --> 00:50:00.039
there laying eggs everywhere. And it's just,

00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:03.019
yeah, jobs got to get done. Once you commit to

00:50:03.019 --> 00:50:06.679
something, you have to finish it, and that's

00:50:06.679 --> 00:50:09.380
how I look at it. doing a string in cows like

00:50:09.380 --> 00:50:13.440
i get hired by these people and you know regardless

00:50:13.440 --> 00:50:16.579
of the circumstances once i commit to something

00:50:16.579 --> 00:50:20.099
i'm not quitting that that's what it is it's

00:50:20.099 --> 00:50:23.699
set in stone for me and i'm going to give it

00:50:23.699 --> 00:50:26.400
my all from beginning to end same with these

00:50:26.400 --> 00:50:28.239
i'm going to give it my all from beginning to

00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:30.840
end because if you don't treat your hives if

00:50:30.840 --> 00:50:33.820
you don't do proper things properly They are

00:50:33.820 --> 00:50:36.179
not going to make honey to their maximum potential

00:50:36.179 --> 00:50:38.460
because they're not healthy. You know, you got

00:50:38.460 --> 00:50:40.800
hive beetles to worry about. You got wax moths.

00:50:40.820 --> 00:50:44.800
You got varroa destructor. That's a scientific

00:50:44.800 --> 00:50:47.840
name, but regular names, varroa mites. You got

00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:50.360
other animals. You just, you have to keep them

00:50:50.360 --> 00:50:52.940
healthy. You got to keep them treated. You got

00:50:52.940 --> 00:50:55.500
to keep them flowing. But not to mention, bees

00:50:55.500 --> 00:50:58.260
would not mind a little help. You know, if you

00:50:58.260 --> 00:51:01.119
want to catch, let's say, some hive beetles,

00:51:01.119 --> 00:51:06.119
put a, What's it called? Menthol paper. Not only

00:51:06.119 --> 00:51:07.840
will it drive the hide beetles out, the bees

00:51:07.840 --> 00:51:09.559
will chew it up and hide beetles will get stuck

00:51:09.559 --> 00:51:13.400
in it. And if you want to get Varroa destructor

00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:15.920
out of your hive, I use this thing called Apivar.

00:51:16.260 --> 00:51:18.739
It's a treatment and what happens is bees eat

00:51:18.739 --> 00:51:21.579
it and it gets all over their legs with the hairs

00:51:21.579 --> 00:51:24.579
and it sticks to them and that will kill Varroa

00:51:24.579 --> 00:51:26.360
mites and they will drop to the bottom board.

00:51:26.920 --> 00:51:30.079
And every now and then I go do bottom board cleanings

00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:33.429
and I will shake. the bottom board sediments

00:51:33.429 --> 00:51:36.010
onto a tray and go through it with a magnifying

00:51:36.010 --> 00:51:38.190
glass and see if i can find varroa mites and

00:51:38.190 --> 00:51:41.730
yeah it's very scientific and it's very informational

00:51:41.730 --> 00:51:47.329
now you've started be cool uh your honey business

00:51:47.329 --> 00:51:50.230
can you describe how that's going and what what

00:51:50.230 --> 00:51:54.050
you're doing there um well since i started doing

00:51:54.050 --> 00:51:57.590
shows i don't really do these as often as i did

00:51:57.590 --> 00:52:01.619
i've kind of started to slowly sell hives and

00:52:01.619 --> 00:52:05.800
downgrade a little but If I'm not mistaken, I

00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:09.320
think I've got my brand be cool from Another

00:52:09.320 --> 00:52:13.260
brand. I was like man. I like that name, but

00:52:13.260 --> 00:52:16.860
They have be cool be equipment. I'm just gonna

00:52:16.860 --> 00:52:20.679
be cool, honey But that names not trademarked

00:52:20.679 --> 00:52:28.949
or nothing. So, um, yeah, basically it It's going

00:52:28.949 --> 00:52:32.150
well. What I usually do is I mainly sell it to

00:52:32.150 --> 00:52:36.030
family members. All my family loves honey. I'll

00:52:36.030 --> 00:52:40.469
either get them in glass pint jars with screw

00:52:40.469 --> 00:52:43.769
-on tots, or I'll get special bottles during

00:52:43.769 --> 00:52:47.190
the holidays and put quartz in them just to spruce

00:52:47.190 --> 00:52:48.750
them up a little bit, make them look special.

00:52:49.269 --> 00:52:51.829
And I'll either give them away as presents, or

00:52:51.829 --> 00:52:54.130
I will sell them to family members, or I got

00:52:54.130 --> 00:52:56.449
a couple friends that take them to farmer's markets

00:52:56.449 --> 00:52:58.960
for me. Sell them like that, and then they get

00:52:58.960 --> 00:53:01.119
their cut for selling the honey for me, and then

00:53:01.119 --> 00:53:04.400
they give me the rest. And, yeah, I've been doing

00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:06.960
that for a couple years now, and I've liked that

00:53:06.960 --> 00:53:12.599
method quite well. Now, I just changed the thing

00:53:12.599 --> 00:53:15.260
here a little bit, but talking about memories

00:53:15.260 --> 00:53:17.900
and things, you've had a lot of experiences in

00:53:17.900 --> 00:53:20.880
a short time. Are there certain nights or experiences

00:53:20.880 --> 00:53:26.320
that you've had being a night man? That stand

00:53:26.320 --> 00:53:28.099
out to you that you think you'll never forget?

00:53:30.360 --> 00:53:39.219
Certain experiences. What are your most memorable

00:53:39.219 --> 00:53:43.320
events? Coming into Canada for the first time.

00:53:45.579 --> 00:53:51.000
This was during the Kai Vision tag sale. I was

00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:53.760
on the plane. I was looking outside. I was like,

00:53:53.820 --> 00:53:57.039
man. what is all that white stuff on the ground

00:53:57.039 --> 00:54:01.980
i'm not used to this no snow everywhere and um

00:54:01.980 --> 00:54:07.699
it was just it was surreal because i was i wasn't

00:54:07.699 --> 00:54:09.420
used to seeing all that stuff and i got off the

00:54:09.420 --> 00:54:13.639
plane and oh sweet jesus i thought my lips were

00:54:13.639 --> 00:54:16.780
going to fall off my face it was that like my

00:54:16.780 --> 00:54:19.639
i was waiting at the airport for powell to pick

00:54:19.639 --> 00:54:23.219
me up It was so cold. I couldn't keep my hands

00:54:23.219 --> 00:54:26.719
in my pockets. It was that cold. I underdressed

00:54:26.719 --> 00:54:29.159
for it big time. I didn't expect for it. I thought

00:54:29.159 --> 00:54:31.059
it was going to be like 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:54:31.980 --> 00:54:35.920
Heck no. The wind chill was ridiculous. And that

00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:38.000
also went along with one of my coldest nights,

00:54:38.019 --> 00:54:41.719
too, because the day before the tag sale happened,

00:54:41.940 --> 00:54:43.860
I wanted to keep everything clean, and I wanted

00:54:43.860 --> 00:54:47.599
to keep everything eating, looking good. So I

00:54:47.599 --> 00:54:50.039
ended up staying the night in the barn. And I

00:54:50.039 --> 00:54:53.840
brought, like, three long sleeves with me, a

00:54:53.840 --> 00:54:56.340
hoodie, and some overalls, et cetera, et cetera.

00:54:57.039 --> 00:55:00.579
And I was still cold. Like, I was shivering.

00:55:01.219 --> 00:55:04.559
I was over here running, pacing back and forth

00:55:04.559 --> 00:55:07.579
in the barn just to keep warm. And that hot chocolate

00:55:07.579 --> 00:55:09.639
machine that was in there became my best friend.

00:55:09.719 --> 00:55:13.460
But holy moly, I've never been that cold in my

00:55:13.460 --> 00:55:19.929
life. But would I do it again? Yeah. It was a

00:55:19.929 --> 00:55:22.829
good time. It was a fun time. I really enjoyed

00:55:22.829 --> 00:55:26.349
that sale, even though I froze my fingers off.

00:55:26.429 --> 00:55:30.190
It was definitely quite the experience. Royal,

00:55:30.329 --> 00:55:33.389
though, honestly, Royal wasn't that cold. It

00:55:33.389 --> 00:55:36.030
had its nights where it was kind of chilly, but

00:55:36.030 --> 00:55:40.670
for what it was, it really wasn't cold. Madison

00:55:40.670 --> 00:55:44.230
wasn't that cold either, honestly. Like I said,

00:55:44.289 --> 00:55:46.849
it had its moments where... Maybe for one night

00:55:46.849 --> 00:55:51.449
in the week, it was super cold. Other memories

00:55:51.449 --> 00:55:53.730
that I got is just making friends with people.

00:55:53.889 --> 00:55:56.309
Of course, you got getting Nightman of the Year.

00:55:56.449 --> 00:55:59.469
That's a pretty big -time core memory for me.

00:56:00.510 --> 00:56:03.289
Meeting the crews, like meeting Ryan and Kyle

00:56:03.289 --> 00:56:06.510
and James Spruce and those guys, they're all

00:56:06.510 --> 00:56:09.809
family to me. James Spruce and Kyle and Ethan

00:56:09.809 --> 00:56:11.929
Morgan, all those guys are probably some of my

00:56:11.929 --> 00:56:15.739
closest friends in the industry. James actually

00:56:15.739 --> 00:56:19.179
fits. He's a pretty good fitter. Throwing that

00:56:19.179 --> 00:56:23.239
in there for a little plug. But, yeah, just meeting

00:56:23.239 --> 00:56:26.980
those guys, those guys have been like family

00:56:26.980 --> 00:56:29.480
to me. You know, I know they would do anything

00:56:29.480 --> 00:56:33.000
for me if I needed it. Now you talk about the

00:56:33.000 --> 00:56:35.539
cold. What's harder, extreme heat or the cold

00:56:35.539 --> 00:56:41.059
for taking care of the cows at night? Heat. Extreme

00:56:41.059 --> 00:56:50.780
heat. Oh, well, well. Well, it depends where

00:56:50.780 --> 00:56:54.599
they're from, actually. Like, let's say you have

00:56:54.599 --> 00:56:56.619
cows from North Carolina and you take them to

00:56:56.619 --> 00:56:59.219
a New York show. They are going to freeze their

00:56:59.219 --> 00:57:02.719
butts off. But if you have York cows and you

00:57:02.719 --> 00:57:05.019
bring them down or you take them to California

00:57:05.019 --> 00:57:09.300
to show, they are going to be, it's just going

00:57:09.300 --> 00:57:11.360
to be miserable for them. Because they're not

00:57:11.360 --> 00:57:15.539
used to those climates. And that's another thing

00:57:15.539 --> 00:57:17.880
that helps whenever you have a really good cruise.

00:57:17.960 --> 00:57:20.659
They've seen this stuff before. I mean, let's

00:57:20.659 --> 00:57:26.360
say you got someone, a bud John or someone, and

00:57:26.360 --> 00:57:29.800
they're taking tie -ins. I mean, you got animals

00:57:29.800 --> 00:57:34.820
from all over coming to Expo. And some of those

00:57:34.820 --> 00:57:37.519
animals aren't used to... The Madison climate,

00:57:37.719 --> 00:57:41.559
let's say Vieira Dairy from California. Those

00:57:41.559 --> 00:57:44.300
animals aren't used to the colder climates in

00:57:44.300 --> 00:57:48.460
Madison. With time, going through that kind of

00:57:48.460 --> 00:57:51.420
stuff, the animals can start to get kind of sick

00:57:51.420 --> 00:57:53.800
because they're just not used to it. It kind

00:57:53.800 --> 00:57:57.099
of upsets the balance of their body. With time,

00:57:57.199 --> 00:57:59.280
they will walk back in, but it's just a matter

00:57:59.280 --> 00:58:03.940
of how fast can you get them to do so. Not only

00:58:03.940 --> 00:58:06.400
that, how fast you can get them to do that while

00:58:06.400 --> 00:58:09.780
remaining healthy and getting their bodies to

00:58:09.780 --> 00:58:15.320
fire on all cylinders. One of the things that

00:58:15.320 --> 00:58:17.840
people mention to me about you is you like to

00:58:17.840 --> 00:58:20.159
listen to music while you work. Is there a particular

00:58:20.159 --> 00:58:24.219
type of music and how does that help in? Well,

00:58:24.260 --> 00:58:26.519
whenever the crew is around and whatnot, I'll

00:58:26.519 --> 00:58:29.579
play... Well, it depends. If they have kids,

00:58:29.679 --> 00:58:31.980
I'll play kid -friendly music and stuff with

00:58:31.980 --> 00:58:34.659
no cussing in it or anything like that. But if

00:58:34.659 --> 00:58:37.519
it's just me by myself, I'm usually playing either

00:58:37.519 --> 00:58:40.800
some pop if I'm feeling it or heavy metal whenever

00:58:40.800 --> 00:58:43.599
I want to focus or regular rock if I want to

00:58:43.599 --> 00:58:46.960
focus. I used to be big time in the country,

00:58:47.000 --> 00:58:50.280
but recently after I figured out what rock and

00:58:50.280 --> 00:58:54.099
metalcore was, I really never looked back. I

00:58:54.099 --> 00:58:55.960
think it's probably one of my favorite songs.

00:58:56.920 --> 00:59:01.739
is Keeping Secrets by Fit for a King. You got

00:59:01.739 --> 00:59:05.380
God Complex from Bleed Within. You got Cold Hard

00:59:05.380 --> 00:59:08.719
Truth from Fox Lake. Kerosene by All That Remains.

00:59:10.320 --> 00:59:13.619
The Piper, All That Remains, Return to One by

00:59:13.619 --> 00:59:16.099
Invent, Animate, and Silent Planet. That was

00:59:16.099 --> 00:59:19.480
a collab. Yeah, just songs like that, you know,

00:59:19.480 --> 00:59:25.019
from the guitar riffs to the singing to the solos.

00:59:25.579 --> 00:59:28.300
they really just get my energy skyrocketing and

00:59:28.300 --> 00:59:31.619
they get me going. I feel like music has a way

00:59:31.619 --> 00:59:35.199
of giving you different types of energies and

00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:37.840
moods. I feel like that helps you out because,

00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:41.199
like, if you're just working by yourself at nighttime

00:59:41.199 --> 00:59:44.760
and it's completely quiet, it gets hard because

00:59:44.760 --> 00:59:46.760
you can't really sit down. Because the moment

00:59:46.760 --> 00:59:49.539
you sit down, you're going to want to get comfortable.

00:59:49.800 --> 00:59:52.139
And the moment you get comfortable, it's lights

00:59:52.139 --> 00:59:55.159
out, buddy. But if you have something playing

00:59:55.159 --> 00:59:57.400
or if you have any background noise or anything

00:59:57.400 --> 01:00:00.760
like that, you're good. Or if you have a secondary

01:00:00.760 --> 01:00:02.980
night person, you're good because you have another

01:00:02.980 --> 01:00:06.360
thing to focus on other than just staying awake.

01:00:06.500 --> 01:00:08.980
You can socialize with that person while you're

01:00:08.980 --> 01:00:11.940
working or you can listen to the lyrics while

01:00:11.940 --> 01:00:13.760
you're working, getting towels ready and whatnot.

01:00:14.699 --> 01:00:16.940
Not to mention that stuff makes the time pass

01:00:16.940 --> 01:00:20.639
a lot faster. Time goes really slow when you

01:00:20.639 --> 01:00:22.619
think about it, but it goes really fast when

01:00:22.619 --> 01:00:25.000
you're not thinking about it. I mean, if time

01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:26.619
gets away from you and you're not thinking about

01:00:26.619 --> 01:00:29.139
it, it's already time to do this, and you're

01:00:29.139 --> 01:00:32.920
not even ready. So you've got to be vigilant,

01:00:33.059 --> 01:00:35.920
stay focused, and keep your head in the game.

01:00:36.880 --> 01:00:39.239
You talk about the game, and one of the things

01:00:39.239 --> 01:00:41.599
that's really changed is I think when Nightman

01:00:41.599 --> 01:00:43.320
started, or when I think of Nightman, when I

01:00:43.320 --> 01:00:45.639
was a fitter, the main job was just to keep him

01:00:45.639 --> 01:00:50.000
alive and half clean. Now you talk about helping

01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:52.400
them progress, which is a huge difference. But

01:00:52.400 --> 01:00:54.920
where do you see the role of a night man evolving,

01:00:55.000 --> 01:01:00.139
say, in five, ten years from now? Where do I

01:01:00.139 --> 01:01:04.579
see it evolving, huh? Well, for one, I think

01:01:04.579 --> 01:01:08.079
younger and younger people are going to get into

01:01:08.079 --> 01:01:10.519
it, hopefully. I actually, at New York Spring

01:01:10.519 --> 01:01:15.139
Show, there was these two girls working nights.

01:01:16.319 --> 01:01:21.119
for Maple Downs. And one of them was like 30,

01:01:21.500 --> 01:01:25.239
20, 30. The other one was like 12. I was watching

01:01:25.239 --> 01:01:27.380
them from across the park. It was like two aisles

01:01:27.380 --> 01:01:30.059
over. And I was honestly impressed because that

01:01:30.059 --> 01:01:32.019
12 -year -old was keeping up with the 20 -year

01:01:32.019 --> 01:01:35.659
-old. And for how young she is, I think she's

01:01:35.659 --> 01:01:37.780
going to be a great night woman one day. Without

01:01:37.780 --> 01:01:40.760
a doubt. If not, she already is. And it's just

01:01:40.760 --> 01:01:43.360
kind of wild. I think younger and younger kids

01:01:43.360 --> 01:01:45.519
are going to want to get into it without a doubt.

01:01:46.079 --> 01:01:48.559
And hopefully, you know, maybe I can spark a

01:01:48.559 --> 01:01:50.900
couple people to get into it myself. Like, that'd

01:01:50.900 --> 01:01:54.880
be pretty amazing to do. Like, to have someone

01:01:54.880 --> 01:01:57.800
say, what got you into nightshifting? Oh, I watched

01:01:57.800 --> 01:02:00.960
this kid do this and this work and I got inspired.

01:02:01.139 --> 01:02:04.099
You know, that really touches my heart because

01:02:04.099 --> 01:02:06.980
I know I did my job good enough for someone to

01:02:06.980 --> 01:02:11.099
want to try it themselves. And, you know, nightshifting

01:02:11.099 --> 01:02:14.219
also brings you opportunities. So, yeah. Pull

01:02:14.219 --> 01:02:17.400
the youth in more. Maybe get some of the older

01:02:17.400 --> 01:02:19.860
guys who can't fit anymore to do it. That would

01:02:19.860 --> 01:02:25.639
be fun. Yeah, just overall, keep people into

01:02:25.639 --> 01:02:29.239
it. Keep people progressing. Keep people finding

01:02:29.239 --> 01:02:34.019
solutions to make animals progress faster and

01:02:34.019 --> 01:02:38.679
further than they ever have. Keep it constantly

01:02:38.679 --> 01:02:41.579
moving forward because if it remains stagnant

01:02:41.579 --> 01:02:44.369
for too long, It will become outdated, and then

01:02:44.369 --> 01:02:47.849
it's going to have to find something to progress

01:02:47.849 --> 01:02:51.289
with, you know? So I feel like, yeah, just keep

01:02:51.289 --> 01:02:54.010
it moving forward while also getting more and

01:02:54.010 --> 01:02:56.989
more people into it at the same time. That's

01:02:56.989 --> 01:02:59.909
where I see it going in five years. It's interesting

01:02:59.909 --> 01:03:03.289
you mention one of the things when I think of

01:03:03.289 --> 01:03:06.710
Nightman is it connects to recognition for it.

01:03:06.989 --> 01:03:09.829
We did an article with David Diamond, who is

01:03:09.829 --> 01:03:12.090
probably one of the greatest showmen of all time.

01:03:12.460 --> 01:03:16.119
And he was a fitter. I know him. Yeah. And he

01:03:16.119 --> 01:03:19.039
was a fitter, but became a showman because when

01:03:19.039 --> 01:03:22.340
a cow won, everyone congratulated the leadsmen

01:03:22.340 --> 01:03:24.900
and didn't even acknowledge the fitters. And

01:03:24.900 --> 01:03:27.139
nowadays I'd say some people acknowledge the

01:03:27.139 --> 01:03:29.800
fitters, but they don't acknowledge maybe the

01:03:29.800 --> 01:03:31.619
barn crews and the people in the night. So that's

01:03:31.619 --> 01:03:32.880
one of the reasons, especially for highlighting

01:03:32.880 --> 01:03:35.329
your work is. I think the people that really

01:03:35.329 --> 01:03:38.010
helped make this happen deserve recognition and

01:03:38.010 --> 01:03:40.070
hence part of the reason why we're interviewing

01:03:40.070 --> 01:03:42.829
yourself because of how key the role is and giving

01:03:42.829 --> 01:03:45.889
recognition for the hard work is Very much do

01:03:45.889 --> 01:03:51.010
It's always team effort, you know, it's not just

01:03:51.010 --> 01:03:54.369
me everybody pitches in a part to make this happen

01:03:54.369 --> 01:03:57.650
and You know, we we all play our roles whether

01:03:57.650 --> 01:04:00.610
we get congratulated or not As long as the animals

01:04:00.610 --> 01:04:02.590
do what they need to do. That's all I care about,

01:04:02.750 --> 01:04:06.250
you know, like recognition will come but that

01:04:06.250 --> 01:04:11.190
show is now you know like that i'm not really

01:04:11.190 --> 01:04:14.530
i'm focused on the future but whenever i'm at

01:04:14.530 --> 01:04:18.510
a show the future is now the future for that

01:04:18.510 --> 01:04:21.670
cow could be altered at that show like let's

01:04:21.670 --> 01:04:24.130
say you're at madison or something and you have

01:04:24.130 --> 01:04:28.630
cows going into the ring that that little walk

01:04:28.630 --> 01:04:31.110
through in the ring that class that she's in

01:04:31.639 --> 01:04:34.039
change her life forever because if she pulls

01:04:34.039 --> 01:04:38.260
a medal and gets top ten or gets top five or

01:04:38.260 --> 01:04:42.239
even places first in her class, everybody will

01:04:42.239 --> 01:04:44.440
look at that animal differently from that moment

01:04:44.440 --> 01:04:47.559
on. Oh, yeah, she placed first at Madison 2025.

01:04:48.639 --> 01:04:51.880
Oh, really? No way. Does she have your eggs out?

01:04:52.280 --> 01:04:55.019
And then there it goes. You just spark the cell

01:04:55.019 --> 01:04:59.320
right there. These shows are a testament to cows,

01:04:59.440 --> 01:05:03.199
but they're also a trial to the barns you know

01:05:03.199 --> 01:05:06.360
winning doesn't just start at shows winning starts

01:05:06.360 --> 01:05:09.639
at the barns what are you doing at home to get

01:05:09.639 --> 01:05:12.239
these animals to where they need to be because

01:05:12.239 --> 01:05:15.400
you can't just have a cow go in a free stall

01:05:15.400 --> 01:05:19.880
and not take care of her whatsoever and then

01:05:19.880 --> 01:05:21.920
just take her to a show and win something like

01:05:21.920 --> 01:05:25.300
well sometimes you can like there's a special

01:05:25.300 --> 01:05:28.300
cow every once in a while that happens like that

01:05:28.300 --> 01:05:31.519
but You know, most of these heifers, they have

01:05:31.519 --> 01:05:34.360
extensive eating and showing programs back at

01:05:34.360 --> 01:05:37.340
home. And then whenever you take them to these

01:05:37.340 --> 01:05:39.579
shows, it's a testament to all the hard work

01:05:39.579 --> 01:05:42.980
the farm crew has put in to get these heifers

01:05:42.980 --> 01:05:45.480
to where they need to be. And once they get them

01:05:45.480 --> 01:05:48.320
there and take them to the shows and those heifers

01:05:48.320 --> 01:05:50.460
do what they need to do and hopefully succeed,

01:05:50.940 --> 01:05:55.300
their lives are completely altered. And everybody

01:05:55.300 --> 01:05:58.840
definitely looks at them. With eyebrow raised

01:05:58.840 --> 01:06:02.860
and a smile and says That's a nice effort. I

01:06:02.860 --> 01:06:05.920
like that. It's so balanced. They're square with

01:06:05.920 --> 01:06:08.940
the strength between their legs She's so stylish.

01:06:08.980 --> 01:06:13.559
Look at it. What's that rib? And yeah, yes It

01:06:13.559 --> 01:06:19.039
really makes you appreciate The quality of some

01:06:19.039 --> 01:06:20.659
of these efforts because yeah, you can have a

01:06:20.659 --> 01:06:24.500
really good heifer reading wise But is she special

01:06:24.500 --> 01:06:28.280
in the ring? I mean, you'd be surprised how many

01:06:28.280 --> 01:06:30.780
good heifers you can turn from good to special

01:06:30.780 --> 01:06:33.000
just by putting them on a different show program

01:06:33.000 --> 01:06:36.260
and being more intensive to them and giving them

01:06:36.260 --> 01:06:39.739
what they need on the daily. It really works

01:06:39.739 --> 01:06:43.159
out for them that way, and that's a prime example.

01:06:43.179 --> 01:06:45.440
Whenever I say, if you take care of your animals,

01:06:45.539 --> 01:06:48.280
they will take care of you. And by take care

01:06:48.280 --> 01:06:49.960
of you, I mean they will do what they have to

01:06:49.960 --> 01:06:52.139
do, and they will get you recognition, whether

01:06:52.139 --> 01:06:56.309
it's your prefix, your farm name. or even just

01:06:56.309 --> 01:06:59.389
making sales, selling eggs, selling genetics.

01:07:00.010 --> 01:07:02.150
They will do what they need to do if you do what

01:07:02.150 --> 01:07:04.750
you have to do. No cutting corners, none of that

01:07:04.750 --> 01:07:08.110
stuff. Just do an honest job and give it your

01:07:08.110 --> 01:07:13.010
all. I think if you talk to all the top herds,

01:07:13.010 --> 01:07:17.269
if you go to Farm Jacobs or Farm London or Bud

01:07:17.269 --> 01:07:20.349
John or even Ernie Kiefner, they'll all tell

01:07:20.349 --> 01:07:25.760
you it's a 365 day a year. job getting the cows

01:07:25.760 --> 01:07:29.880
are ready for elite shows and i when i think

01:07:29.880 --> 01:07:32.440
about that and i also think about the late richard

01:07:32.440 --> 01:07:34.780
caverly who used to always tell me that you know

01:07:34.780 --> 01:07:37.360
he'd come to shows and people would do all this

01:07:37.360 --> 01:07:39.159
work and then they just leave them at night and

01:07:39.159 --> 01:07:41.639
not take care of them and you put all that work

01:07:41.639 --> 01:07:43.619
in to get them to the show and ready for the

01:07:43.619 --> 01:07:45.579
show and you got to also keep make sure that

01:07:45.579 --> 01:07:48.300
you're keep as you say progressing them through

01:07:48.300 --> 01:07:50.789
the show and i think that's a huge huge point

01:07:50.789 --> 01:07:53.250
that you make that you work so hard to try to

01:07:53.250 --> 01:07:56.269
keep them progressing because there's a lot of

01:07:56.269 --> 01:07:57.829
work goes into it from the whole team, as you

01:07:57.829 --> 01:08:02.829
mentioned. Without a doubt. And, you know, people

01:08:02.829 --> 01:08:07.289
like Ernie Fiefner, Terry Packard, and even Rexel

01:08:07.289 --> 01:08:10.829
Holskins. Rexel was actually my first ever sell.

01:08:11.250 --> 01:08:15.250
You ever seen the sign Fiefner's Barns? Yep.

01:08:16.859 --> 01:08:19.880
That sign speaks wonders. It's legendary. I've

01:08:19.880 --> 01:08:21.859
never seen it before in real life, but if I'm

01:08:21.859 --> 01:08:25.460
not mistaken, it goes about like this. In this

01:08:25.460 --> 01:08:28.899
barn, these cows are females. Treat them as they

01:08:28.899 --> 01:08:33.579
are. I think that's how it goes. It's something

01:08:33.579 --> 01:08:35.460
like that. They had it when they were in Arethusa.

01:08:35.619 --> 01:08:39.420
It was in these barns, these cows are queens

01:08:39.420 --> 01:08:42.920
and treat them like it. Yeah, without doubt.

01:08:43.279 --> 01:08:46.770
And also, Recto Holstein. That was actually my

01:08:46.770 --> 01:08:49.649
first ever sale that I worked, whenever I was

01:08:49.649 --> 01:08:53.130
first getting into it. They have a sign, and

01:08:53.130 --> 01:08:55.970
it says, she is so much more than just a cow.

01:08:56.829 --> 01:09:00.010
And she actually is. When I first started doing

01:09:00.010 --> 01:09:02.270
the nightline, I didn't know what that meant.

01:09:02.789 --> 01:09:06.270
I didn't know that she's so much more than just

01:09:06.270 --> 01:09:12.289
a cow, because whenever I look at an animal,

01:09:12.449 --> 01:09:16.189
back then, I saw what they were. And to me, they

01:09:16.189 --> 01:09:19.689
were just Holsteins or Jerseys or Swiss or Jerseys.

01:09:19.970 --> 01:09:24.029
They were bovine to me. But through doing this

01:09:24.029 --> 01:09:28.090
and taking care of them, I've realized they really

01:09:28.090 --> 01:09:31.069
are so much more than just a cow. They are family.

01:09:31.789 --> 01:09:35.869
These animals are athletes. They have, I mean,

01:09:35.890 --> 01:09:38.670
these shows, I mean, Expo is like the Olympics

01:09:38.670 --> 01:09:40.890
of showing. It's the premiere show of the year.

01:09:41.189 --> 01:09:44.930
It's what every... big person and every marketer

01:09:44.930 --> 01:09:48.010
and every person dreams of going to see these

01:09:48.010 --> 01:09:51.930
animals and it's i mean they they are like i

01:09:51.930 --> 01:09:54.590
said they're athletes they're family and through

01:09:54.590 --> 01:09:56.949
working i bonded with some of these animals and

01:09:56.949 --> 01:10:00.310
i've created great bonds you know like for instance

01:10:00.310 --> 01:10:04.069
you got king's lace gummy bear uh i've never

01:10:04.069 --> 01:10:07.649
met her until last year but the first day i got

01:10:07.649 --> 01:10:13.350
to touch her felt nostalgic. It felt unreal.

01:10:14.229 --> 01:10:18.029
That's probably the... I even got to look after

01:10:18.029 --> 01:10:22.689
her one night or two. Such a cool moment to be

01:10:22.689 --> 01:10:25.569
able to touch a 95 -point cow and give her a

01:10:25.569 --> 01:10:30.130
head scratch and a boop on her nose. I did the

01:10:30.130 --> 01:10:34.329
same thing with Trixie at Kingsway. Another big

01:10:34.329 --> 01:10:36.069
-time cow I was taking care of that night was

01:10:36.069 --> 01:10:41.479
Chapter 23. At Red So. And just cows like that,

01:10:41.579 --> 01:10:45.220
you know, they're a firm testament to just breeding

01:10:45.220 --> 01:10:48.560
with elegance. I mean, what else can make that

01:10:48.560 --> 01:10:52.699
much milk and work that hard and still be so

01:10:52.699 --> 01:10:57.600
beautiful at such a tender age of 5, 6, 7, 8,

01:10:57.699 --> 01:11:02.479
9, 10 years old? I mean, it's absolutely wondrous.

01:11:02.699 --> 01:11:07.609
And it's mythical. Stuff like that, like the

01:11:07.609 --> 01:11:11.369
art of breeding, it's amazing to see how far

01:11:11.369 --> 01:11:13.930
you can take an animal in two to three generations

01:11:13.930 --> 01:11:17.470
with the right breeding pairing. I mean, some

01:11:17.470 --> 01:11:21.689
of these cows, from where they came from, like,

01:11:21.729 --> 01:11:24.649
the art of breeding, like, for instance, you

01:11:24.649 --> 01:11:27.989
got the Frosty family and Oakfield Footloose.

01:11:29.090 --> 01:11:34.310
If I'm not mistaken, aren't they the first? Daughter

01:11:34.310 --> 01:11:38.189
damn to win Expo get back -to -back like that.

01:11:38.289 --> 01:11:41.970
Yep Yeah, the art of breeding is wonderful and

01:11:41.970 --> 01:11:45.090
cool part about that is I mean that family originated

01:11:45.090 --> 01:11:47.850
in Virginia Which is a park North Carolina, so

01:11:47.850 --> 01:11:51.710
there's an answer from you. Yeah And it strikes

01:11:51.710 --> 01:11:57.789
home for me. Yeah You really don't know if you

01:11:57.789 --> 01:12:00.170
grow up on a farm you do but something from a

01:12:00.170 --> 01:12:02.149
person who never grew up on a farm You don't

01:12:02.149 --> 01:12:05.529
know what that means until you really experience

01:12:05.529 --> 01:12:10.949
it for yourself. Now, you say about experience

01:12:10.949 --> 01:12:13.270
for yourself, and you said two years ago if someone

01:12:13.270 --> 01:12:15.430
had told you you were jumping on a plane and

01:12:15.430 --> 01:12:17.390
going to a cow show in Canada, you'd have thought

01:12:17.390 --> 01:12:21.590
they're crazy. So now, what do you think's next

01:12:21.590 --> 01:12:24.670
for you? What are your goals in the next two

01:12:24.670 --> 01:12:30.770
to five years? My goals in the next two to five

01:12:30.770 --> 01:12:35.920
years? Well, my number one goal is to keep nightshifting

01:12:35.920 --> 01:12:40.680
and keep progressing in cattle care. Every aspect

01:12:40.680 --> 01:12:43.300
of cattle care to the fullest of my ability.

01:12:43.659 --> 01:12:46.300
I want to move with the times and constantly

01:12:46.300 --> 01:12:49.199
progress with everybody else. And not to mention,

01:12:49.300 --> 01:12:52.020
I want to keep at it. I want to keep getting

01:12:52.020 --> 01:12:55.399
better. Keep proving why I'm here. Keep showing

01:12:55.399 --> 01:12:59.899
everybody that these animals, they're worth it.

01:13:00.189 --> 01:13:03.210
these animals they come first these animals they

01:13:03.210 --> 01:13:06.050
have great potential they are supposed to be

01:13:06.050 --> 01:13:10.810
here and they will have success i want to keep

01:13:10.810 --> 01:13:13.930
at that but not only that you know like recently

01:13:13.930 --> 01:13:16.409
i haven't really been posting this much or anything

01:13:16.409 --> 01:13:18.369
but i've been dabbling and sitting a little bit

01:13:18.369 --> 01:13:21.670
too like i put cows and whatnot but you know

01:13:21.670 --> 01:13:25.689
one day i wouldn't mind doing both clipping and

01:13:25.689 --> 01:13:29.960
doing nights but for right now The only thing

01:13:29.960 --> 01:13:33.699
on my vision, sightline -wise, is nights. I want

01:13:33.699 --> 01:13:37.020
to do night shift. I want to do it full -time

01:13:37.020 --> 01:13:39.859
one day if I could. I just want to commit to

01:13:39.859 --> 01:13:46.539
that. Now, you talk about the commitment to that

01:13:46.539 --> 01:13:50.439
work. What would you want? I asked someone you'd

01:13:50.439 --> 01:13:52.779
worked for or someone who had seen you work at

01:13:52.779 --> 01:13:55.699
a show doing night shift. What would you want

01:13:55.699 --> 01:13:57.340
them to say about you, or how would you like

01:13:57.340 --> 01:14:02.430
them to remember? the work you've done he's very

01:14:02.430 --> 01:14:05.430
intense do you want like a the full play -by

01:14:05.430 --> 01:14:11.149
-play he's very intensive he focuses on the small

01:14:11.149 --> 01:14:13.789
things but he also focuses on the big things

01:14:13.789 --> 01:14:19.649
it's airy it's intense it's powerful let's get

01:14:19.649 --> 01:14:22.930
this going let's move forward he loves progression

01:14:22.930 --> 01:14:27.420
he always puts the animals first but He's a very

01:14:27.420 --> 01:14:31.899
polite young man who has a great attitude and

01:14:31.899 --> 01:14:34.859
isn't afraid of anything. He's not afraid to

01:14:34.859 --> 01:14:37.199
do this task mask and he's not afraid to do that

01:14:37.199 --> 01:14:41.939
task mask. I just want to be remembered. I don't

01:14:41.939 --> 01:14:44.619
want to be remembered for Chandler. I don't want

01:14:44.619 --> 01:14:47.979
to be remembered for my brand, Nightlife. I just

01:14:47.979 --> 01:14:50.340
want to be remembered as a very good cow guy.

01:14:51.239 --> 01:14:53.699
Someone who knew how to take care of cattle and

01:14:53.699 --> 01:14:57.720
someone who knew... how to keep them moving,

01:14:57.739 --> 01:14:59.899
keep them going. I just want to be remembered

01:14:59.899 --> 01:15:04.359
for my cattle care experiences, my quality experiences.

01:15:05.119 --> 01:15:08.640
And that's what I would want, yeah. I would want

01:15:08.640 --> 01:15:12.100
to be remembered as one of the better guys to

01:15:12.100 --> 01:15:17.560
do cattle care if it came down to it. Now you've

01:15:17.560 --> 01:15:20.260
come a long ways from the young kid who was afraid

01:15:20.260 --> 01:15:23.319
of the beehives to your journey now. What would

01:15:23.319 --> 01:15:26.710
you tell the young kid? if you could go back

01:15:26.710 --> 01:15:28.869
and tell them about the journey ahead that you've

01:15:28.869 --> 01:15:36.649
had, what would you tell a young Chandler? What

01:15:36.649 --> 01:15:46.489
would I tell a young Chandler? Keep at it. Don't

01:15:46.489 --> 01:15:51.810
give up. No matter what people say, do what makes

01:15:51.810 --> 01:15:55.699
you happy. Don't live your life trying to search

01:15:55.699 --> 01:15:58.880
for validation from somebody else whenever you're

01:15:58.880 --> 01:16:01.000
the only one who needs validation from yourself.

01:16:02.600 --> 01:16:06.319
Don't be afraid to take risks or do things a

01:16:06.319 --> 01:16:10.560
little differently. And not to mention, be around

01:16:10.560 --> 01:16:13.500
people who celebrate you, not people who talk

01:16:13.500 --> 01:16:16.760
bad about you. That was Chandler Barber, the

01:16:16.760 --> 01:16:18.899
first ever Nightman of the Year at the Royal

01:16:18.899 --> 01:16:21.920
Agricultural Winter Fair. sharing his incredible

01:16:21.920 --> 01:16:24.939
journey from North Carolina beekeeper to one

01:16:24.939 --> 01:16:27.520
of the dairy show industry's most sought -after

01:16:27.520 --> 01:16:31.800
overnight cattle care specialists. Chandler's

01:16:31.800 --> 01:16:34.159
story reminds us that excellence in agriculture

01:16:34.159 --> 01:16:37.520
can come from the most unexpected places, and

01:16:37.520 --> 01:16:39.640
that dedication to animal welfare and attention

01:16:39.640 --> 01:16:42.539
to detail can create opportunities that transform

01:16:42.539 --> 01:16:45.960
entire careers. His systematic approach to night

01:16:45.960 --> 01:16:48.359
shift cattle care is raising the bar for the

01:16:48.359 --> 01:16:51.340
entire industry and inspiring a new generation

01:16:51.340 --> 01:16:54.560
of agricultural professionals. If you want to

01:16:54.560 --> 01:16:57.369
learn more about Chandler's work, or follow his

01:16:57.369 --> 01:16:59.470
continuing journey in the dairy show circuit

01:16:59.470 --> 01:17:02.630
you can find him on social media and for more

01:17:02.630 --> 01:17:05.470
stories like this one profiles of the innovators

01:17:05.470 --> 01:17:08.529
dedicated professionals and game changers shaping

01:17:08.529 --> 01:17:12.529
our industry visit us at thebullvine .com at

01:17:12.529 --> 01:17:14.470
the bullvine we're committed to bringing you

01:17:14.470 --> 01:17:17.649
the stories behind the statistics the people

01:17:17.649 --> 01:17:20.649
behind the progress and the insights that matter

01:17:20.649 --> 01:17:23.109
most to dairy professionals around the world

01:17:24.359 --> 01:17:26.319
Thanks for listening to the Bullvine Podcast.

01:17:27.119 --> 01:17:29.899
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it

01:17:29.899 --> 01:17:31.720
with colleagues who would benefit from hearing

01:17:31.720 --> 01:17:34.600
Chandler's story. And don't forget to subscribe

01:17:34.600 --> 01:17:38.520
wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time,

01:17:38.539 --> 01:17:41.319
keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible

01:17:41.319 --> 01:17:42.140
in dairy.