Neil Dudley: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Pederson’s farms podcast. We are so excited you’re here. We appreciate you joining us. And we look forward to sharing these conversations with thought leaders from our industry. They’re going to paint a picture from every perspective, consumer customer, vendor, employees.

And peer that I think is going to be super valuable and we’re really excited to share. So thanks for tuning in. Remember, don’t tune out and grab laughed by the bike. Everybody. This is another episode of the Pederson’s farms podcast. I have a couple of very special guests today. I mean, especially in the right kind of way, they do the stuff in the industry that I look up to that I learned from.

And I hope you guys and gals. Learned something as well. Dan and Becky might let you all introduce yourselves for the guests or the listeners. And then we’ll just jump into talking about all those things, country, natural beef, and. Your careers really? Because those are the interesting things. Those are the pieces of the puzzle.

That’s going to give everybody a chance to see something. They may not have a chance to see otherwise. Dan, why don’t you actually, let’s go ladies first, Becky. 

Becky Faudree: Okay. Well, good morning. Yeah, I am a manager for country, natural beef, and so basically work on the operation side of things. So think harvest to customer.

So that’s kind of my eight a day. We’ve got a pretty awesome team. That I work with and dance included in that dance, my boss. So yeah, we kind of make it happen with the co-op or is our amazing co-op of a hundred ranchers and getting their, their cattle to market in a box. 

Dan Probert: So. 

Neil Dudley: Wow. Thank you. And everybody we’ll put some links to [00:02:00] Becky’s LinkedIn, Dan’s LinkedIn, just the website for country natural beef.

That stuff will be in the show notes. So you can go kind of check them out outside of this conversation as well. Dan, tell everybody a little bit about yourself, how you managed to be on this phone this, well, I guess I was going to say phone call, but it’s really a podcast, a zoom conference. 

Dan Probert: Good morning, everyone.

And thanks for the invitation Neil. So yeah, I’m Dan, I’m a rancher in Northeast, Oregon, which is kind of mountainous country. We have a cow calf operation here and a couple of. Locations in the state of Oregon and Nevada and Washington, and you need to country natural beef. The there’s four managers, what we call internal partners.

And so all of the lead management, also our ranchers that came up kind of through the ranks in country, natural beef. So I started with the co-op in 1996, started putting a calendar. How different jobs in that time frame was I’m more on the live cattle side, on, on the live cattle production side. And then we move to what we call marketing, but really Becky described it better.

It’s it’s really an inventory management job, basically from the. Time, the animal unloads as the processing facility on, out through the consumer. And so, so that’s my current role. I’ve been in that for two and a half years, but really have gotten to be a part of this growth and in country, natural beef that went so in 1996, when I started.

We were processing about a 4,000 head a year. Now that number’s just, just a little shy of 70,000 head here. So it’s been quite a ride in [00:04:00] my time with 

Neil Dudley: yes. That is the story. That is the thing that I think will have a lot of value for, for the listeners. Right. And Diane, I think, well, both of you really, it’s kind of cool for people to hear, Hey, this guy.

Raises cattle. I mean, you’ve came up with this company with this brand throughout the years. And then we start talking about Becky’s story a little bit. She came from kind of the other side of the desk at one time over at whole foods. So she really understands the needs of retailers and how those retailers.

The consumer’s desires and the things they’re wanting. Oh, there’s just a million topics. So maybe let’s start with humane treatment of the animals. How do you guys deal with that topic? And how do you think about that? What’s your philosophy and I don’t care. Maybe both of you want to chime in, or if there’s a better one for that question, somebody just tell us.

Dan Probert: Yeah. It kind of fits with both of us. Some of that key can fill in too. I know. I’m so. So country natural beef, even before there was a program called global animal partnership was doing exploratory work. And so, so I think at that time it was called the animal compassion foundation. Becky will credit me if I have the name wrong, but we, we started working with them, got them out, got the folks out on a number of ranches.

And then as. The gap standards of global animal partnership, animal welfare standards were developed. Then I was on the gap board for I think, 10 years. And part of that time, Becky was executive director. I believe it was really a grassroots effort that John Mackey champion, when he was leading the whole [00:06:00] foods, whole foods really pushed.

Like took a really unique approach in that they brought animal welfare groups and, and production groups like country, natural beef and Nyman ranch on the port side, for instance, and, and many other groups brought them all to the table to put a standard together. With very divergent, almost contentious groups and that the standards were not perfect.

They’ve went through a number of iterations and continue to go through changes. But, but really that is, that is our main. Arm’s length. Third party verification system is gap, and we continue to use that. I would, I would say we’re probably that you will know this better than me. We’re probably 70 to 75% gaps.

That four, which means the animals are never confined to a capital facility. We, we have some that are, but still meet over a hundred. Well first and the gas 

Neil Dudley: system, as one of the things I love about gap, I think without gap, it made it really hard for somebody to really even take the first step towards changing how, how they operate and moving to maybe a more desirable system.

Right. Because. Yeah, it’s hard. A lot of times for anybody it’s hard for me as a rancher or a guy that’s thinking about changing things, trying to do it better to just go from what I did. Something different. And if that is a big jump, man, that’s a hard thing to do. But with gap, you have some steps. You can work your way up the ladder.

I like to say for everybody, that’s not familiar with gap global animal partnership. Dan we’re like, we have a chance right here and I’ve, I want to needle on [00:08:00] how you built that and how even with John leading it, you guys were, were. Guy and gal, I keep saying guys, and I’m thinking off, man, that’s not very fair to Becky, but anyways, and just integral in, in bringing those groups together.

And you mentioned contention, is there a fun story to tell around that? I mean, was there some times when you’re trying to talk about. Space requirements in the pork side of the business or feed lots in the beef side of the business, or I’m sure there’s some chicken and Turkey considerations 

Dan Probert: there. There were, there were an, and, and it was, it was closer.

It was closer to the end of my tenure on the gap board had Becky I think was involved in those early years before there actually was an official program. Maybe knows a little bit more of the, of the contentious stories, but yeah, there, if you, if you can imagine you, you have, you have one group, our group that’s involved in production, you have another group that really their mission has been to handle.

Production. Right. And, and so finding, finding middle ground is, is really, really difficult. And the things that come to mind where we spent a lot of time and everybody was respectful. I mean, there was obviously, 

Neil Dudley: well, you know, there was some arm wrestling and I mean, there had to have been, I’m just picturing.

It 

Dan Probert: didn’t hit the minutes though. 

Neil Dudley: That was at the bar afterwards. Yeah, it 

Dan Probert: was, it was, but you get the contentious things or if you could imagine transport, right. We all have to use some type of transfer most, all of us to, to get animals, to processing facilities. And so we spent hours on transport, a lot of the practices back on the road.

How we use, let, let’s say a hot [00:10:00] shot on an electric prod, how we use dogs, how we use a rope, we all here at least brand our calves kind of the way we’ve done for a hundred years and getting those things ironed out definitely were contentious at times, but, but we got there. I mean, and I think both groups had to meet in the middle and I think most importantly, It forced, it forced producers likely to look at our practices.

And really evaluate what we were doing and aspects of, can we do things better? Could we design a lead-up or a split shoe or a bud box or a tub better where we didn’t have to use products much. It’s natural. Just the term. Natural made us better producers. If you can’t reach for a bottle of. Thailand, our liquid mice and you learn how to take stress off of animals.

And it’s all these steps I think have made us better. Producers. 

Neil Dudley: That’s a great illustration. I wish we could do that in our country. Right. Get total opposite views at the table and leave. Happy. I mean, I’m sure. Yeah. There’s some tough debate, tough conversation, but at the end of the day, progress was made and man, I think it’s just a good illustration for anybody and everybody out there trying to help govern our country.

All right, Becky. So I am curious, you’ve just been involved with this. From so many angles and in so many ways, tell us a story about somebody that was really opposed to animal agriculture, who then came and saw what it really is and how that affected their perspective. Have you got one of those? It doesn’t have to be a specific person, but in [00:12:00] general 

Becky Faudree: we had, we actually had a couple of people on the gap board that were, I mean, like Dan said the mean they’re they’re in

Right. So you’re really meeting at the table with someone who does not want. Meat on the table. And so it’s like you said, and kind of getting minds together and kind of like, okay, come out with a solution. But there, yeah, there were times when I would say that it did get very contentious and in that I think it was kind of like, sometimes it would just.

You were almost talking and it was almost like you’re trying to rationalize with someone where it’s not rational to them. Is that, 

Neil Dudley: yeah, that’s what I taught. I say a lot is our opinions come from our experiences. And I feel like a lot of times in those relationships, my experience is so vastly different than theirs and vice versa.

It’s really hard. That’s why I try to say, well, just come to the ranch, just come out here and ride around with me a little bit. And let’s talk while we’re in that environment. And I have to be kind of willing to do the same with them, right? It’s not only come to the ranch. Well, let me come to your direction some and understand that perspective.

Becky Faudree: Totally. Yeah, I think there are some people, I think our gap board that I, I didn’t, and I know Dan you’ve been backed up back me up on this that I really didn’t think would, I mean, they were involved in a lot of protests. I mean, they were and very involved in animal activism and we actually did get to a place where we came out, work for standards.

Where there was a meeting of the minds where maybe everyone wasn’t super happy to be honest. I mean, maybe Dan was a [00:14:00] little like, oh my gosh, how am I going to do this at my ranch? But in the, and then the animal activists are kind of like, as can’t believe we disagreed to that, but 

Neil Dudley: we didn’t cancel it, I think.

And that’s cool too. Everybody still has their position. They began with it. Everybody made some concessions there’s some middle ground found, but I don’t think somebody who wants to add to animal agriculture now, all of a sudden doesn’t want to end, but they’ve made some moves to the middle animal.

Agriculture has made some moves to the middle, which turns out to be the big majority of humans getting a better deal. And I just think that’s such a win and the animals get a better deal. All right. So where did, where did the name? Okay, so like, this is just how it works. I jumped now to a new topic.

Where did the name country? Natural beef come from? I do. What’s that story? 

Dan Probert: The short answer is I’m not exactly sure. Other than. It was the name they picked in 1986. And there was just a little bit about the history. There was 14 original ranches and they started in 86 and essentially a number of them were going broke and.

Barely old enough to remember. I was just, I was just graduating high school. And, but that was the time in the Pacific Northwest where CME started. That was the time of the spotted owl. That was a time of farm crisis where interest rates were hitting in the, in the 20, 21%.

Neil Dudley: Oh 

Dan Probert: yeah. You don’t know about spotted owl, so listed as an endangered. Species and really closed a number of national forest, which public lands forest really feed the mills in these very small towns that I grew up in. So spotted out on was a way to stop timber [00:16:00] harvest. And it’s this little town, this community that I’m in.

I think when I graduated in 82, there were, there were four mills operating and within a few years they were all. And so all those jobs level, all of us that graduated, left my, all my classmates left because there weren’t again, there, there were just as bad things happen on the farm side and the ranch side with high interest rates.

And it depends. So that’s that country, natural beef was born in that era and they really, they really decided that the only way they could survive this was to. They started with three head a week. And the other interesting thing about that group is I think, I think all of them were involved in holistic resource management at the time.

And I think a lot of them met at a short course, sit Allan savory put on. And so, yes. Was a cornerstone and then just the need to survive was another part. If you think of that, it was a little bit farther down the road, but you probably will remember this one beyond. Maybe you’re too young, but Catholic free in 93, that was a slogan on.

Getting Ana getting cat off public lands ranches, and most of our ranches do have some public plans. So all of those things push pushed for, for the organization, but the name I’m not answering your question. Well, because I, I know the name was started with the start of the group and it’s probably important to recognize we have two lines.

We have two brands, we have country natural beef. Most of that goes to whole foods is more of a national brand. And then Oregon country beef is a brand. We use him at Pacific Northwest has slightly different attributes, has a non-GMO attribute and it, and it makes a call out more of a local call-out for the Pacific Northwest.

Neil Dudley: Sure. Now, do you guys supply whole foods [00:18:00] nationwide or is it regional? I’m just wondering the listeners if they want, if they want to know if they’re eating country natural beef, unless they whole foods is a pretty good example. Maybe you can’t tell what’s in the meat case if that’s country natural or not.

So I’m just curious, how could we paint that picture? Is it national? 

Becky Faudree: Yeah, we’re considered a national brand and you can find us in Pacific Northwest Norco. So Southwest Rocky mountain and the south. 

Neil Dudley: Wow. Well, that’s a lot of them. That’s there’s only about. What three or four more regions outside of those that you guys cover up a big piece of the country as far as whole whole foods is going.

So if you’re a shopper in basically from Florida, all the way to California and then up to Washington, and then just cut a little diagonal line from Washington down to Florida. That’s, that’s where you can find this beef. Now, are you guys all grass fed?

Dan Probert: No. So we’re where we’re grain fed. We’re our rancher basis pack is a cow calf based, but we do, we do finish these, these cow on grain. Now, do you, 

Neil Dudley: are you nervous about saying that? I mean, it’s just a question I ask, because I think people are interested. You hear grass fed is a big buzz word. We do grass fed.

We do organic, but I, I personally. Like at all, like I like it 

Dan Probert: all. Yeah. So, I mean, I’m involved in a small grass fed program. I like dipping my toe in that personally, but the reality is that 85% of the main case is grain fed. And so it’s a, it’s a niche for us. It’s where we [00:20:00] started. We continue to try and do things to make it.

We don’t try to have. We want to talk about a quality eating experience and angry and finished, but we also address the animal welfare side through the global animal partnership standards. These are a step four, which means they’re never confined to a feed lot, but they’re still fed a grain ration, but they have access to pasture that entire time.

So 

Neil Dudley: the whole topic. It’s just crazy to say, well, some, some grass fed and finished cattle are actually done in a feedlot. So it’s, it’s really such a big, broad understanding that needs to be passed along somehow. And you really can’t even do it in the 30 minute podcast. I think it’s just, we want to paint the picture.

I brought it up. So you guys just have a chance to. Honestly answer I’ll know, we, we grained finish our cattle or we feed them this way. I think people also consumers just want that transparency, like, Hey, okay, cool. I answered the question. That’s how you do it now. I know now I can choose to buy your product or not.

Partly why. I think it’s so important to bring peers in the industry onto this platform. So, Hey, you might not buy Peter. You might rather have beef than pork or, and hi, these are some guys I trust and have known for a lot of years and think are certainly reputable. Anyways, I rambled a little bit, got up on my soap box about grass fed, but I think it is, it’s kind of important to just let everybody know you.

You need to do a lot of research into grass fed grass finished. Grain finished those things too, to really understand the truth in what you’re eating. 

Becky Faudree: Well, sorry, but if I can add to that, I [00:22:00] think you have a valid point a couple of seconds ago when you said either grass fed can be in a feedlot. So it’s kind of, not even just about the finishing.

It’s really almost about them, how they’re, how they’re being raised. But I mean, because I think people just think brass that is synonymous with pasture. And that’s just not true. 

Neil Dudley: Okay. So let’s add another layer. What about organic? Right? Does organic dictate humane treatment? Not that I’ve ever seen. Right.

But if you hear that word as a consumer, you assume. A lot of things, and I think it’s on upon us and our peers and everybody that’s out here trying to do this thing the best. We know how to, to address some of that, to talk about it and then to say, okay, look, if somebody assuming the word organic means.

Humane treatment as well. We probably need to layer that in to the truth of the word and how things the whole labeling the government’s in charge of the labeling and what you can say and how you have to say it. 

Dan Probert: Well, the exciting thing, when I think about organic and we are not organic, probably would even have a bias.

Against being organic organic tool, right? It’s it’s an attribute. You can call out the exciting thing that we’re seeing going on. Nationally and globally, it’s this whole movement around regenerative ag. And so, so it’s taking the focus off the specific tools. So organic says you won’t use anything.

Synthetic and regenerative is taking a conversation broader and saying, this is about. This is about soil health. It’s about environmental health is about the health of the animal. And it’s about the health of the people that are taking care of them. So the economic center into it, the [00:24:00] welfare of the folks that are there on these ranches and farms are taken into account and health of the landscape.

I have seen some organic more on the farm side, spent quite a lot of time in the Salinas valley. There’s there’s a need for organic, but. There’s usually in those models, there’s a tremendous amount of tillage that happens in the absence of let’s say an herbicide and there’s trade offs and everything.

But this broader, this broader look at regenerative, the eye and the way that it’s taking off our counterparts, Becky I’s counterparts. The NCBA convention a couple of weeks ago, they came back and said 70% of the conversations there are around sustainability and reach in. And it’s, it’s sweeping, it’s sweeping our part of the industry.

Neil Dudley: Yeah. Well, and for the listeners go Google, regenerative, agriculture, Google the savory Institute, Google country, natural beef. This is, these are the places you’re going to get to learn about this kind of stuff. And. I do that. Like I’m a leader in a business that has been doing this for 20 years and I still need to get educated.

I always say it a lot of times we’re doing it the very best we know how to do it today, but I don’t think that’s the best it will ever be done. Right. I mean, it’s just can get always a little better from our perspective. And then we have to, you know, layer in those perspectives of other people. 

Dan Probert: Totally agree.

Like what you said, and it’s probably been 25 years ago, I heard Allan savory make the comment that you can never step in the same river twice. And that’s the way this regenerative thing is today. It’s moving and changing and nobody’s really got it dialed in as to how to even define it. The objectives are there, which is continuous improvement, but how we [00:26:00] measure that.

It’s going to be a conversation for a long, long time. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah, that’s right. What’s it like wrangling, how many farmers and ranchers did you say were in the program? A hundred. Yeah. So I I’ve been around a few, not anywhere near a hundred and. That’s gotta be a pretty good task

and that’s not throwing any of them under the bus. I just got to think of, well, ask him this question there. Gotta be saying, well, look, I can’t talk about, but I think even at farmers and ranchers, no, they’re hard to handle. They’re opinionated. They’ve built a thing up out of the dirt. They have to dream up solutions and a lot of times those personalities.

Or a little bit harder to convince, oh, let’s all conform to this set of standards. 

Dan Probert: Yeah. And I’m gonna, I’m going to live that. Can you talk a little bit about playing that role? I’ll set it. I’ll set the stage back in and you should fill it out. Becky and, and norm norm works for Becky. Talk about this middle space where really you’re doing a dual fiduciary role between the retailer and the rancher.

I’m more focused on the rancher science. So to address what you said, I mean, essentially when we get together and we do that. Once a year, we’ve had to do it virtually for the last two, but traditionally we would have a hundred, 200 people, right? You think of couples and then their kids who might have 300 people in a room.

And essentially when you’re talking about a hundred ranches, you’re talking about a hundred CEOs. Right. They aren’t, they, they make their decisions every day on their own. And they aren’t used to doing someone else’s bidding. So this, this role in the backend I play really is more of a carrot than a stick.

And the [00:28:00] flip side of that is if you think about a hundred CEOs in the room, Th think of the horsepower there, think of the, the, the ability to collectively address an issue. And, and it’s a, it’s a wonderful, powerful thing that I’ve been able to be a part of. But Becky, you should talk about how you have to dance this dance between making a retailer and a rancher, both happy.

Neil Dudley: Suited for that position is just her career anyways. But I could go ahead and talk about, 

Becky Faudree: yeah, it’s challenging. It’s challenging. I think it’s challenging, but it’s, it kind of, kind of goes back to almost like what we were saying about gap too. It’s just kind of that it’s almost, there’s a push from the right answers and there’s a push from the retailers and there, they don’t always match.

So we’re kind of in the middle of, okay. How can we, so for example, with all of the costing increases that ranchers and staying in the meal, your answer with St costs and all, every transportation, everything, labor, everything is costing. The ranchers were based on our co-op is based on a fossil production model.

So the ranchers want to tell us this is what I need to be sustainable. And then we try to hit that format pricing wise for them, with our retailers and food services testimonies so that they are sustainable. Well, sometimes it just doesn’t. It doesn’t work that way, but I mean, sometimes the what maybe what their answers want.

And maybe, I mean, I don’t want to say they want, it’s valid right there. They’re sewing out Excel spreadsheets. They’re putting their costs in there of all these things, what they need. But the market might be saying, when I say the market, I mean the retail market or the city service market, or how, how we can price those sets to move.

Might be something [00:30:00] might been sitting in a different place. 

Neil Dudley: So, yeah. And that gets dictated by consumers, right. Voting with their dollars at those retailers at those restaurants. And I’ve never met one person yet that wasn’t nervous about raising prices. I mean, because you get scared to consumer will go elsewhere.

Stop. They might just trade from beef to chicken or something. And it’s just a, it’s a really dynamic. And I think it’s cool that the consumers have the control. That’s where the control needs to be, but it doesn’t remove the fear and angst. And it made me think, well, okay, this cost of production model, how do you keep them from.

How, how do you keep a rancher from just saying there has to be trust, like ultimately consumers have to trust Pederson’s they have to trust country, natural. They have to trust the other guy, whoever it is. I wonder, do you guys worry about that? Is anybody ever fudged their cost of production?

Dan Probert: I don’t know about, I think maybe they believed it, but the rest of us were sitting there thinking. We’re we’re all doing the same practices and we’re doing it for less. So how, how can we address that specifically? And that there’s been a number of iterations in my history as to how this pasta production model, how we arrived at the number.

And I think we’ve actually. Get on the best one is we kind of do it collectively as a group. We have a forum and we, we can put it up on the wall. We can put it on a zoom screen and we just go through it. Labor cost to hay, for instance, cost a fee. And then when we get done. W we just throw out, we throw out maybe the 10 highest and the 10 lowest.

And, and whether that’s because there was inherent in the math or whether [00:32:00] I’ll tell you what happens a lot of times, so you are hotter, ranch or base would consist of ranches that maybe have anywhere from 5,000 cows down to a ranch that might have 150 and economies of scale are just different for that ranch.

That’s at 150. Sometimes those ranchers because they can’t spread labor out over as many animals they’ll come in high. And so how we address that is just throw out the tops and the bottoms and, and come to the middle of that. And then I think this is really exciting. My rancher friends can see them that you may not agree with me, but we took that number.

And then we said, okay, But let’s challenge ourselves to, to reduce that by 5%. So we took the cost of production number, and now we took it times 95% to challenge ourselves, to find cost cutting measures that are passed along to our consumers. Yes, sir. 

Neil Dudley: Yes, sir. I was just thinking in my family, the numbers, like we’re almost.

Locked up in the vault and secret. I mean, it’s just a thought process. Everybody has to get comfortable with and saying, sometimes you don’t want to share how you’re doing it, because then everybody might find that little secret out and oh, guess so you have to, it has to be a co-op or we’re all like, yay.

You have something, share it now. Right now we’re all getting a better deal or able to do something in a better way. Some of those thoughts, some of those. Constructs from just years of kind of trying to do it better than the next guy have to be broke down. 

Dan Probert: It’s a, it’s a powerful, it’s a powerful tool. And I’m thinking some of your listeners, and maybe you have been involved with ranching for profit and ranching for profit has a group called executive link.

I mean, that’s really what CMB [00:34:00] does when they’re transparent with these numbers. Ranch had a ranch and it’s like, how, how are you finding hay for. $200 a ton and I’m paying two and a quarter. Or how, how are you able, how are you able to spread management over 400 cows where we’ve got a man for 200 cows? I mean, it’s a great sharing.

Neil Dudley: Yeah, I just comes to my mind. That’s that’s gotta be so valuable too. It almost makes me want to come be in your co-op like gang. How can I be in there? Because I think I could learn so much. All right. So jumping topics again. Really kind of trying to wrap it up because I think we could probably talk for another hour.

There’s just a lot of cool stuff y’all are up to, but Becky you first, how much country? Natural beef do y’all eat at your house?

Well, I know you got to grow and young fellow in there that probably can handle a lot of food. 

Becky Faudree: We do. Yeah. And we do it well. So we have this one ground beef that we came up with since our butcher polar Patrice blend. And it’s a brisket short rib and checkpoints. And that’s a pretty that’s, that’s kind of a staple in our house.

So we Belo we’ve got quite the, quite the little padding of that. So that’s yeah, 

Neil Dudley: we, well, we haven’t even touched on your meat, cutting background and knowledge. I mean, you’re just talking about briskets and short ribs and chucks and. Gosh, we could talk about that for another hour. Like how you come up with that blend and, and the, the, the, just the robust flavor that it really does offer.

So we won’t do that, but thanks for sharing. That’s Becky’s favorite the ground beef. What about you and your household? 

Dan Probert: Well, so I wondered if you and I might have [00:36:00] similar stories. So when I was growing up and I mean, things were tough and we, we ate the mistakes we raised at home. Right. So if you had one that was off color, that wouldn’t bring as much as the sale yard, or maybe you had one born with a deformed leg or something.

That was what we ate along with a lot of elegant. But now I eat a lot of country, natural beef, and Becky’s the best thing that ever happened to me because we, we run the. Test runs for instance. So whether it’s a packaging test run, which we’ve done with our case ready system, or getting our direct consumer up to speed and you run these test runs and you can’t sell it at retail.

So my freezer is full. That’s my favorite, but then I’ve got a lifetime supply well-known on lifetime, but I’ve got a year’s supply of middle meats, revise, certain lines. I do. Okay. I do. Okay. And I’m glad I don’t have to eat the mistakes anymore, so, 

Neil Dudley: right. Well, I mean, that is your you’re telling a true story.

But anybody that was raised in a ranching family, that that was just trying to make ends meet and Hey, we know what we got to feed these kids and, and ourselves, and that calf or cow is not going to be. Marketable. All right. So that’s the one for the family. I mean, it really was just that way. Wow. It’s been a fun conversation has been a great conversation.

I hope people get, have now got an insight into country, natural beef and what you guys and gals stand for and what you find important and learned a little bit about. The, the people behind it and now go Google country, natural beef. Check them out. I know you guys sell a product online. You’re also selling an in [00:38:00] store.

Well, I say, I know you sell it online. I guess I should make sure people get worked at people. Buy it if they want to do, do you do any direct to consumer bids? 

Becky Faudree: We hear. Yeah, 

Neil Dudley: there you go. We’ll put it in the show notes. Dan, Becky, thank you so much for your time. Have we left off any topic or just parting statement?

You’d like to make sure the listeners get to. 

Dan Probert: First of all, I just appreciate the opportunity to tell the story. I devoted over 30 years of my life to country natural beef. And I just, I think it’s such a, such a tremendous business and model and opportunity for grassroot ranches to have. Have a say, and a voice and a control in a company all the way to the, to the retail meat case.

And I mean, the last thing I put out is we’re growing. We’ve got some growth goals in the next couple of years and we’re looking for ranchers kind of needs to be west Western based. I mean, just to make, make the, the logistics work, but we are looking for ranches and we would enjoy having ranchers join our group.

Neil Dudley: You should check them out, get to know. I’m telling you if, if my ranch or my property was just a little further west and north, I’d be doing that for sure. And we’ve even explored trying to figure it out how some, we could maybe even be a part of the program from Texas, Becky. You have 

Becky Faudree: anything. Thank you, Neil.

And thank you. It’s your listeners. This has been really fun. I just would label it. Then beef tastes better when it’s it’s spray. And so, so I think just consumers can tenent taste our wheat. Then they can taste the difference that our co-op members take in raising the cattle that ends up [00:40:00] in a box in their grocery store or at food service restaurants.

Neil Dudley: That’s the gospel folks. Take it to the bank. It really is. Go enjoy some country, natural beef. Oh, timeout. Cause you said something. I didn’t know. And I can’t leave without understanding it. What is a flank? 

Dan Probert: Oh, yeah. Becky, you describe it. I know what it tastes like. It’s just, 

Becky Faudree: it’s just a thin cut. You might see him call like there it’s just across the, across the ribs.

And so you have usually the short rib is individually. Like, so instead of cutting their short ribs individually, you just put them on a saw and you cut them nice and thin on, on song. And so it’s, it’s also called like a Korean style, short ribs. The Asian restaurant, you’ll see this and they’ll be marinated, but they are really good.

Cause normally that’s a long cooking cut. And when you haven’t Lankan style, you can, you can just put them on the grill or the barbecue and 

Neil Dudley: awesome. So yeah, I learned something. This is, this is a selfish thing I do in a lot of ways because. I love you guys and talking to you and it gives me a good excuse to record it and have it for other people to learn from.

But I learn like right there, I’ve been doing this thing for 20 years or something. And I hadn’t, I mean, I don’t know what a flank and rib is now I do. So it really is. It’s worth the listen and it’s worth the time. And I appreciate y’all so much Peterson, natural farms, family, all your opinion efforts out there.

Go check out country. Natural beef. Come back and listen to the next conversation. Cause I guarantee there’ll be fun stuff in there for you as well. We got to know where our food comes from. There you go. You bet. Thank y’all. Thanks for the time. Thanks for kind of doing it short notice. This will probably publish next week, so we’ll be getting it out there.[00:42:00] 

Great holler if you need something. Thank you again.

Hey everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Pederson’s farms podcast. It’s been a blast bringing this to you, and I sure hope you enjoyed it and found value if you did. Tell a friend, share it out on social media, hit that subscribe button or go check us out at Pederson’s farms.com.

We sure. Hope you do. And thanks for being here.