Tiedeman on Cow Type, Making Change and Having Influence

 Listening to your commercial customers is one of the best ways to ensure success at meeting their demand, says Jake Tiedeman, Baldridge-Tiedeman Angus of North Platte, Neb. In this episode, he recalls what it was like to grow up as Jim Tiedeman’s sidekick and covers how his family works together today. Tiedeman talks tools for change, how to make sure you’re heard by your Association and gives a look at the future. As a bonus, there's some beef product talk and a history on the family’s famous Baldridge Seasoning.  

 HOSTS: Mark McCully and Miranda Reiman 

 GUEST:
Jake Tiedeman, along with his wife Lindsay and parents Bob and Becky, operate Baldridge-Tiedeman Angus near North Platte, Neb. Longtime Angus breeders, Jake got his start by tagging along with his grandfather Jim and then purchasing some cattle of his own. Jake was involved in the National Junior Angus Association, where he served on the board and still counts many of those cohorts among his friends.  

 Related content:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4WS-o2Rxv4

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Transcript

MIRANDA REIMAN (00:03):
Welcome to the Angus Conversation. I'm your host, Miranda Reiman here with CEO of the American Angus Association, and my co-host, Mark McCully. Hey Mark.

MARK MCCULLY (00:11):
Hello, Miranda.

MIRANDA REIMAN (00:12):
We're here at the National Western Stock Show for our second podcast that we're going to air. This is actually the first one we recorded, but we're going to air it second. So we're here. It's a little bit chilly,

MARK MCCULLY (00:23):
A little bit chilly. It is winter. Winter has arrived in Denver. A little bit of wind, a little bit of cold, a little bit of tough weather. I know we've had some folks that wanted to be here that weren't able to be here with some of the tough weather that hit right before Denver, so I know there's a lot of our listeners that are back home calving cows and dealing with all of that and our thoughts go out to them and well wishes because we know that's some tough stuff.

MIRANDA REIMAN (00:46):
Well, hopefully sunshine returns by the time this will be a couple of weeks out.

MARK MCCULLY (00:50):
I hope so.

MIRANDA REIMAN (00:50):
Yeah. But I kind of blame you a little bit for this weather, Mark.

MARK MCCULLY (00:54):
Of course, I've learned in my role, I always say I'm head of the complaint department, so I will take complaints on the weather.

MIRANDA REIMAN (01:00):
The reason that I do was that last year we were doing a podcast and you said it has been a really long time since we've had bad weather. Look how beautiful it is. Sunny and blue skies. So you surely jinxed us for this year.

MARK MCCULLY (01:11):
I probably did. I probably did. But it is Denver, Colorado. It is the National Western Stock Show, and so we've had a couple years of pretty, I call it Chamber of Commerce days and we were due for a little bit of weather. That's exactly right. It makes it feel more like the National Western Stock Show.

MIRANDA REIMAN (01:26):
Exactly. And producers are a tough group, so we're not worried about anybody. They're all enjoying themselves anyway, but today's producer, today's Angus breeder, is well accustomed to this kind of weather, comes right down the road from me at North Platte, Nebraska, and that was Jake Tiedeman.

MARK MCCULLY (01:45):
Yeah, we had a really great discussion, Jake and his family. Well-known in the Angus business. A fun story in that going all the way back, we got to hear Jake talk about his grandfather, Jim Baldridge. Many would know that name and the seasoning business. So we kind of got to hear the whole backstory on that. And I think a really interesting perspective that Jake has a lot of his peers and breeders of his age of finding their place in this business. We're talking about some generational handoff and some of what makes him excited about the Angus business and some of the things he's thinking about.

MIRANDA REIMAN (02:22):
I loved this episode because we went as far down as some genetic lines and all the way to some philosophies and kind of some fuzzy kind of just fun stuff. We laughed a lot and there was fun stuff in between.

MARK MCCULLY (02:36):
It was a great discussion. It's one I think our listeners will love.

MIRANDA REIMAN (02:41):
Well, we're here at National Western. If you hear any of the background, there's a sale still going on,

MARK MCCULLY (02:46):
A good sale going on.

MIRANDA REIMAN (02:47):
Absolutely. It was a packed house over there.

MARK MCCULLY (02:49):
It was a very full house. And Angus cattle are selling good in the Mile High City this year.

MIRANDA REIMAN (02:53):
Excellent. And so we have grabbed Jake Tiedeman from his tent in the Yards. You've been sampling, you've been looking at cattle. How's the National Western been going for you, Jake?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (03:02):
It's tremendous. We've had good interest, good traffic, a lot of excitement going through the Yards the last couple days. Weather hasn't been perfect, but it hasn't put a damper on anybody's spirits, that's for sure.

MARK MCCULLY (03:13):
Did the winds here yesterday, 50, 60, maybe more miles per hour?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (03:18):
It was very breezy. Yes, it was. Yeah, the tent flaps and the heaters were a welcome thing, that's for sure.

MIRANDA REIMAN (03:24):
And I heard you guys have two heaters, which is quite the luxury out there.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (03:28):
We do. If you check StubHub, there may be tickets to our tent available for some people.

MARK MCCULLY (03:32):
I just stopped over to, well, I was trying to talk your mom into joining us, so anybody listening, go give Becky a hard time that she didn't join us, but I was just over in your tent. You had a full house and I had my big jacket on and I needed to get it off pretty quickly.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (03:48):
We're fortunate we've got some nice CAB to offer and seasoning and a little camaraderie and tell stories and forecast the future where we see it and have a little fun in the meantime. So it's been a good week so far. Awesome.

MIRANDA REIMAN (04:00):
Excellent. Well, you guys are a name that I would say is a little bit synonymous with National Western Stock Show. Of course, we've been here a lot of years with Baldridge Seasonings and I think you've had cattle for sale and things like that. Why don't you start by giving us just an overview of your operation and maybe start from the beginning.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (04:17):
Alright. And again, I'm the youngest generation in this, so I'm going to piece together what pieces that I've been told that,

MIRANDA REIMAN (04:25):
Is it folklore at that point then?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (04:27):
Yeah, I think so.

MARK MCCULLY (04:27):
If you repeat it enough times, it's fact.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (04:29):
Yeah, that's exactly right. But no, I have a very cherished history and appreciation of the National Western entity and organization, not during just this week, but throughout the year and the things that it's offered our family and me in my college years. I was actually a National Western scholarship winner, which was very helpful for me and allowed me to do some things. But I guess our family history starts with my grandfather Jim Baldridge, and he originally was involved with sales out here as an auctioneer and then as an Angus breeder beginning in, oh, probably I think 1978 was the first year they brought cattle out here. And were fortunate enough to have champion carload of bulls that year, which was obviously a huge honor and always a competitive competition out here with very strong competition and really good cattle from end to end. And that was a neat thing for our family and exhibited a lot of pens and carloads in years after that.

(05:32):
And then as my parents, Bob and Becky Tiedeman got more involved at that time, the operation was the Baldridge Place and then continued to show cattle under that banner for a lot of years. And then my grandfather passed away in 1994 and we've continued on as Baldridge Tiedeman Angus thereafter, and we've had sale cattle, this Foundation Female sale that's going on right now for a lot of years. We didn't this year, should have, this sale's been very good to our family, but we definitely have a lot of appreciation for the National Western and the Angus events that go on here throughout the week for sure.

MARK MCCULLY (06:14):
Give a little bit of history on your grandfather, Jim. He'd be iconic in the Angus breed. I know a lot of folks maybe newer to the breed might not know kind of, they maybe know your seasoning, but they maybe don't know your grandfather and kind of what he was all a part of.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (06:29):
So Grandpa worked, well, he started out in Milan, Missouri, north Central Missouri, Sullivan County, and that's where he was born and attended the University of Missouri, I believe for a year or two, and then began working in for different publications. He worked for the Corn Belt Dailies and I believe he worked for the Angus Journal at one point in time and sold advertising and began eventually managing a few sales and kicked off his auctioneering career in that time period as well. And always searched North America for the up and coming new and different bulls that would impact the breed and had quite a few neat sire lines and sires that ultimately were showcased here at the National Western. A lot of times he'd make the big debut for a new sire group here or bring a new bull out and put on display and sell semen or semen packages and things. And so the National Western was tied directly in with my grandfather. He sold many of the sales out here, sold the junior livestock premium auction at the end of the week for a lot of years and had a lot of fun with people and related to the crowd and the bidders. And there's a lot of fun stories of him in the club singing Danny Boy and having a large time prior to the auction and then going out. And

MARK MCCULLY (07:56):
Did you inherit your singing?

MIRANDA REIMAN (07:58):
Do you carry on that family tradition?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (08:00):
The Irish heritage and the appreciation of the music is directly embedded within me, but my singing voice will keep off the air. I can promise that

MARK MCCULLY (08:09):
I have a little Irish whiskey and it might come out.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (08:11):
I have a fond appreciation for that, but it doesn't help the singing.

MIRANDA REIMAN (08:17):
So what was it like growing up with that, I guess, in your pedigree or being known as you were one of Jim Baldridge's...?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (08:24):
Oh, I mean, it was tremendous. I mean, I turned 40 this year and I've missed three National Westerns, and so this entity is huge in that respect. But growing up with Grandpa, I was 11 when he passed away and spent a lot of time in the vehicle with him traveling to sales. He was involved with the NILE Angus Sale in Montana, and he and I would take a part of the state and go hand select cattle and go to the premier maternal breeders' places in Montana and pick out the one that they would offer and sell in October of every year. So that was really neat to get to see those bloodlines and meet those people and interact with those people. I was 11, but I had a lot of quality time with my grandfather and he was a mover and you had to keep up with his speed and he always had his eyes on the horizon and it was kind of fun to grow up in his shadow for sure.

MIRANDA REIMAN (09:28):
And that would've been, I'm trying to do a little bit of math here, but probably at that time you were already starting to build your own herd.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (09:33):
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. He bought me my first cow from TC Ranch in one of their early cow sales, and she was an own daughter of Traveler, and really good producer, and I showed some bread known females out of that cow line. And then I was fortunate enough to get a Rachel cow from GDAR, which was a very impactful cow family for me and across the breed and then some Forever ladies and some fun stuff like that. So I got indoctrinated into cow families and some of those cool maternal producing cow herds, performance cow herds early in life.

MARK MCCULLY (10:11):
Talk about your time as a junior in the junior association. You mentioned the bred and owned, other things you participated in and maybe the value of that as you look back on it today.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (10:21):
Oh, it was a huge springboard for what my knowledge base and my network and friends and I got started on the state level showing cattle. And then my first junior national was in 1993 in Wichita and showed a ginormous cow, cow-calf pair and a carcass steer and won my class and kind of got spoiled right off the bat. You were hooked. Well, this is easy. Yeah, yeah, I was that kid admittedly, and there were some tougher roads after that, but absolutely had a blast right off the bat and just got addicted to that group of friends. And this is plenty off-color admittedly, but I can remember sitting in the stall in 1993 in Wichita and Greg McCurry was teaching me to play blackjack as a young junior. So

MARK MCCULLY (11:13):
Yeah, board member Greg McCurry. Yeah,

JAKE TIEDEMAN (11:16):
So it was a lot of fun, but it

MARK MCCULLY (11:18):
It was about the math, probably odds and statistics

MIRANDA REIMAN (11:20):
I call it life lessons

JAKE TIEDEMAN (11:22):
Exactly. I can count to 21, but don't ask me to go too much further than that. But no, I had a lot of fun. And then as that progressed, had a lot of fun in the carcass steer contest every year. Was fortunate to place in that a number of years and then you take note of those green jackets around the ring and the impact that they have on the juniors around you and a lot of the people that have now been board members and definitely strong breeders and people that have gone out into other careers and then came back to our breed. I mean, that Junior Angus program was tremendous. That junior board system was tremendous. And I was fortunate to get elected to that and serve with some great people. I had an awesome board before me, with me and after me. And those people are still individuals that I call and talk to every day, whether it's life related or cattle related. I mean, those people are very impactful for me every day. For sure.

MIRANDA REIMAN (12:17):
And your family's been longtime supporters of that program as well, I believe it's been a few years back now that your parents were honored with that award from the Angus Foundation?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (12:26):
Absolutely, and I mean, my grandpa bought two of the first foundation donation heifers and helped to, I'm not going to say get it launched, but helped to be an integral person in the early years of the Foundation donation heifer. And then we've, we were affiliated with Falcon Seaboard ranches that bought the pick of the Sitz heifers in 2001. And that was a very fun thing for the Foundation, but it was a tremendous female in our herd at that time as well. And so we have a great appreciation for the people that donate, the people that buy the Belle Point crew family extended network there. I mean those guys through this Foundation, female sale and cattle that they purchased from us and relationships that we've continued to grow over the years through these activities that come to fruition here in Denver. I mean, it's been a lot of fun.

MARK MCCULLY (13:22):
That's awesome. So fast forward to today and maybe talk about the Baldridge Tiedeman program. Tell about your kind of what you're up to, how you market your cattle, a little about your breeding philosophy.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (13:33):
So mom and dad and my wife Lindsay and I run a core herd of mama cows and a group of donors. And we've got a handful of very good cooperators that work with us. And our end goal is to produce functional sound cattle that go out and work for the commercial cattlemen and allow them to garner premiums wherever they choose to gather those, whether it's right at weaning or running yearling steers or selling replacement females or owning them all the way through to the end and gathering that carcass data and premiums back. But we don't shoot the moon anywhere in terms of paperwork, but we want to have a very progressively balanced animal on the hoof and on paper. And cow families are very important to us. We've focused on a core group of cow families, the Everalda Entenses and Forever ladies. I mean, they've been around for decades and for a reason.

(14:32):
I mean the feet, fertility, longevity, and production of those cows allows us to go forward and offer a product that stays around for our customers, as well. But we will offer oh 115 to 130 private treaty bulls every spring and sell those at mom and dad's place there in North Platte each year. And we're very fortunate to have a strong repeat customer base and people that work with us and trust us. And we're always balancing the new and up and coming technologies and things coming down the pipeline. But when I get a wild and crazy idea, I immediately reach out to some of our commercial customers and run it by them. And if they hang up or talk about the weather, I know that I'm off base. And so it starts with the customer and a balanced product. And we've been very fortunate to have a great group of customers that have stuck with us throughout the years. And we also have a female production sale in November every year, Saturday before Thanksgiving, we have a female sale with the Frank and cattle and genetics family in Nebraska and offer Angus of our own and with them and have a good working relationship with them and have a fun female sale as well.

MIRANDA REIMAN (15:54):
So you have a sale on the female side, but sell private treaty on the bulls. Do you ever worry that you're giving something up there?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (16:01):
We do. I mean, if it wasn't for a great customer base and strong repeat customers that trust in what we're doing, we wouldn't be able to do that. And we're very fortunate, we had a live auction for a lot of years. It was always in February, and you could bet heavily on that

(16:17):
Heavy snow

(16:18):
that second Wednesday in February was always going to be pretty blustery. And if your customers were good coyote hunters, you knew they'd be in the seats, but a lot of times they're going to be home taking care of cattle too, and that's part of raising cattle in this region. It goes with the territory. But we switched to selling private treaty in the early two thousands and it's worked well for us and our customers are happy and we're going to keep going with that in the near future anyway.

MARK MCCULLY (16:49):
So you mentioned balance multiple times through as describing your philosophy, and I think it's probably one of the discussions I get into as much as anything with breeders of this idea of what does balance look like? How do we balance the cow with the consumer? And as the signals around quality grade and weight, as we move to more value-based marketing, those signals get bigger and stronger, which is a good thing. And yet I suggest that that makes that balancing act may be harder. So how do you do it? What do you look at?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (17:22):
It is tough. I mean, the two words that are most intimidating to our family and probably this industry is the word balance and the word enough. I mean, it is so easy to market and aim for all of the EST words, biggest, heaviest, most. I mean, those are the words that bring marketing power. They're very marketable, and you have to have a piece of that puzzle in your operation. But at the end of day, the consistency when your customer goes to the sale barn with a group of steers or heifers and the first one looks like the last one, and they've made a product on their ranches that garners attention of bidders across the country, that's where the gratification comes in. And that's tough. It's absolutely tough. And we are always fighting mother nature and weather trends and drought and too much snow, not enough rain, and it's no different than anybody else. But trying to find that product that's bred consistently and can figure out where to hit the center of the target, I mean, that's what keeps us going. I mean, it's impossible to quantify, it's impossible to put your finger on, but that's everybody's goal. But sometimes it's the nebulous beast that we can't tackle. Yeah.

MARK MCCULLY (18:42):
So maybe talk about the tools you guys lean heaviest on. You talk about cow families, sounds like that's something that you guys, I think over time have always put emphasis on cow families. Can you talk about the EPDs, indexes, genomics in general, just kind of what's your approach?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (18:59):
I think you have to reach into each of those toolboxes and bring a little bit of all of that to the table. I mean, whether it's, I'm going to make a few of my close friends cringe and giggle, but I'm a staunch supporter of the Pathfinder program and we're fortunate that a lot of our donors have earned the Pathfinder status and they're productive and come back and do it year after year. And then when you reach into the paperwork, I mean, it starts with a live calf, so the calving ease and birth weight EPDs, and then your customers gotta, everybody sells by the pound, whether it's carcass weight or it's weaning weight or yearling weight. I mean, those numbers are absolutely important to us. And then is marbling in the quality product that we try and go to the public with in our CAB oriented programs?

(19:51):
I mean, we absolutely have to be conscious of marbling and honestly, marbling's the one that probably is the toughest for us to find a comfort level with enough, because it's hard to have enough of a good thing. But as you want to gather up the balance of growth and fertility and calving ease and production traits and longevity, but you want to keep pressing the gas pedal down a little bit to keep allowing those opportunities for your customers to get those premiums in the marketplace, whether they're advertising those genetics on a set of yearling steers or they're going to maintain ownership all the way to the rail.

MARK MCCULLY (20:29):
How do you work with your commercial customers? Do they kind of come and look to you of what they need? Have they become more attuned into the cow families that you've put in front of them and the EPDs and the tools that are out there?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (20:43):
I'm very impressed with our customer base and very thankful, I mean, I think our commercial customers have latched onto a lot of the products that the Angus Association and a lot of the ag publications have put out there in terms of what's available to them and what's coming down the pipeline and what's creating premiums or possible premiums in the marketplace. And so I am very thankful to have a group of commercial customers that come to us and they ask about what these new tools or new ideas, and when I don't have the answer, I try and get them in contact with the people that can help them. But yeah, I mean, whether it's a tagging program or chasing a certain amount of a certain trait at any given time, I mean, we listen to them and we're not one to stand on a soap box and say, by golly, you need to be doing just this and only this. I think that these people live on their ranches and make the payments on their ranches, and I think it's their choice to make those tough decisions in their operations, but I want to be able to provide the information to help them make those decisions. And very fortunate to have a good information flow from our Association and our staff, and not just the Angus Association, but a lot of the ag entities that are out there are very helpful to our commercial industry.

MIRANDA REIMAN (22:07):
You mentioned this earlier that they're marketing in a variety of ways, but would you say, yeah, 20% retaining ownership, the rest of the sale barn, or what's kind of their end goal of your customers?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (22:19):
Our customers would be about an equal split of selling calves at weaning time on videos and/or selling yearlings. And we've got a few customers that absolutely do retain ownership all the way to the end, and they're very progressive and a lot of them own a feedlot or work very closely in cooperation with a feedlot very carefully. And it's fun to kind of balance all those different marketing sectors too.

MIRANDA REIMAN (22:52):
I was kind of thinking you're in the country where it's easy to do any of those things close to feed yard, close to grain, also close to the Sandhills, so you've got all of that, but where did that focus come from for you guys to want to balance all of those things?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (23:07):
I mean, it all boils down to building that customer base and you can create, reinvent the wheel and create what you think is the perfect product. But when you stand on the street corner and try and advertise and market that, and if you get too far away from relating to your customer, you're going to be out there on an island by yourself, Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And

MIRANDA REIMAN (23:33):
When it's too late almost.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (23:34):
Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, we're an archaic industry, but man, the information flow and the changes to our industry keep coming faster and faster every year. So that, again, trying to find that nebulous balance is the trick.

MARK MCCULLY (23:50):
Well, I think that respect you have for the commercial producer, I was struck by you said, when I have a crazy idea, I call my commercial bull customers, and I think maybe too many times in the registered business, we tend to think we maybe know more sometimes than our commercial customers because we're inundated with the data and the technology, and this is what we study each and every day. But sometimes if we're not careful, we can get, come a little ungrounded. And I think that idea of bouncing those crazy ideas, as you said off your commercial customer, that's pretty

JAKE TIEDEMAN (24:26):
Smart. Well, I mean, I fully admit to being a bit of a hypocrite. I mean, I love using a hot new young sire that has no progeny yet. I mean, there's a certain sector and a certain percentage of our cows that we'll mate that way every year

MARK MCCULLY (24:39):
It was that gambling thing that Greg McCurry put in you

JAKE TIEDEMAN (24:43):
It all started in 1993 right there. But no, it is a fun industry and that's what keeps us going and keeps us driven is trying to balance the cutting edge with the proven and safe.

MIRANDA REIMAN (24:58):
So do you preface it with, hey, John, I've got a crazy idea, or do you just play it cool and see if they react?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (25:05):
No, I mean, we've got a good working relationship with a lot of folks out there, and I've mentioned the network that we rely on daily and you pick up the phone and say, Hey, I found this new bull, or I am thinking about this donor cow, or I am thinking about breeding this part of the cow herd this way, and how would this impact you? How do you feel about this? And I mean, it's important to listen as much as it is to help spread all of the cutting new information and tools as well.

MARK MCCULLY (25:37):
I was going to switch gears because, I don't know many within my circles that don't have your seasoning in the kitchen as the go-to when it's time to throw steaks or burgers or about any beef item on the grill.

MIRANDA REIMAN (25:51):
I was gifted it one time for helping judge speech contest or something like that, and after that I was hooked. So

JAKE TIEDEMAN (25:59):
I certainly appreciate that. It is got a fun backstory. I mean, my grandfather and his mother basically developed the original recipe in my grandfather's days in Missouri, and my great grandmother was a tremendous cook. And I remember a few of the meals, and I'm a foodie, admittedly.

MARK MCCULLY (26:22):
I think you get it natural. I've been around your mom and dad a little. I think they're both foodies, too.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (26:25):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I definitely appreciate that side of our industry for sure. But my grandpa would mix this seasoning and he would save jelly jars and empty containers, and as he would go from auction to auction as auctioneer, he'd pop the trunk and somebody would ask for some and give him an old jelly jar out of the trunk of the car that had the seasoning in it. And we've got family friends in North Platte that had a grocery store chain, and he said, Jim, if you'll get this commercially packaged, I'll help you launch it and we'll get it on store shelves. And so in 1991, we jumped through those hoops and got the public blessing to go to the shelves with it. And by and large, our customer growth has been by word of mouth. And people will try it and they'll put it on meat or they'll call us and say, Hey, you got to try it on popcorn.

(27:19):
I love it on scrambled eggs, or I grilled asparagus and sprinkled it on top. And we get wild and crazy stories of how people will use it. And I mean, it's been its own creature created its own climate, and we're very fortunate that it was a high quality product early on, and it was gluten free and MSG free. And so we dodge some of the trigger things that are talking points in today's food industry, and we've had a lot of fun with it. We're very fortunate that grandpa created a fun product in that respect. And we've since, oh, I'm shooting from the hip, but about 1992 or 1993, we've brought it out here to the Yards and served it on New York strip and now we have a CAB strip and tri-tip. And working with CAB has been a great partnership for us, and hopefully we've returned the favor and gathered some new CAB fans as they walked through the yards and tried the seasoning and a good beef product with it.

MARK MCCULLY (28:16):
Oh, it's always been, a very, very popular tent, and you can smell it from around for anybody that's been in the Yards, you can smell the steaks cooking. And it's been a great partnership. I think I was at CAB maybe when we first talked to your mom about looking for some product, and that's really been a lot of fun to partner up with your family. It's been great for the brand and I hope it's been good for you guys too

JAKE TIEDEMAN (28:42):
It's been tremendous for us. We appreciate the partnership and the opportunity and anytime you can, little kids will come running by and they'll try one. And we've had a group of kids that they would switch coats and come back by and think we didn't notice that it was the same group. And we get so much enjoyment out of that. It's fun to have a good eating experience for people and see the smile on their face. It's good for the whole industry. Yeah.

MIRANDA REIMAN (29:09):
So am I hearing that right in the years, that was the year that grandpa passed away.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (29:13):
He passed away in 1994.

MIRANDA REIMAN (29:15):
Four, okay. So he got to

JAKE TIEDEMAN (29:15):
See it. He was definitely involved in, he loved the stock show. He was involved with numerous breeds out here in sales and events and having an Angus bull on display and having a grill going with some steak and putting the seasoning on there and starting a conversation and doing this networking and marketing that we all do out here. It started a lot of years ago.

MIRANDA REIMAN (29:37):
He got to be part of it. Yeah. What did he think about his face being on the brand?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (29:43):
That's one where I wish Mom was here with us because I mean, I was very young when all that started, but I remember he had the professional photo taken at that time and it was his seasoning and his secret seasoning and his picture was on the label and away we went. We've only had one label change in terms of the general format of it since 1991. So his face has been on it for a lot of years.

MIRANDA REIMAN (30:07):
It's a long-enduring brand.

MARK MCCULLY (30:08):
True, true. So since you're doing this pro bono for us, so we'll want to give you a little commercial, if someone listening would like to order, how do they do that?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (30:16):
You can go to baldridgeseasoning.com and get on our website and check out the options there, or there's a phone number on that website and just call us and we will ship it out to you.

MIRANDA REIMAN (30:32):
So you mentioned you're a bit of a foodie and I also know where you live. So how does one get to be a foodie from North Platte, Nebraska?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (30:39):
I mean, we enjoy cooking and entertaining for friends and neighbors and customers and family events. And then as we travel, I mean, you go to these cattle sales, I think we're all, whether we admitted or not, we're all foodies. The conversations this week, where did you eat last night? What did you have? What did you enjoy? What's new? What's exciting in the old tried and true awesome steakhouse across the country? I mean, a lot of memories are made around those dinner tables, and that's a fun networking and conversation point for all of us, I think.

MIRANDA REIMAN (31:15):
I feel like I should also edit that to say that we do have a really good CAB licensee in North Platte that has been added to the scene here recently. After I said that, I was like, absolutely don't let them find me saying that...

JAKE TIEDEMAN (31:26):
We have one now. And we're very fortunate to have 'em. For a lot of years, we didn't have anything other than chain restaurants, and it was very hard to have a good steakhouse in North Platte. And now we're very fortunate to have a couple, and we're going to have another CAB steakhouse coming online in North Platte before too terribly long. But in an ag-driven, beef-driven community, it's so nice to have good local ownership and good people running a very, very good steakhouse or a couple steak houses in North Platte, now.

MARK MCCULLY (31:56):
And that's not always the case. You travel around through cattle country a lot of times and it's hard to find a good steak. It's always you go into the grocery stores through and they don't even, it's a Select product or you can't even find a Choice product. Some days this is where all this product originated, and the producers that have it have a harder time finding it sometimes than those out on the coast are the large metro areas.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (32:17):
Well, and even for our at-home consumers, I mean some of the aging and grades, and I mean, some of that's a little bit nebulous and intimidating for 'em, but I think our customers have, again, another sector of our customer group that has educated themselves and integrated higher quality products and created demand for higher quality genetics for all of us. And CAB's absolutely added value to every commercial cattleman's operation across the country for sure.

MIRANDA REIMAN (32:49):
Do you think that's shaped your breeding program and how you think about cattle? I mean

JAKE TIEDEMAN (32:55):
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, we all make that hypothetical jump in our mind sometimes. If we hid the registration papers, what would we do differently? And I don't know that I want to do that. I mean, in nothing else in the world do we get to hide the information. And I think it's important to keep studying, keep learning, and keep using the information, and again, reaching for whatever, our environments are all different. And the cattle that I raise in Nebraska or that Lindsay's part of the cow herd and what she does is sometimes different than mine. And what I do is different than somebody in Georgia or New York or California or Hawaii. And that's the beauty of our breed is they're very adaptive and we've all managed to make a market with our genetics across the world, really

MARK MCCULLY (33:47):
Talking about coming back as the next generation into your operation. Talk about that. I think that's one of the things that's most critical across all of production agriculture is this transfer from one generation to the next, and it's so hard, and yet we know we have a lot of families that are setting that up to happen or hoping it to happen. So talk about how that's happening. Not to get into, I'm going to see your balance sheet, but obviously the financial piece of all that. So talk about how you guys have approached

JAKE TIEDEMAN (34:19):
That. No, I mean it is tough. I mean, in my unsolicited piece of advice, and I don't have the highlighted numbered game plan on what to do, but absolutely have an often and thorough conversation with your accounting professionals, your legal professionals, and have that succession plan and those things in place because protecting these ranches is so important to our industry, let alone the families involved. And for Lindsay and I and mom and dad's little chapter of this book, I'm an only child and I was the one to come back and I went off and did some other things for a while and came back to our operation and jumped right in in a good cattle cycle. So again, I was pretty spoiled. But as we all are on the backside of a cattle cycle, it makes you reevaluate some things and make your pencil a little sharper too.

(35:20):
And so again, you're always studying, learning, and trying to figure out how to make things more efficient. But for Lindsay and I, we've been involved, Lindsay's a professional in North Platte and Lindsay and I have a business that we're involved with on the side as well, and mom and dad have the seasoning and a couple other entities that they work with. And so we're pretty diversified, and so we stay busy throughout the year and a lot of irons in the fire, but when there's something going on, we all rally and come together and help each other. And we're very, very fortunate in that respect. Communication is the thing that I'm probably not very good at, but it's very, very important.

MARK MCCULLY (36:09):
How do you guys, as a family, I know sometimes in a business operation you've got to have your weekly meetings and management team meetings yet and family sometimes that communication that needs to happen, that goal setting, that planning, sometimes if you're not intentional about it, it doesn't happen. How do you guys approach that? Or are you just close enough that you kind of know what each other's thinking

JAKE TIEDEMAN (36:32):
Yeah, I'd say in our instance, we are close enough and that morning cup of coffee and plotting the day or the week is important. Or at the end of the day, having a steak and a glass of wine and talking about what's coming up on the horizon, I mean, I'd say it happens more naturally for us, but I've gotten quite a few text messages of, oh, hey, you forgot this. And so it all comes full circle. But no, we're probably more the organic version. I had love to have a, again, agenda and a plan, and every Monday morning we plot this out and never deviate, but that doesn't work for me. Yeah,

MARK MCCULLY (37:13):
Well, most ...

MIRANDA REIMAN (37:15):
That's alright, being flexible is totally okay.

MARK MCCULLY (37:16):
I'd say most farming and ranching operations don't get to work weekly on a plan. Anyhow, the plan's usually shot by about 8:30.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (37:22):
Lindsay gives a hard time about me being the structured spoiled only child. But I'd like to think I'm a lot more flexible than that.

MARK MCCULLY (37:27):
Lindsay's observing this conversation, she's shaking her head yes. She confirms that that is a truth. That is a true statement.

MIRANDA REIMAN (37:35):
Well, I was thinking when you were going to go on the communication route and working with family that since Bob and Becky aren't here, this is your chance to tell us how it really works when you guys are working cattle and who really gets to make the decisions and air any grievances if you want to.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (37:50):
No, we're very fortunate because we do kind of have a common set of goals and we all kind of run to our corner and do our thing, and it all comes together under the same umbrella, and we're very fortunate that way. But I mean, dad, dad's on the ranch day in and day out, and he's the one that really works on a lot of those relationships with our customer base, and mom does as well. And then she would love to figure out the succession plan for moving the registrations and the DNA work off on me. But I know that if she were here, that would be my new responsibility right here on the public forum. That would automatically be on me.

MIRANDA REIMAN (38:32):
We probably could have gotten that done for you, Becky, if you would've joined the podcast.

MARK MCCULLY (38:37):
So Jake, as you look on the horizon and you look in the Angus business, you're obviously, you're an influencer and a leader in this breed. What excites you most about the Angus breed today? And I have a follow up to that.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (38:53):
Oh, we're calving right now, and you see those new babies hit the ground and you can't help but get excited about the new generation and you want to see what the new sire groups are going to do. You want to see what the proven sire groups are going to do, and you're help, you're always hoping for this heifer calf out of this old favorite cow, or you want to see this group of bulls a year from now. I mean, I think you always got to be looking out on the horizon and you stay excited about that. And this industry is changing. It is intimidating a lot of days, admittedly, but at the end of the day, we can only move so fast. And our gestation period is only so long or so fast, and we introduce new technology and try and tackle the efficiencies when we can.

(39:42):
But at the end of the day, mother nature's still in charge and we're just manipulating the intricacies around the edges. And sometimes you have to step back and realize that we can only do so much so fast, but you can't help but be excited about new opportunities, especially right now. I think this cattle market's on the verge of doing some great things. And I think there's a lot of excitement, especially we've seen a lot of things this week, new people, new faces, people that haven't been to the stock show yet to see some of the new facilities and man, they're excited. And the sale that just concluded as we're doing this. I mean, that was a,you know cattle represented from coast to coast and people that are new consignors and people that have been in this sale for a lot of years, and I mean, they had a great day today. So if that doesn't get you excited about this business and this breed, I don't know what will.

MARK MCCULLY (40:37):
What about the, speak to the diversity, and you can challenge me if you don't agree, but I tend to believe, and this sale would be a great example of what we just saw today, the diversity in our breed. We saw it in Oklahoma City, and I would say we have breeders, in my opinion, being very successful with very different approaches to the Angus breed, very different approaches to the kind of cattle they're wanting to raise, the emphasis they're putting on the data. Do you see that continuing? I guess I'll let you, if you don't agree with that, you can push back.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (41:09):
I absolutely do. At this event alone, we've got show cattle that have been bred to be show cattle. And I think that is such an important part of our industry. These cattle look good. They offer responsibility and opportunities for kids, and they get them involved, get 'em excited. I mean, nothing fuels a fire like competition. And so that sector of our breed is very important. And we saw some very index-driven, really high-quality cattle from a paper standpoint and phenotype standpoint in this sale now. And I think that's cool. I mean, these are tools that we have and people are getting those EST words in every line of those footnotes, and all of these cattle brought strong prices today. So sure, we may be segmented in one respect, but I think the broad, bigger picture and the most important picture is we're all under the Angus umbrella, and our breed can work in the different corners of every industry in every corner of this country. And I think that's what's cool.

MARK MCCULLY (42:14):
Well, and I think too, if we have 80 plus percent of the gene pool of the beef industry as Angus genetics, we need that kind of diversity. Absolutely. And I truly believe that is one of the real strengths of the breed, the diversity in our gene pool and the diversity of the philosophy of our breeders. And I think it's why I believe that market share is going to continue to grow.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (42:37):
I couldn't agree more.

MARK MCCULLY (42:39):
So I'd said I had a follow up. So what excites you most? What are some of the concerns, as a 40-year-old that I suspect has every ambition of retiring being an Angus breeder? What are the concerns of...

JAKE TIEDEMAN (42:52):
I mean, currently input costs and some of these efficiencies and inefficiencies, our inputs. And cost of production's intimidating, land taxes in various states across the country are an issue

MIRANDA REIMAN (43:08):
Especially Nebraska,

JAKE TIEDEMAN (43:09):
Especially Nebraska, and how do we tackle those things, sometimes kind of unfortunately feels out of our control, but we're hamstrung by them at every turn. And so how do we, again, try and find the balance and eke out the efficiencies and the added values for ourselves and our customers? I mean, it's a trick. And again, it's intimidating, but yet exciting, too

MIRANDA REIMAN (43:33):
As we look forward as an Association trying to respond to producers and what producers need from us and our staff. In what ways do you think the Association can help you in the future address your challenges?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (43:48):
I think the Angus Association does a great job with communication, whether it's email blasts or, I mean, one of my favorite periodicals that we get at any given time is the Angus Beef Bulletin and the email blasts are awesome. And the Angus website. Every morning I wake up, read a sale report or see which new catalog's gone online. And I mean, that's exciting and having that information flow available to us, having it on our phones, our computers, or in our mailboxes, and then to compound that with an awesome staff. I mean, growing up in Nebraska, I think back to all the regional managers we've had and those big guys being the face of the breed in our state. I mean, starting growing up with Jim Shirley, I mean, you want to talk about an awesome guy, and we just brought on Will Harsh in Nebraska, and I told him, I said, look, man, you're new to this territory, but I've known you for a long time, but you do a great job.

(44:37):
And we're very blessed in the state of Nebraska to have always had awesome Angus staff, and we're fortunate that way. And to have people that can, whether a lot of times they can answer the questions that I can't, and trying to bridge that gap with information flow with our customers or our friends or whatever things coming down the pipeline. And I know, Mark, I've called you with some things that I've been feisty about or questioning or concerned about or questioning on the horizon, and you've always given me a great, well-thought out, it may not always be the answer I want to hear on that day, but I know that it's crafted with concern and for the greater good of the whole breed. And I appreciate having that access to high-quality staff everywhere.

MIRANDA REIMAN (45:25):
I promise we did not pay him to say any of that. If you really do have a list, a to-do list for us

JAKE TIEDEMAN (45:31):
No, we've worked in other breeds and the smaller breeds, I mean, it's tough. You've got a limited staff, and those guys are busy. And we're very fortunate at Angus to have a great staff, whether it's a paperwork question or, Hey, I screwed something up, can you help me fix it? Which for me, happens ...

MARK MCCULLY (45:51):
That happened that one time. Yeah,

JAKE TIEDEMAN (45:52):
It happens. But no, we're very fortunate, and again, I think mean, yeah, this is probably cheesy, but I think it's very important to say thank you, whether it's our customers or to you guys.

MARK MCCULLY (46:06):
And we appreciate that. And again, we weren't digging for compliments, and I always appreciate your candor. I know if you're someone that I can reach out to and say, what do you think about this? Right? And I know I'll get,

MIRANDA REIMAN (46:20):
Is this a crazy idea? Yeah.

MARK MCCULLY (46:21):
Is this a crazy idea? And so we need that. We need that. I mean, that's something I highly encourage of breeders of all ages, not just of, we need to hear what they're hearing, what they're dealing with, what the Association can be. We can't fix everything, right? But we want to hear that feedback. We welcome that feedback and value it a great deal. And always, like I said, I always enjoy our conversations and always enjoy what I know is going to be candor, which is what we need. My goodness. Yeah.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (46:58):
I may be too blunt at times. I do apologize for that.

MIRANDA REIMAN (47:01):
He doesn't have you tagged as feisty in his phone or anything

MARK MCCULLY (47:04):
Maybe be blunt, it's always professional

JAKE TIEDEMAN (47:07):
I'm sure there's been some board members and you that may have me saved in the phone as do not answer.

MARK MCCULLY (47:12):
Not at all. What do we do? I mean, you've got a group of your peers of similar age that, and I know you guys and some of you guys are fairly well organized and you guys talk and even I think do some, there's some groups of you that maybe even do some regular Zoom calls and things. Maybe speak to that a little bit. What can the Association do or ideas you guys have to help? We always joke, we invest a lot in our youth programs and we get 'em to the time they go off to college. And we've got some programs, the BLI program and some things designed for those after their juniors. But then it's like, well, then you have to wait a few generations and we'll get 'em back as board members. Right? Because honestly, it is a huge time commitment to be on a board. Oh, absolutely. Stage of life and such. It is not real easy for a young person necessarily with maybe a young family or just getting started to. So what can the association do or ideas you have of how we better hear from, maybe I'll say your generations or your peers are there, I know, and I've just thrown in the towel. I am old.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (48:27):
But having that insight and having that confidence in yourself that you want to make sure that you're reaching out to all the corners of the industry. I mean, I think that's a huge market. I have a huge mark of respect for you for even acknowledging that. And as we talked about the breed and especially the whole industry being a little segmented at times, we're not always going to agree. I mean, as a breed, we want to be everything to everybody all the time. I mean, I think that's our goal, period. But whether I breed one sector of cattle at my house and you do one at your house and Miranda, you do something different at your house, and all three are going to look totally different. We're not going to agree every day, by and large, we're running under the Angus umbrella. But yeah, we're not all going to see eye to eye every day. But I think having that comfort level and keeping the lines of communication open are important. And I'm dodging your question because I don't necessarily have an answer. I mean

MARK MCCULLY (49:24):
It's a hard question.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (49:25):
Yeah. I mean, I'm very appreciative that you have that self awareness, that you want to be available and carefully planning and thinking about everybody's concerns. I mean, I think that means a lot to us as breeders. But to answer your direct question, will you be on this street corner on Sunday to have a town hall meeting to hear this group of Angus breeders' concerns? I mean, those things come up. I mean, it's the nature of development of new tools and information flow, and I mean when sectors are feeling neglected or slighted, and I think you guys hit that head on very well, and as a breeder, I appreciate that we're not always going to agree, but if we can all focus on what we're doing as individual breeders and come together as the Angus breed cumulatively, I think it bodes well for all of us. But to answer your question, I don't know how you tackle some of that stuff. I admire you for trying to wear that hat.

MARK MCCULLY (50:32):
Well, and honestly, it's the reason I say communication today as an association is so much more challenging, I believe, than maybe it was 20 or 30 years ago when we had the magazine. And of course that is and still is

MIRANDA REIMAN (50:47):
And the only avenue that

MARK MCCULLY (50:48):
Right. The only avenue it

MIRANDA REIMAN (50:50):
And the communication cycle was shorter,

MARK MCCULLY (50:52):
Right, the news cycle

MIRANDA REIMAN (50:54):
Yeah. Longer. It was every month you had a news story. Not daily, hourly, all the things. But yeah,

MARK MCCULLY (51:00):
We worked hard. And Miranda and the team at Angus Media and our communications and PR team work hard to, I've told this story probably on the podcast a few times, of a guy that called up during the whole gene editing discussion. He was mad. And he said, why didn't I know about this? And I was like, well, do you read the Angus Journal? He said, Nope. I said, do you go to our website? He said, Nope. I said, how are we supposed to get this stuff to you? But being very true, it's why we do this podcast. We're trying to, again, reach people where they're at, reach people where they're at, right. But it is hard today. So to our listeners, I always invite that, I know we have a heart for that, of hearing the feedback and engaging us in different, however, the way that's most convenient for the member.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (51:43):
No, and as a breeder, I appreciate that. I mean, whether, I've mentioned it, the email blasts and the phone app and different periodicals in the mailbox. I mean, we're fortunate to have a lot of different ways, but you can't keep us all happy all the time. I'm sorry.

MIRANDA REIMAN (52:02):
And honestly, for me, as a communicator, it's not my job to decide whether or not somebody's happy or unhappy with the decision. But I never want a breeder to be surprised that they've not heard about this or that they haven't, like, where did this come from? So that's my,

JAKE TIEDEMAN (52:16):
Well, and any time things are new, I mean, there's been EPDs that have new indexes or whatever. I've been a public opponent of some of them in the past, admittedly. And every time a new one comes along, right when they hit the public domain, it's a little bumpy right off the bat, but if you keep putting your oar in the water and you go with the flow for 2, 3, 4 years, five years, man, that ends up being a pretty nice product. And whether you use it or not is up to you. I mean, I'm a creature of habit, admittedly, and I am sure if you glance to Lindsay, she's going to be agreed.

MARK MCCULLY (52:50):
She's shaking her head, she's acknowledging it. Again,

JAKE TIEDEMAN (52:53):
Change is hard. And especially in our industry, change is hard. And I think having that open and relatable line of communication among all the players involved is the first line of defense to bringing everybody back together and getting 'em on the same page again. Sure.

MARK MCCULLY (53:08):
Well, we don't ever want to lose sight that change does impact, can impact animal value, which impacts people's livelihood. Of course. Absolutely. It can stir up some emotion from time to time.

MIRANDA REIMAN (53:21):
I feel like it's the balance of progress and patience, both at once, I heard you just say you got to wait a little bit before you decide whether or not

JAKE TIEDEMAN (53:28):
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

MIRANDA REIMAN (53:31):
Good. Well, Mark, are we ready for the random question of the week?

MARK MCCULLY (53:34):
I think we are. I think you've probably, we've kept you out of the tent long enough and your mom's probably ready for you to get back grilling some tri-tip or something.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (53:43):
Oh yeah, we'll go.

MIRANDA REIMAN (53:44):
Do you guys all take a shift on the grill?

JAKE TIEDEMAN (53:46):
We kind of trade on and off, and Lindsay's here and mom and I, we all kind of trade off and somebody's chatting with the locals and somebody's running the grill and we kind of trade around. It's kind of fun.

MIRANDA REIMAN (54:00):
Well, I wrote a random question down, but I'm scratching that Mark.

MARK MCCULLY (54:03):
She usually does.

MIRANDA REIMAN (54:05):
It's not truly random if you got to read it ahead of time, is it?

MARK MCCULLY (54:08):
Probably not

MIRANDA REIMAN (54:09):
So random. Alright, random question of the week. Do you have a favorite memory from National Stock Show or I want you to talk about a favorite animal you brought here.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (54:22):
Oh,

MIRANDA REIMAN (54:24):
And it could be one and the same.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (54:25):
Oh, I mean, there's a lot of 'em. I remember one of the first years that we came out here with seasoning, grandpa had a bull, Baldridge Alfalfa, I think he was a High Flyer son. And so we were, had him on display in the Yards and grilling seasoning alongside him. And that was early nineties. And I remember that being a lot of fun. But no, I mean, I've had a few show animals out here, had some pen bulls that were part of my bred and owned thing, and that was fun. Had some sale animals. We actually, probably the most recent one, and this is admittedly kind of nerdy, but we were fortunate enough to sell the first live animal through the new sale ring and that was lot of fun and very fortunate to get along very well with her, and that was a fun activity for our family a couple of years ago. But no, we've just got a ton of fun memories from the stock show for sure.

MIRANDA REIMAN (55:22):
That Alfalfa year was probably about the time that you went from being sidekick to actual help

JAKE TIEDEMAN (55:29):
At that time, I probably thought I was, I probably got banished to go do tie-outs after a while, I'm sure. I don't know

MIRANDA REIMAN (55:37):
Well, that's actual help

JAKE TIEDEMAN (55:40):
Out of sight, out of mind. Yeah.

MIRANDA REIMAN (55:43):
Well, very good. Well be sure to bring our regards to your parents and let them know also

JAKE TIEDEMAN (55:47):
That we, we'll do it. We'll do it. No, we're very fortunate as a family to have a good relationship with all of you and appreciate this opportunity as well.

MARK MCCULLY (55:55):
Thanks for being with us today. We really do appreciate it.

JAKE TIEDEMAN (55:57):
Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 4 (55:59):
Every time I visit with cattlemen and women, I learn something new. That's why I enjoyed that episode so much, and I hope you did too. It's also why I'm excited to be headed to the Cattle Industry Convention in Trade Show this week. So if you're in Orlando, stop by booth 1835 and say hi to the entire Angus team. If you're enjoying this podcast, make sure you never miss an episode by clicking subscribe in your favorite podcast platform. This has been the Angus Conversation, an Angus Journal podcast.