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 --> 00:01:00.539 standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:03.320 back to the Bullvine Podcast. Today we're sharing 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:06.519 a story that really just stopped us in our tracks. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:08.500 Yeah. We look at a lot of data, we see a lot 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:10.519 of show results, and we talk to a lot of people 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:12.900 in this industry. All the time. But every once 00:01:12.900 --> 00:01:15.400 in a while, a story comes across the desk that 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.159 just seems to defy the logic of the modern dairy 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:20.620 world. This is the kind of conversation that 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:23.060 reminds you why you got into dairy in the first 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:26.180 place. It's raw, it involves, I mean, massive 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:30.090 risk, and the payoff is... It's absolutely incredible. 00:01:30.310 --> 00:01:32.849 Exactly. We are taking you to the Austrian Alps 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:34.909 today. And I want to start with a specific moment 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:37.370 to really set the stage. Okay. I want you to 00:01:37.370 --> 00:01:41.150 picture this. It is a crisp evening in Maishofen, 00:01:41.189 --> 00:01:44.150 Austria. If you've never been there, just imagine 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:47.750 the glacier -covered Kitzsteinhorn Mountain just 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:50.569 completely dominating the horizon. A stunning 00:01:50.569 --> 00:01:53.010 view. Oh, unbelievable. And the sun is going 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:55.189 down, so the light is hitting the snow and turning 00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:59.000 everything that's deep. bruising purple. It's 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.439 just perfect. It sounds like postcard material. 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.200 But, you know, for the people living there, the 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.879 day isn't about the view. Not at all. It's about 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.520 the work. That mountain, it represents the challenge, 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:12.000 not just the scenery. Right. And the workday 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:13.879 is finally winding down. So you have the Wenger 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.120 family, and this is the family at the center 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:19.539 of our story, gathered around an old, worn kitchen 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:22.080 table. The whole crew. The whole crew. You've 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.330 got Rupert Sr. And his wife, Angelica. You've 00:02:25.330 --> 00:02:27.030 got their son, Rupert Jr., who we're going to 00:02:27.030 --> 00:02:28.870 be talking about a lot. He's probably sitting 00:02:28.870 --> 00:02:31.530 at the counter. And knowing dairy farmers, he 00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:34.590 still smells faintly of, like, show shampoo and 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.729 manure. A familiar combination. His sister, Stevi, 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:40.150 is there bouncing a grandchild on her knee. It's 00:02:40.150 --> 00:02:42.629 just, it's a Tuesday. Or, you know, any regular 00:02:42.629 --> 00:02:46.270 evening. Until a phone buzzes. And in this industry, 00:02:46.449 --> 00:02:49.250 a phone buzzing late in the day can mean a lot 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:52.330 of things. Right. And usually. Usually it's a 00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:55.210 problem. A vet call, a milk truck delay, a cow 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:58.090 down. It's rarely good news. Exactly. But then 00:02:58.090 --> 00:03:00.210 another phone buzzes. Oh. And then the room goes 00:03:00.210 --> 00:03:03.090 dead silent. Because the news that's coming through 00:03:03.090 --> 00:03:07.250 isn't a problem. It's a verdict. Wow. Schoenhoff 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:09.750 Holsteins has just been named the European Breeder 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:14.280 of the Year 2025. Which is, I mean, huge. Doesn't 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.439 even begin to cover it. That is the heavyweight 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:18.879 title belt of European genetics. Oh, it is. That 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:21.060 is the Super Bowl ring. That's the World Cup 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:25.219 trophy. And here is the kicker. Here is why we 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:27.680 are doing this entire deep dive. This wasn't 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.159 a close call. They didn't just squeak by with 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:33.879 a fraction of a point. No. They took 28 .2 % 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:37.889 of the entire continental vote. What? 28%. 28 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:41.330 .2%. Yeah. They absolutely crushed massive operations 00:03:41.330 --> 00:03:44.770 like Sabiona Holstein's from Italy. They beat 00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:47.289 Loan from Germany. I mean, these are the giants. 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:49.830 These are absolute factories of genetics. They're 00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:51.909 like the New York Yankees of the European dairy 00:03:51.909 --> 00:03:53.750 scene. They really are. They have the budgets, 00:03:53.810 --> 00:03:56.509 the staff, the numbers, the sheer scale. And 00:03:56.509 --> 00:04:00.409 Schoenhoff. Yeah. They milk 60 cows. 60. 6 -0. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.020 That is the number that just breaks your brain 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:04.979 a little bit. It really does. In a year where 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:07.080 we saw, what, something like 2 ,800 American 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.060 farms close their doors? In a year where the 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:12.979 entire global mantra of the dairy industry is 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:17.160 get big or get out, you have this tiny herd in 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.839 the mountains beating the industrial giants. 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:21.839 It's the ultimate David versus Goliath story. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.959 Yeah. And honestly, my first reaction was just... 00:04:26.979 --> 00:04:30.079 Yeah, how is that possible? How does a 60 -cow 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.879 herd generate enough statistical power, enough 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:37.540 show points, enough visibility to take down herds 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:42.040 that are maybe 20 times their size? it shouldn't 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.120 be mathematically possible it really shouldn't 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:45.779 and that's what resonates so hard about this 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:47.579 every small farmer i know and i know a lot of 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:50.060 them they live with this low level anxiety this 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:51.860 little voice in the back of their head just constantly 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:54.279 saying you're too small you can't compete you 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:56.879 need to double the herd build a new parlor leverage 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.420 yourself to the hilt just to survive it's a constant 00:04:59.420 --> 00:05:01.279 pressure and then the vangers come along and 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:03.079 just flip the script entirely they didn't expand 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.060 they didn't industrialize they just they got 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:07.259 better so let's back up Because you don't just 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:10.519 wake up one morning and win European Breeder 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:12.740 of the Year with 60 cows. No, this doesn't happen 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:15.639 by accident. This was a 25 -year overnight success. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.959 And the crazy part is, it almost didn't happen 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.819 at all. That's the origin story. And it starts 00:05:21.819 --> 00:05:23.920 with the land itself. You have to understand 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:26.439 the geography to understand the cow. That's a 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.540 great way to put it. The farm is in Zell, M .C. 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.959 Now, if you are a skier or a tourist, you probably 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.180 know that name. It is prime, prime real estate. 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:38.480 It's gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. And because 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:42.060 of that, the land value is astronomical. Which 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:44.339 puts a farmer in a really weird position. You're 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:46.720 sitting on a gold mine, but you're working yourself 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:48.800 to the bone just to make ends meet. It's the 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.360 land -rich, cash -poor paradox. The classic paradox 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:55.660 that so many generational farmers face, the temptation 00:05:55.660 --> 00:05:59.319 to just sell. It must be immense. Exactly. Years 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.839 ago, Rupert Sr. and Angelica faced a genuine 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.480 crisis. The mountains are brutal for farming. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.060 It's steep. The weather is harsh. The logistics 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.079 of getting anything in or out are a nightmare. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:11.259 Right. And they seriously considered selling 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.939 everything, just cashing out the land value and 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:16.480 moving to a flat, easy farming area where they 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:18.620 could just run a standard operation. And you 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:21.139 can't blame them for thinking that. Let's go 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:22.860 somewhere where gravity isn't fighting us every 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:25.120 single day. I know. Let's go where we can run 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.259 a tractor without worrying about rolling it over. 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:31.060 It sounds so simple. So much less stress. Yeah. 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:34.019 But they stayed. They made the decision to stay 00:06:34.019 --> 00:06:37.540 in the ancestral home. But they knew they couldn't 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:40.680 keep doing things the same way. It wasn't sustainable. 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:44.600 At the time, they were in a tie stall barn milking 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:47.819 about 20 fleck of e -cows. Okay, so we need to 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:49.879 pause on Fleck V for a second, just for the international 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.660 listeners who might be tuned into Holsteins or 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:55.500 Jerseys. Good point. Fleck V, or Cemental, is 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:57.800 basically the tractor of the alpine cow world. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.259 Huh, that's perfect. They are dual purpose, they 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:04.120 are built like tanks, they have thick muscle 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:07.160 for beef value when you call them, and they have 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:09.860 incredibly strong legs and feet to climb those 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.199 mountains. They're survivors? They are designed 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:15.180 specifically for that environment. They belong 00:07:15.180 --> 00:07:17.980 there. Logically, if you decide to stay in the 00:07:17.980 --> 00:07:20.680 mountains, you stick with the mountain cow. That's 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.259 the playbook. Right. That's the safe bet. That's 00:07:23.259 --> 00:07:25.019 what all the neighbors do. That's what the local 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:26.819 agronomy advisor is going to tell you to do. 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.300 It's the path of least resistance. The Vengers 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.839 did the exact opposite. Of course they did. In 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.639 the year 2000, they converted the barn to a free 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.959 stall system and switched to purebred Holsteins. 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.860 Which, to their neighbors, must have looked absolutely 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:44.959 insane. Oh, completely. Holsteins are the racehorses. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:47.660 They're these high -production, high -maintenance, 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.220 fine -boned machines. You don't put a Formula 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:52.660 One car on a rocky mountain pass. Right. The 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:54.699 perception is that they're too fragile. Exactly. 00:07:54.819 --> 00:07:58.259 They're designed for flat concrete and TMR mixers, 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:00.639 not for climbing 2 ,000 meters into the clouds. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:02.579 Everyone thought they were crazy. Oh. But they 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:06.889 had this vision of... Outstanding performance 00:08:06.889 --> 00:08:10.209 and perfect confirmation that the Flexi just 00:08:10.209 --> 00:08:11.990 couldn't give them. They wanted the elegance. 00:08:12.149 --> 00:08:13.790 They wanted refinement. They wanted that dairy 00:08:13.790 --> 00:08:16.310 character, that sharpness. And this brings us 00:08:16.310 --> 00:08:19.050 to Rupert Jr. Because while his parents were 00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:22.069 making this massive strategic and financial shift, 00:08:22.290 --> 00:08:25.230 he was just a 10 -year -old kid. And then he 00:08:25.230 --> 00:08:28.290 got a gift. This is the moment. The spark. Every 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:30.250 breeder I've ever talked to has one. His parents 00:08:30.250 --> 00:08:32.850 gave him a calf. Her name was Bonatus Maland. 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:35.659 And that's not just livestock. When you're 10 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:39.940 and it's your calf, that's a relationship. It's 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:42.200 something different. It totally is. Rupert says 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:45.899 this animal got under his skin. And I want to 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:47.700 dig into the psychology of that for a second. 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:52.320 Imagine being 10 years old. Your parents are 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.419 taking this huge financial risk, switching breeds. 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:57.720 The neighbors are probably talking behind their 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.779 backs. And you are just looking at this one calf 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:04.580 and realizing this is it. This is who I am. This 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:07.100 is my future. It's the universal 4 -H or young 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:09.539 farmer's experience, isn't it? Half the people 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:11.340 listening right now can name that one animal. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:13.779 I can. The one that hooked them. It's different 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:15.659 than just doing chores. Suddenly, you aren't 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:17.480 just feeding an animal. You're building a future. 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:19.860 Yes. You're looking at pedigrees. You're worrying 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:23.279 about her top line. It changes you from a laborer 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:26.159 into a stockman. It completely shifts your identity. 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:31.100 And for Rupert, that calf, Maland. She became 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:33.240 the foundation of everything. She wasn't just 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:36.120 a pet. She is the matriarch behind some of their 00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:39.139 biggest current stars, like Sid Malin and Dempsey 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:41.740 Melinda. So that emotional connection, that spark, 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:44.460 it actually turned into the genetic foundation 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:48.360 of the entire herd. That's incredible. You need 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:50.419 more than a kid with a special calf to build 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:52.500 a business. Of course. You need proof that the 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:55.299 crazy idea Holsteins and the Owls actually works. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.320 You need market validation. You need to show 00:09:57.320 --> 00:09:59.519 everyone you weren't insane. And that proof came 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:04.120 in 2004. The family took two cows to the Austrian 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.519 National Show for the very first time. They had 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:09.279 this cow, star leader Fortuna. Okay, first time 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:11.679 out. First time. And she wins junior champion. 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:14.179 Wow. Right out of the gate. That is the proof 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:16.500 of concept moment. That is the moment the startup 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:19.419 realizes the product is viable. Exactly. Rupert 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:20.980 said that was the moment they all looked at each 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:23.600 other and realized, OK, we aren't crazy. We can 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:26.139 actually do this. And for Duna, she wasn't just 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:28.879 a pretty face. She went on to produce over 130 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.659 ,000 kilos of milk in her lifetime. That's a 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:35.000 huge number, over 280 ,000 pounds. A huge number. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:38.720 She scored EX 92. She was durable and she was 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:43.620 beautiful. And that durability is the key. proving 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:45.879 that a Holstein could live that long and produce 00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:49.139 that much in that harsh environment. That silences 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:51.899 the critics. It proved that the fragile Holstein 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:55.220 wasn't so fragile if you managed her right, if 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.259 you bred her right. So they have the proof, but 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:00.080 they still have the problem of scale. They'd 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:02.759 only have 60 cows. Yeah. You cannot compete on 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.480 the commodity milk market with 60 cows. You just 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:08.419 can't. No. The margins on fluid milk are razor 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:10.600 thin, especially in Europe. You need volume. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.710 If you're small, you starve. Unless. Yeah. Unless 00:11:14.710 --> 00:11:16.389 you change what you're selling. And that's exactly 00:11:16.389 --> 00:11:18.629 what they did. They pivoted to what industry 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:20.830 analysts are now calling a genetic boutique. 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:22.909 I love that term, genetic boutique. It completely 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:25.529 reframes the entire business model. It fits perfectly, 00:11:25.649 --> 00:11:27.629 doesn't it? Yeah. They realized every animal 00:11:27.629 --> 00:11:29.590 had to be an asset, not just a production unit. 00:11:29.690 --> 00:11:31.889 They weren't making milk anymore. Not primarily. 00:11:32.129 --> 00:11:34.169 They were making perfection. Let's break down 00:11:34.169 --> 00:11:36.129 the economics here because this is the wait a 00:11:36.129 --> 00:11:38.450 minute moment for any business -minded listener. 00:11:38.750 --> 00:11:41.710 Okay. A standard commercial heifer in that region, 00:11:41.870 --> 00:11:45.279 a fleck fee. Maybe sells for what? 2 ,000 euros? 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:47.820 Yeah, maybe 2 ,500 on a really good day. That's 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:50.360 the going rate. Okay. Schoenhoff is selling their 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:54.960 elite show heifers for 25 ,000 to 45 ,000. It's 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.179 a staggering difference. It's not just a difference. 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.559 It's a whole other universe that is 10 to 20 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.539 times the value per head. And get this. They 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:06.820 are selling about 35 breeding cows and heifers 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:10.500 a year from that 60 -cow herd. Wait a minute. 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:14.070 Run that math for me. even at the low end of 00:12:14.070 --> 00:12:16.269 that price point. It is serious revenue. It is 00:12:16.269 --> 00:12:19.470 huge revenue. That is how you support two full 00:12:19.470 --> 00:12:21.889 families, Rupert Sr.'s household and Rupert Jr.'s 00:12:21.889 --> 00:12:24.070 household, on a land base that shouldn't be able 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:26.830 to support one. They completely decoupled their 00:12:26.830 --> 00:12:29.230 income from the milk check. The milk is almost 00:12:29.230 --> 00:12:31.169 a byproduct at this point. It pays the electric 00:12:31.169 --> 00:12:33.610 bill and the feed bill. The profit comes from 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:36.049 the genetics. But to get that kind of price tag, 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:38.169 you have to offer something that nobody else 00:12:38.169 --> 00:12:42.179 has. You need a unique selling proposition. And 00:12:42.179 --> 00:12:45.580 this brings us to their secret sauce, or as you 00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:48.759 called it in our pre -show chat, their biological 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:51.220 moat. This is my favorite part of the story, 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:54.480 because usually when we talk about a competitive 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.460 advantage in dairy, we talk about, you know, 00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:59.720 having the best AI contracts or the most expensive 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:02.120 robots or the best corn silage. Yeah, things 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:04.360 you can buy. Things you can buy. The Wenger's 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:07.100 competitive advantage is the mountain itself. 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:10.519 Explain that, because to me. The mountain still 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:12.940 sounds like a liability. Yeah. It's hard to climb. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:15.879 The weather is bad. How is that an advantage? 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.399 It's the Rocky Balboa effect. They send their 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.500 heifers up to graze at 2 ,000 meters. It's over 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.860 6 ,500 feet. We are talking about the Steinern's 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:27.200 Muir Range. It is rugged. This is not a manicured, 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.659 lush, green pasture. And this isn't just for 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:31.480 the Instagram photos, because I've seen the photos. 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:33.700 They are stunning. Oh, the photos are marketing 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:35.360 gold. Don't get me wrong. They sell the story. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:38.309 But biologically. Think about what happens to 00:13:38.309 --> 00:13:40.970 a mammal at 6 ,500 feet. The air is thinner. 00:13:41.169 --> 00:13:43.690 The air is thinner. You have to work harder just 00:13:43.690 --> 00:13:46.850 to get oxygen into your bloodstream. So these 00:13:46.850 --> 00:13:49.330 heifers, just by walking around and grazing, 00:13:49.490 --> 00:13:53.110 develop massive heart and lung capacity. Their 00:13:53.110 --> 00:13:55.789 chest width expands naturally to accommodate 00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.110 it. So they're literally building a bigger, more 00:13:58.110 --> 00:14:00.909 powerful engine. Exactly. They are building a 00:14:00.909 --> 00:14:03.750 cardiovascular engine that a hacker raised in 00:14:03.750 --> 00:14:06.990 a flat barn in Germany or Wisconsin or Ontario 00:14:06.990 --> 00:14:09.649 simply does not have. It's an environmental adaptation. 00:14:10.029 --> 00:14:11.669 OK, that makes sense. Then look at the terrain. 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.370 It's rocky. It's uneven. They are climbing up 00:14:14.370 --> 00:14:17.309 and down all day long. This naturally trims their 00:14:17.309 --> 00:14:19.850 hooves and it hardens the sole. You don't get 00:14:19.850 --> 00:14:22.250 laminitis or soft feet when you grow up walking 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:24.309 on granite. It's like a natural hoof trimmer 00:14:24.309 --> 00:14:26.169 and hardener built into their daily routine. 00:14:26.210 --> 00:14:29.250 Right. So they are taking these elite. fragile 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:32.269 Holstein genetics. We're talking embryos from 00:14:32.269 --> 00:14:34.429 the best cow families in the world. Lions like 00:14:34.429 --> 00:14:38.149 Roxy, Apple, Leela Zee. And they are putting 00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:40.450 them through Navy SEAL training from the moment 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:42.750 they're weaned. That is the perfect analogy. 00:14:43.029 --> 00:14:45.570 They import the Ferrari engine, the high -type 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:47.870 embryos, and then they put it in a Humvee chassis 00:14:47.870 --> 00:14:50.129 that's been built by the Alps. And the result 00:14:50.129 --> 00:14:54.500 is this trouble -free Holstein. A cow that looks 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:56.679 like a show winner, that has the dairy quality 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.620 and the beautiful udder, but has the durability 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.019 of a mountain goat. And that is a product that 00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:04.419 buyers are desperate for. Desperate. Because 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:06.399 the biggest complaint about modern show cows 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.059 is that they're beautiful, but they burn out. 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.639 They don't last. Right. Shut -off cows don't 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.460 burn out. They're built to last. That is fascinating. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.340 It's taking the biggest weakness of their location, 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:18.259 the thing that almost made them sell the farm, 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.600 and turning it into their biggest selling point. 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:23.320 Your disadvantage is your moat. It's something 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.519 you can't buy. A billionaire can go out and buy 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.000 the best genetics in the world, but they can't 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.360 buy the Alps. They can't replicate that environment. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.279 But it's not just nature doing the work. Yeah. 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.379 The human element here is just, it's intense. 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:40.600 Yeah. I want to talk about the daily grind because 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:43.620 boutique sounds fancy, but in farming, boutique 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:46.080 usually just means way more work. Oh, absolutely. 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:48.559 It's the opposite of automation. It's hyper manual. 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:51.240 Right. Rupert knows every single cow by name. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.440 That's pretty standard for small farms. Yeah. 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:55.899 But he knows their temperament. He knows the 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:58.279 specific weakness in the pedigree three generations 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:00.740 back that he's trying to protect against. And 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:03.320 the care. This isn't just feed them and milk 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:05.559 them. No, this is individualized attention on 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:07.600 a whole other level. The source material mentions 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.100 that heifers get show care from birth. We're 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:13.940 talking daily washing, coat conditioning, halter 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:16.259 training when they are tiny little calves. Imagine 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:18.960 the labor hours that go into that. Washing a 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.940 calf every day in a large scale, efficient factory 00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:25.039 farm. That is a complete waste of time. It doesn't 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.860 pencil out. No way. But at Schumhoff, that calf 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:29.740 isn't a unit of production. She's a potential 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:33.539 $40 ,000 asset. So that hour you spend washing 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:36.000 and training her, that's direct investment in 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.440 the final sale price. It's value added labor. 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:40.940 Totally. If she walks into the ring like a queen 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:42.919 because she's been halter broken since she was 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.659 a week old, calm and collected, the price goes 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:48.240 up. The buyers see that. But even with all this 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:52.200 care and all this strategy, they don't win every 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:53.960 time. And I think it's really important that 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.139 we talk about the failures because Rupert was 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:59.220 very open about this. They have had some serious 00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:01.799 disasters. And this is where the art versus science 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.400 debate really comes in. We live in the era of 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.920 genomics. The spreadsheet is supposed to tell 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.609 you what to breed. Right. The data is king. And 00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:12.890 Schoenhoff fell into that trap early on. They 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:15.650 had a really high index. Atwood daughter. The 00:17:15.650 --> 00:17:18.769 number said she was genetic gold. OK. So they 00:17:18.769 --> 00:17:21.930 bred her to all the high ranking genomic bulls 00:17:21.930 --> 00:17:25.170 of the moment. McCutcheon, Army, Tattoo. These 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:27.509 were the smart matings, according to the data. 00:17:27.589 --> 00:17:30.450 On paper, those calves should have been superstars. 00:17:30.470 --> 00:17:31.829 They should have been chart toppers. What was 00:17:31.829 --> 00:17:34.740 the result? Every single one failed. Every one. 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:38.039 Every mating. None of the offspring turned out. 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:41.119 They were average at best, just plain. That has 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.440 to be devastating. You wait nine months for the 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.599 calf, then another two years for the heifer to 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:47.680 calve in. That's years of time and potential 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:51.619 just lost. It is. It's a huge setback. But that 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:53.680 was the lesson. Rupert said that was the moment 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:55.640 he learned to trust his eye over the spreadsheet. 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:58.980 He realized that just because the numbers say 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:00.920 it's a match doesn't mean the biology agrees. 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:04.150 He had to look at the physical cow in front of 00:18:04.150 --> 00:18:06.549 him, her strengths, her faults, not just the 00:18:06.549 --> 00:18:09.930 data on the screen. So he pivoted. He had a family 00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:11.930 where the numbers weren't lining up, and he just 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:14.869 ignored the index. He looked at the cow, looked 00:18:14.869 --> 00:18:17.410 at a bull named Stanton's alligator, who wasn't 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:19.990 necessarily a genomic giant at the time, and 00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:23.250 just said, physically this works. A purely visual 00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:25.849 mating, the old school way. The old school way. 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:28.670 And that mating produced Dakota. And Dakota. 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:32.269 Oh man, Dakota. She became the star, the proof 00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:34.529 of his philosophy. She won her class at Swiss 00:18:34.529 --> 00:18:36.869 Expo. She was the vindication of his judgment, 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:38.869 of his stockman's eye. But this leads to the 00:18:38.869 --> 00:18:41.109 hardest part of the boutique business model. 00:18:41.309 --> 00:18:43.750 The sale. You breed the perfect cow. You raise 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:46.930 her. You love her. She wins. And then, because 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:49.089 your business model relies on these high -value 00:18:49.089 --> 00:18:52.029 sales, you have to let her go. Rupert talked 00:18:52.029 --> 00:18:54.559 about selling Dakota. He said it was the hardest 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.380 sale he ever made. He actually set a crazy price 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:59.500 on her. A price he thought nobody would possibly 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.059 pay. Okay. Just because he subconsciously didn't 00:19:02.059 --> 00:19:04.480 want to sell her. That's a classic seller's defense 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.759 mechanism. I'll put a make -me -move price on 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.119 it. Nice. It's a way of protecting yourself from 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:11.420 the loss, hoping nobody calls your bluff. But 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:15.400 Mattenhoff Holsteins called his bluff. They paid 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:18.000 it. They wired the money. And that's the double 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.019 -edged sword, isn't it? You get the cash, which 00:19:20.019 --> 00:19:22.079 keeps the farm running, keeps the dream alive. 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:25.380 But then, a few months later, Rupert is at Expo 00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:29.119 Bowl 2025. And he's watching Dakota. His Dakota. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:32.059 She's in the ring. She looks incredible. And 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:34.579 she wins Reserve Grand Champion. That's a huge 00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:37.099 win. A huge win. And he's not holding the lead 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:39.400 rope. Oof. Well, actually, the source says he 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:42.039 was on the halter, helping fit and show her for 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:44.059 the new owners. But he didn't own her anymore. 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.549 He was winning for someone else. That is such 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:49.069 a complex emotion. There's immense pride. I made 00:19:49.069 --> 00:19:51.609 that. My breeding philosophy created that champion. 00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:55.650 But there's also that sharp pang of loss. The 00:19:55.650 --> 00:19:57.769 empty stall the next morning. It's like raising 00:19:57.769 --> 00:19:59.369 a child and sending them off to college, but 00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:00.990 you never get them back for the holidays. And 00:20:00.990 --> 00:20:04.569 it's not just sales. It's death. We have to talk 00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:06.930 about Sid Maland. This was the daughter of his 00:20:06.930 --> 00:20:09.630 original childhood calf. The legacy animal. This 00:20:09.630 --> 00:20:11.490 story just breaks my heart a little bit. Me too. 00:20:12.069 --> 00:20:15.109 She calved in as a two -year -old and she was 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:17.789 just okay. She placed seventh in her class at 00:20:17.789 --> 00:20:20.910 a big show. In the show world, seventh is invisible. 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:22.849 Yeah, you're not getting your picture taken for 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:24.569 seventh place. Most people would have called 00:20:24.569 --> 00:20:26.609 her or at least moved her to the commercial string 00:20:26.609 --> 00:20:28.589 and forgotten about her. But Rupert saw something. 00:20:28.950 --> 00:20:32.009 He had faith in the cow family. He said, she 00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:35.210 just needs time. Patience. That's a recurring 00:20:35.210 --> 00:20:37.369 theme here, isn't it? The opposite of the get 00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:40.529 big quick mentality. And he was right. She matured. 00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:43.910 She grew into her frame. She blossomed into an 00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:47.369 EX 94 point cow. She became the Austrian national 00:20:47.369 --> 00:20:50.470 champion. She proved him right. An amazing story 00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:52.470 of development. And then she died because they 00:20:52.470 --> 00:20:55.470 are livestock. They get sick. Things happen. 00:20:55.970 --> 00:20:58.809 Rupert said losing her still hurts today. It 00:20:58.809 --> 00:21:01.170 just highlights the brutal math of dairy. You 00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:02.970 love them. You pour your entire life into them 00:21:02.970 --> 00:21:04.980 and eventually they leave. Yeah. Either on a 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:07.200 truck to a new owner or they pass away in the 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.480 barn. It's a business of heartbreak. It is a 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:11.440 business of heartbreak interspersed with moments 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.839 of absolute transcendent glory. And the glory 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:17.079 doesn't get bigger than Cremona 2025. The Cremona 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:20.339 sweep. That was just legendary. So set the scene 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:22.720 for us. This is the International Dairy Show 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.509 in Italy. This is basically the European Super 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:28.089 Bowl with cattle shows. It is the gladiator arena. 00:21:28.170 --> 00:21:31.549 It's not a polite, quiet county fair. You have 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:34.069 the best Italian herds, and the Italians are 00:21:34.069 --> 00:21:36.809 incredible, passionate breeders. You have the 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:39.230 Swiss, the French, the Germans. The atmosphere 00:21:39.230 --> 00:21:41.630 is chaotic. It's loud. It's intense. It's pure 00:21:41.630 --> 00:21:44.390 energy. And Schoenhoff, the little 60 -cow herd 00:21:44.390 --> 00:21:47.089 from the Austrian mountains, walks in. And they 00:21:47.089 --> 00:21:50.170 don't just win a class or two. No. They win premier 00:21:50.170 --> 00:21:53.210 breeder and... Premier Exhibitor. And both the 00:21:53.210 --> 00:21:56.230 Red and White Show and the All Breed Show. A 00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.569 clean sweep. And we should explain to the listener 00:21:58.569 --> 00:22:01.369 why Premier Breeder matters so much more than 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:03.930 Premier Exhibitor. Please do. Premier Exhibitor 00:22:03.930 --> 00:22:05.990 just means you brought the best cows to the show 00:22:05.990 --> 00:22:08.089 that day. You could have bought them all last 00:22:08.089 --> 00:22:10.769 week. It's a checkbook award in many ways. Right. 00:22:10.849 --> 00:22:13.309 It rewards the budget. It rewards the person 00:22:13.309 --> 00:22:15.769 who can afford to buy the best. Premier Breeder. 00:22:16.250 --> 00:22:19.630 That means you made the cows. That means the 00:22:19.630 --> 00:22:22.410 prefix on the animal's name is yours. It means 00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:25.069 your decisions, your matings, your calf raising, 00:22:25.190 --> 00:22:28.529 your patience. It all created the winner. It's 00:22:28.529 --> 00:22:30.710 the ultimate validation of your program. And 00:22:30.710 --> 00:22:33.789 for a 60 -cow herd to win premier breeder against 00:22:33.789 --> 00:22:36.250 herds with hundreds of animals where they have 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:38.710 statistically way more chances to score points 00:22:38.710 --> 00:22:42.130 is almost impossible. How? How do you do that? 00:22:42.230 --> 00:22:44.509 It means almost every single animal they brought 00:22:44.509 --> 00:22:46.549 had to be in the top three of their class. They 00:22:46.549 --> 00:22:48.849 couldn't afford a miss. Their consistency had 00:22:48.849 --> 00:22:52.009 to be perfect. Rupert describes being in the 00:22:52.009 --> 00:22:54.529 back pens, just covered in show foam, cow hair 00:22:54.529 --> 00:22:57.529 stuck to his face, just working. And they keep 00:22:57.529 --> 00:23:00.170 calling his name. To come to the ring. Yeah. 00:23:00.349 --> 00:23:02.750 And he has to go out there and accept that banner 00:23:02.750 --> 00:23:06.369 again and again. It's the summit. It really is. 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:07.970 It proved that they aren't just lucky. They're 00:23:07.970 --> 00:23:10.170 not a one hit wonder. They have system that works. 00:23:10.410 --> 00:23:14.450 But, and I love this detail from the story. Schoenhoff 00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:17.329 isn't a one man show. We keep talking about Rupert 00:23:17.329 --> 00:23:19.309 because he's the face of it. But the source material 00:23:19.309 --> 00:23:21.890 is very clear that this is a. family machine. 00:23:22.210 --> 00:23:24.930 Successful farms are rarely one -man shows. They're 00:23:24.930 --> 00:23:27.430 an ecosystem. If one person falls down, the whole 00:23:27.430 --> 00:23:30.150 thing stops. You've got Steffi, the sister. She 00:23:30.150 --> 00:23:32.329 manages the calves and the robots. Which is a 00:23:32.329 --> 00:23:34.930 critical role. If the calves aren't raised right, 00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:37.650 if they get sick or don't grow well, Rupert has 00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:39.970 nothing to show in two years. She is literally 00:23:39.970 --> 00:23:42.509 building the foundation of their future success. 00:23:42.829 --> 00:23:44.890 You've got Thomas, the brother -in -law. He's 00:23:44.890 --> 00:23:46.750 the inseminator. He's the one actually putting 00:23:46.750 --> 00:23:49.769 the straw in the cow. That is an incredibly high 00:23:49.769 --> 00:23:52.069 -pressure job when you're using expensive semen 00:23:52.069 --> 00:23:55.710 on an elite, high -value cow. Oh, yeah. Accuracy 00:23:55.710 --> 00:23:58.569 matters. You miss a heat or you miss the placement 00:23:58.569 --> 00:24:01.009 in the tract, that's thousands of euros potentially 00:24:01.009 --> 00:24:03.849 lost or delayed. His precision is part of the 00:24:03.849 --> 00:24:06.410 profit equation. Then you've got Rupert Sr., 00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:08.789 the dad. He's still out there every day doing 00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:10.730 the feeding, and he also runs the breed association. 00:24:11.250 --> 00:24:14.750 And then there's mom, Angelica. Rupert specifically 00:24:14.750 --> 00:24:18.369 called her out as the unsung hero. She's in the 00:24:18.369 --> 00:24:20.710 office. The CFO. The one who makes it all work. 00:24:20.970 --> 00:24:24.430 Exactly. Managing the finances. Managing those 00:24:24.430 --> 00:24:26.750 crazy prices. Making sure the bills are paid 00:24:26.750 --> 00:24:28.950 and the lights stay on. I love that they highlighted 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:31.500 that. Because so often the person in the office 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:34.980 gets zero glory. But if they mess up, the farm 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:38.000 goes bankrupt. She's the steady hand on the wheel 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:40.319 that allows Rupert to be the artist in the bar. 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:42.339 It's a perfect description. Yeah. And there's 00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:44.140 another layer to their business that really surprised 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:46.740 me. Yeah. They aren't just Holstein purists anymore. 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:50.339 No. They diversified. Yeah. Into jerseys. The 00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:52.839 little brown cows. Why? I mean, why would a high 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.279 -end, world -class Holstein herd start messing 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.640 around with jerseys? Well, it started as a hobby, 00:24:57.740 --> 00:24:59.539 which is how these things often go. Oh, let's 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.059 get a cute jersey for the kids to show. But then 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:04.259 because the Vengers are obsessive about quality, 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:06.339 they couldn't just have average jerseys. Right. 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:08.720 It's not on their DNA. They don't know how to 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:11.200 do things halfway, so they had to get the best 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:13.539 jerseys. And now it's a major revenue stream. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:16.420 They've won junior champion at Swiss Expo in 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:19.019 Cremona with their jerseys. It's a brilliant 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:21.920 business hedge. The Holstein market fluctuates. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:25.039 Trends change. The Jersey market is different. 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:27.759 It's often driven by cheese production, by high 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:30.220 components, by a different type of buyer who 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:33.980 values different traits. By having elite stock 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:36.839 in both breeds, they double their potential customer 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:39.279 base. It makes their business model much more 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.119 resilient to market swings. It's smart. And then 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:43.799 there's Rupert's side hustle, which just blows 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:46.559 my mind. He's a professional fitter. Which is 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.839 wild when you think about it. He travels to other 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.460 major shows to clip and prepare cows for his 00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:54.759 competitors. Doesn't that seem completely counterintuitive? 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.579 Why would you help the guy who's trying to beat 00:25:57.579 --> 00:26:00.819 you? It speaks to his philosophy. He said, I 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:04.420 want the best cow to win, even if he's the one 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:07.119 clipping the cow that beats his own. But practically, 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:10.559 it builds relationships. Ah, the networking. 00:26:10.819 --> 00:26:13.859 The networking is huge. He mentions Martin Rubisam 00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:17.049 from Wiesenfeld Holsteins. Rupert worked for 00:26:17.049 --> 00:26:19.049 him as a fitter, they became friends, and then 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:21.390 they ended up partnering on a pal, Regale, who 00:26:21.390 --> 00:26:23.890 went on to become a champion. So the cooperation 00:26:23.890 --> 00:26:27.089 pays off in the long run. Relationships are currency 00:26:27.089 --> 00:26:29.789 in this business. If you are known as the guy 00:26:29.789 --> 00:26:32.170 who can make any cow look her absolute best, 00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:34.809 people trust you. And when they trust your eye 00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:36.609 for cattle, they trust you enough to buy your 00:26:36.609 --> 00:26:39.210 genetics. It establishes him as an expert, not 00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:41.730 just another farmer. So we've looked at the miracle 00:26:41.730 --> 00:26:45.089 win. the mountain strategy, the heartbreak, and 00:26:45.089 --> 00:26:46.890 the intricate family business model. I want to 00:26:46.890 --> 00:26:48.289 bring this all back to the listener. Let's do 00:26:48.289 --> 00:26:50.730 it. All right. Someone is listening to this on 00:26:50.730 --> 00:26:52.769 their tractor right now. Maybe they have 50 cows. 00:26:52.849 --> 00:26:55.210 Maybe they're moking 5 ,000. What is the one 00:26:55.210 --> 00:26:56.930 thing from the Schoenhoff story they should sit 00:26:56.930 --> 00:26:59.730 with today? I think the biggest takeaway, the 00:26:59.730 --> 00:27:02.269 one that really sticks with me, is this. Your 00:27:02.269 --> 00:27:05.049 disadvantage might be your moat. Break that down 00:27:05.049 --> 00:27:08.230 for us. The Vengers spent years probably wishing 00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:10.609 they were on flat land, wishing they were in 00:27:10.609 --> 00:27:12.390 an easier farming area. It was their biggest 00:27:12.390 --> 00:27:14.890 problem. But they stopped apologizing for the 00:27:14.890 --> 00:27:17.210 mountains and they started leveraging them. They 00:27:17.210 --> 00:27:20.009 used the altitude and the rocks to build a type 00:27:20.009 --> 00:27:22.990 of cow that nobody else could copy. So if you 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:25.809 are listening to this, look at your farm. What 00:27:25.809 --> 00:27:27.920 is the thing you hate? What is the thing that 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:30.619 makes your life hard? Is it heavy clay soil? 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:33.779 Is it being too far from the processor? Is there 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.460 a way to flip that? Is there a niche market that 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:39.079 needs exactly what that difficulty produces? 00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:41.819 That is a powerful idea. Don't fight your geography, 00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:45.019 leverage it. A second one, and it's just as important, 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.130 is that patience compounds. We live in a quarterly 00:27:48.130 --> 00:27:50.230 result world. Everybody wants success now. This 00:27:50.230 --> 00:27:53.150 was a 25 -year project. Quarter century. From 00:27:53.150 --> 00:27:55.950 a Thai stall with Fleck feed to European champions 00:27:55.950 --> 00:27:58.450 took a quarter century of showing up every single 00:27:58.450 --> 00:28:01.950 day. There are no shortcuts to an EX94 cow. You 00:28:01.950 --> 00:28:05.490 have to put in the time. And finally, is there 00:28:05.490 --> 00:28:09.309 a third? Yeah. Trust your eye. Data is a tool. 00:28:09.970 --> 00:28:11.970 Genomics are great. But at the end of the day, 00:28:12.069 --> 00:28:14.329 you are the stockman. You have the intuition. 00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:16.910 If the spreadsheet says yes, but your gut says 00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:20.130 no, listen to your gut. The Dakota story proves 00:28:20.130 --> 00:28:22.390 that the art of stockmanship still beats the 00:28:22.390 --> 00:28:24.990 algorithm. The best breeders have a feel for 00:28:24.990 --> 00:28:26.970 it. I love that. The computer doesn't walk the 00:28:26.970 --> 00:28:30.000 pasture. You do. Exactly. Well, that is another 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.000 story from the Bullvine podcast. It's a powerful 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:35.259 reminder that even in a world of consolidation 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:38.700 and mega dairies, there is still room for the 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:40.920 masters of the craft. These are the people building 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:43.839 the future of dairy, one perfect heifer at a 00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:47.119 time. Find more stories like this at www .thebullvine 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:50.079 .com. Next time, we're talking to a breeder who 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.539 is taking a completely different approach, using 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:55.079 genomic editing to try and fast track genetic 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:57.680 progress. You won't want to miss that contrast. 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:00.319 Subscribe so you don't miss it. Thanks for listening. 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:00.980 See you next time.