WEBVTT 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:14.039 Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:18.719 the boots and a working hand. From the milk house 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:24.000 home to the auction call. These are the folks 00:00:24.000 --> 00:01:00.140 standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:02.840 back to the Deep Dive. Powered by the Bullvine. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.540 So today's Deep Dive is, it's fundamentally different. 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:09.079 We're sort of pulling off the main highway of 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:12.000 financial analysis and data trends. And we're 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.799 taking a hard turn onto this back road, one that's... 00:01:15.370 --> 00:01:19.469 paved with grit and faith and frankly just stubborn 00:01:19.469 --> 00:01:22.569 human persistence yeah we're not breaking down 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:25.510 market futures today we're not analyzing the 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:28.769 latest genomic data no indices no arguing about 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:31.609 indices nope we're telling stories three of them 00:01:31.609 --> 00:01:35.590 three distinct paths to mastery about real farms 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:38.700 real people and what that word excellence, what 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:41.200 it really costs. And a fair warning to everyone 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.079 listening, especially if you've poured your life 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:45.519 into a vision that sometimes feels, I don't know, 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:47.959 impossible. This one hit me right in the gut. 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.159 Oh, me too. We talk a lot about the metrics of 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.099 success, but today it's about the emotional currency. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:56.140 We've pulled together the threads of three incredibly 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:58.680 powerful stories. They're so different. So different. 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:01.299 We're talking about a Saskatchewan farmer, Michael 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:04.379 Lovitch. His hands were shaking so badly at the 00:02:04.379 --> 00:02:05.719 biggest show in the world that he couldn't even 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.599 hold his phone after preparing for years. Right. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.219 Then we'll get into an Ontario family, the Bosdale 00:02:11.219 --> 00:02:14.740 operation. That waited 11 years, a full decade, 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:18.199 and then some for their second. Excellent cow 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:21.009 classification. Just think about showing up to 00:02:21.009 --> 00:02:24.449 the barn every single day for 11 years knowing 00:02:24.449 --> 00:02:26.270 you haven't hit that target yet. And then there's 00:02:26.270 --> 00:02:28.490 a story of a Wisconsin daughter, Michaela McGee, 00:02:28.590 --> 00:02:30.909 who showed the kind of courage that, well, it 00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:33.030 changes balance sheets forever. She told her 00:02:33.030 --> 00:02:35.409 family in an industry that's just obsessed with 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:38.389 getting bigger. Always bigger. To milk 200 fewer 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:41.169 cows, all for the sake of efficiency and for 00:02:41.169 --> 00:02:43.469 their people. Three completely different operations. 00:02:43.550 --> 00:02:47.090 Three totally unique conflicts. But somehow they 00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:50.870 all converge on this one single unifying truth 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:53.229 they all discovered. And that truth, I hope, 00:02:53.229 --> 00:02:54.949 really lands with you, whether you milk three 00:02:54.949 --> 00:02:57.250 cows or 3 ,000. It's a message that says what 00:02:57.250 --> 00:02:59.430 you believe in is more valuable than what the 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:02.289 system, you know, currently rewards. Okay, let's 00:03:02.289 --> 00:03:04.430 just, let's dive into that. I think we have to 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:06.729 start at the moment of highest possible stakes. 00:03:07.169 --> 00:03:10.909 Just profound, almost unbearable tension. We 00:03:10.909 --> 00:03:13.310 need to set the scene. It's the Super Bowl of 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:16.300 dairy cattle. World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.860 The date is October 3rd, 2025. The whole world 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:23.500 is watching. This is it. This is where champions 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:26.099 are made, where reputations are cemented, and 00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:28.400 where a lifetime of work can either, you know, 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.419 pay off in this spectacular way or just crash 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:34.319 entirely. The air is, it's electric. Exactly. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:36.580 And sitting there watching the senior champion 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:39.460 selection unfold is Michael Lovitch of Love Home 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:41.849 Holsteins. Now, to really get this, you need 00:03:41.849 --> 00:03:43.610 to know where Michael operates. Yeah, this is 00:03:43.610 --> 00:03:47.569 key. It's a 72 -cow tie stall operation in Saskatchewan, 00:03:47.610 --> 00:03:49.430 Canada, a place that's, and I'm quoting here, 00:03:49.550 --> 00:03:51.530 three hours from anywhere most people have heard 00:03:51.530 --> 00:03:53.550 of. Right. So this is not some industrial giant. 00:03:53.669 --> 00:03:56.430 This is a focused family -scale breeder. And 00:03:56.430 --> 00:03:59.469 this man, who is literally on the verge of making 00:03:59.469 --> 00:04:02.710 Holstein history, is trembling. Michael is so 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:06.590 keyed up. So anxious, so overwhelmed by this 00:04:06.590 --> 00:04:10.090 one moment that he cannot hold his phone steady 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:12.030 enough to capture what's about to happen. Can 00:04:12.030 --> 00:04:14.090 you just picture that? Think about the paradox 00:04:14.090 --> 00:04:16.350 of that. I mean, this is a guy who already had 00:04:16.350 --> 00:04:18.829 the nerve to pull off a World Dairy Expo grand 00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:21.769 champion a decade earlier, back in 2015, with 00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:24.050 another incredible cow, Catricia. He's been there 00:04:24.050 --> 00:04:26.810 before. He has. So if anyone should be calm, 00:04:26.970 --> 00:04:29.350 collected, and ready for this, it should be the 00:04:29.350 --> 00:04:31.129 guy who's already done it, who has the banner 00:04:31.129 --> 00:04:33.149 to prove it. And that's exactly what makes the 00:04:33.149 --> 00:04:37.060 trembling so... So powerful. It's not the shaking 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:39.459 of a rookie. No. It's the anxiety, the hope, 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:41.839 the sheer weight of knowing just how rare this 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:44.220 moment is and how fast it can be snatched away 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:46.839 from you. It's the fear of hope. He knows what 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:48.680 the pinnacle feels like. And that climb back 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.240 up, even for a second time, is agonizing. He's 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.079 been living and breathing this for 10 years. 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.740 And those stakes, they weren't just in the ring. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.439 They reached all the way back to their farm in 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.740 rural Saskatchewan. His wife. Jessica. She was 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:06.019 back home and had given up even pretending to 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:08.100 eat lunch. She couldn't swallow a thing. Wow. 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.040 And their three daughters, Riata, Rennell, and 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.500 Raylan, they were all huddled around phone screens 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:15.980 in the school parking lot. They got special permission 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:18.920 to skip class for this. I love that line from 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:20.800 the source material. It's one of those emotional 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.100 anchors that just sticks with you. Some things 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:25.699 matter more than algebra. Yes. That tells you 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:27.720 everything, right? It tells you exactly what 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.120 kind of devotion this family has. This wasn't 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:31.939 just a business opportunity. This was the peak 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:34.660 of a family mission. But what really speaks to 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:38.740 that, that weathered farmer's perspective, that 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:41.319 deep knowledge of how quickly hope can just turn 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.199 to dust, is Michael's reaction when things started 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:46.519 looking good. He got tapped on the shoulder. 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:48.600 Right. Asked if he was happy about being pulled 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.319 into the top lineup. And he didn't allow himself 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.639 that joy. Not yet. He just said, nope, not until 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:56.439 we're in the final lineup. There's no sitting 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:58.519 down until he does his reasons and we get the 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:01.060 nod for first place. That. That is the voice 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:03.300 of someone who has seen the rug pulled out from 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:05.740 under them. Oh, completely. That's the voice 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:09.420 of deep, painful experience that knows you cannot 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:12.959 celebrate until the final word is spoken. He 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.060 was literally holding his breath against the 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:18.519 possibility of just utter devastation. protecting 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:21.139 his heart until the absolute last second. But 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.980 the devastation never came. The judge, Aaron 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:26.860 Eaton, pointed to the cow, Candy Cane, and he 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:29.040 delivered this quote that just, it immediately 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:31.220 became famous. When she came in the ring. It 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:33.360 was game over. Game over. And with that single 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:35.300 moment, the Lovitches achieved something that 00:06:35.300 --> 00:06:37.779 just defies all modern statistics. It is truly 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:40.519 historic. They became the first and only breeders 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:43.019 in Holstein history to produce two different 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:45.740 World Dairy Expo Holstein Grand Champions. And 00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:48.860 they did it from a small 72 -cow tie stall barn 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:51.060 in Saskatchewan. Can we just sit with that size 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:52.540 difference for a minute? We have to. When you 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:54.800 look at the scale of the operations that usually 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.100 get titles like this, I mean, the massive... 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.930 facilities, the sophisticated embryo programs, 00:07:00.290 --> 00:07:03.790 the global marketing budgets. The Lovitch achievement 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:06.250 is just pure validation for the small, focused 00:07:06.250 --> 00:07:09.009 breeder. It shows conviction, and the eye can 00:07:09.009 --> 00:07:11.170 still beat scale and budget. It's a complete 00:07:11.170 --> 00:07:14.589 validation of their intensely focused, low -tech, 00:07:14.810 --> 00:07:17.850 high -conviction approach to breeding. They are 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:21.589 all about quality over quantity, and they prioritize 00:07:21.589 --> 00:07:24.529 that deep, intimate knowledge of their herd over 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:27.149 all the statistical noise out there. And this 00:07:27.149 --> 00:07:28.750 is where the story gets really, really good. 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:32.329 The origin of Candy Cane. Right. She wasn't some 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:35.029 genomic superstar or a highly counted embryo 00:07:35.029 --> 00:07:37.490 package they bought for six figures. She was, 00:07:37.490 --> 00:07:39.949 as Jessica Lovitch laughed, she was always that 00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:42.230 cow. And every single person listening to this 00:07:42.230 --> 00:07:45.209 knows that cow. Oh, yeah. The stubborn one. The 00:07:45.209 --> 00:07:47.209 ornery heifer that fights you every single day. 00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:49.089 The one that makes you question your life choices 00:07:49.089 --> 00:07:50.490 when you're trying to move her down the alley. 00:07:50.589 --> 00:07:54.800 She tests your patience. Daily. The Lovitch's 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.160 own daughters, who had the pick of the whole 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.899 herd. They passed her over for what they thought 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:02.319 were more promising animals. They actually assigned 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:06.100 her as a 4 -H project calf to a local town kid. 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:08.860 How close did they come to letting history walk 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:11.439 right out the door? I mean, selling the future 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.459 world grand champion as a 4 -H calf to a neighbor. 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:18.639 That is a nightmare scenario for a breeder. Incredibly 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:20.300 close. And if it wasn't for an outside voice 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:22.399 of experience, it would have happened. The turning 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.899 point came when Jessica's dad saw Candy Cane. 00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:27.649 Okay. She was boarding at his place in Alberta, 00:08:27.810 --> 00:08:30.569 and he spotted her out on pasture. And even though 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:33.830 she was immature, he saw the deep body, the structure, 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:36.629 the capacity. He saw the potential that maybe 00:08:36.629 --> 00:08:38.570 the daily aggravation in the barn had sort of 00:08:38.570 --> 00:08:41.149 obscured. It took an external expert eye to cut 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:43.490 through all that frustration. Exactly. And the 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:45.710 way his eyes lit up when he asked Jessica about 00:08:45.710 --> 00:08:47.429 buying the heifer, that told her everything. 00:08:47.590 --> 00:08:49.509 He was so impressed, he tried to buy her himself. 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:52.690 And that immediately signaled to Jessica that 00:08:52.690 --> 00:08:55.450 she had to bring her home. That decision, that 00:08:55.450 --> 00:08:57.909 gut feeling from a voice of deep experience, 00:08:58.230 --> 00:09:01.590 it forced her hand and it saved their history. 00:09:01.809 --> 00:09:04.450 What a lesson in trusting the eye over daily 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:07.190 frustration. I just find it amazing that a cow 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:09.950 that would become the world grand champion was 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:13.289 nearly sold off as a routine 4 -H project calf 00:09:13.289 --> 00:09:16.269 just because she was a little bit difficult in 00:09:16.269 --> 00:09:18.490 the barn. It fundamentally challenges the idea 00:09:18.490 --> 00:09:20.350 that the best animals are always the easiest 00:09:20.350 --> 00:09:22.950 to manage. It proves that sometimes the cattle 00:09:22.950 --> 00:09:25.750 that test your patience the most, they're the 00:09:25.750 --> 00:09:28.250 ones destined for history. They force you to 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:30.809 pay attention. And that whole idea, that conviction, 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.330 it flows directly into their breeding philosophy, 00:09:33.529 --> 00:09:36.330 which is just fiercely independent of industry 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:38.309 trends. Well, when Michael was asked about modern 00:09:38.309 --> 00:09:41.450 tools, his response was famously blunt. Genomics. 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:44.120 What are those? Frights! That's become their 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.179 mantra, hasn't it? But we should probably unpack 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:48.500 the technical gravity of that stance for our 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:50.639 audience. It's not just a cute quote. It's a 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.080 radical, calculated position. So what does that 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.120 mean when you're looking at a pedigree? Michael's 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.120 primary focus is cow families. Number one, he 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:00.639 stated it very clearly. If he doesn't like the 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.919 cow family a bull comes from, they will not use 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:04.759 him. It doesn't matter what the index numbers 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:08.139 say. Specifically, he avoids bulls that are out 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:10.840 of three unscored dams. And that's important. 00:10:11.139 --> 00:10:14.529 Why? Because that depth of pedigree is the only 00:10:14.529 --> 00:10:16.210 real insurance you have when you're focusing 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:19.190 on type and confirmation. Precisely. If a bull's 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:22.570 dam and his grand dam and his great grand dam 00:10:22.570 --> 00:10:25.330 haven't been scored, you have zero evidence that 00:10:25.330 --> 00:10:27.429 that bull is a consistent transmitter of functional 00:10:27.429 --> 00:10:29.850 type. You're just relying purely on a statistical 00:10:29.850 --> 00:10:32.240 prediction. Which is... Too much risk for someone 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.960 like him. Way too much risk. For a farmer like 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:36.899 Michael, who is breeding for the show ring and 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:39.659 functional excellence, he needs proven results, 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.320 or at least a proven lineage, not just speculation. 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:44.940 It's a radical rejection of the dominant industry 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:47.500 trend. They are trusting what they see in the 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:49.720 barn far, far more than what they read on a screen. 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:52.240 But of course, there is this profound, often 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.000 heartbreaking cost to chasing this kind of excellence. 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:56.720 And that's the part that brings it all back down 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:00.000 to earth, the cost of that banner. The post -win 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.820 reality check is, it's brutal. The morning after 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:06.740 this historic victory, the day after the highest 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:09.500 high they could possibly achieve, Jessica and 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:11.620 the girls were back in the tie stall barn at 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:15.500 5 a .m., milking the same 72 cows. The world 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.519 changes outside the barn, but inside. Inside, 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:21.820 the routine is eternal. And here is the painful 00:11:21.820 --> 00:11:25.379 truth about the economics of excellence. The 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:28.059 Lovitches bred Holstein history twice, but neither 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:31.220 grand champion banner hangs on their farm. Candy 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:33.220 Cane's banner went to the owners in New York. 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.419 The 2015 winner, Catricia's, hangs at Milk Source 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:39.379 Genetics. That's the deep cut for the small breeder, 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:41.200 isn't it? You have to sell your best just to 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.480 keep the operation solvent. It's a necessary 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:45.539 choice. Sometimes you sell the cow you love the 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:47.120 most just to keep the lights on and keep the 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:48.820 whole operation going to make sure that the next 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:51.279 generation of great cattle can even be born. 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:53.799 That's the part of the story the industry doesn't 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:56.159 always tell. That chasing excellence often means 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:58.360 sacrificing the physical proof of it. But Michael 00:11:58.360 --> 00:11:59.919 and Jessica, they've clearly made their peace 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:02.320 with it. They know the real legacy isn't the 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.299 physical banner. It's the love home name. That's 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:07.299 what will endure in the pedigrees long after 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:09.600 any ribbon has faded or a banner is hanging in 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.480 a different state. Breeding great cattle is its 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.720 own reward. And that name in the pedigree, that's 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:17.799 what truly matters. It validates their conviction. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:19.799 And that legacy is already being carried forward 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:22.419 by the next generation, which is maybe the greatest 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.620 achievement of all. Tell us about the three daughters, 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.840 Riata, Ronell, and Raylan. They've been completely 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.639 immersed in this life. Jessica said they've been 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:33.960 coming to shows since they were born, sleeping 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:37.259 on hay bales for 14, 16 years. They know the 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:39.620 sacrifice. You know the exhaustion. This isn't 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:41.700 theoretical dairy education for them. This is 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:44.100 real -world commitment that they're actively 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:46.899 choosing. Riata, she's planning to be the farm 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.620 vet, bringing that medical expertise back. Ronell's 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:51.590 going to handle the cropping. focusing on the 00:12:51.590 --> 00:12:55.250 feed side and raylan i love this showing that 00:12:55.250 --> 00:12:57.870 incredible farm kid confidence yeah has already 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:00.370 declared herself the future farm manager because 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:02.909 she knows all the cows already that certainty 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:06.049 that innate knowledge of the herd they are learning 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:09.029 dairy in the cold the manure the exhaustion and 00:13:09.029 --> 00:13:11.850 and the occasional terrifying high of the show 00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:15.039 ring and yet They are choosing this life. It 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.139 speaks volumes about the conviction their parents 00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:19.799 have instilled in them. It's a legacy built on 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:22.700 the eye, not the index. It is. And that intense 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:25.440 conviction, it leads us perfectly into our second 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.340 story. A story about a completely different kind 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:31.519 of excellence. One built not on a dramatic lightning 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:35.080 strike, but on a long, persistent, almost painful 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:37.440 grind. So we move from the spectacular flash 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.840 of lightning, a two -time World Dairy Expo champion. 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:43.399 To the profound, slow burn of patience. Yes, 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:45.840 let's shift our energy to Bosdale Farms in Ontario. 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:48.659 The Lovage story took 10 years to repeat the 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:51.419 magic. The Bosdale story took 11 years just to 00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:54.000 validate the idea. And the timeline here is, 00:13:54.059 --> 00:13:56.200 it's genuinely shocking. We should just lay it 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:57.460 out, because this is where the psychological 00:13:57.460 --> 00:13:59.659 cost of dairy farming really comes into focus. 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:01.840 The Bos family classified their first herd in 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.320 1976. They had 90 cows in the barn, 90 cows they 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.559 believed in, and they got zero. Excellent classifications. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.019 Zero. That's the first gut punch. They keep going. 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.700 They keep going. Four years later, November 7, 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.519 1980, they finally get their first EXCAL. Huge 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.740 milestone. Huge. Validation. You feel like you've 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:23.580 turned the corner. You celebrate. You feel like, 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:26.360 okay, here we go. The program is working. But 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:30.080 then, the universe just went silent. They got 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.860 their second excellent classification on July 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:37.259 23, 1991. 11 years. I really need our listeners 00:14:37.259 --> 00:14:40.580 to absorb that. 11 years between their first 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:43.460 and second excellent classification. Most businesses 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:46.620 measure success in quarters. Most farms are looking 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.960 for validation year to year. This family showed 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.860 up for a full decade and then some. without visible, 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.080 measurable progress toward the standard they 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:55.960 had set for themselves. How do you do that? How 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:57.779 do you show up every day for a decade without 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.120 that visible progress? You walk into the barn, 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:01.899 you see those cows, you keep breeding with the 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:03.779 same vision, you keep paying the bills, and the 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:05.620 classification sheets keep coming back without 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:08.539 that EX grade. Late at night, you have to be 00:15:08.539 --> 00:15:10.940 wondering if you're fooling yourself. You have 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:13.960 to fight that urge to quit or to change direction 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:16.519 entirely, you know, to chase the genomic flavor 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:19.759 of the month or abandon type for pure volume. 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:22.490 That's what makes their perseverance so profound. 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:25.230 They didn't quit. They didn't panic and change 00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:28.350 direction. They just called it Tuesday and Wednesday 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:31.950 and the 4 ,015 days that followed. And they held 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:34.509 on to their initial vision. What allowed them 00:15:34.509 --> 00:15:37.429 to hold that vision so tightly for so long? It 00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:39.950 was a simple philosophy. Disharmingly simple. 00:15:40.409 --> 00:15:43.110 Life is too short to milk ugly cows. Now, on 00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:44.950 the surface, that sounds like a witty joke about 00:15:44.950 --> 00:15:47.850 confirmation standards, right? But when you look 00:15:47.850 --> 00:15:49.830 at the commitment it takes to live by that for 00:15:49.830 --> 00:15:52.970 11 years without a reward, what's really underneath 00:15:52.970 --> 00:15:55.750 that saying? It's a profound commitment to functional 00:15:55.750 --> 00:15:59.129 type and longevity. The ugly cow is often the 00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:01.250 one who struggles with feet and legs, has less 00:16:01.250 --> 00:16:03.330 capacity, is harder to manage, requires more 00:16:03.330 --> 00:16:06.009 vet intervention. So their philosophy isn't just 00:16:06.009 --> 00:16:08.309 about aesthetics. It's about choosing to work 00:16:08.309 --> 00:16:10.549 with animals that meet a higher standard of functional 00:16:10.549 --> 00:16:13.450 type. Cows that bring you joy in the barn because 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:16.580 they're efficient and healthy and durable. That 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:19.580 vision was their anchor. It reflected this deep 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:21.460 belief in the kind of animal they were building, 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.220 even when the classification sheets the industry 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:27.100 squabored refused to reflect it for an entire 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:29.700 generation. And that relentless commitment, it 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.700 paid off. Today, the statistics are just staggering, 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.360 and they're all built on that bedrock of patience. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:40.179 Bosdale Farms has 415 excellent classified cows, 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:43.179 the most in all of Canada. And three master breeder 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:45.990 shields. For those who are less familiar with 00:16:45.990 --> 00:16:47.909 the Canadian system, can you explain the significance 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:50.049 of that? Yeah, the Master Breeder Shield isn't 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:52.610 just an award. It's a testament to sustained 00:16:52.610 --> 00:16:56.149 generational excellence in breeding. It recognizes 00:16:56.149 --> 00:16:58.789 operations that have consistently bred cattle 00:16:58.789 --> 00:17:01.490 of high quality, longevity, and production efficiency, 00:17:01.929 --> 00:17:04.750 generation after generation. So getting three. 00:17:04.869 --> 00:17:07.230 To earn three shields, you have to prove that 00:17:07.230 --> 00:17:09.789 the excellence isn't a fluke. that it's engineered 00:17:09.789 --> 00:17:11.869 deep into the cow families you've developed. 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:14.609 It's the highest honor for a breeder, and it 00:17:14.609 --> 00:17:17.069 confirms that their 11 -year wait was the foundation 00:17:17.069 --> 00:17:19.789 of an eventual dynasty. And their approach to 00:17:19.789 --> 00:17:22.029 technology, it really echoes the Lovitch's conviction, 00:17:22.309 --> 00:17:24.750 doesn't it? They acknowledge genomics, but they 00:17:24.750 --> 00:17:28.329 prioritize proven long -term results. Absolutely. 00:17:28.730 --> 00:17:31.130 They stressed that while genomic testing provides 00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:33.609 a baseline, a much higher degree of reliability 00:17:33.609 --> 00:17:36.049 comes from truly knowing and understanding your 00:17:36.049 --> 00:17:38.569 individual cows, knowing how cow families and 00:17:38.569 --> 00:17:41.569 bulls transmit, and using proven numbers to pinpoint 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:44.170 your sire selection. They're looking for reliability 00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:47.190 and consistency, not just the fastest jump in 00:17:47.190 --> 00:17:49.529 the index. Their advice to younger breeders is 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:52.890 beautiful in its simplicity. Stay current, always 00:17:52.890 --> 00:17:56.009 using the best proven bulls. Nothing should override 00:17:56.009 --> 00:17:58.950 good common cow sense with proven cow families. 00:17:59.289 --> 00:18:01.789 That common cow sense is the recurring theme. 00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:04.750 It connects the Boss family, who needed 11 years 00:18:04.750 --> 00:18:07.410 to prove their point, with the Lovitch, who bred 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:11.119 two champions from a 72 -cow herd. The reward, 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.519 they say, is that when every new calf has the 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.160 opportunity to become your next star brood cow 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:19.180 or lifetime production cow, farming stops being 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:21.740 just a job. It becomes a passion. You look forward 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:23.619 to going to work. Now, we need to talk about 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:25.759 the profound personal loss that shaped their 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.039 philosophy and deepened their commitment to stewardship, 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.119 which really transcends any cattle achievements. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.400 The Boss family experienced the tragic loss of 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:36.559 their son and brother, Timothy, on May 1st, 2020. 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.259 This is deeply personal, and it's a moment we 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:41.839 need to respect. The family lives by their faith, 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.079 and it is clear that this loss reinforced for 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.700 them how precious life is, that every day is 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:49.599 a gift that must be stewarded wisely. The impact 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.779 of that grief shaped how they define success 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:54.500 and legacy far beyond the show ring. And when 00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:56.779 they talk about how they want Bosdale to be remembered, 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:00.259 it's not just about the 415 excellent cows or 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.380 the three master breeder shields. It's about 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:05.039 something far more meaningful, and it gives context 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:08.369 to that long wait. Their hope is that their achievements 00:19:08.369 --> 00:19:11.589 reflect their commitment to hard work, the importance 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:14.289 of family, and their devotion to serving God 00:19:14.289 --> 00:19:16.369 through the wise stewardship of the animals, 00:19:16.569 --> 00:19:18.549 the land, and the people they've been given. 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:21.890 The achievement is just the visible proof of 00:19:21.890 --> 00:19:24.829 that deeper commitment. And that transforms the 00:19:24.829 --> 00:19:27.650 work. It means the 11 -year wait wasn't a punishment. 00:19:27.710 --> 00:19:30.089 It was simply a necessary period of persistence 00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:32.900 under a higher calling. Before we move on from 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:35.059 Bosdale, we have to mention one anecdote that 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:37.099 just perfectly illustrates that blend of faith, 00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:40.059 eye, and conviction. Oh, the story of Counselor. 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.700 The cow named Counselor. It's a perfect illustration 00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:44.940 of seeing opportunity where most people would 00:19:44.940 --> 00:19:48.940 only see loss. Right. So Counselor was this exciting 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:51.839 young two -year -old, a cow with immense potential. 00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:54.720 But unfortunately, she had to be called open 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:57.440 because of a health issue. A normal operation, 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:00.000 facing the expense and challenge of culling a 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.460 cow, might just write her off and send her out. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:05.099 That's just standard business practice. But Ed 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.819 Boz and the family, they saw potential that was 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.539 literally walking out the door. They decided 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:13.460 to take one single flush before she left the 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:15.700 herd. Now, if you think about the calculus there, 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:18.559 they had already decided she was leaving. Taking 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:21.740 that flush involves expense, labor, and time. 00:20:22.039 --> 00:20:24.200 For an animal that has already failed to perform 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.700 to herd standards, most people would just skip 00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:28.759 that step and accept the loss. But that single 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:31.740 small decision, it changed everything. It did. 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:35.079 That one flush resulted in Bosdale Stardust Portrait, 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.420 which became the second dam of outside portrait. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.640 That lineage, stemming from that one final chance 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.690 they took on a cow, destined for culling. That's 00:20:43.690 --> 00:20:45.869 why the entire massive portrait cow family is 00:20:45.869 --> 00:20:47.970 such a big part of Bosdale today. Without that 00:20:47.970 --> 00:20:49.809 conviction, that belief that there might still 00:20:49.809 --> 00:20:52.269 be value there, that entire lineage would not 00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:54.970 exist on their farm. It wasn't luck. It was paying 00:20:54.970 --> 00:20:58.170 attention. It was having the conviction to invest 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:00.890 in a cow that was walking out the door and just 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:03.089 sticking to that principle of common cow sense. 00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:05.150 And what's so fascinating is that now we have 00:21:05.150 --> 00:21:07.789 two families, the Lovitch and the Bosses, who 00:21:07.789 --> 00:21:10.369 have achieved staggering success from entirely 00:21:10.369 --> 00:21:12.890 different timelines. A lightning strike versus 00:21:12.890 --> 00:21:16.109 a decade -long siege. But they share that foundational 00:21:16.109 --> 00:21:18.789 conviction. They trust their eye over the index. 00:21:18.970 --> 00:21:21.650 They prioritize the cow family over the hype. 00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:24.089 And if you're listening right now, maybe in the 00:21:24.089 --> 00:21:26.450 quiet of the milk house at 5 a .m., and you're 00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:28.670 in year three of what might be an 11 -year wait, 00:21:28.730 --> 00:21:30.650 or you just sold your candy cane to pay the bills, 00:21:30.809 --> 00:21:33.329 you need to know this. The Boss family didn't 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:37.230 know they'd end up with 415 excellent cows when 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:39.710 they were staring at that single EX classification 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:42.849 in 1980. They just kept showing up. That is the 00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:45.569 core lesson. Faith isn't knowing how the story 00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:48.609 ends. It's showing up anyway, driven by a philosophy 00:21:48.609 --> 00:21:51.309 that transcends the immediate scoreboard. And 00:21:51.309 --> 00:21:53.250 that brings us perfectly to our third story, 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:55.470 one where the courage wasn't about genetics, 00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:58.589 but about radical efficiency and the human element 00:21:58.589 --> 00:22:01.450 in a large -scale operation. Let's head 3 ,000 00:22:01.450 --> 00:22:04.390 miles west to John DeFarm in Wisconsin, where 00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:06.710 courage was tested not in the show ring, but 00:22:06.710 --> 00:22:08.569 at the kitchen table with the family balance 00:22:08.569 --> 00:22:12.549 sheet. This is the story of Michaela McGee. Michaela 00:22:12.549 --> 00:22:14.730 came home about 12 years ago after graduating 00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:17.369 from River Falls with her dairy science degree. 00:22:17.750 --> 00:22:21.759 And she came home. to a foreign landscape. The 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.960 farm she grew up on had scaled dramatically. 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:27.420 We're talking two large herringbone parlors running 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:33.039 247, over 30 employees, and 1 ,550 cows. It was 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.880 a massive corporate machine, the type of operation 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.519 that defines modern maximalist dairy farming. 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:40.799 And she described feeling like an outsider, even 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.680 on the farm where she grew up. That's a powerful 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.740 admission. It carries so much weight for anyone 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:46.819 who grew up on a family farm, went off to college, 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:49.079 and came back to find the scale and the culture 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:51.480 had changed so dramatically. She was standing 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:53.920 in a place she knew by heart, but the sheer size 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.859 and complexity made her feel like a stranger, 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:58.460 like she had to fight to find her role. It just 00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:00.799 highlights that often overlooked struggle of 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.680 the next generation coming home. But because 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.019 she felt like an outsider, she had the necessary 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:07.920 distance to see what the family, who were so 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.740 immersed in the daily grind of running two parlors, 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:14.680 247, just couldn't see. Her key observation was 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:17.440 simple. They were working harder than they needed 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:19.759 to for the results they were getting. High inputs, 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:23.380 high labor, 1 ,550 cows. It was inefficient. 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:26.240 The profitability just wasn't matching the immense 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.359 effort. And this is where the conversation got 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:31.420 difficult. She had the incredible courage to 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:34.039 suggest a completely counterintuitive business 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:37.140 strategy in an industry where expansion is gospel. 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:40.119 She suggested they milk fewer cows. Can you just 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:42.259 imagine the silence at that kitchen table when 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:44.660 that suggestion dropped? You want us to do what? 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:46.880 We built this operation on the principle of get 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:48.579 bigger, get out, and you want to shrink it. That 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:50.920 flies in the face of the last 20 years of industry 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:53.900 dogma. It is a massive risk, emotionally and 00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:56.640 financially, to suggest contraction to a family 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.819 that built its success on expansion. But Michaela 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:02.119 had a critical advantage. Her grandfather. Her 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:04.700 grandfather. While he was prone to wanting to 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.839 expand, he was also very analytically minded. 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:09.900 He valued data and proof. So she didn't just 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:12.220 bring an emotional appeal. She turned her vision 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:16.099 into a cold. hard spreadsheet precisely she and 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:18.880 the cfo chris van summeren they ran the numbers 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.920 meticulously they took the previous year's financials 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:23.680 and created a mock -up of what would happen if 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:26.539 they cut 200 cows they analyzed the impact on 00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:30.000 labor feed costs maintenance milk income they 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:31.680 weren't just guessing they were modeling the 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:33.880 economic reality and when the math came together 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:38.359 The number was clear. 1 ,350 cows. That was the 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:41.180 optimal number, the most profitable and sustainable 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:43.619 scale, not the maximal number they could physically 00:24:43.619 --> 00:24:46.740 push through the parlors. And the results? Within 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:50.920 18 months of this right -sizing, as the CFO called 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:54.000 it, they were staggering. Staggering is an understatement. 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:55.740 They were shipping nearly the same volume of 00:24:55.740 --> 00:24:59.220 milk with 200 fewer cows. Same production, but 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:01.559 dramatically better margins because they eliminated 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:03.759 the least efficient animals and optimized the 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.160 flow. Look, break down the metrics, because this 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.460 is where the analytical depth really proves the 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:10.619 point. The human efficiency gains were breathtaking. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:15.619 Daily milking hours dropped from 144 to 18. An 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:19.019 87 .5 % reduction in the constant grinding labor 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:22.000 required to keep two parlors running 247. When 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.420 you reduce that kind of relentless workload, 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:25.400 staff are happier, turnover driving. And then 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:27.980 the financial impact? Labor costs fell by $900 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:30.680 ,000 annually. And when you factor in the feed 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.059 savings, the reduced vet costs, all the overall 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:35.519 efficiency gains, their net profit increased 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:39.039 by $1 .2 million annually. It just proves the 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:41.420 philosophical point that the small breeder intuition 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:44.519 quality over quantity can be translated to the 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:46.880 massive corporate scale. Optimal beats maximal. 00:25:47.289 --> 00:25:49.410 Every single time. Sometimes the bravest step 00:25:49.410 --> 00:25:51.470 forward is to take two steps back in size. But 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:53.609 here's where Michaela's story really transcends 00:25:53.609 --> 00:25:55.450 the balance sheet and connects back to the human 00:25:55.450 --> 00:25:57.430 element we keep tracing through all these stories. 00:25:57.690 --> 00:26:00.190 Her deep motivation wasn't just profit. It was 00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:02.869 responsibility to her team. Yeah. She articulated 00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:06.730 this really powerful insight that a coworker 00:26:06.730 --> 00:26:09.329 or a boss has an equal influence on a person's 00:26:09.329 --> 00:26:12.930 day as their spouse. And she internalized that 00:26:12.930 --> 00:26:15.490 tremendous responsibility. She didn't want the 00:26:15.490 --> 00:26:17.890 farm's demanding scale to ruin her employees' 00:26:18.109 --> 00:26:20.630 quality of life. Her goal was personal. She said, 00:26:20.710 --> 00:26:22.529 I don't want to be the reason somebody has a 00:26:22.529 --> 00:26:25.049 bad day. And she put action behind that philosophy. 00:26:25.369 --> 00:26:27.869 She built a kitchen above their new rotary parlor 00:26:27.869 --> 00:26:30.690 to cook lunch for her team. Every day. That's 00:26:30.690 --> 00:26:33.089 such a deeply rooted act of service. It transforms 00:26:33.089 --> 00:26:35.509 a corporate structure into something more familial. 00:26:35.609 --> 00:26:38.750 It is. She laughed and said, maybe cooking is 00:26:38.750 --> 00:26:41.190 like my love language. But the effect is clear. 00:26:41.549 --> 00:26:43.690 It makes their meetings more family style. It 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:45.690 takes the edge off. And it creates this genuine 00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:47.609 sense of community in an operation that could 00:26:47.609 --> 00:26:51.130 easily feel sterile and corporate. In an industry 00:26:51.130 --> 00:26:53.470 that is struggling so profoundly with labor retention, 00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:56.190 Michaela figured out that investing in the people 00:26:56.190 --> 00:26:58.309 matters just as much as investing in the parlor 00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:00.269 equipment. Her father's guiding philosophy for 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:02.329 John DeFarm, it just sums the story up perfectly. 00:27:02.529 --> 00:27:06.099 Be the best, whatever size you are. dairy. That 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:08.140 means being the best steward of your finances, 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:10.900 your people, and your cows. It means excellence 00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:13.039 isn't defined by the size of the milking string, 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:15.380 but by the size of the margin and the quality 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:17.619 of the life you offer your team. And that's it. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:19.400 That is the common thread we were looking for. 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:22.940 The Lovitch, the Boss family, and Michaela McGee. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:27.119 They all prioritized conviction. A deeply held 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.759 belief in their specific functional vision over 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.779 simply chasing the industry's default calculus 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.960 of maximal expansion or genomic hype. Let's just 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:39.160 sit with that for a moment as we sort of synthesize 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:42.099 all this. We have three vastly different operations 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:44.819 facing different challenges. Breeding world champions 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:47.079 on a small scale, maintaining type standards 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:49.680 over a decade, and optimizing a large corporate 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.119 dairy. But they all share this fundamental truth. 00:27:54.009 --> 00:27:56.430 Conviction over calculus. They absolutely did. 00:27:56.549 --> 00:27:58.650 Michael Lovish trusted what he saw in the barn, 00:27:58.829 --> 00:28:01.269 the cow family, the functional type, the depth 00:28:01.269 --> 00:28:03.130 of the pedigree over what the screen told him 00:28:03.130 --> 00:28:05.230 about genomic indices. He said, if I don't like 00:28:05.230 --> 00:28:07.190 the cow family, I'm out. Didn't matter what the 00:28:07.190 --> 00:28:09.839 TPI was. And the Bosses family, they focused 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:12.259 on breeding cows they believed in, cows that 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:15.019 were functionally beautiful. They walked that 00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:18.299 11 -year path of faith, ignoring the speed demands 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:20.339 of the industry because they knew their chosen 00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:23.640 path led to a superior, more durable cow. They 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:25.779 chose longevity over immediate gratification. 00:28:26.200 --> 00:28:29.420 And Michaela McGee, she trusted her detailed 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:32.400 efficiency analysis. She proved that right -sizing 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:34.619 was more profitable than continued maximalist 00:28:34.619 --> 00:28:37.400 expansion. She rejected the dogma that bigger 00:28:37.400 --> 00:28:39.759 is always better, and she validated the conviction 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:42.720 that optimal is always best. They all focused 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:45.599 on functional cows. Michael Levitch wants cows 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.000 they enjoy milking, cows that can have fun at 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:50.380 shows and don't require high maintenance. The 00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:52.420 Boss family wants cows that reflect a high standard 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:55.059 of stewardship and longevity. And Michaela wanted 00:28:55.059 --> 00:28:57.440 a herd size that maximized profit without crushing 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.200 her employees with 144 hours of daily milking. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:02.839 The cow has to function within the system, whether 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:06.240 that system is a 72 -cow tie stall or a 1350 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.579 -cow rotary. And this leads directly to the second 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:11.559 great unifying truth, the walk we all take. Excellence 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:14.380 required walking, from yesterday's assumptions 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:18.579 to tomorrow's reality. And that walk is defined 00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:21.740 by the waiting, the doubt, and the patience required. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:25.099 Bosdell walking 11 years between victories. I 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:26.859 mean, the breakthrough only came after they had 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:29.539 endured years of quiet, necessary suffering and 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:32.519 doubt. The Lovitch breeding a champion out of 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:34.599 an ornery heifer that tested their patience every 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:37.539 single day, nearly selling her off. And Michaela 00:29:37.539 --> 00:29:39.880 suggesting a radical business plan that went 00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:42.339 against the expansion dogma of the entire industry, 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:45.079 putting her reputation on the line at the kitchen 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:47.690 table. It highlights that profound human struggle. 00:29:47.869 --> 00:29:49.769 The human element is that the breakthrough, the 00:29:49.769 --> 00:29:51.990 moment of validation, whether it's the $1 .2 00:29:51.990 --> 00:29:54.529 million profit increase or the second grand champion 00:29:54.529 --> 00:29:57.490 banner, it so often arrives right after the moment 00:29:57.490 --> 00:30:00.150 of deepest doubt. It wasn't some cosmic guarantee 00:30:00.150 --> 00:30:02.230 of success. It was simply the reward for the 00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:04.509 people who refused to quit, who kept doing the 00:30:04.509 --> 00:30:06.509 work even when the evidence wasn't there. Which 00:30:06.509 --> 00:30:08.730 brings us to perhaps the most moving point and 00:30:08.730 --> 00:30:10.990 the real essence of these stories. Faith as a 00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:14.369 verb, not a feeling. That's exactly right. The 00:30:14.369 --> 00:30:16.210 Levitches didn't have a feeling that they would 00:30:16.210 --> 00:30:19.069 breed another grand champion. They had the conviction 00:30:19.069 --> 00:30:22.630 to keep breeding the cows they believed in, regardless 00:30:22.630 --> 00:30:25.569 of the index scores or the current hype, knowing 00:30:25.569 --> 00:30:27.650 that eventually the market would catch up to 00:30:27.650 --> 00:30:30.529 their eye. The Bass family kept showing up for 00:30:30.529 --> 00:30:33.049 a decade, driven by their faith and their commitment 00:30:33.049 --> 00:30:35.730 to stewardship, trusting that their focus on 00:30:35.730 --> 00:30:38.049 the durable, functional cow would eventually 00:30:38.049 --> 00:30:41.339 justify itself. And Michaela McGee, she didn't 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:43.799 just feel like they should shrink. She enacted 00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:46.740 that conviction. She did the painful work of 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:49.039 running the numbers and selling the cows needed 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:51.759 to achieve a more sustainable, profitable reality. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.259 It wasn't about the victory, was it? The victory 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:56.380 was just proof that the conviction was justified. 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:59.359 The point was Michael Lovitch trusting his eye 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.380 in the ring, even while his hands were trembling. 00:31:01.779 --> 00:31:04.579 The point was the Boss family showing up for 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:07.519 11 years when no one was watching. The point 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:10.519 was Michaela prioritizing her people and the 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:13.240 financial health of the operation over the industry's 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:16.759 obsession with scale. The belief itself, that 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:19.400 courage to hold on to that singular vision when 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.859 everyone else is chasing something shinier, that's 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:24.980 the real victory here. And that is the message 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:27.339 we want to leave with you. If you are listening 00:31:27.339 --> 00:31:29.880 to this right now, maybe it is 5 a .m., maybe 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:31.779 you're sitting in the milk house and you're wondering 00:31:31.779 --> 00:31:34.000 if what you're building really matters. Maybe 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.759 you are in year five of a struggle and you're 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:37.619 looking at the input costs or the classification 00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:40.140 sheets and you're questioning your entire path. 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:42.920 These families who struggled with trembling hands 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:45.140 at the biggest show in the world, who endured 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:47.900 decade -long waits for validation, and who made 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:50.619 painful, counterintuitive financial decisions, 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:52.960 they would tell you the scoreboard hasn't finished 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.539 counting yet. You might be in year eight of your 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:58.539 11 -year wait. Keep breeding the cows you believe 00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:01.599 in. Keep focusing on the functional cow. Keep 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.640 trusting what you see in the barn, even when 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:05.700 the screen tells you something different, or 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:08.880 when the scale demands you go bigger. Trust optimal 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:11.859 over maximal. Your commitment is what defines 00:32:11.859 --> 00:32:14.660 the value long before the banner or the balance 00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:17.160 sheet catches up. This has been The Deep Dive, 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.599 powered by The Bullvine. For the full article 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:21.579 that includes the complete interviews with the 00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:23.799 Lovitch, Boss, and McGee families, and all the 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:25.839 specific data points we discussed, head over 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:29.420 to www .thebullvine .com. Subscribe wherever 00:32:29.420 --> 00:32:31.440 you listen. We'll be back tomorrow with another 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:34.200 deep dive. Until then, what you're building matters 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:35.900 whether anyone else sees it or not.