Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Hello, friends, and welcome back again to another episode of Conservation Stories. This is the podcast sponsored by the Sand Hill Area Research association, we call SARA for short because it's less of a mouthful. And we're glad you're here today to listen in on a conversation with Mark and Jim Kleinsmith there with other half processing. And guys, I'm so glad that you are here today.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Thanks for having us. We're excited to be here.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: So tell me, which one's Mark and which one's Jim?
[00:00:37] Speaker C: I'm Jim, this is Jim, and this is Mark.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Okay, so I. I think maybe you're related. You have the same last name.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: That's right. We're two. We're two of five siblings. We grew up together on a family farm in Nebraska.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Okay. On a family farm in Nebraska. And you guys have been involved in ag for the last few years, or is this a new other half processing a new venture for you guys?
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's something we started. We've been doing it now for seven, eight years, so I guess it's been a while, but. Yeah, but it comes from the family background, basically, and looking at how to get more money from raising cattle the right ways.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Interesting. So did you guys grow up growing cattle? Were you on a cattle farm or ranch?
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Mark, do you want to ask me?
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: When we.
[00:01:26] Speaker C: Well, when we were kids, it was a dairy farm.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:29] Speaker C: And we were milking, and we had a pretty good chunk of the farm. I'd say, like maybe 150 acres was pasture because it was actually one of the few rolling hill part of Nebraska. So there was certain fields that were really only suitable for pasture. And we just let the dairy cows roam around and eat whatever they could get. And honestly, the pastures just weren't very productive, but they were what they were. And about the time that Jim and I were going off to college, around 1988, 89, our dad asked us to go out there and carve up the pasture into smaller paddocks using electric fence. He's going to try and manage the grazing. And I thought, this is a huge waste of our time to go out there and just string fence in the middle of nowhere.
But it had a profound impact on the ground once he started doing that.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Now that was well ahead of. Of his time. Or maybe that. I don't know, maybe it's just kind of made the rounds again. But I. I haven't heard of this type of management, of course. Not that I would. You know, it's not like I'm in The know, but that kind of management style where this is something that he thought of us himself or was he just kind of exposed to something?
[00:02:39] Speaker B: Yeah, he, he was lucky. I mean we were all lucky that, you know, dad, like I said, we were dairy farmers, but I always say we were eating government cheese too. Yes, so, so that commodity system wasn't working so well. You know, the inputs and all that stuff that comes with a lot of it, the more the output. Right. The amount of money you actually made on the system. So he started, him and mom started looking around pretty early and he was lucky to make to basically get a good friend who was one of the early leaders in the grass fed movement who he got to know as a county extension agent out in Nebraska. And so he would get to go hang out with him and learn with him. And sometimes he'd go over to his house and Alan Savory be sitting there.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: No way. How that's interesting. Huh?
That's interesting that the, that came from a county agent. That's, you know, that's what I remember about county agents is that they, they always knew what you needed to know and if they didn't, they knew exactly how to figure it out, how to find the answer. That's what I remember about agents, you know that, that, that was their kind of mentality. They were like the learners and the teachers at the same time.
[00:03:52] Speaker C: I agree. And our parents were always, they always embraced, you know, new information and trying new things. Dad built a solar powered water heater on the side of our barn and he and built like a composter out of a bunch of, out of a bunch of broken equipment. They created their own composter that could go through a wind and you know, turn over the windrow. So.
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Oh wow.
[00:04:14] Speaker C: He was always trying new things just to like, like Jim said, trying to support, you know, the family on just was kind of a losing proposition for a lot of people. So.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember that. I remember that government cheese. I remember being in line for the government cheese.
That huge block of government cheese. Yes. Oh goodness, that. Well, I'll tell you what if, now I don't wonder if you both of you know how to work hard if you grew up on a dairy. That's, that's hard work.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Yeah. It taught us a lot about how do you take care of animals and taught you and like, you know, having, having one of your lowest paid hardest jobs you're early on is probably a good thing.
But no, we got to learn a lot, you know, because our parents were actually, I Mean, the good thing is they were around every day, you know, for most of them. So we really did get to learn from them as we. But a lot of it was, you know, sure, we learned tractors, we learned cattle stuff, but, and hogs. But we also, we also learned a lot more about kind of, you know, what do you need to be, how do you, you know, what do you need to be doing to take care of your own land? And then increasingly, you know, how do you, how do you find the right value proposition out there in the market for what you're trying to do? Especially you're trying to get out of the commodity game.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Yeah, well, and also just that, you know, that that work ethic and the ideas of pioneering and problem solving, that's something else, you know, that they obviously passed along to you because you know, as I've looked at your website for the grant that you're hosting, I've been really impressed with what you're trying to do there and I'd love for us to visit some about that because I really, you know, we've looked at a lot of climate smart grant opportunities and a lot of them really just are not, they're not something that are really valuable to people and in our region or folks that we know they're not maybe worth the time. But this one, I think this has, this has some value to it and some long term value. More than like an immediate, you know, drop in the bucket for a few dollars for an acre, this one has really the potential to help people build out another market.
[00:06:29] Speaker B: Yeah, well, we appreciate that and I think, you know, and it really is based on the fact, you know, like with other half processing, our whole goal here, how do we, how do we get, get more value back from and use of these whole animals? Because when we talk other half, what we figured out is as you know, as you know and anyone who sold meat and goes to the smaller medium sized meat packers especially, you know, that the value of that drop of all that other stuff, you know, that isn't the meat that you're not necessarily want to take home has really dropped in the market and especially for those small plants. So what used to be, you know, something that really helped pay for your plant processing and got used, you know, people pick it up for leather, pick it up for pet food, for human food, for all these other things, you know, we're finding increasingly, you know, these plants are getting calls and saying, hey, we're not, you know, we're not going to come get your stuff or, or you Know, you might have to pay for us to get rid of it rather than it being something that you could, that these slaughter plants could sell. And that hurt our bottom line as a family who has switched over to selling direct grass fed beef. We could tell like, you know, sometimes we made almost as much money selling these animals, you know, that we've done managed grazing, we've done all the work with grass fed and everything to get them, you know, the way we know people want. And we get almost much money just selling them into a sale barn because of that loss of value with the other half. So for us it was a problem solving opportunity and an opportunity for business because we know people care about it. We knew they cared about meat. We're hoping they care about what happens these products and would like them to be used in good stuff like leather and pet food and cosmetics and all the other things. So, so it was always problem solving, you're right. And that was definitely something you learned every day on a farm and still do. So yeah. And then the grant, you know, just to get to that point, we, you know, we got the opportunity, we're already starting to buy and sell these byproducts from regeneratively raised livestock and working to get more money back to the producers and the processors. And we saw this opportunity come along and we said, well that's, you know, that's what we're doing who are trying to build these markets and you know, climate smart is part of it, but mostly it's about that full value. So can we, can we go after and help, you know, have one of these grants really work with this whole value chain really focusing on the farmers and ranchers first? But how do we get resources and how do we de risk, you know, rebuilding some of this, these markets and this supply chains around the byproducts in ways that work for folks now and aren't just going back to a commodity kind of bottom pricing. So, so that was our hope. And yeah, that's really the goal of this grain.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: So we're going back to something you said about like, you know, you went from seeing a little bit of income from this, this other half, you know, this, the, the stuff that's, that's what we might think of as the byproduct of the meat processing. And what, where did that go? Where did that, where did those markets go? Why did they disappear?
[00:09:35] Speaker C: I think it's mostly due to the consolidation of beef processing.
Previously you had a pretty wide network of slaughterhouses of different sizes and then because they weren't big enough to do all of their rendering on their own, for example, then you have pretty extensive network of trucks that would run around collecting that stuff. Well, they brought all that stuff in house. And so now the remaining companies that we're collecting byproducts, their networks got longer. So now it's more expensive to pick it up. And eventually it didn't make sense anymore.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: For the last several generations focused on how efficient, how efficient, how efficient can we be? But there's a price to be paid for that efficiency. And sometimes I think there have been some maybe unintended consequences. And it's interesting to see how, you know, for people to see how the. What. What that cost us in the end, like how that impacts our communities and how that makes it more difficult for smaller producers to be able to afford to bring them the type of specialized food that they might want. Or even just regular, not specialized.
[00:11:01] Speaker C: Absolutely. And I think during the pandemic, we saw that if you get a disruption at one of those packers now, it significantly impacts the nation's protein supply. So you're right. Efficiency is not resilient either.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Well, and one other piece of this markets, I mean, one is this consolidation of agriculture and then obviously the byproduct industry. The other has actually been. One of the biggest issues we ran into right away was the hides. And seeing that that's both an opportunity, but a real cost to companies with the leather market dropping off. And that's really a lot of it. On the one hand, it's supply, but we know our herd sizes are small, as they've been in 50, 70 years. So we're not slaughtering, we're not having that much hide. It's really. There was a big change in the last 15 years in leather use, and that has consequences, you know, so this natural material is now, you know, there's estimates that up to 40% is being thrown away into landfills. Literally, you know, that aren't that are there because of the meat and the meat processing industry, but because we've had such a drop now, something that used to, you know, can earn slaughter plants, you know, 100 bucks a hide back in the good days now is often something that they pay literally to have someone put in the ground. And so we saw that as such a problem. And so how do we. How do we grow both, you know, collection and use of that, but make sure that people are understanding the value of natural materials like. Like hides for leather and getting those back in and getting more demand for that material, honestly.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Exactly. I Think it was you guys that we were talking to at the conference in California about the farm, the ranch where. I don't remember where he is or the name of it, but they literally, they use every single, every single bit of their cattle, I mean everything. And they make things in house like their soap and all of those things right on that ranch. And he's employing people in that little community. Do you remember that conversation?
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Yeah. That's Will Harrison and Denny and Amber and their family. And they're doing amazing.
They are the leaders in this that we see in figuring out how to get full use and value of all these materials.
[00:13:23] Speaker C: But I will say even a top notch outfit and organization like white oak pastures, there are still items in there. There are byproducts that they know they could get more value out of than they're currently. I mean, the worst scenario for them is compost, which is still a benefit back to their, you know, their farm. But we're working, we're actually working with them with the grant to see if we can capture some more of the byproducts. And the grant can help start more revenue from some of the things that are underutilized there. So it really says something for, you know, how everyone can benefit if we can get more lift out of these byproducts, even white oak pasture.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: Yeah. And see I'm. And maybe, maybe the difference I see in this one is like that it is so, it's so personalized, I think like you guys are literally really working side by side with some of these people to really bring long term value. I mean, I know we've, we visited at Textile Exchange about, you know, all of these larger companies that are, you know, making commitments to not buy leather from deforested regions. We just happen to not have to deforest where we are. We started out deforested. So look, so, you know, we're, you know, seeing that as. Was that an opportunity for, you know, for us to step in and provide some of that hides? What is that? What does that value chain look like now, the supply chain for leather? What does that look like? And what's that? You know, I know you're trying to identify and grow that opportunity. What are you seeing there as a potential opportunity?
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Well, I think it is really where we started that we see a lot of people wanting to know again, just like they want to be connected to their meat and their food, they want to figure out how they connect back, especially something as great as leather. And so knowing it turned into such a global and you Know, non transparent supply chain. Right. I mean when, when we started the business, we were told like nobody traces hides back, you know, like you can't do that, like, you know, tannery. You get the hides, you buy them, you sell them to, you know, you get them turned into leather and you sell them to companies. That's just how it works. And for us, we knew from the experience with food and other markets that there is interest in these kind of connections and especially when you can tie that high traceability to better environmental performance potential. Right? Better biodiversity, wildlife habitat, better farmer revenue and wealth creation opportunities.
Those are the kind of things these companies that you're saying want to claim. There's the negative they push back against. And that's with some of these European and global kind of regulations starting to come in around how it can't come, like you said, from areas that are been recently deforested. But we want to offer that positive just like you're saying, not just are we not coming from recently deforested areas.
In addition, it's coming from livestock that are raised under regenerative, in regenerative systems where they're benefiting, having multiple benefits for the environment, for the community, for the producers and for the animals themselves. Until that last bad day, of course.
And so the goal is, you know, that's the story we want to be able to tell is a positive story, not just a, not, not this story.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Right, Right. Yeah. You're, what you're saying is we're not, we're not just looking at just doing the least, but what's the, what's the most that we can do? And, and you know, that's, I know there were conversations around that at the Textile Exchange conference about the things that, you know, brands want or you know, say they need. But when it comes to, you know, really like putting it on the line as far as, okay, and we'll pay for that. You know, sometimes that's where you get hung up, you know.
And are you, are you seeing some potential interest in, you know, hey, if we could connect you with, you know, like a farmer, like rancher, like Lacey and you know, she can trace the, you know, her, the heritage of her herd back to like the 1800s and she tracks everything and we can tell you exactly where this hide came from and would, you know, you think those companies would have some interest in pursuing those type of potential supply chains to, for the story of that?
[00:17:54] Speaker C: Yeah, A.B. absolutely. We've, you know, as, as Jim said, you know, a lot of consumer good companies have moved away from leather, for a number of reasons, automotive has moved to synthetics mostly because it's cheaper and because some people have concerns about, you know, animal welfare, whatever. Some brands like that we work with, like Coach, like Timberland, they identified. We, we are, leather is part of our identity. And so we're going to pursue, you know, some of the best stories in leather and show the impact, the positive impact that those animals can have on the ground. On the ground. That you can't even have a healthy grassland without animals. They are an essential part of that ecosystem. And so by using them and getting them out there and having them managed the right way, you are doing something positive for the environment. And then you can be proud of this leather bag or these leather boots that you have and they're absolutely interested in that and they are paying a premium. This is not commodity leather by any means because it's, we have to go through a lot of hoops and they've said absolutely yes, this is important to us. How much can you find? Because we want to do this as big as we can and the premiums are not unrestricted. You know, there's, we found, we found the right point where it works. It's not too expensive and it supports the value that they see.
[00:19:17] Speaker A: And that is, that, that's so great. And this is, this is why we're so excited about having you on. Because I want, you know, people to know how easy it is to get connected with you guys. And I just, you know, want them to be able to know what this opportunity is. And we're, you know, where we are. There's a lot of people that are already, you know, turning their row crops back into grassland. So, you know, I think the opportunity for us to increase animal production here is really, we're going to see that in the next several years. We're going to see more and more of that. And animal production is also, you know, an area of agriculture where there is, there is a need for growth. And so, you know, if we are able to, you know, even collectively across this region to work with, you know, one of our maybe mid sized packers to create that value chain for people, wouldn't that be amazing for us where, you know, you could look at our region and go, there's no hope, you're going to be out of water in 30 years.
But instead, you know, what I feel like you guys are doing are saying, hey, we, we might connect, actually help you bring in another, you know, income stream through a byproduct that right now you're unable to utilize. And we can tell Coach how much, how much leather did you want? Because we can probably meet that demand. We could meet that demand.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: Yeah. And our goal is to get that up there.
[00:20:46] Speaker C: Right?
[00:20:47] Speaker B: I mean, and one of it is, I mean, we have to be frank. I mean, we know what drives producers decision making. It's around, I mean, when you're doing cattle, it's meat. We know that. But how do we make this work and these complementary markets work together so that what you're, what you're doing to get more money for your meat can help you add value to these other products? And that's why we came up with this with the Generalized regenerative Agriculture sourcing spec grass, you know, because we had to figure out a way to bring together, you know, different certification and verification approaches that we know we need out there. We need diversity approaches. We got diversity of producers and situations and farms and ranches and everything. But at the end of the day, we also know that, you know, the markets want to make some shared claims and this is the way we kind of brought that all together. And the grant has really helped and grow that marketplace so that we get that leverage. And the key for us is let's not reinvent any wheels and let's not ask producers to do, you know, pay for the same thing over and over again when it comes to, on farm inspections or certifications. Instead, how do we get you more value from what you're already putting in from an input, you know, with your investment? And how do we get that investment to pay off in multiple ways? And you know, these byproduct markets aren't a lot of money, but it helps. All of it helps. And especially if you get some for that and you're reducing or getting rid of all that waste cost, because that's a cost. That's what we were.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: Yeah, that's interesting. And I do think too, we, we, we have, we have such a different perspective, I think, on, on money. And I'm talking even, you know, speaking for myself than, you know, our grandparents did in that, you know, that penny saved is a penny earned. And, you know, any, any money that we make is more money than we had before. And sometimes you have to really look at like, what do I have more time or I have more money, you know, and, but if these are things that, hey, it's, it's not going to, you know, triple your income in a year or double your income, but it's something else that comes along that maybe provides help with college tuition or you Know, some things like that, that's, that kind of thing is beneficial to people in an economy in the place that our rural economies are in.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: That's right. No, no, every bit matters. And so we're totally with you. And that's what this adds up to. And it really matters both places because as you know, we're talking about earlier, these small, medium sized plants are the ones that so many of our communities kind of depend on for our own food. And we're just taking in a cow or a hog or something for ourselves. But also where a lot of these value added meat companies go and if they can' if they can't get rid of hives, they have to pay more. That all passes down and reduces profitability on the meat as well. Because now steaks and you know those have to carry steaks and pork chops have to carry all your costs and you're, I mean you gotta charge a lot for those. But if we can get it spread out, we can get more value back A they get to stay in business. Cause they need money to be able to do that and cover their costs. And this, this used to be a revenue stream for them, right? It's selling this stuff. So it's all of us in together. That's what we keep saying. Like this doesn't work unless we all make it work. But we can get more value, value across from producer through processor all the way through if we do it right. So that's the goal.
[00:24:26] Speaker A: Out here on the Texas plains, water is everything. And there's a resource that's as vital as it is fragile. Our Playa Lakes. These lakes are nature's reservoir, catching rainwater to recharge our aquifer and provide lifelines for wildlife. But now they need our help. In collaboration with the Texas Fly Lakes Conservation Initiative and the Cargill Global Water Challenge, Sarah has started the Our Legacy is Tomorrow's Water initiative to instantly inspire and work with landowners to restore and protect our Playa lakes. Each Playa we save helps secure a sustainable water future for the generations that will be coming after us. Whether it's improving soil health, restoring habitats or recharging groundwater, we are committed to making a difference. Together we can build a legacy that we can all be proud of. To learn how you can join in, visit the Playa Lakes Restoration Initiative page on the SARAH website. Let's keep Texas water flowing strong for the future. Visit sarah-conservation.com so it's really not even just, you know, ranchers that you're talking about, but also connecting with Those processors that would be interested in investing that, I guess the time and the energy to build out, you know, not just for themselves but for their consumers and for the people that are bringing them the beef.
[00:25:57] Speaker C: Absolutely, yeah. Those small and medium sized processors that are part of our communities, they need that support. They're the ones that are being squeezed. And one of our processors we work with, they told us just recently that they had increased the volume of animals moving through their facility. They had done an expansion and they had filled it up and everything seemed great. And he said we're making less than before because the drop credit, the drop value keeps going down. So this is just essential to the business model, to this, to that essential segment that need, you know, for our local food systems and to keep, you know, to the further resilience we talked.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: About that that is. So that's just, I think it's, you know, there's some really good potential for some really, really good news there at a time when I think it's very timely. So I've actually passed your website along to several people just in a text saying hey, go fill out the survey. Because I've seen the survey, it's, it's so easy. So what's it, tell me, tell us what's the benefit of doing that and what they can expect to happen after they fill out that survey.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: Yeah, let me, let me see if I can get this right.
So we've got a great team working on the ground that's been really building it out, trying to make it as user friendly as possible. And the simple question is we want to involve farmers and ranchers in this work. And so the first thing is, yeah, you can go to the ggrass.org g g r a s s.org website, find that farmer, rancher or producer button and you just go there. And mostly just for filling this first, you know, very short survey out, it's just to make sure, you know that you have, that you're involved in cattle or buffalo grazing, you have some interest in that, you have some ability to move into this kind of grazing space. And if that's all true, then basically the next step would be us, you know, filling out a longer survey. But that's when you can get $500. Because we want to compensate people for their time and their, and their, and their information. They get to keep it, it's their info. We'll keep everything completely confidential that we guarantee and promise. But for us it's really, we want to, we want to acknowledge that, you know, we only can do this with help from producers and them sharing information about themselves, what they're trying to do, what their challenges are in trying to do more, to raise more of these animals this way, basically. And especially, you know, whether it's on the, on the land itself or as a challenge with processing, with the end goal that we're trying to get folks into these value added markets where it's a good fit and to try to help them find where that entry point is and if possible, to work, you know, for us to be able to work with their processors or other processors that they can access, that can help get, at the end of the day, get more value for those animals across the board, including. Including the other half. So, but it all starts with us just, you know, starting to get, you know, to help get folks in and start to collect some information and learn some of that. And that's what this survey is about.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: Yeah, and that's what I noticed in the survey was kind of the questions were like, yeah, but do you really have, do you really have cows and do you really have land or are you just thinking that you might do that? That's really kind of what the difference is. You're looking for the people that, that are like, yeah, I actually am producing cattle or I have the. I literally have what I need to be able to do to do that. That's what you're looking for. Those are the kind of people that need to be filling out the survey.
[00:29:24] Speaker B: That's right. Those are the people we're looking. Of course, we are looking to learn from some of the folks who wanted to be in this space. Especially if you come from a space where you haven't been able to access land or something. But in general, like kind of the bread and butter is, yeah, we want to be connected with those ranchers and farmers and communities out there who are really in this and want to do more. Whether it's more animals, more acres, more neighbors doing it. Like, how do, how do we, you know, learn. How do we learn from what they're, what they're experiencing and what they're, what they're hoping to do and help identify resources and ways to connect with them through the grant and outside of it, frankly, because our big thing is the grant is, you know, it's USDA funded. We have the ability to connect with producers on this first round without them being signed up with, you know, through all the USDA system. Later rounds will want that because that's part of the deal. But either way, we'd like to Connect if there's an interest in being part of these markets. So that part's there no matter what. The survey helps us connect with you either way on that one.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: Okay. Well, I mean, I just, like, every time I think about it, I think of somebody else that I need to send it to and that I think they need to fill out that survey. They need to know about this. And I just, you know, I. I just am so proud that you guys are willing to give people money for filling out the survey. Because the number one complaint that I've heard, even from the people that are the top pioneering people I know is they're like, I'm not filling out any more paperwork for them for $40 an acre. Maybe if I can. Maybe if I can get, you know, approved maybe, you know, and so I'm like, there are so many people that I think have just. They just, there's probably opportunities out there for them, but they are weary of providing information. A long list of information, I might add. Like, that is the other thing about your survey is it is. It's so easy. And I mean, I have looked at multiple other climate smart applicant applications and been like, yeah, I mean, stop me at page 25, you know what I mean? Like, you know, or. Or have to look up words that I've never heard before. I'm like, what in the world? Or like, I would never want these people on my land. Like, who are these people? You know, So I just am encouraged by the fact that you guys, you value the time of the people that are filling out the survey. That, that says, that says a lot to me, that you respect the work that they're doing and you have respect and regardless for their time. And I want to just say thank you for that because it really does. It says a lot about, I think, the potential for collaborating with you guys, that you understand what needs to happen and you have the will and the determination to see if you can make it work like your dad.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: Well, we appreciate that and we obviously have shared values with you all because we appreciate you bringing us on here. We all talk about. And we're clear too. We try to be straight up. Like, we're all. We're trying to find these resources, Sharon. We, of course, you know, we can't collect every hide out there. We can't collect every bit in piece. But our goal is to. How do we help make that valuation happen? And we're kind of straight up. Like, it takes the partnerships with the processors and everyone involved, but at the end of the day, like you said, it's like the.
It is about meeting people where they're at and how can we provide resources to help people do what they're trying to do. We're not trying to stand anything up on its own with this grant funding. That's not. We know that usually falls back down when the money goes away.
And so the goal is, how do we help folks with what they're trying to do, Connect in, do our bit, throw the bid in. We're able to help connect with and then like I said, grow the whole thing for everyone. But it's. Yeah, but it takes all of us. So we just appreciate the fact what you're doing and what you're doing to share information and connect community on, it's just real important.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think about what your guys are doing about that. It's not like a chain, but a loop. You know, you guys are working to make, to turn this value chain into, to a loop where there is more, you know, from the end user to the beginning, you know, because there's so much in between that takes all of the benefit really from the farmer and the closer that they can get to the end user and the closer they can get to that, that buyer that needs what they have, the better off, the better off we all are. Better off. All of us that live in rural America are. Is there anything you want to say or leave the guest with? We will include the links to all of your websites, any contact information you want, and we'll do a direct link to the survey and that kind of stuff so people can get all that stuff filled out and, and anything else, though, that you guys want people to know.
[00:34:32] Speaker C: Before we go, please fill out the survey if you can find the time.
We want to get as many people into the system as we can that will create more opportunities for you down the road, and we're committed to making that useful.
We're interested in hearing where you're processing because we know that that's an important part. We've got a whole part of the grant that's just focused on helping processors collect more byproducts and keep them with that higher value, some of those attributes. And then the third part of the grant is pushing out is creating more demand so that pet companies should be paying a premium for this stuff coming from healthier animals that are out on the grass. So we're committed to kickstarting that too and getting that loop circling. We can't always collect everything. We hate to disappoint people. We can't get stuff from lockers, but we're committed to making as much work as we can, so.
[00:35:28] Speaker B: That's right. Well, Ann, and I'd say the other piece is just that we're national. So, I mean, I know you got listeners all over. And so I think just to be clear, again, we still try to line up where we can with processors that we can work with or that are willing to work with us or others to get this stuff collected. And there be us, of course, by any means. But I think the bigger point is, yeah, this is an opportunity that ranchers and farmers around the country can access.
[00:35:51] Speaker A: That is, that is great news. Well, Jim and Mark, thank you very much for joining us again. And people can find you guys@ggrass, ggrass.org and friends, thank you for joining us for another episode of Conservation Stories. And I, I think that this is a really, a genuine, genuine opportunity for people to really look into. And I hope that you will take the time to fill out that survey. And also if you enjoy the information that you're getting here, I hope that you'll take a minute to like and share the podcast, maybe even share this episode with folks that you know that are in the ranching world and can benefit from filling out that survey and participating in this opportunity. We look forward to being with you, you next time.
