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Education in Agriculture is Backwards with Karoline Rose, Founder of Cattleman U
147 Plays4 years ago
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, Karoline Rose shares how she founded Cattleman U and why it has become their mission to supply all farmers and ranchers with the tools to make well informed business decisions.
Show Notes:
https://cattlemanu.com/
https://www.barn2door.com/resources
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Transcript
Introduction and Focus on Farm Success
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the weekly listen for farm selling direct. We'll talk about the four levers for farm success, which are quality, brand, price, and convenience. We'll hear from outside industry experts and producers like you to delight your customers, save time, and to increase your direct farm sales and business. We're glad you're here.
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast.
Cattleman U: Mission and Educational Offerings
00:00:28
Speaker
We've got a terrific conversation for you today with Cattleman U, an educational platform promoting growth, expert knowledge, and producer improvement for farmers and ranchers. I am delighted to welcome Caroline Rose, founder of Cattleman U. With us today, welcome Caroline. Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.
00:00:47
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining us today. So I guess to get things started here, I just want for you to share just a little bit more about Cattleman U. Tell us about the organization, your history, and your mission. Absolutely. So Cattleman U is an educational platform for all cattlemen. So pretty much anyone in agriculture is perfect for Cattleman U.
00:01:09
Speaker
And the goal of the platform was to reach the next generation or the first generation, to give them the knowledge or the tools at home while they're in the tractor, while they're driving up and down the road. When I first developed the idea, I realized that agriculture is actually backwards. So when a new engineer comes to an engineering firm,
00:01:34
Speaker
They're the ones, the next few years, they go to the conferences, they do the networking. And when my older brother came back to the ranch, as soon as he was back, my dad started to leave and go to the conferences and do the networking. My dad had hustled for 30 years waiting for my brother to come home. My brother came home and then my dad was able to take a step back.
00:01:57
Speaker
and start attending things again. And so I thought, how are we expected to have these productions and these businesses grow if by the time we can get education into them, they're already past the next generation has started.
00:02:14
Speaker
And so it just really got me thinking, you know, conferences are great and we'll talk about it a little later, but we have an in-person conference too. But what we really need is education at home that's solid knowledge, not random Google searches, right? People that they know, like, and trust and that are leading the industry that they can watch and rewatch at any time. I mean, they can watch it, you know,
00:02:38
Speaker
in the tractor or listen to the presentation and then maybe go home and sit down with their dad or their uncle or their spouse and say you know can we watch this again I really thought this was great and I thought it was something we could implement so that's the history behind it and so
00:02:54
Speaker
It's a community of education for anyone in production agriculture. And it is something that every single month we have a different topic and we bring in experts. So we always say from the K-ROAS team, we want to learn alongside you. So we bring in experts to teach and to give presentations. And then there's workbooks and some other things like that. And so it's a community for all cattlemen is our motto.
00:03:23
Speaker
I love how you touched on just your passion in this area and out started with your family because I think sometimes you lean into your passions from looking at your family and knowing that you saw that there was a problem but you found a solution to it and providing these educational resources I think to your point is so huge because it's more than just having a product but how do you market that product? How do you price that product? How you deliver it to your consumer?
Evolving Education in Agriculture
00:03:50
Speaker
So over the years, or I guess over this past year, how would you say that Cattleman U has evolved? Because I know a lot has changed just within even this past year.
00:04:00
Speaker
Yeah, so we launched it in September of 2020. So we were preparing in August of 2020. And of course, we were really in the COVID pandemic then. And what I saw is that it was even easier to kind of hole up in your house. And so I wanted a way that we could bring this education to every household.
00:04:25
Speaker
The one thing that we didn't have when we first started that we have now is the ability to download the content and to watch why they're driving or when they don't have service. So that was a huge game changer for our members and the community was they don't have to have internet to be able to participate. And so I know several of our members, you know, drive truck on the side or in the summer there, you know, in a tractor every day. And so they can download the audio and listen.
00:04:55
Speaker
And so that's really really helpful. The other thing is, we just continue to bring new speakers and educators, and that's the thing people say well you can have this platform for a year something you're going to be out of speakers, but we're not, there's always something new there's always something to bring to the table. And the other thing is that's kind of unique about our platform is
00:05:17
Speaker
we let people know that in a session, so in a month with a topic, you actually might have presentations that contradict each other. So someone might talk about cover crops and the other person might not be a believer in cover crops. And that's our goal. Our goal is not to tell you how to do your production. Our goal is to supply you all of the options so you can make an educated, well-informed decision and you can hear all of the
00:05:42
Speaker
different ways that you can do something before you get started. So we want to remove that entry, that barrier entry. And so there's going to be definitely people inside the platform who teach on different things. And that's great. We want, like, this is, you know, not a political, we're not telling you how to run your platform. Like we just want to give the education and allow our customers and members to do what's best for them.
00:06:08
Speaker
And as their business grows, that might change. I mean, they might try something this year and decide they didn't work and take a different approach at something. So that's really important to us as well. And I think touching on going back to community and how important that is, and I'm sure, you know, surveying your members or kind of being on the pulse of what is helpful to your members, what resources, you know, you want to keep pushing or kind of focusing areas of focus
Lifestyle to Business: Challenges in Farming
00:06:31
Speaker
there. What challenges would you say are kind of a common thread or a common theme for some of these farmers and ranchers?
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, the two that I see is the confusion between a lifestyle and a business. And for a lot of them that's generational, right? And for some reason in production agriculture, and it's because we're human, but in production agriculture, if someone goes out of business, it's an emotional decision. It's very sad in the industry we talk about, Oh, well, what's going to happen to the land?
00:07:03
Speaker
But in the restaurant world, if the restaurant down the street serves terrible food and they can't make it work and they go out of business, we know that's the life cycle, right? And so sometimes in production agriculture, we get so tied up in it being a lifestyle that we forget that it's a business. And I see a lot of that conversation happening. We've never run our books this way. We don't have payroll. We've just had an account. We're not legally set up.
00:07:32
Speaker
And so I see that where we're taking and encouraging our members to take it from a lifestyle to a business. We're lucky that it's a lifestyle, right? I grew up on a third generation ranch, but it has to make money and it has to be a business. And so that transition is something we're seeing a lot of members go through.
00:07:52
Speaker
and then of course you know we're doing what grandpa always did or generations who are not open to change but they're still involved in the operation the younger generation wanting to try something and keep hitting a brick wall with nose and so that's the other challenge that i really see right now is
00:08:12
Speaker
How can we encourage our parents, our grandparents? I mean, some of these people even have their great grandparents still involved in the operation. How can we encourage and bring the resources needed to help them change their way so that the business can grow and evolve?
00:08:29
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's so critical, especially in this time, as you know, a lot of farmers are looking into how can I make this more convenient for me as a farmer, but also for my buyers too, because there's the double side to that. What would you say in addition to you mentioned the resources, the focus on education, tell us just a little bit more about how Cattleman you tackle some of these challenges and how you help your members kind of take their business from that hobby farm to an actual
00:08:58
Speaker
you know, fully functioning business. Yeah, absolutely. So one thing that I talk to our members about is we care about the whole aspect. So we care about hiring the right help, your payroll, your taxes, estate planning, as well as nutrition and reproduction and forage and all of that. And so we make it a big point
00:09:22
Speaker
to talk about the topics that people don't want to talk about. And we have a whole month dedicated to the business aspect, HR. I mean, how many ranches have, you know, handbooks for their business, but yet we run into issues. It's just like any other business. So we really try to go full circle and present those. The other thing that we've done
00:09:44
Speaker
is we've actually hired an attorney and all of the members who joined in June get to meet with this attorney paid for by cattle menu 90 minutes to ask any type of question so any employment question she's a Montana hag attorney so any hag questions any contract questions if our members aren't in Montana she can advise them
00:10:04
Speaker
But of course, the laws are different across states. And so that was something that was really important to us is how can we supply resources? How can we partner with the right companies that they get more than just the nutrition side? The stuff that's really obtainable and easy to grasp on is great to teach. And we love teaching about that.
00:10:22
Speaker
but also the bigger picture stuff. So we make sure that we provide trainings and encouragement and support staff in some of those areas that are more business-y than, you know, nutrition or reproduction or forages, but also we
00:10:39
Speaker
establish and create conversations in the Kettle Menu group about, you know, how's it going? How's employment going? What kind of questions are you guys running into? You know, all of that so that they can learn from other members, because we certainly have members who are first generation. We have a lot of members who are going back to four or five, six generations of producers. And so just taking everyone's strength and building it in that community is what's really important to us.
00:11:07
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that's so critical. You touched on it right there. How do you grow your business? How do you manage your business? You have to be able to focus on both. And some farms have a target market where they know who they're marketing to. Others are trying to identify that, or maybe they're trying to tap into a new market.
Strategic Business Practices for Farmers
00:11:25
Speaker
What are some best practices or recommendations that you have for farmers who are looking to kind of focus on the daily operations of the business and others who are looking for new routes to market or potential opportunities beyond that?
00:11:39
Speaker
Yeah, so a few things that we're really passionate about and we talk a lot about is hearing everyone in your operations voice. This happened in our family when I first came home from college. I'm the only girl in our family and we were sitting around the dining room table and I made a comment and my dad just stopped and he looked at me and he said, your brother and I could work this business for 50 years and we never would have thought about that.
00:12:04
Speaker
Our brain does not work that way. And he said, sometimes you're going to drive me crazy. But if we want to be better, we need your brain. And so I think that's really important. I think we see some people who have a lot to bring to the table who are not even seated at the table. And so I think we need to bring those people to the table. So I think listening to everyone in the operation. The other thing is, is you have to know your numbers, right? If we're going to try something and the ranch is living paycheck to paycheck or the farm's living paycheck to paycheck.
00:12:34
Speaker
So I think meeting with someone that you really trust and analyzing the numbers. Numbers aren't my strong game. I'm a creative all day long. But you have to know your numbers to know if you're being successful or not. The other thing is I think it's really easy to get no's to the grindstone and forget the big picture. We have to be setting goals. We know
00:12:55
Speaker
All the research says that successful businesses are projecting out in the future. They're looking at where they want to be in three months, nine months, a year, three years, five years. I mean, they talk about that big picture planning. And I think sometimes it's easy, especially when you're caring for livestock.
00:13:12
Speaker
something with a heartbeat that it's easy to just say, well, I got to take care of the cows today. You know, I can't tell you what's going to happen tomorrow or in three months. So I think successful operations set goals and they make daily movements towards those goals, not big movements, just daily actions that get them to be at a different spot.
00:13:33
Speaker
And also we have to remember that it's not going to happen overnight. Like it's going to take a while. And sometimes what we see on social media is overnight successes. It looks like, oh, wow, they made a decision today to start selling farm to table. And now they have, you know, 50,000 followers and it doesn't work like that. We might have to have a couple of production seasons in order to see if it's actually working and if it's worth it.
00:13:56
Speaker
You bring up a great point of looking at your current business operations and analyzing what can we start doing, what can we stop doing, or what can we put a pause on, taking just an analysis of what's working and what's not because you have freedom to make those changes too. You don't have to stick to the status quo sometimes. Giving the freedom and giving the option there, as you said, I think is important for sure.
00:14:21
Speaker
I'd love to kind of touch a little bit more on you mentioned you know social media but beyond that just brand in general and what brand means to you how you communicate brand to some of your members who maybe they're new to you know kind of approaching it from a strategic standpoint. So how do you approach brand and conversation and how do you encourage farmers to kind of look at it through the lens of how they can increase their buyer loyalty?
00:14:45
Speaker
Yeah, so I love the branding conversation. I talk about it a lot. A good chunk of our customer base outside of Kettleman U are seed stock producers. And so I'm having this conversation with them all the time. And McDonald's is my best example of good branding. I've been in five continents, most of them with McDonald's. And I always tell people, I might not be able to read that it says McDonald's on the outside of the business, but I know it's a McDonald's.
00:15:11
Speaker
And that's exactly what your business needs to be. They might not be able to read your sign or actually, you know, it might not say your business name, but if they saw an ad in a newspaper and your business name was removed, could they tell it was your business? And if the answer is no, then we haven't established our brand enough. The other thing that I think is super challenging for humans in general, every business owner, is the fact that to have a good business, we need to repel as many people as we attract.
00:15:40
Speaker
And if we're trying to serve everyone, we're going to end up not serving anyone well. And it's always a win to me when someone messages me and says, wow, you guys are like, I'm not your ideal customer. I can tell you're not speaking my language. I'm like, perfect. Because that means I'm speaking someone else's language. And sometimes as a business owner, if our brand and identity isn't strong enough, we just try to like cast this large net and hope that we catch some fish and we end up not catching anything.
00:16:10
Speaker
because we don't even know what we're fishing for. And so identifying an ideal customer, one of the scariest things you can do in business, but also one of the most skipped steps in marketing. So we need to identify our ideal customer. We need to talk to that person, which means we're gonna naturally repel some people. And we need to have a brand that is very consistent.
00:16:35
Speaker
You don't have to be super well known, but you just have to be consistent, so that the people who are seeing your material over and over and over they start to recognize the fonts the colors all of that matters. And that's where I really think the lifestyle and the business side.
00:16:52
Speaker
It's important to make that switch to where we're running a functioning business. As the marketplace gets noisier, which is just getting noisier in general, the more people go where they're comfortable and they need to be comfortable with who you guys are and what your brand looks like or otherwise it's easy to get you confused in this market.
00:17:12
Speaker
I think you bring up some excellent points there of just being aware of your story, who you are innately, because I think if you're establishing maybe a page on social or if you're starting to go about it through newsletters and interacting with your customers that way, that may be new forms of engagement, but you've always had your brand. It's just about amplifying that voice and being able to share your story with others
00:17:36
Speaker
And to your point, you can't be all things to all people. It's not effective. It's going to burn you out. And it costs money to reach out to all of those buyers who maybe aren't a good fit for you. So the best step you could take is to take a step back, in fact, and just look at, OK, here are all the customers in the area. This is my base. These are the people that resonate with me and my mission and what I'm selling and looking to accomplish as a farmer or a rancher. So thank you for touching on that. I think that's huge.
00:18:06
Speaker
kind of shifting a little bit of the conversation to more of the convenient side, so the selling direct. What have you noticed in terms of trends this past year and what recommendations do you have for farmers and ranchers looking to make that pivot or that shift to selling direct?
Trends and Strategies in Direct Selling
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, so I might actually have an interesting perspective. I saw a lot of people want to start to sell direct because they saw the money in it, not the heart in it.
00:18:35
Speaker
It's not a quick win, right? It's a business that takes a lot of growth and a lot of planning. And I think that's really important to think about that this supplying of food source is a long term game. And that's what our consumers expect. That's what they've come to know and like is this consistency in this long term game.
00:18:56
Speaker
And I've seen a lot of people be able to add it onto their business very successfully, but it almost always starts small, right? It starts with a lady at church saying, Hey, do you have some hamburger I can buy? Or someone in your community that you know, or even your family members just saying, Hey, do you have a half a cow? Or, you know, you have some produce or vegetables that I can buy out of your garden. I mean, it doesn't start overnight where you're selling 10, 15,000 pounds of meat.
00:19:25
Speaker
And so I think that that's important to remember is success might be selling your freezer out of burger in the first time. The other thing that I saw is because of how you feed, especially on the livestock side, right? We're seeing it be a long-term game as far as producing the product. We go through seasonalities, right? Where we'll have tons of product and then it seems like no product.
00:19:50
Speaker
product and then tons of product and so I always tell people to be clear is to be kind. Sure you might be out of product but our consumers are really understanding as long as we're having an honest conversation with them. I think the unique thing about producing food is we need all types.
00:20:06
Speaker
We have to serve every single one from a single mom in an inner city who does not have money for disposable groceries and is worried about feeding her children to people like Bill Gates, right? We have to feed everyone. And we need all kinds of production. And I think that if you have a passion for selling to consumer, you should start and you should develop a business. But it's absolutely a business.
00:20:32
Speaker
And I think that it's a different customer base than if you sell on the commodity market. But I think there's room for everyone out there because everyone's story is a little different. Everyone's product is raised a little different. But look at it with a three-year lens instead of a three-month lens. And I think
00:20:51
Speaker
That's really where we see businesses have success is where they kind of understand, okay, I got to settle in here. You know, going to one farmer's market is not going to sell me out of all my products. I got to settle in here, build this business, start marketing to a new consumer and really get a presence on the website or social media, some type of marketing that people can research you before they make a decision on what they're going to feed their family.
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah and I think making that shift like you said is huge too because if you think about it it could be a farm that's had generations and generations of you know selling to a particular market and thinking about expanding that so it's a new thought it's a new idea. So would you say the farmers that you've worked with the ranchers you've worked with who used to sell at sale barns and now they're making that shift to direct what went into that decision and have you noticed that there is some apprehension there and
00:21:45
Speaker
What resources do you provide to calm those nerves and to also make sure that if it makes sense for them, what's the best next step for them to take to make that shift?
00:21:57
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. We do see people who are starting to sell more direct. I would say 90% of the people that we see are still doing both. So they've taken maybe 10% or 15% of what they would normally sell at a sale and are starting to sell direct with that percentage.
00:22:17
Speaker
the hope and the business plan that it grows, but kind of having both avenues. Does it fit in my farm to table plan? If not, you know, I can still go and I can still count on X number of dollars as far as what's going to be sold outside of this new business venture. In cattle menu, we have a whole segment dedicated to farming to table. We help people do market research on pricing, which is another huge topic that's definitely not one size fits all.
00:22:45
Speaker
And the other thing too is there is a lot of our audience, they're not producing anything farm to table and they want to be customers. So we give a lot of shout outs on our social media and our email list to help drum up some new business so that other people other than their audience and our audience knows and trust us. And so when we make a recommendation,
00:23:07
Speaker
that they're able to grasp that and to look into some of these new producers. I think the other thing, too, is we really understand the marketing side. And in Kettle Man U, they have a direct line to my team at any time. So they get, there's about 15 K-RUS team members. They can ask any type of question and get a response. And so that's really nice for someone who's trying to grow a business, has questions on Facebook ads or Facebook, all of that, that they have that direct lifeline to us.
00:23:36
Speaker
So that's definitely for sure huge. Would you say from, I guess, pivoting a little bit further to more of a packaging conversation, looking at pricing, we talked about that at the top of the half, but I love to just kind of go into more detail because I think educating your consumer is important on how
00:23:53
Speaker
Maybe you're selling your products at quarter halves and holes, but now you're looking to reach a wider audience, you're selling direct. I think it's important to note too that under 5% of Americans own a chest freezer. If you're looking to go to the masses or go to a larger audience, you may need to package your products a little bit differently than you have in the past. What are your recommendations for farmers who are looking to reach that wider audience?
00:24:18
Speaker
Yeah, so I always recommend to people, if you can sell holes, quarters, halves, to start there. I think it's a great foot in the door. You get a little bit of, you know, what does your consumer desire? What questions are they asking? What hang ups do they have? You know, how do they understand about pricing? So I always recommend then that the next step that I recommend for a lot of people is to just start to sell burger. We eat a lot of burger.
00:24:45
Speaker
and consumers eat a lot of burger. And for most people, you know, burger is pretty affordable as opposed to, you know, them buying ribeyes. So if you're going to do the beef, I always recommend, you know, start with burger. When you can start to sell out on burger, then I think it's really easy to take that next step. The other part is it's perceived value, right? People pay
00:25:08
Speaker
crazy amounts we see this in everything right the same person might pay $55 for a hotel room that another person pays $250 for and so it's all perceived value and that's all in the marketing and how you talk about the products and you know the added value that you talk about whether it be how fast you ship it or how it's raised all of that
00:25:31
Speaker
And we just have to do a better job of being clear about the ways we're raising our products and talking them through the story. A lot of people, they'll get one comment that it's too expensive and it's like freak out. We got to change all the prices. And my mentality is it's always going to be too expensive for someone.
00:25:52
Speaker
even the lowest price product is going to be too expensive for someone because they don't see the value in it. And so I just really encourage people to, one, if they can test their audience, you know, if they've sold a bunch to members in their community and they they feel comfortable saying, you know, what is this burger? What are you paying at the store? Something like that, getting them to dive a little bit deeper. The other thing is, is it's a lot of trial and error and people don't like that answer. But you can always lower price.
00:26:20
Speaker
It's very hard to raise price. If you start too high, you just market on sale and you can move product. But if you start too low and you raise your prices, people will throw a fit because they have learned to expect. They don't understand that, you know, cost went up. I mean,
00:26:39
Speaker
It's really hard for them to think about that we might have paid someone nine months for this product that they're going to eat in one day. And so we just have to remember that. One, perceived value. We have to tell them what it's worth and how we get to that equation. The other thing, too, is it doesn't really matter what your neighbor prices their product at because they're not selling the exact same product as you. And you can always lower your price, but it's very hard to raise your price after you have an established price set.
00:27:08
Speaker
Yeah, great tactics for sure. And I think farms can implement that now, you know, just taking a step back and looking at their pricing structure and the perceived value conversation to your point, you know, one item could be worth more to somebody than another, but knowing who your customer base is and starting there first is
00:27:26
Speaker
is critical so from kind of i guess a more perceived value conversation on the convenience side i think a lot of people now are conditioned to have you know convenient options they love the door to door you think about you know having other things shipped to you like amazon packages or you
00:27:45
Speaker
order direct from another big player like Target or something and you want delivered, you don't want to go into stores. What would you say are maybe a success story that you have in mind about a farmer or a rancher who pivoted and was able to sell direct and sell through convenient options like go door-to-door delivery or through shipping as you mentioned earlier? Yeah, absolutely. I think the important thing is I don't think you have to ship to be successful.
00:28:13
Speaker
And I think that sometimes we think, oh, everyone else is shipping, I gotta ship my product. A lot of us live in a town where if we tried to feed, you know, one-twentieth of the population, we would be booked for life. The thing I think about shipping is consistency.
00:28:30
Speaker
And so the businesses that I see that have done really well, they always ship on a Tuesday. So orders have to be in by Friday. Whatever it is, it's super consistent, so you know your product. The other thing is, is their packaging really tells a story. It's not just a brown box with me inside. There is confetti, or there is notes, or there's postcards, or there's recipes. And there's sometimes handwritten thank you notes, or...
00:28:57
Speaker
We knew it was your birthday, so we threw in an extra pound of meat. I mean, whatever it may be, that package has to be equally as exciting as the meat inside in order, the product inside in order for them to really kind of get this thrill and make it an event in these people's lives. And so I think that's really important. The other thing is, is I think for a lot of people, too many options is worse.
00:29:22
Speaker
So if you just make it very standard, you know, two or three options, don't give them five or ten. People have a hard time picking what Netflix show they're going to watch. Don't give them too many options. And you know, what's our bestseller? Make sure you label that. What works for your first time order? Make sure you label that. All of that. And I really think that people expect that convenience.
00:29:46
Speaker
Sometimes I like it, right, where we can just order things online. But I do see, you know, why a farmer's market is so great is we get to talk to our consumer and things like that. And I think that all factors in the perceived value. So if you do offer shipping, if you do offer delivery, you can pass that cost onto your buyer. And if they're willing to pay for it, then that's, you know, confirmation that you know,
00:30:08
Speaker
that they're willing to pay for that convenience, that it's worth it. So I think it's kind of having, like you said, those honest conversations, having that transparency and starting at a price that makes sense for the quality of your product, but not trying to change it over time because buyers love consistency.
00:30:26
Speaker
So I think kind of in closing, I'd love to just hear what you would say would be maybe the most beneficial aspect to membership for Cattlemen U.
Community and Encouragement at Cattleman U
00:30:35
Speaker
I know there's a lot of different benefits to membership. You're building out the program. You've surveyed your members and things are changing and evolving and all the great content you have. But if you had to pick one thing that is a common thread, what would you say would be that beneficial aspect you've heard from your farmers?
00:30:53
Speaker
I think community is number one. I think that anytime we do something different than what's done before, it feels very lonely. And so the Kettle Man U members have mentioned that they love to know that there's other hungry people
00:31:08
Speaker
And they sort of feel like it sets them apart, because they know that everyone in cattle menu has this hunger and this thirst for knowledge and education and so it's, it's a different class.
00:31:24
Speaker
than just meeting down at the local sale barn or something like that. They feel that everyone's driven and everyone is planning big things and big changes. And also, we have this mentality in the community that there's no dumb questions. If we don't feel comfortable asking questions with movers and shakers, then change is never going to happen.
00:31:44
Speaker
And so we've made that very clear to our audience. Any and all questions are welcome. We want you to be comfortable in this community and trust the members. And so I think the community is a huge aspect. And one thing that most of our members comment on is how much they learn from other members.
00:32:03
Speaker
And that's huge, I think, too, of learning from your peers, being able to bring in maybe an industry expert in a subject matter, but having farmers speak to farmers, ranchers speak to ranchers to share their own experience and show this is why it's working or this is what I've learned, and to be able to apply that to your own situation. But you can always learn something from someone else's experience, too. So for those who are interested in joining Cattleman U, what steps do they need to take to sign up?
00:32:30
Speaker
So the next time we'll launch Cattlemenew is in December. We just picked dates in December. And so if you go to cattlemenew.com, you can sign up for the waiting list and there's always a benefit to signing up to the waiting list. Sometimes we offer a discounted membership or a surprise session in there to people who signed up. So the next time you can join the membership is in December and the best place to be is on the waiting list and then making sure you're opening those waiting list emails so that you don't miss anything.
00:33:00
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Caroline, for joining us. Before we close, I'd love to just hear if there's any final piece of advice that you have for farmers and also what's next for cattle and you.
00:33:13
Speaker
Absolutely. I think the advice that I talk to young business owners and farmers and ranchers is there's room for all of us. So we need you. Your brain thinks differently than anyone else's. And so what makes you different is what makes you great. And I don't want people to think the market's ever saturated. We need every type of business.
00:33:36
Speaker
community over competition. We need community. We need people alongside us in this world. And it's such a great honor to feed people. Sometimes I have to take a step back and just remember that people are making nutritious decisions based on what I'm raising. And I think that's an incredible thought.
00:33:54
Speaker
and something that is really an honor that we get to be a part of people's you know three to what ten times a day their decision of what they're going to eat or snack on just seems to be such an honor and so I just want to encourage people that we need you we need what you bring to the table and we need the way you think and raise things
00:34:14
Speaker
And then the big thing for Kettleman U is we have up until November planned and announced, we will announce the next round of speakers. So December through June, that will be announced by the end of the month. So I love putting together speakers and topics and seeing just how we can serve people. So if any listeners are interested in joining Kettleman U and there's a lesson that they really want to be taught,
00:34:42
Speaker
or someone they want to hear from, they can send in suggestions. We do our best to get them in so that they can hear from experts that they already know, like, and trust. That's great. I think being on the pulse of your membership, seeing what works for them or, you know, areas of improvement as well. So that's awesome to hear. Well, I want to extend my things to you, Caroline, and all of the farmers involved at Cattleman U and Ranchers as well.
00:35:05
Speaker
Here at Barn to Door, we are delighted to serve ranchers and farmers in all 50 states, helping them grow and be successful selling direct. For more information on Cattleman U, you can visit cattlemanu.com. And to learn more about Barn to Door, including access to numerous free resources and best practices for your farm, you can go to barn to door.com slash resources. Thank you for tuning in and we'll see you next week.