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 that shape dairy farming. I'm your

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host, and today we're bringing you something

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different, something powerful. You're about to

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experience a story that will challenge everything

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you think you know about survival and agriculture.

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It's about an empire built from nothing, destroyed

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by forces beyond anyone's control, and rebuilt

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into something nobody saw coming. This is the

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Neponia story. The story of Yukio Kurosawatsu,

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who arrived in Canada in the 1960s, unable to

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speak English but with an extraordinary eye for

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cattle. The story of his son Ken, who watched

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40 years of breeding excellence get auctioned

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off in a single morning. And the story of how

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losing everything became the foundation for something

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greater. Over the next 75 minutes, you'll stand

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in auction barns with security guards at the

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doors. You'll witness breeding decisions that

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created all Canadian champions. You'll feel the

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crushing weight of BSE closing borders overnight.

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And you'll discover why your survival in dairy

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might depend on building something completely

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opposite to what you're doing now. This isn't

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just history. This is a blueprint for navigating

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the challenges you're facing right now in 2025.

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Rising costs. Consolidation pressure. Market

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volatility. The lessons from naponia aren't just

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relevant, they're essential. So settle in, turn

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up the volume, and prepare to experience one

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of the most important stories in modern dairy

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history. Because what happened to the Kurosawatsu

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family isn't unique. It's happening right now

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across North America to operations just like

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yours. The only difference? They found a way

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through. And by the end of this episode, you'll

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understand how. This... is the bullvine podcast

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you stand at the back of brubacher's auction

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barn on a sweltering july morning in 2009 the

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humidity makes your shirt stick to your back

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before the first lot even enters the ring but

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the heat isn't what's making you uncomfortable

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it's the security guards you count them one two

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three six guards positioned at every entrance

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at a holstein dispersal sale You've been to hundreds

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of these sails over the years, watched countless

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operations fold, but you've never seen anything

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like this. The tension in the air is thick enough

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to cut with a knife. You recognize Ken Kurosawatsu

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standing near the sail ring, his face a mask

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of controlled emotion. His childhood friend Kevin

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Hayden stays close, not here to bid, but to watch

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Ken's back. The whispers in the crowd tell you

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why. Creditors have made threats, real threats.

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the kind that make a man higher security for

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his own cattle sale. The auctioneer's voice booms

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across the barn. Ladies and gentlemen, lot number

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47, we have Penlo Georgette outside, one of the

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finest Holstein cows to ever grace a show ring.

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You watch her enter, magnificent even now, even

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here. She's the crown jewel of what was once

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a global Holstein empire. All -Canadian senior

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three -year -old in 2004. Later, all -Canadian

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mature cow in 2007. the kind of animal that makes

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other breeders stop mid -conversation when she

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walks past. But she's here, in this ring, about

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to be sold to the highest bidder, along with

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everything else Ken's father spent 40 years building.

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You're witnessing the end of Naponia Holsteins,

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an operation that exported genetics to Japan

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and Brazil that produced three all -Canadian

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bulls from a single cow that reportedly changed

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veterinary law in Ontario through a landmark

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malpractice case. An empire built by a man who

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arrived in Canada unable to speak English, who

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started with nothing but an extraordinary eye

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for cattle. What you don't know yet, what nobody

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in this barn knows, is that this isn't really

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an ending. It's a beginning. The complete destruction

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you're witnessing will become the foundation

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for something nobody saw coming. Something that

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challenges everything you thought you knew about

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survival in agriculture. But to understand how

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we got here, to understand why security guards

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are necessary at a dairy cattle sale, you need

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to go back. Back to 1968. Back to a barn in Ontario

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where a young Japanese man who couldn't speak

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a word of English was about to change the Holstein

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industry forever. You're standing in a Thai stall

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barn in southern Ontario in 1968. The sun hasn't

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come up yet, but you're already on your third

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cup of coffee. watching your breath fog in the

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cold morning air. The radio in the milk house

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crackles with news about Vietnam, about Pierre

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Trudeau's rise to power, about social upheaval

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in cities you'll probably never visit. But here

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in the barn, life moves to different rhythms.

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The twice -daily milking. The seasonal cycles

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of planting and harvest. The careful breeding

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decisions that won't show results for three years.

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You're part of something bigger happening in

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Ontario agriculture right now, though you might

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not fully realize it yet. This province is becoming

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the epicenter of the global Holstein revolution.

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Down the road, Romandale Farms under Murray Hunt

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and Dave Houck is setting production records

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that seem impossible. Cows pushing past 20 ,000

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pounds of milk in a lactation when 12 ,000 was

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considered exceptional just a decade ago. The

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Roman brothers, Stephen and George, are pouring

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uranium mining money into Holstein Genetics,

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transforming the industry. The infrastructure

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is transforming too. United Breeders, which will

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later become part of Gencor and eventually EastGen,

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is expanding their artificial insemination services

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throughout Ontario. You remember when AI was

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considered radical, almost unnatural. Now, frozen

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semen from proven bulls is changing bloodlines

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faster than anyone imagined possible. You can

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breed your cow to a bull that's been dead for

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five years, to genetics from halfway around the

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world. Brubacher's has become a major venue for

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selling registered cattle in the Waterloo region.

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It's not like the old country auctions where

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you sold your cull cows for beef money. These

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are sophisticated sales, designed specifically

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for registered cattle, pulling buyers from across

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North America, even overseas. You flip through

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the latest Holstein journal while waiting for

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the milk truck. The pages are full of cows with

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names like Romandale, Reflection Sovereign, Hanover

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Hill Barb, Glenridge, Citation Roxy. These aren't

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just animals anymore. They're genetic investments

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worth more than your grandfather's entire farm.

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The money flowing into registered Holsteins is

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staggering. You hear stories, some verified,

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some exaggerated, of single cows selling for

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tens of thousands of dollars, enough to buy multiple

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farms in your county. Japanese buyers are showing

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up at sales with significant capital. Brazilian

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delegations tour farms looking for genetics to

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transform their tropical dairy industry. But

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there's another change happening that you sense

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more than see. The old way of farming, the family

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operation passed down through generations, the

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diversified farm with a bit of everything, it's

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giving way to something else. Specialization.

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Scale. Science. You're tracking feed conversions

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now, calculating the protein percentage needed

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for optimal production. You know your cow's genetic

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indexes, their predicted transmitting abilities.

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The margin for error keeps shrinking. One wrong

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breeding decision, one bad investment in the

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wrong bloodline, and you could be finished. It's

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into this world of opportunity and risk that

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a wave of new immigrants is arriving. Post -war

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Canada needs workers. needs farmers, needs people

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willing to do the jobs that prosperity has made

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less attractive to those born here. The Immigration

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Act of 1967 just introduced a points system.

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Education, language skills, job prospects. But

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there's still room for those with specialized

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skills, even if they can't speak English. And

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in the barn at 5 a .m., when you're pulling a

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calf or treating mastitis, language barriers

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matter less than knowing what you're doing. Japanese

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immigration to Canada has been complicated since

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the war. The internment camps, the dispersal

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policy that scattered Japanese Canadians across

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the country, the gradual rehabilitation. But

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by 1967, things are changing. Japan's economy

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is booming. They call it the economic miracle.

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And Japanese businesses are looking for opportunities

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abroad. Some come as students, some as technical

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workers, and some... like the man whose story

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you're about to experience, come with skills

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that transcend language, an ability to see potential

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in an animal that others miss, to develop that

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potential through management and breeding, to

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build something from nothing. You don't know

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it yet, standing in your barn this morning in

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1968, but the registered Holstein business is

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about to become as volatile as any commodity

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market. The same forces that are creating millionaires

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will destroy others. Export markets will open

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and slam shut. Diseases will emerge that nobody's

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heard of yet. Partnerships will form and explode.

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And for one family, the journey from nothing

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to empire to complete destruction will become

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a roadmap for survival that challenges everything

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you think you know about staying in business.

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You're lying in a narrow bunk on a cargo ship.

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somewhere in the Pacific Ocean in the mid -1960s.

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The engines throb through the metal walls, a

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constant vibration that's become part of your

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body's rhythm after two weeks at sea. You're

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in your 20s, and you're leaving everything you've

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ever known. Your name is Yukio Kurosawatsu, though

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soon enough, Canadian farmers will struggle to

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pronounce it, will shorten it to yuk, or just

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point when they need you. You don't mind. Where

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you're going. Your name matters less than what

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you can do. You think about the farm you left

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behind in Japan, north of Tokyo. Generations

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of farming, your father's weathered hands teaching

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you to read the weather, to understand the soil.

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But Japan is changing. The economy is modernizing,

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industrializing. Small farms like yours are being

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swallowed by development. Your brothers will

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stay, will fight to keep the land. But you've

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chosen a different path. You've heard about Canada

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from others who've gone before. Vast spaces.

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Opportunity. Farms bigger than entire villages

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back home. And cattle. Not the Wagyu beef cattle

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of Japan, but dairy cattle. Holsteins. Black

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and white machines that produce rivers of milk.

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You know cattle. Not Holsteins specifically,

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but you understand animals in a way that goes

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beyond language. It's in how they move, how they

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stand, the look in their eyes. Your grandfather

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taught you this. made you sit silent in the barn

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for hours, just watching, learning to see what

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others miss. The immigration officer in Toronto

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speaks slowly, but it doesn't help. You understand

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maybe one word in ten. You show him your papers,

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the address of the farm where you have work arranged.

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He stamps something, points toward a door. You

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bow, a habit that will take years to break. Your

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first jobs are tough, vegetable farms, manual

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labor, whatever you can find. You're working

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alongside other immigrants, Portuguese, Italian,

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Caribbean. The work is brutal, bent over in the

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fields from dawn to dusk. Your back screams,

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your hands blister and callous, but you save

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every penny, learning English from children's

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books you find in church donation bins. After

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a few years of hard work, you hear about opportunities

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on dairy farms. The Agro brothers, Angelo and

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Frank, need someone reliable. Someone who won't

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complain about the hours, the smell, the endless

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routine of twice -daily milking. You're standing

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in Angelo Agro's barn for what feels like a job

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interview, though it's more of an assessment.

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He's a big man, loud, used to being obeyed. He

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shows you around, talking fast in English you

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can barely follow, but you understand the important

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parts. These are good cows. Very good cows. Registered

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Holsteins with papers going back generations.

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You watch how Angelo handles them. Efficient

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but rough, focused on production. You see a heifer

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in the corner, her udder uneven, her front legs

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slightly out of position. Without thinking, you

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walk over, run your hands along her back, down

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her legs. You see potential where Angelo sees

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a problem. Angelo watches you work for a few

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minutes, then laughs, a booming sound that echoes

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off the barn walls. According to those who knew

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him, he had a way of testing new workers, teasing

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them constantly. Him no good, him no good, he'd

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reportedly say, poking workers in the chest whenever

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they made mistakes. But there was affection in

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it when he saw talent. The work is hard but familiar.

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You're up at 4 .30 in the barn by 5, milking,

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feeding, cleaning. The other workers, local kids

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mostly, complain constantly. The smell, the hours,

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the pay. But for you, this is opportunity. You

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study the cows obsessively. Not just their production

00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.159
records, which Angelo tracks religiously, but

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their confirmation, their movement, their breeding.

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You borrow Holstein magazines from the milk house,

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struggling through the English with a dictionary,

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learning the bloodlines, sovereign, reflection,

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citation. You're sitting in your boarding house

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room in Guelph, counting money. After working

00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:56.700
with the agros, you have several thousand dollars

00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:59.840
saved. a significant sum by your standards, though

00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.059
not nearly enough by Canadian farming standards.

00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:06.419
You know you need more. You need a partner. That's

00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:08.919
when you meet Tom Ikeda at a Japanese community

00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.919
dinner. Tom's been in Canada for several years,

00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:15.460
working at Shaver Poultry as a chick sexer. The

00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:17.799
work involves sorting male from female chicks

00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:20.700
at incredible speed, a specialized skill that

00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:23.840
commands high wages. The work is destroying his

00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:26.960
eyes. staring through magnifying glasses at thousands

00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.779
of chicks every day. But the pay is extraordinary

00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:33.259
for the era. You explain your vision to Tom in

00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:36.379
Japanese, relief flooding through you at being

00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:39.559
able to express complex ideas again. You've been

00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.340
watching, learning. You know which bloodlines

00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:45.279
are producing. You know which cows the established

00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.399
breeders undervalue. With capital, with the right

00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.799
animals, you could build something. Tom listens.

00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:54.450
his eyes already strained behind thick glasses.

00:15:54.850 --> 00:15:57.509
He knows his career has maybe a few more years

00:15:57.509 --> 00:16:00.389
before his eyes give out completely. He needs

00:16:00.389 --> 00:16:03.590
something else, something for the future. The

00:16:03.590 --> 00:16:06.269
partnership terms are negotiated. Tom provides

00:16:06.269 --> 00:16:09.350
the initial capital, you choose the cattle, and

00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:12.570
manage operations. The exact financial arrangements,

00:16:12.789 --> 00:16:15.710
like many business details from this era, remain

00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:18.750
private between the parties involved. But already,

00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:21.110
you're seeing further ahead than Tom realizes.

00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.179
You're not just thinking about buying and selling

00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:27.340
cattle. You're thinking about Japan, about the

00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:30.019
growing wealth there, about the demand for Western

00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:33.019
agricultural genetics. You're thinking about

00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:35.539
Brazil, where Japanese immigrants have built

00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:38.580
successful farming operations. You're thinking

00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:40.500
about building something that will last beyond

00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:43.559
you, something your sons, if you ever have sons,

00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.480
can inherit. An empire built not on land, which

00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:50.399
can be taken away, but on knowledge and genetics.

00:16:50.909 --> 00:16:54.450
which travel across oceans. What you don't know

00:16:54.450 --> 00:16:57.190
yet, standing in that boarding house room with

00:16:57.190 --> 00:17:00.029
your savings and your dreams, is that your inability

00:17:00.029 --> 00:17:02.950
to speak English, what everyone sees as your

00:17:02.950 --> 00:17:06.430
greatest weakness, will become a strength. It

00:17:06.430 --> 00:17:08.569
will force you to communicate through your work,

00:17:08.670 --> 00:17:11.109
through results that speak louder than words.

00:17:11.309 --> 00:17:14.130
It will make you listen more carefully, observe

00:17:14.130 --> 00:17:17.250
more closely. And when the partnerships fail,

00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:19.940
when the markets collapse, When everything you

00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:22.960
build seems to crumble, that same silence will

00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:25.740
teach your son lessons about resilience that

00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:29.839
no amount of talking could convey. You're sitting

00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.519
in lawyer Ted Morwick's office in downtown Guelph,

00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.819
Tom Ikeda beside you. Morwick is explaining the

00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:38.440
partnership agreement, speaking slowly, using

00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.299
simple words when he looks at you. You understand

00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:43.680
more than he thinks, but you let Tom translate

00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:47.200
anyway. The structure is straightforward, a registered

00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.180
partnership. Tom provides the initial capital

00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.200
investment. You contribute your expertise and

00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:56.339
labor. All decisions require both signatures,

00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:59.380
but practically speaking, Tom handles the money,

00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.660
you handle the cattle. You sign your name carefully

00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:05.359
in English letters, still awkward after several

00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:07.900
years in Canada, but your signature on a cattle

00:18:07.900 --> 00:18:11.619
registration paper, that's what matters. Your

00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:14.680
first major purchase comes soon after. The Agros

00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:17.799
are selling Agroacres Royal Master Nell. She's

00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.539
nothing special to look at. Decent mammary system,

00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:23.619
but weak fore -utter attachments, legs that toe

00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:27.059
out slightly. Angelo practically dismisses her

00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:29.819
value when you express interest. You see what

00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:32.299
Angelo doesn't, or maybe what he doesn't have

00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:36.019
time to develop. Nell has the bloodlines, generations

00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:39.359
of very good and excellent dams. More importantly,

00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:42.400
she has the frame to carry improvement. With

00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.279
the right management, the right feeding program,

00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:47.440
you can transform her. You move Nell to a rented

00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:50.460
facility outside Guelph, just a few stalls in

00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.680
an old bank barn, but it's yours to manage. You

00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.279
start what you call a real udder job on her.

00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:58.940
Specific feeding to tighten those attachments.

00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.640
Careful trimming to correct her stance. Daily

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.619
attention to improve her condition. Tom visits

00:19:05.619 --> 00:19:08.440
after the first week. He looks at the time you're

00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.500
spending on one cow and shakes his head. In the

00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:13.940
time you've spent on Nell, he's processed thousands

00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:16.440
of chicks at the hatchery. earning significant

00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:20.480
wages. You try to explain. This isn't about immediate

00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:23.059
milk production. It's about genetic potential,

00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:26.380
about what her offspring could become. But Tom's

00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:29.720
focus is on immediate returns. The breeding decision

00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.660
for Nell takes you weeks to finalize. You study

00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:35.759
every available bull, comparing genetic indexes,

00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.619
looking at daughter performance. Finally, you

00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:42.099
settle on Glenvale Ideal Fury Reflector. He's

00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:44.680
not the highest indexing bull, not the most popular,

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:47.200
but his strengths complement Nell's weaknesses

00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.660
perfectly. Nine months later, you're pulling

00:19:50.660 --> 00:19:53.339
Nell's calf at 2 a .m. in March, the barn so

00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:56.500
cold your breath fogs as you work. It's a bull

00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:59.940
calf, strong, perfectly marked. Within weeks,

00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.319
you know you have something special. The way

00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.660
he moves, his natural width, the straightness

00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.660
of his legs, everything Nell lacked, this calf

00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.900
has. A buyer from Columbia sees the calf at a

00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:13.990
few months old. The offer is substantial. Thousands

00:20:13.990 --> 00:20:16.490
of dollars for an animal from a cow others had

00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:19.589
dismissed. After expenses, you've made more than

00:20:19.589 --> 00:20:22.349
many farmers make in a year. But you're already

00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:25.230
thinking ahead. If Nell can produce this quality

00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:28.849
to Fury once, she can do it again. You breed

00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:32.210
her back immediately. Same mating. The problems

00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:35.470
with Tom start small. He arrives at the barn

00:20:35.470 --> 00:20:38.109
unannounced, wanting to check on his investment.

00:20:38.769 --> 00:20:40.710
You're in the middle of treating a heifer for

00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:44.140
mastitis, hands covered in antiseptic, and Tom's

00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:46.819
asking about feed costs, about why you need such

00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:49.460
expensive mineral supplements. You try to explain

00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:52.079
through gestures and broken English that cheap

00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:54.680
feed makes cheap cattle, that the difference

00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.279
between good and great is often just management.

00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:00.799
But Tom's looking at spreadsheets, at daily costs

00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.880
to maintain animals. The partnership dissolution

00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.339
comes approximately one year after it started.

00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:10.000
You're sitting at Tom's kitchen table, Ted Morwick

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.869
between you with papers spread out. Tom's made

00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:16.609
his decision. He wants out. The long hours at

00:21:16.609 --> 00:21:19.210
the hatchery are taking their toll, his eyesight

00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:22.049
is deteriorating, and watching his investment

00:21:22.049 --> 00:21:25.009
in cattle he doesn't understand is adding stress

00:21:25.009 --> 00:21:28.190
he doesn't need. Morwick explains the terms.

00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:31.269
Tom recovers his initial investment with interest.

00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:33.829
You keep the cattle and can continue using the

00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:36.369
business name. There's a non -compete clause.

00:21:36.630 --> 00:21:38.849
Neither can operate a similar business within

00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:41.809
the region for several years. Tom suddenly looks

00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:44.549
concerned. Does this mean I can never own another

00:21:44.549 --> 00:21:47.849
cow? According to accounts of the meeting, Morwick

00:21:47.849 --> 00:21:50.890
laughed gently. Tom, you can get around that.

00:21:50.970 --> 00:21:54.349
Just put them in your wife's name. All three

00:21:54.349 --> 00:21:56.529
of you laugh, but you're already thinking ahead.

00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.470
You have several good females now, including

00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:01.809
Nell, who's produced exceptional offspring to

00:22:01.809 --> 00:22:04.589
Fury. You have capital in the bank, no partner

00:22:04.589 --> 00:22:08.549
to answer to. What follows is a streak of breeding

00:22:08.549 --> 00:22:11.789
success that establishes your reputation. Nell's

00:22:11.789 --> 00:22:14.869
subsequent fury sons reportedly all achieve significant

00:22:14.869 --> 00:22:18.549
success, with three becoming all -Canadian -nominated

00:22:18.549 --> 00:22:21.150
bulls, a remarkable achievement from a single

00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:24.289
cow. You acquire Picklin Texel Ellen at a major

00:22:24.289 --> 00:22:27.630
sale, investing heavily. But Ellen bred to leading

00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:30.930
sires produces exceptional offspring, daughters

00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:34.089
that classify excellent and very good, each one

00:22:34.089 --> 00:22:38.839
worth more than you paid for the dam. Claude

00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:40.660
Pickett at Pickett Farms reportedly gives you

00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:43.380
Spruce Loft Triune Doreen. She's been a problem

00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:45.960
breeder, hasn't settled in years. But you see

00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:47.940
something in her confirmation, in her potential.

00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:50.960
You adjust her nutrition, change her housing,

00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:54.279
reduce her stress. Months later, Doreen calves

00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.099
successfully. She classifies excellent at her

00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.619
next scoring. Her daughters also go excellent.

00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:02.579
When Claude visits your barn and sees what you've

00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:04.599
accomplished, he's amazed at the transformation.

00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:07.680
You want to explain that it's not one thing.

00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:11.269
It's everything. The feed mixed precisely, the

00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:14.309
stall bedded a specific way, the calm environment

00:23:14.309 --> 00:23:17.589
you maintain, the way you speak to them in Japanese,

00:23:17.910 --> 00:23:20.410
the same low tones your grandfather used with

00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:23.289
cattle. But your English isn't sufficient for

00:23:23.289 --> 00:23:25.769
such philosophy, so you just smile and shrug.

00:23:26.289 --> 00:23:30.470
By 1975, your reputation has spread beyond Ontario.

00:23:30.809 --> 00:23:33.509
You receive calls through translators. Japanese

00:23:33.509 --> 00:23:36.559
organizations want Canadian genetics. They've

00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.200
heard about a Japanese man in Canada who understands

00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:42.480
both markets. Can you help? This is what you've

00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.599
been building toward without fully knowing it.

00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:48.200
You understand what Japanese buyers want. Not

00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.200
just high indexes or show winners, but cattle

00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.880
with specific qualities that will work in Japan's

00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:56.799
intensive management systems. Moderate size.

00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:00.200
Good feet and legs for concrete. Efficient feed

00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.839
conversion. Your first major shipments to Japan

00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:05.619
bring significant profits. more than you made

00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:07.920
in your first years combined. But already you're

00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.559
seeing further ahead. Brazil, Australia, Mexico.

00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:14.680
The world wants Canadian Holstein genetics, and

00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:16.539
you're positioned perfectly to provide them.

00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:19.920
You incorporate as Nipponia Livestock Exports.

00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.960
The name is important. Nipponia is the Latin

00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:26.019
name for the Japanese crested ibis, a bird that

00:24:26.019 --> 00:24:29.380
was once common but is now nearly extinct. You're

00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:31.660
thinking about heritage, about preservation.

00:24:32.299 --> 00:24:34.700
about building something that will outlast you.

00:24:35.220 --> 00:24:38.039
What you don't see yet, focused on your breeding

00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:40.759
charts and export documents, is that success

00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:44.180
in agriculture is like walking on ice. It looks

00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:46.960
solid, supports your weight, carries you forward,

00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:50.000
but underneath, currents are moving, cracks are

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.880
forming, and when it breaks, it breaks all at

00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.619
once. You're reading The Ontario Farmer at your

00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:59.440
kitchen table in 1975. The headlines tell a story

00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:02.660
of transformation and risk. Japanese investment

00:25:02.660 --> 00:25:04.920
in Canadian agriculture reaches record high.

00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:09.079
Brazilian delegation tours Ontario farms. Holstein

00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:11.819
exports drive provincial agricultural growth.

00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:14.940
But there are other stories buried in the back

00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:18.380
pages. Three more farms lost to foreclosure in

00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:21.079
Wellington County. Veterinary malpractice suits

00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:25.180
face uphill battle. Rising interest rates squeeze

00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:28.359
dairy margins. The registered Holstein business

00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:31.440
in the mid -1970s is experiencing unprecedented

00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.539
growth. You attend the Royal Winter Fair and

00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:36.960
watch single cows sell for astronomical sums,

00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:40.200
some verified at tens of thousands, others rumored

00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:43.119
to reach six figures. Not for milk production.

00:25:43.539 --> 00:25:46.099
Many of these animals never produce enough milk

00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:48.460
to pay for their feed, but for their genetics,

00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:52.819
their potential, their papers. Japanese buyers

00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:55.579
arrive with significant capital. They don't always

00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:58.279
haggle. They identify what they want and pay

00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:01.480
what's necessary. The Brazilians are more strategic,

00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:04.000
forming partnerships with Canadian breeders,

00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:06.819
learning the business before making major investments.

00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:10.519
You're part of this boom, but you also see its

00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:13.539
fragility. At regional fairs, you watch farmers

00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:16.220
you know bid beyond their means on heifers they

00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:19.019
can't afford, certain they can resell to international

00:26:19.019 --> 00:26:22.660
buyers for double. When borders temporarily close

00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:25.319
due to disease scares or trade disputes, you

00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:27.700
see their farm equipment at auction sales months

00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:31.559
later. The veterinary situation in Ontario agriculture

00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:35.519
is complex. The error -in -judgment legal doctrine

00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.380
established in Canadian law creates significant

00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:41.319
challenges for farmers seeking recourse for veterinary

00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.759
mistakes. As long as a veterinarian can demonstrate

00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:47.380
they made a reasonable decision under the circumstances,

00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:51.339
liability is limited. You hear accounts in the

00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:54.380
barn, veterinarians arriving unprepared, mistakes

00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:58.079
that cost farmers valuable genetics. But successful

00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:01.259
legal action is rare. The legal precedents favor

00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:04.019
professional judgment, even when outcomes are

00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:06.920
catastrophic. The global agricultural trade in

00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:10.180
the late 1970s is transforming rapidly. The European

00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:12.779
Economic Community is subsidizing dairy production,

00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.859
affecting world markets. The United States is

00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:18.400
using agricultural exports as diplomatic leverage.

00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:21.299
restricting shipments based on political considerations.

00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:27.119
New diseases are emerging and spreading through

00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.119
global trade. John's disease, once rare in Canada,

00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:33.519
is appearing more frequently. Bovine leucosis

00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:36.839
spreads through various vectors. The more connected

00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:39.559
the global cattle trade becomes, the more vulnerable

00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:42.579
everyone becomes to distant problems. You're

00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:44.380
reading about a new disease in England called

00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:48.339
bovine spongiform encephalopathy . though most

00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:51.559
call it mad cow disease. It seems like a distant

00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:53.920
problem, something that couldn't affect North

00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:57.160
America. The disease is linked to feeding practices,

00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:00.420
specifically feeding rendered animal products

00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:03.559
back to cattle, a practice that exists in various

00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:07.700
forms across the industry. By 1980, interest

00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:10.740
rates in Canada reach unprecedented levels, approaching

00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:13.920
20 % and higher. You calculate what that means

00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:16.920
for a farmer carrying $200 ,000 in debt. $40

00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.339
,000 a year just in interest before paying back

00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:23.779
any principal. That's more than many dairy operations

00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:27.619
gross in a year. The farms that survive are the

00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:31.319
ones that adapted early, diversified, built export

00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:34.559
markets, kept debt manageable. But for every

00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:37.240
success story, there are multiple failures that

00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.019
don't make headlines. The auction notices in

00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:42.680
the farm papers tell the real story. Farm sales

00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:45.970
every week, all year long. Immigration patterns

00:28:45.970 --> 00:28:48.809
are shifting too. The points system now favors

00:28:48.809 --> 00:28:52.029
educated English -speaking immigrants, the kind

00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:54.410
of agricultural workers who built Ontario's farming

00:28:54.410 --> 00:28:57.690
sector. People arriving with strong backs and

00:28:57.690 --> 00:29:00.390
specific skills but limited English face more

00:29:00.390 --> 00:29:04.490
barriers. But there are still pathways. Family

00:29:04.490 --> 00:29:07.890
reunification, investor visas, business partnerships.

00:29:08.269 --> 00:29:11.269
If you have capital, if you have family already

00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:14.630
here, if you have specialized skills, Doors still

00:29:14.630 --> 00:29:17.309
open. You're thinking about this because you're

00:29:17.309 --> 00:29:19.369
thinking about the future, about succession,

00:29:19.710 --> 00:29:22.569
and that about what happens to Naponia when you're

00:29:22.569 --> 00:29:25.809
gone. The world is speeding up, becoming more

00:29:25.809 --> 00:29:29.009
connected and more fragile simultaneously. A

00:29:29.009 --> 00:29:31.529
disease outbreak in one country affects prices

00:29:31.529 --> 00:29:34.930
globally. A political change in Brazil stops

00:29:34.930 --> 00:29:38.369
payment on contracts in Ontario. Economic shifts

00:29:38.369 --> 00:29:40.950
trigger cascades that affect bloodline values

00:29:40.950 --> 00:29:45.200
worldwide. Standing in your barn in 1985, successful

00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:47.759
beyond anything you imagined when you arrived

00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:50.500
20 years ago, you make a decision that many will

00:29:50.500 --> 00:29:53.400
question. You're going to start building a Wagyu

00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:57.079
herd, Japanese beef cattle, the opposite of everything

00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:00.019
that's made you successful. When people ask why,

00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:02.420
you struggle to explain in your still imperfect

00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:06.180
English. But the truth is something you feel

00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:09.460
more than know, that success in agriculture isn't

00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:12.190
about riding trends. but about being ready when

00:30:12.190 --> 00:30:15.869
trends change. And they always change. You're

00:30:15.869 --> 00:30:18.890
standing in your calving pen at 3 a .m., watching

00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:21.869
a valuable bull calf struggle to breathe. He's

00:30:21.869 --> 00:30:24.450
been off feed for two days, running a fever you

00:30:24.450 --> 00:30:27.970
can't break. This calf represents months of planning,

00:30:28.210 --> 00:30:31.349
significant investment in breeding fees, and

00:30:31.349 --> 00:30:35.349
potentially substantial future income. The veterinarian

00:30:35.349 --> 00:30:38.190
arrives within the hour. He examines the calf,

00:30:38.410 --> 00:30:41.390
prescribes a drench, Mineral oil with antibiotics,

00:30:41.930 --> 00:30:44.509
standard treatment for digestive issues. You

00:30:44.509 --> 00:30:46.910
hold the calf's head while he slides the tube

00:30:46.910 --> 00:30:50.789
down. Something goes wrong immediately. The calf

00:30:50.789 --> 00:30:53.390
starts gasping, foam coming from his nostrils.

00:30:53.710 --> 00:30:56.190
The tube has gone into the lungs instead of the

00:30:56.190 --> 00:30:59.430
stomach. Within minutes, your valuable bull calf

00:30:59.430 --> 00:31:02.589
is dead on the straw. The vet packs his equipment

00:31:02.589 --> 00:31:05.549
quickly, muttering about difficult cases, about

00:31:05.549 --> 00:31:08.500
how these things happen. He's out the door before

00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:11.099
you've fully processed what just occurred. You're

00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.339
in Ted Morwick's office the next morning. You

00:31:13.339 --> 00:31:16.480
want to sue. This wasn't a difficult case. It

00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:19.299
was an error, a mistake that cost you significantly.

00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:23.059
Morwick explains the legal reality through careful

00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:26.559
words. The error in judgment doctrine in Canadian

00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:29.160
law protects veterinarians when they make decisions

00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.490
under pressure. As long as they can claim reasonable

00:31:32.490 --> 00:31:35.549
professional judgment, liability is extremely

00:31:35.549 --> 00:31:38.930
difficult to prove. There are precedents, cases

00:31:38.930 --> 00:31:41.210
where even prominent farms couldn't win despite

00:31:41.210 --> 00:31:44.789
clear mistakes. You feel rage building in your

00:31:44.789 --> 00:31:46.970
chest, the kind that makes your vision narrow.

00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:49.750
In Japan, such errors would bring accountability.

00:31:50.190 --> 00:31:52.690
But here, the system protects the professionals,

00:31:52.910 --> 00:31:57.240
not the farmers. Lightning strikes twice. You've

00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:00.000
flushed your best donor cow to round oak rag

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:02.640
apple elevation, one of the most sought -after

00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:05.660
bulls in the industry. Three successful embryo

00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.240
transfers, three recipients carrying potential

00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:11.920
champion calves. Combined potential value, enormous.

00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:15.480
The first two calvings go perfectly, heifer calves,

00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:18.119
both exceptional, but the third recipient is

00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:20.759
struggling. The calf is positioned wrong, needs

00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:23.779
to be turned or cut out. You call a veterinarian

00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:26.470
from the same practice. You're specific in your

00:32:26.470 --> 00:32:28.849
instructions, speaking carefully in your improving

00:32:28.849 --> 00:32:32.609
English. If trouble, you cut. No pulling. Cut

00:32:32.609 --> 00:32:35.390
right away. The vet arrives and starts pulling.

00:32:35.690 --> 00:32:38.890
Five minutes pass. Ten. The heifer is exhausted.

00:32:39.109 --> 00:32:41.289
The calf isn't moving. You drop the rope, step

00:32:41.289 --> 00:32:44.549
back. Cut now, you say firmly. Keep pulling,

00:32:44.769 --> 00:32:47.670
the vet insists. Twenty minutes later, the calf

00:32:47.670 --> 00:32:50.690
is dead. The vet looks at his boots, packs his

00:32:50.690 --> 00:32:53.470
equipment. According to the account that would

00:32:53.470 --> 00:32:55.990
later become part of legal proceedings, when

00:32:55.990 --> 00:32:58.609
asked why he didn't perform the cesarean as instructed,

00:32:58.970 --> 00:33:01.970
his response was shocking, I forgot my knife.

00:33:02.250 --> 00:33:04.710
This time, Morwick sees a different legal angle.

00:33:05.250 --> 00:33:07.529
Forgetting essential equipment isn't an error

00:33:07.529 --> 00:33:10.490
in judgment, it's professional negligence. A

00:33:10.490 --> 00:33:12.950
veterinarian arriving unprepared for a procedure

00:33:12.950 --> 00:33:15.589
he was specifically called to perform represents

00:33:15.589 --> 00:33:19.569
a failure of basic professional standards. The

00:33:19.569 --> 00:33:22.369
case proceeds. reportedly becoming one of the

00:33:22.369 --> 00:33:24.930
first successful veterinary malpractice suits

00:33:24.930 --> 00:33:28.349
in Ontario. The precedent it sets will affect

00:33:28.349 --> 00:33:31.170
how veterinarians prepare for calls, ensuring

00:33:31.170 --> 00:33:33.650
they arrive with necessary equipment for anticipated

00:33:33.650 --> 00:33:39.730
procedures. By the 1980s, your reputation has

00:33:39.730 --> 00:33:42.650
crossed oceans. Japanese agricultural organizations

00:33:42.650 --> 00:33:44.930
are buying Canadian genetics through middlemen

00:33:44.930 --> 00:33:47.630
who mark up prices significantly. They hear about

00:33:47.630 --> 00:33:50.359
you. A Japanese man in Canada who understands

00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:52.960
both markets, who can bridge the cultural and

00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:56.000
technical gaps. The contracts start small but

00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:59.059
grow quickly. Hokkaido Livestock Improvement

00:33:59.059 --> 00:34:03.240
Association, Zenno, major Japanese dairy cooperatives.

00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:06.339
They want specific genetics, not just high -indexing

00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:08.840
animals, but cattle suited to Japan's intensive

00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:12.360
management systems. Brazil comes next. You're

00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:14.599
invited on a trade mission with government officials,

00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:17.380
meeting Brazilian entrepreneurs with significant

00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:20.300
capital. They're different from the Japanese

00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:23.420
buyers, more interested in volume, in transforming

00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:26.760
their entire national herd quickly. You're flying

00:34:26.760 --> 00:34:29.900
constantly now, Tokyo one week, Sao Paulo the

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:33.860
next, back to Toronto for sales. Your English

00:34:33.860 --> 00:34:35.940
has improved dramatically through necessity,

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:38.559
though you still prefer to let your cattle speak

00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:41.280
for you. You purchased the old Weiner farm on

00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:44.320
Highway 6, expanding from rented facilities to

00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:47.139
owned land. You incorporate as Nipponia livestock

00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:50.420
exports leated, handling the increasingly complex

00:34:50.420 --> 00:34:53.320
international transactions. But while everyone

00:34:53.320 --> 00:34:56.219
watches you succeed in Holsteins, you're quietly

00:34:56.219 --> 00:34:58.940
starting something else. In a separate barn,

00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:01.519
away from the main operation, you're building

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:04.880
a wagyu herd. Japanese beef cattle. When people

00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:07.739
ask why, you struggle to explain. It's not about

00:35:07.739 --> 00:35:10.559
immediate profit. It's about what you sense coming.

00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:14.079
Market saturation. disease risks the fragility

00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:17.199
of depending on one market you're sitting at

00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:19.840
your kitchen table watching your sons ken and

00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:22.260
his brother finish their homework they switch

00:35:22.260 --> 00:35:25.400
effortlessly between japanese at home and perfect

00:35:25.400 --> 00:35:28.360
english everywhere else they're canadian kids

00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.719
who happen to have a japanese father who built

00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:34.559
a cattle empire ken is the older one more serious

00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:37.559
already spending every spare moment in the barn

00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:41.960
he has your eye for cattle that instinctive understanding

00:35:41.960 --> 00:35:45.219
of animal potential. But he also has something

00:35:45.219 --> 00:35:48.579
you lack, the ability to navigate Canadian business

00:35:48.579 --> 00:35:51.820
culture, to speak the language of banks and lawyers

00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:54.900
fluently. You think about succession constantly

00:35:54.900 --> 00:35:58.340
now. In Japan, the eldest son inherits everything,

00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:01.519
continues the family business without question.

00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:05.199
But this is Canada. Your sons have choices. They

00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:07.840
could go to university, become doctors or engineers,

00:36:08.179 --> 00:36:11.210
leave farming entirely. You've never pushed them

00:36:11.210 --> 00:36:14.030
toward the cattle business, but Ken gravitates

00:36:14.030 --> 00:36:16.730
to it naturally. By high school, he's showing

00:36:16.730 --> 00:36:18.969
cattle at local fairs, winning championships.

00:36:19.510 --> 00:36:22.250
He understands not just the animals, but the

00:36:22.250 --> 00:36:25.010
theater of it, how to present them, how to catch

00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:28.449
a judge's eye. You watch Ken work and see yourself,

00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:31.989
but also something more. He can do what you never

00:36:31.989 --> 00:36:34.730
could, tell the story of the cattle, explain

00:36:34.730 --> 00:36:37.369
their value in words that Canadian buyers understand.

00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:41.159
Where you communicate through results, Ken communicates

00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:44.219
through personality, through connections. The

00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:46.960
business is changing too. It's no longer just

00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:49.380
about having good cattle. It's about marketing,

00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:52.739
branding, social connections. The registered

00:36:52.739 --> 00:36:55.579
Holstein business has become as much about relationships

00:36:55.579 --> 00:36:58.920
as genetics. Ken understands this instinctively.

00:36:59.059 --> 00:37:01.639
You have conversations with Ken about the future,

00:37:01.780 --> 00:37:05.300
mixing Japanese and English, concepts that don't

00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:07.869
quite translate between cultures. You try to

00:37:07.869 --> 00:37:10.929
explain wa, harmony, balance, and how it applies

00:37:10.929 --> 00:37:14.170
to business. Never extend too far. Never depend

00:37:14.170 --> 00:37:16.750
on one market. Always have something in reserve.

00:37:17.090 --> 00:37:20.590
Ken listens, but also challenges. He sees opportunities

00:37:20.590 --> 00:37:23.829
you're cautious about. Bigger partnerships. Larger

00:37:23.829 --> 00:37:26.849
shipments. More debt to finance expansion. It's

00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:29.829
the Canadian way. Leverage everything. Grow or

00:37:29.829 --> 00:37:32.710
die. You're proud of what you've built, but also

00:37:32.710 --> 00:37:35.690
fearful. You've seen too many operations destroyed

00:37:35.690 --> 00:37:38.579
by single events. A disease outbreak, a market

00:37:38.579 --> 00:37:41.139
closure, a partnership gone wrong. The higher

00:37:41.139 --> 00:37:45.239
you climb, the further you can fall. The wog

00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:47.219
you heard you're building, Ken doesn't fully

00:37:47.219 --> 00:37:50.500
understand it yet. To him, it seems like a distraction

00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:53.460
from the profitable Holstein business. But you're

00:37:53.460 --> 00:37:56.059
not building it for today. You're building it

00:37:56.059 --> 00:37:59.000
for a crisis you can feel coming, but can't quite

00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:02.280
name. You spend evenings teaching Ken the aspects

00:38:02.280 --> 00:38:04.860
of the business that can't be learned in Barnes.

00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:07.550
how to read between the lines of a contract,

00:38:07.829 --> 00:38:10.570
how to sense when a partner is becoming unreliable,

00:38:10.670 --> 00:38:13.090
how to know when to walk away from a deal, even

00:38:13.090 --> 00:38:16.309
when it looks profitable. Most importantly, you

00:38:16.309 --> 00:38:19.630
try to teach him about resilience. Not the Canadian

00:38:19.630 --> 00:38:22.429
concept of bouncing back, but the Japanese concept

00:38:22.429 --> 00:38:25.449
of bending without breaking, adapting completely

00:38:25.449 --> 00:38:28.730
if necessary, being willing to become something

00:38:28.730 --> 00:38:32.309
entirely different if survival requires it. You're

00:38:32.309 --> 00:38:34.619
Ken now. sitting in the farm office when the

00:38:34.619 --> 00:38:38.440
news breaks. A single cow in Alberta has tested

00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:44.460
positive for BSE , mad cow disease. The announcer's

00:38:44.460 --> 00:38:46.800
voice is carefully controlled, but you hear the

00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:50.019
underlying panic. Within hours, the borders slam

00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:53.300
shut. The United States closes immediately. Japan

00:38:53.300 --> 00:38:55.719
follows. Every country that imports Canadian

00:38:55.719 --> 00:38:58.360
beef and dairy genetics suddenly views anything

00:38:58.360 --> 00:39:01.380
from Canada as contaminated. Your phone starts

00:39:01.380 --> 00:39:04.760
ringing and doesn't stop. Brazilian buyers canceling

00:39:04.760 --> 00:39:07.219
contracts. Japanese partners expressing regret

00:39:07.219 --> 00:39:11.300
but suspending all shipments. You have $2 million

00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:14.480
worth of cattle assembled for export, eating

00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:17.500
$50 a day per head and feed, with nowhere to

00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:21.760
go. Your father is in Japan, having semi -retired

00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:24.099
to run a small ice cream shop, leaving you to

00:39:24.099 --> 00:39:26.719
manage the Canadian operation. You call him,

00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.530
trying to keep the panic out of your voice. His

00:39:29.530 --> 00:39:32.630
response is calm, almost serene. This is why

00:39:32.630 --> 00:39:36.849
we have Wagyu. But first, survive today. You

00:39:36.849 --> 00:39:39.510
need a plan immediately. The cattle can't just

00:39:39.510 --> 00:39:42.050
sit here burning through money. You need to generate

00:39:42.050 --> 00:39:45.050
cash flow, maintain the genetics, keep the operation

00:39:45.050 --> 00:39:48.690
alive until borders reopen. Giovanni Lucignano

00:39:48.690 --> 00:39:51.530
enters your life at exactly the wrong moment.

00:39:51.710 --> 00:39:54.190
Or maybe the right one, depending on how you

00:39:54.190 --> 00:39:57.329
look at it. He's a Brazilian with Italian charm.

00:39:57.719 --> 00:40:00.719
expensive suits, and a wealthy wife backing his

00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:03.719
agricultural investments. He wants to partner.

00:40:03.900 --> 00:40:06.420
He provides capital to maintain the operation.

00:40:06.739 --> 00:40:10.699
You provide expertise and cattle. The terms aren't

00:40:10.699 --> 00:40:13.320
ideal, but you're hemorrhaging money. Every day

00:40:13.320 --> 00:40:16.280
the borders stay closed costs thousands. You

00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:18.260
sign the partnership agreement, believing it's

00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:22.159
temporary, just until BSE blows over. You develop

00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:25.090
a strategy. If you can't export cattle, make

00:40:25.090 --> 00:40:27.309
them so famous that buyers will find a way to

00:40:27.309 --> 00:40:29.989
come to you when borders reopen. You partner

00:40:29.989 --> 00:40:33.070
with Barclay Phoenix, one of the best show technicians

00:40:33.070 --> 00:40:36.349
in North America. Together, you'll dominate every

00:40:36.349 --> 00:40:39.289
major show, create such demand that geography

00:40:39.289 --> 00:40:43.530
becomes irrelevant. The 2004 show season is a

00:40:43.530 --> 00:40:46.469
triumph. At the Royal Winter Fair, you're standing

00:40:46.469 --> 00:40:49.449
in the ring with Penlo Georgette outside as she's

00:40:49.449 --> 00:40:51.650
named all -Canadian senior three -year -old.

00:40:51.849 --> 00:40:55.230
The crowd erupts. Eight Nipponia animals receive

00:40:55.230 --> 00:40:58.210
all Canadian nominations. You're the toast of

00:40:58.210 --> 00:41:00.769
the Holstein world. But standing there in the

00:41:00.769 --> 00:41:03.909
spotlight, holding the banner, you can't shake

00:41:03.909 --> 00:41:06.670
the feeling that this is all theater. The glory

00:41:06.670 --> 00:41:08.969
doesn't pay bills. The trophies don't service

00:41:08.969 --> 00:41:11.650
debt. Every month, the financial pressure builds.

00:41:11.949 --> 00:41:17.449
By 2006, the debt has passed $500 ,000. Luciano

00:41:17.449 --> 00:41:20.110
keeps injecting capital, but his demands grow.

00:41:20.349 --> 00:41:23.460
He wants more control. more say in breeding decisions.

00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:26.840
His wife's family money comes with strings. They

00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:30.000
want to see returns, not ribbons. You organize

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:32.860
the Hanover Hill legacy sale, borrowing the prestige

00:41:32.860 --> 00:41:36.300
of that legendary farm name. It's brilliant marketing.

00:41:36.579 --> 00:41:38.980
You're not having a crisis sale. You're hosting

00:41:38.980 --> 00:41:42.380
a prestigious event. Gross receipts hit $1 .35

00:41:42.380 --> 00:41:45.780
million, but after commissions, expenses, and

00:41:45.780 --> 00:41:49.460
debt service, you're still underwater. Then Luzignano's

00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:52.190
wife files for divorce. The money tap shuts off

00:41:52.190 --> 00:41:55.610
instantly. Luzignano himself is scrambling, trying

00:41:55.610 --> 00:41:57.750
to save what he can from the marriage dissolution.

00:41:58.110 --> 00:42:00.550
Your operating capital evaporates overnight.

00:42:01.650 --> 00:42:04.010
You're in your lawyer's office, preparing for

00:42:04.010 --> 00:42:06.630
the inevitable. Complete dispersal. Everything

00:42:06.630 --> 00:42:09.630
must go. The lawyer explains your options, all

00:42:09.630 --> 00:42:12.510
of them bad. Creditors are circling. Some have

00:42:12.510 --> 00:42:15.269
made threats. Not just legal threats, but physical

00:42:15.269 --> 00:42:18.989
ones. You hire security for the sale. Six guards

00:42:18.989 --> 00:42:21.670
stationed at every entrance to Brubacher's. You

00:42:21.670 --> 00:42:24.369
ask Kevin Hayden, your childhood friend, to stay

00:42:24.369 --> 00:42:27.369
close during the sale. Not as a buyer, but as

00:42:27.369 --> 00:42:30.969
protection. The night before the sale, you move

00:42:30.969 --> 00:42:33.250
the most valuable animals to a separate location.

00:42:33.909 --> 00:42:36.349
They'll be trucked in at the last minute, minimizing

00:42:36.349 --> 00:42:39.050
the chance for creditors to interfere. You're

00:42:39.050 --> 00:42:41.050
playing chess while everyone else thinks it's

00:42:41.050 --> 00:42:45.090
checkers. The morning of the sale, you're standing

00:42:45.090 --> 00:42:47.750
in the barn at 4 a .m. alone with the cattle

00:42:47.750 --> 00:42:51.150
one last time. Penlo Georgette outside stands

00:42:51.150 --> 00:42:54.829
in her stall, magnificent even now. She's classified

00:42:54.829 --> 00:42:59.110
EX96, one of the highest scores ever given. All

00:42:59.110 --> 00:43:02.010
-Canadian senior three -year -old in 2004, All

00:43:02.010 --> 00:43:05.329
-Canadian mature cow in 2007. She represents

00:43:05.329 --> 00:43:07.969
everything your father built, everything you

00:43:07.969 --> 00:43:10.570
tried to continue. You run your hand along her

00:43:10.570 --> 00:43:13.750
back, the way your father taught you. You can

00:43:13.750 --> 00:43:16.460
feel her quality. her potential still untapped.

00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:19.659
She should be founding a dynasty, not ending

00:43:19.659 --> 00:43:23.119
one. The sale is surreal. You're standing there

00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:25.059
watching your life's work parade through the

00:43:25.059 --> 00:43:28.480
ring. Lot after lot, bloodlines your father developed

00:43:28.480 --> 00:43:31.260
over 40 years, dispersing to the four winds.

00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:34.739
Lushinano appears, trying to buy back Georgette

00:43:34.739 --> 00:43:37.260
and her daughter. Your lawyer intercepts. There

00:43:37.260 --> 00:43:39.579
are leans on those animals. The confrontation

00:43:39.579 --> 00:43:42.719
gets heated. Lushinano storms out, gets in his

00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:45.500
limousine, leaves forever. When Georgette sells,

00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:48.460
you feel something break inside you. Not your

00:43:48.460 --> 00:43:51.400
spirit. Something else. Maybe it's acceptance.

00:43:51.739 --> 00:43:55.000
Maybe it's relief. The empire is gone. Total

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.179
proceeds, $250 ,000. After auction costs, legal

00:43:59.179 --> 00:44:01.539
fees, and paying the most aggressive creditors,

00:44:01.579 --> 00:44:04.900
you're left with $53 ,000. 40 years of building,

00:44:05.079 --> 00:44:07.719
decades of genetics, a lifetime of expertise,

00:44:08.099 --> 00:44:11.280
reduced to what a new pickup truck costs. That

00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:13.920
evening, you're in the empty barn. The silence

00:44:13.920 --> 00:44:16.960
is deafening. No cattle lowing. No machinery

00:44:16.960 --> 00:44:20.639
humming. Just empty stalls and memories. Kevin

00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:22.980
Hayden finds you there. He doesn't say much.

00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:25.539
Doesn't need to. He's been there through it all.

00:44:25.639 --> 00:44:28.760
The showing days. The glory. The collapse. Now

00:44:28.760 --> 00:44:32.440
the ending. What now? He finally asks. You think

00:44:32.440 --> 00:44:34.420
about your father's Wagyu herd, still intact,

00:44:34.780 --> 00:44:37.420
separate from the Holstein disaster. You think

00:44:37.420 --> 00:44:39.920
about his words, be willing to become something

00:44:39.920 --> 00:44:43.730
entirely different if survival requires it. You're

00:44:43.730 --> 00:44:46.510
standing in a different barn now. Same farm and

00:44:46.510 --> 00:44:49.909
puslinch, but everything else has changed. Instead

00:44:49.909 --> 00:44:53.110
of 50 Holstein dairy cows, you have 12 Wagyu

00:44:53.110 --> 00:44:56.230
cattle. Instead of bulk tanks and milking equipment,

00:44:56.489 --> 00:44:58.489
you have carefully controlled feeding programs

00:44:58.489 --> 00:45:02.309
and meticulous record keeping. The math is completely

00:45:02.309 --> 00:45:05.869
different. A Holstein might produce $2 ,000 in

00:45:05.869 --> 00:45:09.070
milk per year. A single Wagyu carcass, properly

00:45:09.070 --> 00:45:12.429
raised and marketed, can bring $10 ,000 or more.

00:45:12.969 --> 00:45:16.489
Low volume, high value. The opposite of everything

00:45:16.489 --> 00:45:19.710
you knew. You spend four years in Japan, learning

00:45:19.710 --> 00:45:21.969
from masters who've raised Wagyu for generations.

00:45:22.449 --> 00:45:25.550
It's not just about genetics. It's about a philosophy.

00:45:25.909 --> 00:45:28.690
The feeding program that takes 30 months instead

00:45:28.690 --> 00:45:32.469
of 18. The stress -free environment. The attention

00:45:32.469 --> 00:45:35.750
to marbling that borders on obsession. Kevin

00:45:35.750 --> 00:45:38.110
Hayden becomes your partner. The same friend

00:45:38.110 --> 00:45:40.630
who stood guard during the dispersal now helps

00:45:40.630 --> 00:45:43.289
build something new. He handles the business

00:45:43.289 --> 00:45:46.090
side while you focus on the cattle. It's a partnership

00:45:46.090 --> 00:45:49.789
built on trust earned through crisis. The market

00:45:49.789 --> 00:45:52.769
development is slow, deliberate. You can't compete

00:45:52.769 --> 00:45:56.010
with commodity beef. You don't try. Instead,

00:45:56.150 --> 00:45:58.909
you tell a story about heritage, craftsmanship,

00:45:59.010 --> 00:46:01.730
the Japanese attention to detail applied in Canadian

00:46:01.730 --> 00:46:04.449
conditions. High -end restaurants in Toronto

00:46:04.449 --> 00:46:07.469
start calling. They want consistency, exclusivity,

00:46:07.550 --> 00:46:11.469
story. You provide all three. The chef at a Yorkville

00:46:11.469 --> 00:46:14.250
steakhouse tells you, your beef changed how he

00:46:14.250 --> 00:46:17.050
thinks about his menu. Instead of offering dozens

00:46:17.050 --> 00:46:20.010
of cuts, he features three, all from your farm,

00:46:20.110 --> 00:46:23.690
each with its own story. The pricing seems insane

00:46:23.690 --> 00:46:26.349
to anyone from the commodity world. Some cuts

00:46:26.349 --> 00:46:29.170
reach $100 per pound retail, sometimes more.

00:46:29.510 --> 00:46:32.030
But you're not selling meat, you're selling an

00:46:32.030 --> 00:46:35.289
experience, a philosophy, a connection to something

00:46:35.289 --> 00:46:38.289
authentic in an increasingly artificial world.

00:46:38.670 --> 00:46:40.710
Customers start arriving at the farm, wanting

00:46:40.710 --> 00:46:42.949
to see where their food comes from. Japanese

00:46:42.949 --> 00:46:45.829
businessmen fly in specifically to taste authentic

00:46:45.829 --> 00:46:49.309
wagyu raised outside Japan. Food writers begin

00:46:49.309 --> 00:46:52.289
featuring your story, not as a tale of failure,

00:46:52.389 --> 00:46:56.309
but of transformation. You think often about

00:46:56.309 --> 00:46:59.010
the Holstein Empire, about what was lost, but

00:46:59.010 --> 00:47:01.449
also about what was preserved. The knowledge,

00:47:01.670 --> 00:47:04.590
the work ethic, the ability to read an animal,

00:47:04.710 --> 00:47:07.699
these things survived the bankruptcy. traveled

00:47:07.699 --> 00:47:10.659
from one species to another. Your father, now

00:47:10.659 --> 00:47:14.159
in his 80s, visits from Japan. He walks through

00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:16.780
the Wagyu barn slowly, examining each animal

00:47:16.780 --> 00:47:19.460
with the same intensity he once applied to Holsteins.

00:47:19.559 --> 00:47:22.960
He nods, says little, but you see approval in

00:47:22.960 --> 00:47:25.619
his eyes. More importantly, you see validation

00:47:25.619 --> 00:47:28.420
of his foresight, building the escape route before

00:47:28.420 --> 00:47:31.559
the crisis, not after. You're back to being yourself

00:47:31.559 --> 00:47:35.500
now, standing in a dairy barn in 2025. thinking

00:47:35.500 --> 00:47:39.400
about the Kurosawatsu story. The parallels to

00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:42.559
today are impossible to ignore. Consolidation

00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:45.539
is accelerating. Farms that milked 100 cows now

00:47:45.539 --> 00:47:48.880
milk 1 ,000 or go under. Environmental regulations

00:47:48.880 --> 00:47:51.780
get stricter every year. Consumer preferences

00:47:51.780 --> 00:47:54.860
shift faster than anyone can adapt. The same

00:47:54.860 --> 00:47:57.480
forces that destroyed Naponia Holsteins are at

00:47:57.480 --> 00:48:00.739
work today, just with different names. The partnership

00:48:00.739 --> 00:48:03.780
dynamics between Ken and Luciano, you see them

00:48:03.780 --> 00:48:06.619
playing out everywhere. Outside investors promising

00:48:06.619 --> 00:48:10.219
capital, demanding control. Dairy farmers desperate

00:48:10.219 --> 00:48:12.579
for cash flow signing agreements they don't fully

00:48:12.579 --> 00:48:15.920
understand. The pattern repeats. It works until

00:48:15.920 --> 00:48:18.539
it doesn't. And when it doesn't, the farmer loses

00:48:18.539 --> 00:48:22.739
everything. The BSE crisis of 2003 has faded

00:48:22.739 --> 00:48:26.260
from memory, but new crises keep coming. COVID

00:48:26.260 --> 00:48:29.420
-19 shut down processing plants. Avian influenza

00:48:29.420 --> 00:48:32.420
threatens to jump species. Climate volatility

00:48:32.420 --> 00:48:35.599
destroys feed crops. Each crisis follows the

00:48:35.599 --> 00:48:38.739
same pattern, sudden closure of markets, desperate

00:48:38.739 --> 00:48:41.400
scrambling for alternatives, operations that

00:48:41.400 --> 00:48:45.320
seemed solid crumbling overnight. Ken Kurosawatsu

00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:48.000
now speaks at agricultural conferences, sharing

00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:51.619
lessons learned. His message is consistent. Diversification

00:48:51.619 --> 00:48:54.059
isn't about having multiple revenue streams in

00:48:54.059 --> 00:48:56.219
the same industry. It's about building something

00:48:56.219 --> 00:48:58.420
that operates on completely different principles

00:48:58.420 --> 00:49:01.360
from your main business. The Wagyu operation

00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:04.099
thrives precisely because it's everything the

00:49:04.099 --> 00:49:07.099
Holstein business wasn't. Where Holsteins were

00:49:07.099 --> 00:49:10.619
about volume, Wagyu is about scarcity. Where

00:49:10.619 --> 00:49:13.420
Holsteins depended on export markets, Wagyu serves

00:49:13.420 --> 00:49:16.460
local premium buyers. Where Holsteins required

00:49:16.460 --> 00:49:19.860
massive infrastructure, Wagyu needs minimal facilities.

00:49:21.059 --> 00:49:23.900
Agricultural educators study the Naponia case

00:49:23.900 --> 00:49:26.920
as a textbook example of both success and failure.

00:49:27.469 --> 00:49:29.989
The breeding program that produced three all

00:49:29.989 --> 00:49:32.750
-Canadian bulls from one cow demonstrates the

00:49:32.750 --> 00:49:36.230
value of expertise and patience. The collapse

00:49:36.230 --> 00:49:39.250
shows how external shocks can destroy even excellent

00:49:39.250 --> 00:49:42.230
operations. But the real lesson, the one that

00:49:42.230 --> 00:49:45.550
keeps you awake at night, is about timing. Yukio

00:49:45.550 --> 00:49:48.809
built his Wagyu herd in the 1990s, when the Holstein

00:49:48.809 --> 00:49:52.030
business was booming. He created his escape route

00:49:52.030 --> 00:49:54.670
when he didn't need it. By the time Ken needed

00:49:54.670 --> 00:49:58.159
it, it was ready. How many current dairy operations

00:49:58.159 --> 00:50:01.159
have their escape route planned? How many are

00:50:01.159 --> 00:50:03.780
building their opposite model while their primary

00:50:03.780 --> 00:50:07.260
business still functions? The answer, you know

00:50:07.260 --> 00:50:09.380
from talking to producers across the country,

00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:12.559
is almost none. You're back in your own barn,

00:50:12.760 --> 00:50:16.340
5 a .m., October 2025. The morning routine is

00:50:16.340 --> 00:50:19.920
identical to what it was in 1968. Cows need milking,

00:50:20.019 --> 00:50:22.739
regardless of market conditions or global crises.

00:50:23.000 --> 00:50:26.269
But everything else has changed. Your phone buzzes

00:50:26.269 --> 00:50:28.929
with overnight market reports, milk futures down,

00:50:29.130 --> 00:50:32.210
feed costs up, another processor announcing closure.

00:50:32.590 --> 00:50:35.429
The margins that were tight are now non -existent.

00:50:35.590 --> 00:50:38.550
You're doing everything right, efficient production,

00:50:38.829 --> 00:50:42.769
quality premiums, cost control, and still barely

00:50:42.769 --> 00:50:46.030
surviving. You think about the Kurosawatsu story,

00:50:46.269 --> 00:50:49.050
about Yukio arriving in Canada, unable to speak

00:50:49.050 --> 00:50:51.969
English but able to read cattle, about building

00:50:51.969 --> 00:50:54.869
an empire from nothing, about losing it all,

00:50:55.280 --> 00:50:57.659
about building something entirely different from

00:50:57.659 --> 00:51:00.679
the ashes. The question that haunts you is simple.

00:51:00.840 --> 00:51:04.179
What's your wagyu? What opposite model are you

00:51:04.179 --> 00:51:06.699
building while your main operation still functions?

00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:10.059
Because the lesson of naponia isn't about Holsteins

00:51:10.059 --> 00:51:13.400
or wagyu. It's about recognizing that what makes

00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:16.619
you successful today might be what destroys you

00:51:16.619 --> 00:51:20.320
tomorrow. You finish morning milking, step outside

00:51:20.320 --> 00:51:23.480
into the dawn light. Another day in dairy, but

00:51:23.480 --> 00:51:26.099
with new understanding. The game isn't about

00:51:26.099 --> 00:51:28.239
doing what you do better than everyone else.

00:51:28.460 --> 00:51:31.079
It's about being ready to do something completely

00:51:31.079 --> 00:51:34.179
different when the world changes. And the world

00:51:34.179 --> 00:51:36.960
always changes. The Neponia story isn't really

00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:40.260
about the past. It's about your future. About

00:51:40.260 --> 00:51:42.480
decisions you'll make in the next six months

00:51:42.480 --> 00:51:44.480
that will determine whether you're still farming

00:51:44.480 --> 00:51:47.219
in five years. About building your escape route

00:51:47.219 --> 00:51:50.420
now while you still can. Not when you need it.

00:51:50.480 --> 00:51:53.079
Because when you need it, when your BSE moment

00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:56.219
arrives, When your partnership fails, when your

00:51:56.219 --> 00:52:00.199
market disappears, it's already too late. The

00:52:00.199 --> 00:52:03.599
only question that matters is this. When your

00:52:03.599 --> 00:52:06.280
moment comes, and it will come, will you be ready?

00:52:06.539 --> 00:52:10.679
And there you have it. The Neponia story. From

00:52:10.679 --> 00:52:13.260
Holstein Empire to complete collapse to Wagyu

00:52:13.260 --> 00:52:16.159
redemption. But this isn't really about Holsteins

00:52:16.159 --> 00:52:19.079
or Wagyu, is it? It's about recognizing when

00:52:19.079 --> 00:52:21.579
the game has changed. It's about building your

00:52:21.579 --> 00:52:23.739
escape route while you're still winning. not

00:52:23.739 --> 00:52:26.059
when you're desperate. It's about understanding

00:52:26.059 --> 00:52:29.380
that expertise trumps capital, that adaptability

00:52:29.380 --> 00:52:33.239
beats stubbornness, and that sometimes, sometimes

00:52:33.239 --> 00:52:35.840
losing everything is the only way to find something

00:52:35.840 --> 00:52:40.559
better. If this story resonated with you, and

00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:43.300
I suspect it did, take a moment to think about

00:52:43.300 --> 00:52:45.800
your own operation. What's your opposite model?

00:52:46.199 --> 00:52:48.480
What are you building that operates on completely

00:52:48.480 --> 00:52:50.380
different principles from your main business?

00:52:51.360 --> 00:52:54.239
Because as Yukio Kurosawatsu proved, the time

00:52:54.239 --> 00:52:57.119
to build your lifeboat is before the ship starts

00:52:57.119 --> 00:53:00.719
sinking. Thank you for joining us for this special,

00:53:00.880 --> 00:53:04.780
long -form episode of the Bullvine Podcast. If

00:53:04.780 --> 00:53:07.039
you found value in this story, please share it

00:53:07.039 --> 00:53:09.159
with another dairy producer who needs to hear

00:53:09.159 --> 00:53:11.960
it. Subscribe to the Bullvine Podcast wherever

00:53:11.960 --> 00:53:15.320
you get your podcasts and visit us at www .thebullvine

00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:18.719
.com for daily news, analysis, and insights for

00:53:18.719 --> 00:53:22.079
progressive dairy producers. Remember, every

00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:24.960
article, every podcast, every piece of content

00:53:24.960 --> 00:53:27.800
we create is designed with one goal, helping

00:53:27.800 --> 00:53:29.719
you navigate the challenges and opportunities

00:53:29.719 --> 00:53:33.639
in modern dairy farming. I want to leave you

00:53:33.639 --> 00:53:37.219
with this thought. Ken Kurosawatsu stood in Brubacher's

00:53:37.219 --> 00:53:40.199
auction barn in 2009 watching everything disappear.

00:53:40.900 --> 00:53:44.179
Today, he's selling Wagyu beef for over $100

00:53:44.179 --> 00:53:47.420
per pound. Not because he rebuilt what was lost.

00:53:47.920 --> 00:53:50.159
but because he built something entirely different.

00:53:51.300 --> 00:53:53.940
The question isn't whether you'll face your BSE

00:53:53.940 --> 00:53:57.019
moment, your partnership crisis, your market

00:53:57.019 --> 00:54:00.679
collapse. The question is, will you be ready

00:54:00.679 --> 00:54:03.980
when it comes? Until next time, this has been

00:54:03.980 --> 00:54:06.619
the Bullvine Podcast. Keep breeding better cattle

00:54:06.619 --> 00:54:09.260
and building better futures. Stay strong, stay

00:54:09.260 --> 00:54:10.940
smart, and never stop adapting.