Practically Ranching
Join Matt Perrier as he visits weekly with interesting, thoughtful, entertaining individuals within the beef community. Conversations will inspire curiosity and creativity while maintaining the independent spirit and practical nature for which ranchers are known.
Practically Ranching
#27 - Joe Urban - School Food Rocks
Joe Urban is a chef, entrepreneur and currently is the Director for the Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services, a public K-12 school district with 77,700 students located in Greenville, SC.
He leads a team of 750 employees to prepare delicious, nutritious food for students each day. He strives to get a little better today than he was yesterday.
Best of all, he's a fan of high-quality beef and Certified Angus Beef, and he does all he can to keep it in his recipes often.
School Food Rocks - Home
(3) Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services | Greenville SC | Facebook
Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to practically ranching episode 27. I'm Matt Perrier. You know, I have a lot to be thankful for right now. I'm thankful for our customers, our family. Our friends who helped make last weekends bull sales success. I'm thankful for Eric Burdon and Levi wincher are two employees who helped dad. And I keep Dale banks running each and every day. I'm thankful for my kids. Ava and Lyle Henry Hannah, and hope. And I'm thankful for my wife, Amy. Amy quietly, humbly, and somehow saying Lee keeps me grounded. Uh, she cares for our five kids and their activities. She works as a physical therapist and she still. Finds time to strengthen her face. And serve as a. Just a wonderful Christian example for all of us. And so thank you all. Who've made my Thanksgiving so good. Today we get to hear from a guy that I met a month or two ago. Joe urban likely holds the fewest cattle credentials of any folks that we've hosted. But his perspective and what he's done at Greenville county schools in South Carolina is relevant. Uh, regardless of our career. Joe is a chef. He's an entrepreneur. And today he heads up a huge team. That feeds 77,000 students every school day. Yes. I said 77,000, over 85,000 meals a day. And he doesn't only feed them. He feeds them amazing menus. That feature really, really top notch ingredients like certified Angus beef. I met Joe in September. And I think his story is one that can inspire all of us to not just do our job. Like the world probably expects. But find ways to, as Joe says, question the playbook. To elevate our program. And to be a little better today than we were yesterday. So don't just look this conversation as one about school food service, look at it as kind of a tutorial. On exceeding expectations and being part of something bigger than most of us can even envision. I hope you enjoy this visit with Joe urban. And i want to wish you once again a happy thanksgiving from all of us at dale banks angus may god continue to bless us all
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, Joe Urban, thank you very much for being here on practically ranching this morning. How are things in South Carolina?
Track 1:Things are great Matt. Thanks for having me on. Um, we're coming from beautiful Greenville, South Carolina, the upper northwest corner of South Carolina that, you know, we skirt the blue ridge mountain. So it's, it's beautiful here. A little cold today, I don't know, cold compared to Kansas cold, but it's, uh, cold for us. Um, we had to wear hoodies and jackets today, so that's a big deal here.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, we're, we're the same way. Uh, actually we got a little snow last night, which we're tickled about cuz anything that we can get from moisture, we're gonna take. So we were glad to, glad to get it. Before we get rolling here, I have to read. I usually research a little bit and try to put an intro together and, and start the thing off. But this time, for the first time since I've been in this podcast world, I had the guest do it for me. And I know all your qu, I know some of your qualifications and I'm gonna touch on those. But, uh, before we do that, I'm gonna read what you wrote about podcast that hadn't even happened yet. Uh, so I think in addition to everything else that you've done in your life, you're also a futurist or a visionary, or a Soth sayer or something. Joe Urban Director of Food and Nutrition Services for Greenville County Schools. Joins Matt Parer from Dale Banks Angus Ranch on his practically ranching podcast to discuss his award-winning school food service program, the importance of using high quality ingredients in school meals, and being a chef ambassador for the Certified Angus Beef Brand and the first and only school district in the nation to receive a C license. Joe turns to host instead a guest at times and asks Matt, lots of questions about generational cattle farming, sustainability, environmental concerns in the short and long term outlooks of the beef industry. So you didn't know it, but those are at least maybe a few more of the points that I was hoping to cover. note to our listeners, I hadn't even really communicated with you about what we were going to do at this time and you had it all laid out. So,
Track 1:I'm looking forward to seeing that, that on the bottom of that podcast.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, You're gonna get it buddy. will be the easiest podcast I've ever had to do, so that's, that's awesome. So do tell us a little bit about yourself and your history and bring us from, your life up to the present. And then give us a little demographics about Greenville County Schools.
Track 1:Okay, so like I said, my name is Joe Urban. Currently I'm the, uh, food service director for the Greenville County School's Food Service Program. Uh, we're one of the largest school food service programs in the nation. Uh, we have 106 schools in special centers. Spread out over 825 square miles here in Greenville County. So a huge operation. Um, but me by background grew up in, uh, New Jersey, beautiful Monmouth County, New Jersey in a beach town called Long Branch. Um, spent my time between there and in Las Vegas. My father was in a business that brought us back and forth. Um, grew up in the restaurant industry, spent my time, uh, starting at like 11 and 12 years old, working in some family own restaurants and. Really, really just enjoying that and that's where I learned my, my love of food. Um, worked my way through college, managing a, a national pizza franchise and saved all my money while I was there. Um, and had an opportunity in 1991 to move down to, uh, central Florida, West Central Florida, in a small town called Inverness, Florida, 6,000 residents. And, uh, took advantage of an opportunity to buy an existing, uh, restaurant. It was really just like an ice cream shop. Um, and I turned it into a little fifties diner and did that for 15 years. Uh, most important part of my background. I'm 52 years old right now. Met my wife in seventh grade. We started dating senior year in high school, um, and she followed me down to Florida. She went to school to be a special education teacher. And so when I opened my restaurant down in, uh, Inverness, Florida, she, she came down a year later after she finished school, uh, joined me and became a special education teacher there in our town. And, you know, that's where we had, we, three of my kids were born. All three of my kids were born, uh, there in, in Inverness, Florida and started their primary school education at the same location where my wife was teaching. So, um, spent 15 years down there, uh, franchise by restaurant. Uh, sold a few of them. And, uh, in 2005 after four, you know, pretty devastating and impactful hurricanes we had down there in that, in that area. That hit me. Four of'em within five weeks. Um, it really disrupted my business. I, I realized, man, if I ever get an opportunity to, uh, somebody to snatch this up, I, I'm outta here. And, and that happened about a year later, um, in 2006, somebody maybe an offer and I couldn't refuse. And I took it and, uh, we started looking towards, uh, the South Carolina Blue Ridge mountain area of, uh, where we are now and accidentally fell upon Greenville and, uh, just fell in love with it.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:That is an awesome story. that's even a little deeper than the high points that I had heard the first time we met, which I do want to tell about that. Uh, Amy and I and my mom and dad were honored to get to go to the C Certified Beef Conference. Um, they were in the Phoenix, Scottsdale area, what, a month or two ago. Um, and I heard about this school food guy in South Carolina who served c a bunch of school kids. then I passed it off. I'm like, Yeah, it must be a private little private school, You know, that's got a bunch of money and, and that's really nice and all. And Amy got the chance, thanks to a social media post or two that she had made about the conference for our folks back home on, on our Greenwood County Cattle Women's, uh, Instagram page. got us invited to the Chef's table with Chef Tony on the last evening of the CB conference. And, um, you know, we're kind of wide eyed Kansas kids just watching all this stuff go by and, and just a great experience. And here we get seated next to this guy named Joe Urban you started telling us about your work. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, that's the guy that they were talking about that, uh, that feeds little school kids certified Angus beef. And so I hadn't talked to you for two minutes and Amy leaned over to me and I leaned over to her. And at the very same time, I think we said to each other, would be great on the podcast. And so finally here we are. Um, so tell us what it is you do and how you do it there to feed a, a few more people. Because if I were to say what it is you're doing and how many kids you feed on a daily basis, nobody would believe me. So I'm gonna let you tell.
Track 1:Yeah. So, uh, thank you for that. Uh, I had I think, a better time at that Chef's table than you did, because I was enamored by you guys. I'm, I'm just fascinated by, uh, the variety of people that were in that room. And it, I don't think, you know, everybody really understands how many different people are involved before the food gets their plate. So first and foremost, I had the time in my life that night, and it was specifically because you and your wife. It was just, I had the greatest conversations ever. Um, so yeah, we're Greenville County Schools. Um, we're in Greenville, South Carolina. We have 106 schools and special centers here. Um, not all of them are traditional schools. Some of'em are career centers and a variety of different programs that we may have. Uh, but my program, uh, consists of 750 employees, uh, working outta 94 fully equipped and functioning kitchens. And then we do satellite, some of our meals to some of the other locations that don't have traditional schools. Uh, but on a, on a, any given day, we're, we're serving 85,000 meals to the students here in Greenville County schools. Uh, that's not counting the, the adults and teachers and faculty that we serve as well,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:85,000.
Track 1:the 85,000 meals a day. Our, our student population is 77,000, little over 700 at this point. So it's a, it's a very, very large school district. Uh, there's over 14,000 school districts in the country. And, uh, I think right now it, it bounces back between. 43rd and 44th. So I think we're, we're 43rd largest in the country right now, which puts us, uh, you know, well within that top.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:That is impressive and you're not just cranking. for the sake of feeding kids. Um, that's the thing that I was just amazed at as, as we see pictures and recipes that you've helped develop and use and put into place, This is stuff that I drive a few miles to go eat. And, and we can't always say that. I mean, sometimes there's this stigma with, uh, with school food, and I know you're trying to break that, but, uh, us how you change things, what the typical menu offering looks like and, and the different types of products that you using as you, as you make these 85,000 meals a day.
Track 1:Thank you for that question. That's an important one cuz there is, there is a, there is and has been a stigma with school meals not being the quality that they should be for quite a long time and a lot of it deservedly so. But there, there are a good number of, of districts doing incredible, incredible work out there throughout the country. We're glad to be, be considered one of those. Um, we started on this mission to really transform our school food program here in Greenville, probably back in 2010. Um, uh, that's when the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act was enacted and it was the first real, uh, legislative change to federally mandated school programs that had happened in quite a while. Uh, the goal of that was to. Increased fruits and vegetable consumption with our, with students throughout the country. Um, incorporate more whole grains and just overall take a look at the nutritional components of school meals and try to align them with the science of the day that, that said, you know, we need to do a little better. Sodium needs to be reducing these school meals. Um, definitely need to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and whole grains were important. So we knew that was coming. Um, it didn't become official in 2012, but we knew we had new change was coming rightly so. It was necessary at, you know, school programs were still back in the eighties at that point as far as what they were serving. Um, so we, we got proactive and we said, you know, we know this is coming. We were already doing really, really, really good work, but. We knew this was an opportunity for us to elevate our program, get in front of these changes, and really use this legislation as a catalyst for taking us to the next level. Um, so, you know, we, we focused on really, really everything. Um, we looked at our operations and, you know, there's a thousand steps on how we got from where we were then to where we were now. But menu wise, the most important thing for us was we wanted to start removing all the highly processed products that, um, were served in our district and, and were served and still are in a lot of school districts around the country. Um, as a chef and as a restaurateur from the back, my background and some of the other people that were here, and I brought into my team here in Greenville, um, we. It was the right time. We had the right support. It was just the right moment for us to start making some changes. So we looked at our overall program and, and said, you know, where can we improve? Um, some of the first steps that we took were to, uh, remove all the highly processed, canned and frozen fruits in our program, and we just replaced them with nothing but fresh fruits. Fortunate in this country that, um, fortunate in Greenville, we have a lot of farmers around here, but it's definitely seasonal. But we're fortunate in this country that, you know, at any given time of the year, there's a lot of variety of fruits we could bring our kids. So, started looking at everything we did. We, we looked at our fruits and vegetables and, uh, found ways to serve better fruits and vegetables and then immediately went after the proteins. Cuz for me, that was the most important thing. Traditionally, you know, a lot of the proteins in school, food programs, and again, still to this day, a lot of'em are because of the cost involved in the complexities of these programs. Um, there's a lot of prepackaged, pre-cooked prepared oftentimes, you know, very highly processed products that are marketed to school food programs as an easy avenue to meet the crazy complex regulations that we gotta, uh, manage. And they are, they're very difficult. Um, so one of the first things I did, and it was, uh, it was trying to understand this industry really grasping the, the complex federal regulations that were surrounding it. And then looking at this playbook that was given to me and everybody else about what school food is and how it needs to look like and what kind of products you need to buy. And I just questioned that book. I did, I didn't understand this playbook that said, This is what you need to do for school food because it's ex, it's hard to manage these programs. You, we got very little budget. So use this precook hamburger patty that has maybe 28 ingredients in it. Tastes like Burger King. Um, tastes like a whopper. Not quite sure how they got it there, but that concerned me. Um, so we just started first and foremost managing our programs like a restaurant, like we did in the restaurant industry, taught our people about food costs and labor costs. And once we were able to get those in line with where we needed to be based on the, the revenue we get from the federal government, we started realizing that there was a lot more. Revenue we were receiving that we were able to retain, I don't wanna call it profits cuz this is a, a non-profit organization. Um, but once we started managing our programs better, we were able to reinvest that money that we received and were able to earn more of because of our good business practices back into better food. And so that's what we started doing little by little, um, probably over the course of two or three years, uh, removed virtually all highly processed, uh, food products from our program and replaced them with better versions of them, you know, and that's kind of how I got into the Certified Angus Beef World. Uh, the first introduction for high quality, uh, beef product in my district was I partnered with a, with a local cattle rancher. Um, he's about 60 miles away from us in Brasstown, North Carolina. Steve Whitmar from Brasstown Beef and uh, just an amazing guy. Got to spend a little time in his ranch and, uh, really got to understand. A little bit about family ranching. Um, a little bit about the difference I can make in my program using a quality product like his versus a traditional, uh, government supplied, uh, school burger. So that, that kind of started that process for us. The, the brasstown beef, uh, ground beef is what I started using first, and uh, that got us going. And then from there we just, one by one picked off every menu item on our menus that have been traditionally served here for years and started replacing them with higher quality, more nutritious, better versions of those. And along the way, you know, we had to get back to some scratch cooking and we could talk more about that if you want to.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, we sure want to, before we get there, into the individual products and types of products. If you sat down and over that course of three or four years as you transitioned from the highly processed, let's just say canned fruits and vegetables, for instance, or the pre-made patties and things like that, cost wise, was the difference between buying fresh fruits and vegetables and obviously the last six months to a year have gotten ridiculous,
Track 1:Yeah.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:terms of fresh fruits and vegetables and, and proteins, of course. But let's go back before the big time food inflation. Was there a significant cost difference, and if so, how were you able to make that work in your budget?
Track 1:And so I think that that's a fantastic question, Matt, because we get asked that question a lot, and I'm gonna use our, I'm gonna use an example of our hamburger pre-made Hamburger Patty we were getting before versus what we get now that we're using Certified Beef. There's a misconception out there that healthy food has to be. More expensive than, less healthy, maybe highly processed food. Um, think about the cost that's involved for, uh, a major food manufacturer to purchase ground beef from a rancher or wherever they may buy it. Um, then the process that has to go through, I mean, they have to purchase that beef, they have to cook that beef, they have to turn that beef into a variety of different, uh, prepared meals like maybe a lasagna or a taco beef or, or anything like that. So what I found, and, and part of the difficulty in, in making this happen nationwide is we need to, as a, as an industry, we need to get back to more cooking. But, um, for a variety of reasons that that hasn't been happening in some. That are without of the control of those districts themselves. But when you get down to taking raw products of raw, high quality product versus a, uh, a prepackaged or prepared product ahead of time, the cost is virtually minimal, if any. Um, perfect example is that, that hamburger we were using, that hamburger patty we were using back in, uh, 2012, 13, it was, you know, one of four very similar burger patties that were being marketed and used throughout the, the country at that time, still out there to this day. Uh, when I transitioned away from that to a raw c a b quarter pound patty with four ingredients, it was, it was. Salt pepper, onion, I believe. Um, versus that 28 ingredient, uh, burger patty that was, you know, being marketed to us. The cost difference was, was literally 4 cents a patty. So yeah, I paid 4 cents more for that patty, but the value of that for us was well worth, was well worth it. So, for 4 cents more per burger patty, I can be proud of what I'm serving my students. Not that anybody should not be proud of what they're doing with that. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't wanna send that message out because school districts are doing the best they can. Um, and, you know, as, as they can, they should try to find ways to incorporate better foods. But for me personally and, and really how I felt about my responsibility for the almost, you know, 80,000 students here in my school district and, and their parents in my community and the school board and the superintendent and the administration and everybody that has a, a stake here in, in children in Food and Greenville. It's my obligation to, to find a way to, in a financially sustainable way, improve the quality of food to, of the students, for the students I'm serving, you know, in, in a manner that makes me proud as well as, as a chef and a restaurant guy. Um, so we've, we've gotten there and it was, it was exactly the same process with that burger patty as it was for everything else. You know, we were using, um, a lot of chopped and formed uh, chicken products, call'em nuggets, call'em, whatever you wanna call'em. But they were, you know, mechanically separated and chopped informed and turned into a, a really pretty shape. You know, we replaced those with, with whole muscle chicken. Um, Where and when we can, we, we have changed every possible ingredient, menu item that we weren't proud of. And then it's, it's really just a, a daily observation of ourselves every day we try to find a way to get a little bit better than yesterday. Um, c you know, put a hurting on school districts nationally when that hit, because we had to really, really shift from cooking to ways to serve, you know, people on the curbside of the street. And so that, that set our menus back for that time, just for a little bit. But it was good, valuable work. It was, uh, were, we were sourcing. The products that were available to us at that time, which were very limited, uh, but now we're outta covid, We're back, and our menus are back to normal. And, and on any given day in every one of our schools, you're gonna see three to five different varieties of, uh, fresh fruit on that server line. That's every single grade level. Um, and any given day, you're gonna see a variety of perfectly cooked vegetables, whether they're frozen or whether they're fresh. Uh, three days a week, you're gonna see a beautiful salad bar at every grade level in every school. Um, every day. There's a, there's, there's either two different rotating, uh, scratch or speed scratch menu items that we serve, um, across the district. Um, sometimes that will be some sort of concept like a taco bar or a, an Asian bar, um, where they have lots of different ways to build that menu. And, you know, in our middle and high schools, there's seven to eight other options available every day as well.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Were you, uh, I had to chuckle, as you said, our menus are back to normal. kids who occasionally listen to this podcast, I guarantee are saying, um, I'd like that to be normal for all school food. And, and you know, like you said, the, the cooks and the school food service folks are, are doing the best with what they have, I think, and, and maybe sometimes that what they have is little bound in tradition. And so quote of saying I questioned the playbook is one that I think all of us can use, uh, whether we're preparing food for. 106 different schools in a district, or whether we're just looking at the way we do business and farming and ranching. I, I love that. I love that statement. I question the playbook.
Track 1:We, we threw, we threw that playbook out.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:I like it. You didn't just question it. You, you burnt it. Sometimes that's the way we've gotta do it. Um, as far as preparation, if you're buying fewer precooked proteins, if you're buying fewer canned and, likely precooked, vegetables, did you have to change anything in the kitchens? Did you have to change anything in the staff or increase staff or, I obviously you had to do a lot of training, um, of how to prepare some of these raw ingredients. Walk us through how you did that part of it.
Track 1:Yeah, so I, I think this is, this is a part that makes us very fortunate and, um, wanna be clear to the, all the listeners out there. Um, and I never, I didn't think this way in the beginning when I got in this industry. This is my first experience with the school district. So, um, but here, 15 years, but it, it was my first and only experience with the school district other. Eating lunch in my kids' schools when they were younger and we lived in Florida. Um, so we, I came into a situation where we were very fortunate in that every one of our kitchens were fully equipped with state of the art equipment, uh, per, you know, great internal maintenance team that, that keeps them up and running. Um, so the infrastructure was there for us to get back to more scratch cooking. That's not the case. I, I work with a lot of directors around the country. Um, I work with different school board members, you know, from, from districts outta state. Um, I work with all, all sorts of stakeholders that are interested in, in improving the quality of school, school, food and, and wherever they live, whether it's in California, we've had'em come from everywhere. In the beginning, I used to say, Yeah, of course you could do this. Look, we're doing it. There's no reason nobody else can do this. We all receive this generally the same federal funding. You know, we all follow the same nutritional guidelines from U S D A, which our complex, you know, and that funding is very small. So if we could do it, surely every single school district could do this in a country. That was my mindset when I got into this business after being here a few years and traveling around the country and meeting people, and, uh, whether it's at conferences or visiting them in their district or them visiting us here, what I learned is, is not everybody is as fortunate as us. A lot of school districts have minimal to no, no cooking equipment. Well, if that's the case, it's impossible for you to, to serve the food that we serve here. Uh, we had. A group of concerned citizen community members and board members from a another state visit us recently, um, one of'em happened to have a, a grandchild in our system, so they're just a, just just north of us in North Carolina. And he said, You know, I want to come in. I wanna bring some people in. We're trying to make change in our district. And I like a tour my granddaughter's school, maybe a couple other schools to see if indeed what we're seeing on social media is real. So, you know, we love when people visit. We brought'em in. We spent, uh, you know, a whole day with them. And then they said, Okay, tell us how, how do we get to where Greenville is? You know? So now I've, I've been here long enough to know that not everybody's equal. I said, or first question is, you know, talk about your equipment. You got 20, I think they had 21 schools, Um, 21 schools. What's your equipment look like? Lets start with ovens. How many ovens do you have? And the answer was three. And I said, Well, three ovens per school. You'll, you'll do a, you could, you could do a lot of our menu with three ovens per school. He goes, No, no, no, no. We have three ovens in the district for 21 schools.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Ouch.
Track 1:it dawned, and it dawned on me right away. I was like, All right, now let's talk about your staff. So we were at a pretty busy, busy middle school. I said, Okay, so what would a typical cafeteria staffing, uh, level look like in a middle school would say a thousand kids? And they said, Well, we'd have four, we'd have four people there. Um, I have, you know, eight or nine here in Greenville at a school that size. It's the only way I can serve them. And so I had to tell'em, Look, you're in a situation where your kitchens aren't equipped and you don't have, um, the staffing level to do to run a program like we do here in Greenville County schools. So let's look at alternative ways you can improve. Okay. So I, I forgot the original question. It it took me on to there. I, I think it was, what were our challenges in the beginning?
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah,
Track 1:How did we get,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:done from a staff standpoint, from a, understanding
Track 1:Okay,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:food standpoint. If, if they moved from opening a canopies, dumping'em into a warming plate, and now we've got
Track 1:gotcha.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:pe and
Track 1:Yeah,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:we get'em prepared and ready for the students?
Track 1:so you hit on training. That was, that was incredibly important. Like I said, our, our, we were fortunate in that our kitchens were, were sufficiently fully equipped with the right equipment to do what we needed to do. Um, we had a, a, an, what I think was, was, was a, an appropriate level of staffing at that time. Uh, but what needed to happen was the training part. So that was, that was a big piece. Um, We were fortunate and we had some great community partners who wanted to see change here in Greenville County schools. So over the course of four years, we sent all of our people during the summer to a culinary training program at our local, vocational school. So, um, Greenville Tech has a beautiful, uh, culinary arts program up there where you can get a two year college degree in culinary arts. Uh, through some of our community partners, we were able to raise right around a million dollars in funding grant funding over those four years, and we used that to help as a catalyst for changing our program. So this is going back, we're back to 2010 at this point. Um, and so over the course of four years, we sent all of our schools through this training program and focused on. It was a 40 hour training week for, for all of that 20 hours was broke up into nutrition education and 20 hours was broken up into, um, culinary arts instruction using the, uh, Greenville Tech College, uh, culinary arts instructors. Both of those were critically important because, um, number one, from the nutrition education side, we needed buy-in from our staff because, you know, here's some new guys coming in here and they're telling these staff that have been doing really as much or more than anybody asked of them before. And they were doing great work for the kids at Greenville County Schools. You know, they were doing great valuable work and they're proud of the work. And, you know, and our, our schools, they can only serve what we allow them to buy in menu, you know, so they were doing a fantastic job with what they got, what they were able to get from, uh, From our district as far as what we allowed them to buy, but now we're asking them to start cooking more. And so there was a, a need for more training, but there also was a need for them to understand that from a, from a obesity standpoint, from a, a nutrition standpoint for these students. Here's why it's important we start moving to a healthier program. Here's why it's important. We start removing, you know, really highly processed items and replacing them with high quality less or minimally or no processed items and, and what that meant for the. For the nutrition of the students and how that's gonna impact them and their overall health as they continue on and become adults. So we talked about obesity rates, we talked about diabetes, we talked about hypertension. You know, we, we educated them to the best of our ability on why this change was important, number one. And then the other half of that, that week was really learning knife skills, proper vegetable cookery, pasta, cookery, just all the little, you know, basic things that are gonna be needed for a school menu. So that was a catalyst for us to help, you know, get our staff on board with this change. And then give them the initial, the skill sets if they, if they needed that training. And a lot of'em didn't, um, but a lot of'em did. A lot of'em never, never cut a melon before, you know. how do you properly cut a be and, and make sure that you're utilizing as much of that fruit as possible without wasting it, but at the same time, you know, dicing it up in such a way that it's attractive to the kids that align. So that was, that was a very, uh, good catalyst for us. Like I said, it was the start from there, you know, we, we have our own internal traders that are, that are out there that continually train on our brand and our standards, um, on a regular basis. So right now, I don't think you would find any of our 750 employees here in Greenville. That wouldn't tell you they are so proud of the work they do. They love these kids, Matt, these, it amazes me when I go into schools and, and I'm, I'm next to the cashier. As the kids are coming through the line and a lady can know the name of all 700 kids. It just blows my mind. So they, they love the kids. They're proud of the work they do. They're, they're, they take pride in. That they're putting out really just the best, highest quality school meals in the country. And it's a, it's a great thing to be here.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, I don't think we realize just how much of a difference that can make. I mean, you, you mentioned obesity rates and hypertension and things like that, but if you not just feed these kids to their nutrient requirements, but also make them look forward to lunch, I would think. Makes the morning go better and faster for these kids. Looking forward to, I wonder what we get to eat today instead of, Oh, I wonder what's on the line today. would
Track 1:Y.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:their afternoon performance and their after school practice performance and everything else is better when they're happier about, about that food. Um, you or have the educators in the district seen the needle move in terms of test scores or even just overall performance and, and, uh, appreciation of those kids during their school day?
Track 1:So over the course of the time I've been here, absolutely yes. But I wanna stress this point. I work for an amazing organization that, you know, I'm in charge of this part of it, I'm in charge of the food service part of it. But every person with a similar position in mind on the education side, and there's tons of them, um, they push just as hard as I do. So while I want to take credit for every possible gain and, and standardized test scores because I'm serving them the best food and I'm fueling them and giving them what they need to be focused in their school day and making sure that, you know, they're not getting hangry cuz a hangry kid is gonna be distracted, I want to take
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:can
Track 1:hundred percent credit for that. However, the reality is we're a huge organization starting from the the superintendent down to every one of us that are below him. Every single department, head and director and assistant superintendent pushes just as hard as we do in my department. So I'm sure they're teaching different, I'm sure they're finding ways to, uh, Understand each kid on an individual level and how they like to learn and, and are, are utilizing, you know, teaching strategies that are specific for that kid to make him better. So I would love to take credit for that, but as a district as a whole, absolutely. We continue to progress in both grad graduation rates, uh, standardized test scores. Were always performing, uh, you know, in the, in the top tier of our state and, and throughout the country as well. But it's, it's not just us. I take pride in that. I'm, we play a small part in that. We are a support department and I like to tell people this, so I'm, I'm a food guy, but it was all about me and my past life and, and my restaurant and my food, and here it's about the kids and. Whether you're a building services personnel, whether you're a transportation guy, you know, we have all our own internal, uh, electricians, plumbers, every, every possible trade, uh, possible. We all have the same mission. We're a support to make sure the students have what they need to be successful in their school day. You know, the, the building services people make sure that the buildings are clean and safe and not a hazard or distraction for the students so they can learn, you know, transp, transportation people, they got a crazy job, but they get a, a remarkable amount of students to school on time and back home safely every single day. So we all play that little small role. And what me and my staff, what we like to say is, you know, here's, here's our role. Our role is to make sure that we, we prepare food that kids want to eat, We prepare food that. Exceeds the nutritional requirements of the, the federal regulations. We gotta, uh, be accountable for. We prepare food that, uh, appeals to them, that they're gonna want to come in for breakfast so they can get that food and be focused during the day. Um, we want to make sure that lunchtime, oftentimes, you know, it ranges anywhere from 10 15 to 12 o'clock before the kid eats lunch. That when they, when they're able to come down to us, one, they're gonna want to be down with us. You know? Right. Just like what you said, They wanna come to us. Cause they have options. They can bring their own lunch, they can purchase food from a PTA store. So for them to come to us is important. We want them to be able to come to us. We want them to, every everyday be excited about lunch. We wanna, we wanna serve them food that's gonna be of the quality. It's gonna allow them to eat that food and not discard it. So we reduce waste, but ultimately that they're fueled and prepared for success in their academic day. So we're, we're a support. We have to make sure that, that we're doing everything we can to, to get these kids served through that, through that lunchtime, through the, the limited amount of time we have them. Because we gotta make sure that we're not an interruption to the education process either. You know, if we're, if we're 15 minutes late, very much unlike the restaurant world, you got a six o'clock reservation, you get there and they may say, Yeah, at 6 15, 10 15, I got 500 kids coming through me. They're coming, I got 500 kids. I got 500 kids coming, and they need to be back in class in 35 minutes. And the food has to be amazing. That's our standards, you know, So we have to be very efficient and, and, and good at, we do. Cuz when those 500 kids leave 10 minutes, 500 more kids are coming. So, um, yeah, we're a support, We understand our role, um, first and foremost, we make sure that those kids are fed and through that line and back in class on time, so they're not missing instructional time, you know, And then, you know, we have to make sure that, that food is, is super high quality as.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, I noticed a lot of similarities back to the CEB conference. Uh, when we were out there, I noticed a lot of similarities between chefs and ranchers, between food service and the beef industry. And, and I never would've made that connection until I got to sit down with you all and hear some of your stresses and struggles and the things you deal with on a, on a daily basis. But I mean, we've. instance, feed yard managers that are listening to this podcast going, Yeah, I get that. We gotta deliver that feed at the exact same time every day. Or, those cattle get hangry and they have issues and, and we've got a team of, of several hundred or maybe a dozen or, or whatever that case may be. Just like you do that, that has to be continuously motivated and educated and inspired. And, and, and that's what you're doing. I mean, granted, this is practically ranching. Here I am talking to a chef who is feeding, you know, thousands of meals a day, but. You're doing what we have to do daily too. You're connecting the dots, you're building a team, you're figuring out how to overcome some adversities and some challenges. You're questioning the playbook or throwing it away entirely. that's what I saw from you. And, and sitting there at that chef's table, at the CB conference, um, nearly every winner that got up for that awards program that evening, you know, and these folk, these are the folks that are at the top of their game, whether it be beef distributors or further processors that are smoking a brisket and delivering it to you knew every one of'em. And you'd say, Hey, that's where I get. This food ingredient. That's where I get that food ingredient. I, I, I've worked with this guy for years and, and you've connected the dots and you have figured out places that you can go that have similar interests and, and inspiration and, and want to do the best they can do. And, and to me that's just inspiring. Whether you're helping educate and feed our kids whether you're helping grow a business, whatever the case may be. Um, I've got a, got a friend of mine that said his dad quoted this. If you can't be big, be part of something else that's big.
Track 1:that.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:be a part of this greater good. And, and that's, that's what you're doing there. And it's great for the kids and, and I think great for all of us.
Track 1:Well, appreciate that. I love that quote. I'm gonna be stealing that quote. Um, so I don't know who to get credit to, but that, that's awesome. We are part of something, you know, people ask me a lot, you know, what's it like working in this industry, the school food service industry? Versus, you know, the private sector when you had your restaurants and, you know, I, I, I think that answer is one I did a, I was very, very, very proud of, of the business I built when I, when I had that restaurant, I was, I was extremely proud that I was able to provide opportunities for, uh, a large number of people to be employed with me and take care of their families. That brought me a lot of, lot of joy. I was very, very proud of that fact that what I had built is sustaining, uh, a good number of people's livelihoods. You know, they're, they were able to, to feed their kids and pay their rent and pay their mortgage or whatever it might have been. And, you know, then I took a lot of pride for, you know, my community that, that came to my restaurant because they definitely had a choice. You know, it was a small community, but there was plenty of options and so, Over that time, I built a lot of friends that that started out as customers. And it was, it was, it was a very prideful thing for me that every day, this is mine. I built it. These people want to come to me. Then I came to this business, and now I know, I learned quickly that there's, you know, there's 77,500 students, 700 students here in Greenville County, and, you know, little more than half of them qualify for free and reduced lunch meals, which means their families aren't in a, a significant financial positive situation at home. You know, it's, it's, it's tough out there. And the last couple years have been even, even harder and you know, better than me about beef prices and how they've been fluctuating and jumping up. And for a typical family that doesn't have a significant income, it's tough out there. And I learned that there's a large number of students. Here in our district that the only quality nutrition they get is when they're at school or when they're, when they're participating in one of our summer programs. You know, never was I in that position when, when I grew up, thankfully for my parents that I, you know, we weren't rich by any means, but I, I never had to worry if I was going to eat that day. You know, my mother wasn't a great cook, but there was food on the table, you know, Never was there a time where I had to watch my mother, you know, give up her food to make sure I, I had food that day. So I, I'm very fortunate that's not the fact for a lot of our, our students and a lot of students throughout the country. And so the work we do here in, you know, even before you get to the super high quality and the crazy standards that we have, the work that we do here, ensuring, and you don't know who these kids are, you don't know which one of those 2000 kids in that school, maybe there's. 10% of them who, who don't get good quality nutrition. Now you don't know who it is, but I think what gives me the, the greatest joy and, and most, um, rewarding part of my entire, uh, livelihood, um, in my 52 years is knowing that through this organization we provide an opportunity for, for children who may not get quality nutrition, proper nutrition, or even enough food that, that, that we're here for them to make sure that they're taken care of. Um, so the work that these 750 food service staff here in my district do, um, it is just valuable, necessary, uh, unfortunately oftentimes underappreciated because they're in the, in the background. Um, but I, the journey from restaurant world to school, food world. I there, there's more rewards, personal satisfaction in the work I do now versus what I did before.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, that's a, that's an inspiring right there. And, and, and you know, like you said, the, the burden that you have or the opportunity that you have to be. The guy and the team that helps give this kid the best meal that they're gonna have each day. it's, it's huge. It's awesome. And, and hats off to you for not just getting it done from the boxes nutritionally, but also in, you know, making it not just food, not just sustenance, but an event, um, is, is commendable and, and just huge in my opinion. Let's, let's switch over a little bit just, um, from a, from a standpoint of the consumer's perception and your consumers obviously, and this, um, instance in your day to day role are kids, it be those kids asking questions or their parents asking questions or put your chef's hat back on and, and back into private industry at a restaurant. For our listeners who are mainly farmers and ranchers, are the questions, top one or two questions that consumers have today about what it is that we do and we produce
Track 1:Okay, so that, I'm glad you brought that up. Um, so in my position, um, I get to hear a lot of different, uh, perspectives, whether they're from parents or concerned community members or school board members or whoever it may be, students. Um, There's a, a, there are a lot of questions about, and I think I know all the answers to these because I, I, I just finished episode one of Yellowstone, so I, I think I am now a cattle ranching expert.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:know it all
Track 1:I know it all cuz that it had to be accurate cuz you know, I, I know everything I need to know, but there are a lot of, you know, there's a lot of different perspectives about the out there about, you know, animal welfare, how they're raised, you know, Cattle, you know, big beef companies who, who treat their animals poorly and they're slaughtered and they live these miserable existence and they're pump full of chemicals to make'em fatter. And there's, you know, it's bad for the planet. Cal farts are, are, are depleting the ozone even more. There's, there's a lot of those questions out there from certain people. There's a lot of different perspectives about out there. The vast majority of the people in my district are extremely proud that I'll serve nothing but c Cause they know it's gonna be high quality, it's gonna be minimally or no process whatsoever. But then, you know, there, there is still a, a sub in of people who are vegans, vegetarians who are, you know, um, animal lovers who, who don't believe that that servant beef to kids is, is the right thing to do, whether it's highly processed or that. So what can you tell us today about, um, What a typical cattle rancher farm looks like is, I think most people think it's, you know, you're in Kansas, I think they think there's like 6 million acres set aside for, for big cattle, and they just abuse these animals and don't treat'em well. And it's horrible what you do, and then it's bad for the environment and you're ruining the soil and the water. And I've been fortunate to know enough, uh, a few, um, people like you in this industry. And my understanding and perspective of, of cattle ranching is different. So what can you tell about us? What, what's a typical cattle rancher look like? You know, are they new to it? Have they been doing it for a while? Do they have 9 million heads of cattle? Or what are you doing to, uh, protect your land and sustain it? And then I got a industry, I got a business question that, that blows this. I can't fathom. I want to ask you when you're done with that. So talk about.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Okay.
Track 1:A, what do you guys do to make sure that these animals are taken care of
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:yeah. Well, clearly, I mean, what do we, what's a typical rancher look like? We look exactly like Kevin Costner, John Dutton.
Track 1:exactly like him?
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:we, we don't, And, and, and that's, that's the tough thing. And, and I have friends who banter back and forth with each other about Yellowstone, whether it's good or bad for the industry, and I have my opinions on this, and they have theirs. The, the, the tough part about this though is none of us do. Look the same from a size standpoint of, of operation of, of, uh, segment of specialization that we do. Um, breed of cattle, you name it. We are a very group of folks in the beef industry and then the beef community. And none of us do it exactly the same. And I think that's a blessing. I think there's, there's value in that independence and that entrepreneurial spirit, but
Track 1:Think.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:because we can't say this is exactly where your beef come and this came from. And this is exactly, um, how it was raised or where it was raised. The first thing that I would address, cuz you know, there's a lot of stuff to unpack in those questions just asked, and we could have another hour or two podcast about this. But the first thing that I will say, I don't know a single cattleman, whether they have cows and farm ground, whether they have a feed yard where they're finishing these cattle. Uh, whether they are part owners in a processing or packing plant. I don't know a single cattleman who doesn't love the cows that they caring for, to the point that most of their spouses, husbands, wives, whichever one is out there with the cattle. Cuz it's usually one, sometimes both, but it's usually one or the other. Most of their spouses could tell you plenty of times there's been a big thing going on. Christmas dinner, whatever the case may be, and something happens weather-wise, get out, cattle need fed, everything gets put on hold. Nothing gets done with the family until the cows are cared for. And we laugh about that because we don't think it's that odd. I think the rest of the world would be surprised that we put off Christmas dinner make sure and heat check cows first, because one may be ready to be bred or one, you know, the group needs fed or whatever the case may be. That's very normal to cattlemen and I think that says a lot. We don't think it does, but I think that says a lot of just our values and our priorities that we place on these cattle. We do it because we love it. We do it because quite often there's been generations before us and we hope there'll be generations after us that can use these same resources, who can breed these same cattle, their descendants. Of course, um, when we hear the word sustainability, to us. Is very much a yes resource stewardship issue, but it's also financial stu sustainability to make sure that we make decisions about these cattle that are in the best interest of them so that they can feed us and feed our customers and your customers and consumers. So yeah, the animal welfare component is really interesting to me, how people would think that we would, um, harm these cattle when in fact we probably, we probably are guilty of putting them in front of our own needs and our own health and our own, um, family's interests quite often. that part of it, whether you're buying certified Angus beef, whether you're buying commodity choice, whatever the case may be, I think you can rest assured that the, the absolute. Large nearly every single person, you know, any industry is gonna have a few bad actors, I
Track 1:Of course.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Um, but the absolute majority of those, um, are being cared for to the absolute best of our ability. Um, in terms of the whole, you know, this notion of big business, big agriculture, factory farms, we all have different sized cow herds. We all have different sized farms or ranches that we're, that we're, um, uh, helping manage and own 96 7% of those are owned by families. Um, and, and, and that is something that I think sometimes gets misconstrued. I had somebody ask me one time, and this is basically what you were asking, what's, what's a corporate farm look like? What's a factory farm look like? Well, family. Is, I guess rights a corporate farm because we are incorporated with the state of Kansas, and we do that because it's about the only way that you can that ranch or that farm onto the next generation then be able to afford the taxes or still going to be taxes, but it's not going to be as significant if it was a sole proprietorship that you just gifted to somebody and they had to sell a third of the ranch off just to pay the inheritance taxes. So there's business structures that are formed like Dale Banks's, Angus Inc. Which is my family's business. We have stockholders in this quote, Onte corporate farm. It's just so happens the stockholders happen to be my mother and father, wife and I, and a sibling or two. And so that's who owns this corporate farm. If, if somebody wanted to get really. negative, they could say, Yeah, that's, that's corporate ag. Well, this corporation is, is all per family. Um, all four or five of us. You know, the, we could be considered big ag, and yet I would consider it a small business in mo most people's eyes. So that, that's the, uh, misconception I think that a lot of folks have is they talk about size and scale. you know, you asked about, um, being animal lovers. I think there's a difference personally between animal rights and animal welfare. farmer and rancher that I know who cares for livestock is the purest. welfare. There is, again, I talked about putting those animals in front of nearly everything else that we do In terms of priorities, that's different to me. Making sure that animal has what he or she needs every day of its life and is cared for, that's different than giving it rights of a human being. And again, that's a big conversation, but, But there is a huge difference between animal rights and animal welfare. I'm not an animal rightist. I am an animal welfare and believe that they, it's in my best interest and it's my duty to make sure and tend to what is in that animal's best interest so that they can provide for me and I can provide for them. And it's a team effort going forth.
Track 1:So their, their whole, their whole life, they're living their best life for, for what? As long as they live it, they're, they're being fed well, they're not being stressed. And, um, my understanding that, you know, I'm sorry,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:I was just gonna say Dr. Temple Grandon, you've probably
Track 1:I have.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:special that they did on her is a great one in my opinion. And, and she's done great things for the beef community and, and the beef industry. I heard her once say that Mother nature is cruel to animals, to life, to everything else. and We don't have to be, and she's right. Um, quite often, you know, if there's deep snow on the ground, we're gonna go out extra early and we're gonna feed even more than we would've fed if they could graze the grass that they were walking on. Um, so many different things we have to. We have to be a partner with Mother Nature. Sometimes we work very, very gracefully together. Sometimes we have to fight like crazy, but we have to be, we have to use her as a partner and we have to provide, um, in that partnership we have to provide accordingly with those, those cattle. So I always thought that was a pretty cool quotes she had
Track 1:I, I'm glad you brought Temple up because I've known about her for a long time. In a different aspect. So talked about my wife, who, who's education. Yeah. So my wife is special education teacher when we were in Florida. So 15 years down there. She was an autism specialist, so she got to meet Temple a bunch of times and read her book. And that, that was my first, uh, knowledge of her. I didn't teach, she had anything to do with cows. She was teaching special education educators how to teach somebody like her, how, you know. So my wife studied her, got to meet her a few times, and it was just amazing. And then, uh, fast forward to maybe a, a dozen years later, and now I'm in South Carolina and I, I at a, at my friend, uh, my friend's ranch up in Brasstown, North Carolina, and he's talking about temple. And I'm going, Wait, what's going on here? You mean the special The autism lady? And he said, What do you know about her? I said, You know, what I know is that she made a difference in my wife's life and how she taught kids. And he goes, Let me tell you my experience with her. And then he taught me the whole cattle side and how she like really, really changed, changed the, the mindsets of, of ranchers and, uh, the importance of how you guys took care of those animals. And it was just, I was just blown away at these two different, um, completely different segments, merged into one and, and I was able to make the connection with my wife in special education and my friend, the cattle rancher. It was kind of cool. Um, she's, she's amazing.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:she is, she is, and I think Dr. Grandon, and I think you, and, and I hope I, and so many others that are, and we use the term connecting the dots and making these connections. I think those conversations and those experiences and, and sharing those beliefs and thoughts, Uh, those address what it is you just asked. Those 16 different questions that you, that you put together that, that are on all consumers minds
Track 1:Mm-hmm.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:of, of, the environment and, and cattle's effect on that. And by the way, I should, I won't go into it deeper, but it's actually cow burs and not farts. We can, we can unpack that later on, Joe, but, uh, it's more that methane that they're talking about is actually coming from the front end than the back end because of the microbes in the room and guts of the, of the cow. Anyways,
Track 1:When I think Cal Cal sounds more controversial and why they like to do it.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:yeah, there you go. Uh, but those conversations and those experiences and those face to face interactions, voice to voice interactions, in this case, I think those connect people, And producers, urban and rural, whatever the case may be, those go further to connecting us and, and allowing us to figure out that maybe we can trust whoever it is that we're doing business with. Maybe we can trust whoever it is that's either buying our product or selling, product to us. That's where we need to get to as a society. And this gets a little philosophical, which I tend to do, but those types of connections that Dr. Grandon helped make between those that are working with autistic kids and those that are working with that need to go into this squeeze shoot as gracefully and quietly as they can so they can get their annual vaccination and find out if they bred last spring. Those connections that she and you, and hopefully a lot of us can make those do more than any amount of q and a. Three ring binder that gives you the whole playbook and science about, about cattle ranching and production, uh, could ever do. And I think that's what is so invaluable, and that's why you're on here. That's why we've had guests that may not be within the ranching community. because I think those conversations are invaluable and that's where we need to get to so that we can trust each other. I guarantee there are questions on rancher's minds environmentalists that feel like they want to do the right thing for, you know, climate change or whatever the case may be, um, that we'd like to ask. And yet, quite often we sit back and just say, Well, they don't, they don't understand the science. They don't understand, um, cattle production and how long, how short methane stays in the atmosphere and,
Track 1:Is that cuz you guys you don't do a good enough job it out there and not explaining it. Just different perspectives, so.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:I think it, I think, I think it's part of it. Um, we are guilty. Agriculture producers still in a lot of ways living a century in the past. And consequently, we still think that half of the population is connected to dad or mom or grandma or grandpa on the farm or ranch outside of the city limits. When in actuality, 98% of them aren't and have never met a farmer rancher. And if I've never met a farmer rancher and sat down and looked at them in the eye and know how honest and interested they are in caring for those cattle, or for that water or for that soil, I may believe the BS that I read on Facebook about how everything is just raised on a little confined feed yard for its entire life and it's all owned by a big multinational conglomerate. I'll I'll buy into that nonsense. Um, so we need to do, cuz we've never had to tell the story, we need to do a better job of telling that story. And I think we are as a beef community, but it's probably a little bit late in getting that story out there. And so the narrative that's been pushed that, you know, the bulk of this, these cows are owned by a big. or by a big corporation, uh, has kind of taken hold and it's almost, we're, we're almost a little too late. We're having to play catch up a bit.
Track 1:I, I don't believe it's ever too late though, Matt, I believe, um, I learned early on in this role, in this job, in this district because school food service is very, uh, political as well. Um, equally maybe so with, as far as the beef industry and environmentals and things like that. So I learned early on that, man, people love telling your story for you. They love telling your story for you. They don't all actually always get it correct, you know? So that was.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:that's
Track 1:was really, really important for me when I started this, this movement here in Greenville to, to take us to this another level and, you know, serve as an example for school food excellence around the country and, you know, try to motivate others to make change too. Cause that's, that's important for me too. Not just making sure my students here in Greenville, I believe I'm at a, I'm at the age, I'm in the, the perfect environment and conditions and everything is just right for me to be able to help others and learn from them as well. Um, but I learned early on you gotta tell your story cuz if you don't, others are gonna tell it for you. And I think that's what's happened to you guys in the, in the cattle industry. You know, oftentimes they're not right and they're louder. So we tell our story every single day. You know, a lot of times we say, That's a BS story. It's not bs. It's true. This is true. This is what's happening here. These are the amazing people that are taking care of your kids and your grandkids every day to make sure they're, they're, they're well fed and, and, and properly nourished and got the feel they need to get through the day. Um, so yeah, telling your story is extremely important for me. Part of that story is being able to explain to my community, my parents, my superintendent, my school board, the students, being able to explain to them, um, where your food comes. Or how it's produced is super, super important to me. Cuz I could, regardless of what my menu looks like, if it wasn't sourced, you know, in a good manner, if it, if it really isn't the best, um, then, then really what good is it? So for me, understanding where my food comes from, my food comes from, you know, I have relationships with my produce farmers here in Greenville. Um, I have a, a relationship with a, a baker here in Greenville that produces every single hamburger roll, sliced bread, dinner roll, hokey roll that our students here. I mean, it's a huge district and one little one bakery does this for us. So, uh, for me it's all about connecting all those dots. And that's why coming on your podcast today was important because, um, you're, what you called a a, you're a seed cattle rancher, right?
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, we, we call it a seed
Track 1:seed stock. Okay.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:cattle producer. So yeah, we, we are, I guess, the smallest part of the whole cow calf segment. Um, in that we are focused on producing genetics that we then sell to neighboring ranch. Who use those genetics usually bulls to breed their cows and produce the steers and heifers that go into the supply chain and hopefully meet programs like Certified Angus beef that you and others will then buy beef from. So yeah, we, we produce some meat directly, but for the most part our goal is to produce genetics, bulls, other
Track 1:And that, and that's awesome. So I got, I got asked by some,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:other herds and produce it.
Track 1:I got asked by, I got asked by some people like, So how does. Get his beef directly to your schools. And I said, We're gonna talk about this because this, this, for me talking to you is really connecting to dots. So we got a seed stock guy and a K-12 cafeteria guy, K-12, K-12 school food service guy. And there's so many different partners in between us. Um, but understanding where potentially it starts from at, at your end and, and hearing how the, the cattle's raised and how you, how you take care of your farm is important for us and it helps us tell our story, especially when it gets down to the, the certified Angus be part of it. So I, I appreciate you sir.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, you bet. Well, we appreciate you and, and that's, think you are a valuable part of Team Beef, if you will, in telling that story because. You know, I've, I've thought about this before. If all of us as farmers and ranchers go to our nearest urban or suburban, uh, retail store, grocery store, or go to a restaurant who is serving beef and stand there and talk with consumers to answer their questions, Who in the world at home taking care of the cows? And that's where we have to use technology, social media, things like that to help tell our story. But that's where I think we have to equip you and folks like you who are begging for an opportunity to connect these dots and tell this story. And you're gonna be the trusted source in terms of the ingredients that you use to cook those. Top shelf meals for school kids, the chef at the local restaurant is going to be the trusted source. We've gotta get him or her, the information that they can use to dispel the myths that are out there. Because honestly, if, if farmers and ranchers try to come to town and do it, number one, probably aren't great at telling that story. We're passionate, but we probably don't choose the right words. And we've got the industry vernacular and we confuse folks, but oh, by the way, we got a job to do, to do what it is that the consumer wants us to be doing in the first place. And so that's the tough, that's the double edged sword of, of getting out there to tell our story face to face. So we don't always have a great opportunity to do so.
Track 1:I think that's why this platform is, is fantastic to have and disseminate these conversations. Yeah. So, uh, I feel
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yep.
Track 1:to be on your show, um, hoping you can use some of your strings to maybe get me some kind of extra role on, on a show that may or may not be popular right now called Yellowstone. So, Look,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah. Well, um, I tell you what, we'll, we'll talk about that sometime. It's interesting. I, I think Yellowstone is a positive for the beef business. Um, everybody in the ranching community believes that because there are some details that, that they don't necessarily get right or at least perfect. Um, and maybe it's, you know, different regions, different people do do things differently. I don't know any ranchers who have taken any of their employees or any of their counterparts to a train station, for instance, um, But, um,
Track 1:but,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:the
Track 1:but you, But you guys all have helicopters and Bentleys and stuff, right? You guys all have helicopters and,
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:uh, that, that either, I'm glad you told me what that car was the other night cuz I was trying to figure out what Beth was driving,
Track 1:Bentley.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:yeah if it's
Track 1:a pretty nice
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:if GMCs, Fords and, and Dodges are so painful to purchase and we have to have them to actually feed and care for cattle, those things are so hard to purchase. I guarantee things with the, the emblems like Beth had on hers, you're not seeing in, in uh, very many, uh, uh, ranch house driveways. Plus they wouldn't get up most in, up and down most of our mud roads, uh, gravel roads either. But, you know, over overall, I think that there is a theme Yellowstone that has an immense amount of value for us in the ranching community and that is that ranchers have stewarded these land water, cattle. Grass, trees, you name it, for centuries. we've done it at a basically break even business model forever and ever and ever. If you go through and we were gonna talk about the long and the short term economics of the cattle business, I think the short term economics are, we're gonna have higher costs, we're gonna have higher beef prices and still do what we've done for centuries. And that is run about a break even on production side of, of agriculture. And, and that's frustrating, but it's, we've done it because we love it, we've done it because there's value in it to our families and to raising our kids and, and work ethic and all these values that go along. Um, and yet we're constantly bombarded by folks outside of the agriculture community. Who see more value in the land for development, whether that be the next suburb, whether that be the next golf course or hotel or hunting preserve or whatever else what it is we've been trying to do, which is produce food in an area that can't grow anything else but cattle because of the rocks or the poor soil or the grasslands or whatever the case may be. So that part of it, I think they get right. Those are struggles. The other part of it that they get right is we talk about the fact that 98, 99, whatever the percentage is of our farms and ranches in the US are family owned, and that's correct. We also have this mindset that everybody hugs and sits down to dinner. It's a wonderful, happy feeling every time that, uh, we're in each other's presence. And the fact of the matter is, it's a struggle because you have family time and you have family members who are working next, you know, shoulder to shoulder, husband and wife, father, son, father daughter, son-in-law, whatever the case may be. It ain't always pretty. and
Track 1:mean, you guys are, you guys are just like the rest of
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, exactly.
Track 1:You guys are just like everybody. Every other human
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:a business. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And, and, and yet we have to get to, excuse me, to spend the workday together as well as all the time outside of working hours. And so that's, that's another part of Yellowstone that, that it does, probably get pretty close to Right. That it's, it's a struggle and it breaks some families up and it, it.
Track 1:Yeah
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:everybody with hard feelings. Probably even worse because there's a financial component to it as well.
Track 1:I'm, I'm sure most people are, are smart enough to realize that Yellowstone is not real life. That maybe it's a depiction of a, uh, of, of a family farm, a pretty wealthy family ranching farm. But, um, it's, it's still Hollywood. It's still educational. I enjoy it. It's fun to watch. I know it's not real. Still hoping you can get me at a, as a guest spot I had definitely had a question that I, that I wanted to ask. So as, as somebody who, who had been in family owned restaurants, you know, from when I was a very young person to, to the point where I had my own for a while and now I'm, now I'm in this position running this, this gigantic school district, which is really like a hundred restaurants. Um, but what amazes me, I, I think maybe not most, but there's a lot of things that amaze me about cattle ranch and families. Um, but one of the things that, um, is kind of foreign to me, I guess you'd say is that, you know, in, in business for me, I'm looking at quarters. I'm looking at, um, annual, make a decisions based on what I think this next quarter is gonna do, what I think I'm gonna do for the next year. And that was the same when I was in my restaurant. And it's definitely the same as, as here in the school district. But I, I, I know a few cattle ranchers and, you know, you guys make financial decisions. For like 50 or 80 years down the line. And it just, it just blows me away that you guys could be, um, that thinking that far ahead, thinking about your, what impact this decision is gonna make on your grandchild when he runs this farm. So, I mean, is that, is that common place with, with generational cattle farmers ranch?
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Yeah, I, I, I think we do a better job of looking long term and figuring out how this will affect the next generation sometimes than we even do. How is this gonna affect. Next quarter's budget or next month's budget. And, and part of that is because, again, we're partners with Mother Nature and unlike a factory or even a restaurant, now granted, you're gonna have fluctuations and you've seen huge fluctuations on your input costs, your cost of ingredients, your labor costs and insurance and things like that. Um, we have those as well. We've seen those input costs be all over the board and skyrocket for the last year or two. We also have completely outta the blue. I mean, you mentioned hurricanes and things like that. we deal with those types of, hopefully not quite that devastating, but they can be things every day in our, well, every year in our business, and we can't see'em coming. And, and you can't set your cost structure and your budget that. Last year is a good indicator of what this year is going to be cuz it rarely is now over the long term, the law of averages as such that we can kind of figure out what these long term trends are. And so I think that's part of why, but also I get back to that, that prioritization. Most farmers and ranchers are more concerned with keeping this ranch or this farm intact. So the next generation finds it better than what we found it, that that's our goal. We will break even, we'll lose money for year after year after year and keep borrowing on the optimism that we at least hold this thing together and pass it on to the next generation. That's not a healthy proposition, but it's what the rank and file farmer and rancher and production ag does. And, and that's how we look at things right or wrong. Uh, we are eternal optimists for the long term, but we're always pretty pessimistic about the short term it seems.
Track 1:Yeah, that's one of the things that amazes me most about you guys and uh, that's incredible.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, and your perspective and the fact that you're interested in that gives me, and I think anybody that's listening to this a lot of hope, because quite often we feel like when we hear from the anti ag folks, when we hear from the, the activists that want to turn these native grasslands that we've held for hundreds of years and have been here for millions of years intact, want to turn them into this protected place that just has bison or whatever the case may be. We take that as a, a shot. We take that as the entire world being against us. And when we hear somebody like yourself that says, Hey, I've got lots of questions. and here's why. Because I'm getting the questions from my customers, my kids, my that I work with, and I want to have the right answer. I wanna help you tell this story. It's inspiring to me that you care. That was one of the things that I came away from Scottsdale in that CEB conference with was Holy smokes, folks selling beef, these folks preparing beef, these folks talking to the consumer, they're as passionate about my family and my way of life as I am. And I didn't think there was anybody who had that much passion, and these folks do. And so I think it's up to us as the beef community to do a better job of sharing that story with you, so then you can share it with, with the folks that you deal with every day.
Track 1:I a hundred percent agree with that.
matt_1_11-15-2022_083257:Well, Joe, I really appreciate you being here. I do have one more question. We're right on, the, Eve of Thanksgiving. When we release this, what's going to be on the menu? Obviously your kids aren't gonna be at school, but what will be on the school menu for Thanksgiving at both Greenville County schools and at your place? awesome. And how many will you have? Awesome. Well, great, great. We are as well. We have lots to be thankful for and um, I'm thankful for you joining us this week on Practically Ranching, so thanks a bunch. I'd be honored. I'd be honored. Well, happy Thanksgiving to you and to everyone. Thanks again, Joe..
Matt:Thanks for joining us for practically ranching, brought to you by Dalebanks Angus. If you enjoyed the podcast, heck even if you didn't... help us improve by leaving a comment with your review wherever you heard us. And if you want to listen again, click subscribe and catch us next week. God bless, and we look forward to visiting again soon.
