Joe Leathers
General Manager, 6666 Ranch
Joe Leathers has been an employee of 6666 Ranch for 20 years and general manager since 2008. Leathers is an accomplished horseman and cattleman who understands agriculture from the ground up. Reared as the son of a small rancher and cotton farmer, he spent his summers and after school activities in the fields of home. After college, Leathers considered sleeping on the ground as a step up from hoeing cotton, so he left the farm and pursued ranching. Over his lifetime, he has worked for both yearling and cow-calf operations. His greatest accomplishment is his marriage of 42 years and a family of 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
Leathers has the heart of a servant and, as a result, serves in many capacities and organizations. Leathers serves as a Texas Animal Health commissioner representing equines; director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for which he has chaired committees and continues to serve on various committees; serves as an executive committee member of the National Ranching Heritage Association; is heavily involved with Texas Tech University Quail Research; has represented the 6666 Ranch as the Environmental Stewardship Award winner for NCBA Region IV; and is the co-chair of the Producer’s Council for the Cattle Traceability Working Group.
Presentation:
Controlling our own destiny
In his keynote address, Joe Leathers will discuss what it takes to survive in the current cattle industry and what will determine the time ahead. He believes we are at a crossroad and if producers do not take the reins and control the path forwards, others will steer us in the wrong direction. Joe will explain how cattlemen can take the future in their hands and preserve this industry for the next generation.
John R. Erickson
Author & Entertainer
John R. Erickson has written and published more than 100 books, 600 articles, and 150 songs, and is best known as the author of the Hank the Cowdog series of books, audio-books, and musical stage plays. He is a professional performer and has entertained audiences from Key West, Florida, to Fairbanks, Alaska. His stories have won a number of awards, including the Audie, Oppenheimer, Wrangler, and Lamplighter Awards, and have been translated into Spanish, Danish, Farsi, and Chinese. In 2019 he was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, joining authors such as J. Frank Dobie, Walter P. Webb, Elmer Kelton, John Graves, and Larry McMurtry. The Hank the Cowdog series began as a self-publishing venture in his garage in 1982 and has endured to become one of the nation’s most popular series for children and families. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, “Head of Ranch Security,” Erickson gives readers a dose of good, honest humor, as well as a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle. USA Today calls the series “the best family entertainment in years.”
Karla Wilke
Cow-Calf, Stocker Management Specialist, University of Nebraska
Karla Wilke is the cow-calf, stocker management specialist for the University of Nebraska located at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff. Her research includes maintaining production cow-calf pairs in confinement to provide grazing deferment for range while maintaining a core herd from liquidation, or as part of a system to reduce dependency on perennial pasture. Additionally, she evaluates alternative uses for crops such as field peas or sugar beets in beef cattle diets when they are rejected for human consumption. Since her appointment in 2009, she has conducted numerous supplementation studies for grazing yearlings. Currently, Wilke is evaluating marketing and supplementation strategies for stocker grazing programs.
Presentation:
Options for managing cows through drought
This session will include topics such as grazing strategies using yearlings to mitigate drought, do’s and don’ts of supplementing on pasture to stretch grass, and feeding pairs in confinement.
Kelli Payne
President, Oklahoma National Stockyards
As a proud fifth generation cow/calf producer, Kelli Payne and her family live south of Mustang, Okla., just a few miles from where her ancestors settled during the land run. She serves as a district director for the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, Class 26 Cattlemen’s Leadership Academy and serves on the TSCRA Marketing and Transportation committee. Payne is the first female to be appointed president of the Oklahoma National Stockyards and only the sixth person to serve in that capacity in its 112 year history.
Presentation:
Panelist
Clint Laflin
Livestock Extension Agent, Kansas State Research & Extension
Clinton Laflin is a 5th generation cattleman who lives in rural Russell County, Kansas. Laflin serves as the livestock extension agent for Kansas State Research & Extension in Russell and Ellsworth Counties. He also owns and operates C Bar L Cattle Company, raising registered Angus cattle.
Presentation:
Impacts and experiences from the four-county fire
The session will describe what happened and the lessons learned from living through the Four County Fire on December 15th, 2021. The session will focus on how to best deal with a wildfire and will include recommendations for proper recovery following a wildfire.
Dr. Chris Cassady
Technical Beef Sales Field Manager, Biozyme Inc.
Chris Cassady grew up on a diversified, family-owned purebred Angus and grain farm in north central Illinois. He attended Black Hawk East and Texas A&M University and received a bachelor’s in animal science. He went on to receive a doctorate in beef cow-calf nutrition and management from the University of Illinois in 2016. Currently, Chris serves as the technical beef sales field manager for Biozyme Inc., where he serves as a cattle consultant for producers, dealers, and other beef entities. He co-owns C-5 Angus with his family, where they focus on purebred Angus seedstock and youth projects. Chris and his wife, Katie, have three children, Beau, Lincoln, and Tatum.
Presentation:
The beef production cycle and pathway to profitability
There are many different facets and moving parts in beef cattle production, but we all have the goal of being profitable. This discussion aims to take a holistic view of beef cattle production as far as genetics, nutrition, and management to set every cattlemen up for success.
Drew Crisler, DVM
North West Kansas Field Veterinarian, Kansas Department of Agriculture
Drew Crisler, DVM, is northwest field veterinarian for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Crisler is a Kansas native and a graduate of Kansas State University. He served as a large animal veterinarian in private practice for 10 years. He joined the Kansas Department of Agriculture as a field veterinarian, pursuing his interest in national herd health and food supply security.
Presentation:
Animal disease traceability: who cares?…who should care?
Animal Disease Traceability is a system that improves the ability to trace livestock when a disease is identified. Knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they’ve been, and when they were at those locations improves the ability to reduce or halt disease spread. Every player in the livestock industry serves a vital role in an effective ADT system, from stockman to exhibitor to veterinarian to animal health official.
Todd Sears
CEO and Founder, Energy Curve Technology
As a Missouri Native, and a seasoned ag tech entrepreneur, Sears recognizes the struggles that farms face every day. For the past 14 years he grew an ag tech company called Intellifarms that was recognized as an Inc 5000 company five years in a row that has now evolved into Suretrack. When Intellifarms was acquired, he started a new journey to build Energy Curve Technology to have technology that is based around soil and plant fertility. Sears has an organic farm located in Missouri with his wife, Georgia, and their three sons. They run a successful hay- and grass-fed beef operation along with greenhouses that serve as a research facility for ECT. Sears takes pride in giving back to the community and serves on several boards.
Presentation:
Complex to simple
Ben Elliott and Todd Sears will discuss their organic operations and how to transition to organic. Also, they’ll discuss how to drive revenue, how to be regenerative, and use those practices as revenue streams.
Ben Elliott
Chief Formulation Scientist, Energy Curve Technology
Elliott grew up in Trenton, Tennessee, a small agriculture town in the western part of the state. He served in the United States Marine Corps for 5 years. He was honorably discharged from a career that spanned more than 60 countries and duty with multiple foreign military branches. Elliott holds degrees in microbiology and analytical chemistry. He has visited multiple foreign Ministries of Agriculture and spoken in many forums where biological agronomy was the topic and taught the transition from standard practices to biology-based practices. Elliott’s current research is focused on the biological effects of soil and plant nutrition across multiple crops and how growers can access alternate solutions for fertility.
Presentation:
Complex to simple
Ben Elliott and Todd Sears will discuss their organic operations and how to transition to organic. Also, they’ll discuss how to drive revenue, how to be regenerative, and use those practices as revenue streams.
Cody Welchons
Nutritionist, Livestock Nutrition Center
Cody Welchons joined LNC in August 2017 after completing his doctorate in ruminant nutrition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from central Florida, Cody completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Florida after which he worked for a small feedmill in central Florida before returning to school for his Ph.D. Cody provides technical support for sales and customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas. He resides in Chickasha, OK with his wife Andrea and their dog Solomon.
Presentation:
Feed is high, what should I buy?
Cody will discuss feedstuffs and how the price of other ingredients, along with supply and demand, affect their price. How do we determine what the best value is for a given feeding program?
Tera R. Barnhardt, DVM, MS
Veterinarian
Dr. Tera Barnhardt, DVM, grew up on her family’s farm in Satanta and has always been a proud resident of the Sunflower State. Barnhardt earned her doctorate from Kansas State University in 2014 and during her tenure as a wildcat, completed her master’s under Dr. Dan Thomson, DVM. Her graduate research involved implementing an industry-oriented beef quality assurance and animal welfare assessment in 56 Kansas feedyards. Barnhardt is currently serving beef, feedlot, dairy, and calf-ranch clients as a consultant in the southwest Kansas area. Barnhardt and her husband, Sheldon, own a residential construction business and an upland game hunting service. They have their hearts and hands full with their three young children.
Presentation:
Protecting our social license to operate: BQA training
Panelist
Barnhardt’s presentation give boots on the ground training of BQA principles from a veterinarian who works with diverse clientele in the beef industry and has a passion for promoting products to consumers.
Jordan Gottlieb
Agent at New York Life Insurance Company
Presentation:
Estate Planning 101
Gottlieb will give farmers and ranchers a framework for how New York Life can keep their heirs from having to rely on others, how a will can get the right property to the right people, and the tax implications on what’s left.
Corbitt Wall
Commercial Cattle Manager for DV Auction and host of the Feeder Flash daily cattle market summary
Corbitt Wall has a lifetime of experience in commercial cattle production, marketing, and market reporting and analysis. He has been a certified livestock grader and supervisory market reporter for the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service for 18 years and a livestock auctioneer for 25 years. He developed a niche in feeder cattle marketing reporting while at the USDA, which evolved into video market reports. In 2014, Wall accepted a position with DV Auction to manage their real-time market reporting service and to host the Feeder Flash.
Presentation:
Panelist
John Campbell
Winter Livestock, Inc.
Born and raised in Greeley, Colo., John Campbell’s family operated a feed yard, livestock auction, and registered paint horse operation. He received an associate degree from Northeastern Junior College and a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University. Campbell has worked as field representative, auctioneer, general manager, and order buyer for Winter Livestock, Inc. in La Junta, Colo. for 41 continuous years. He’s been married 36 years to Valerie and has two children, Marissa Struthers of Rosston, Okla., and Collin Campbell of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Presentation:
Panelist
Sheri Glazier, MS, RDN/LD
Owner and Registered Dietitian, Dirt Road Dietitian, LLC
Sheri Glazier, an Oklahoma farmer, and registered dietitian knows a thing or two about creating nutrient-rich meals for her on-the-go family. While she makes coordinating family logistics—on-farm meal deliveries, kids’ schedules—and client consults look seamless, she’s an ordinary mom doing extraordinary things. With a bachelor’s and master’s in nutritional sciences from Oklahoma State University, Sheri uses her education and on-the-job skills as a nutrition consultant, speaker, virtual nutrition coach, and culinary creator. Recently, she was named Oklahoma’s Dietitian of the Year and awarded the Rising Star award from her alma mater, the OSU College of Human Sciences. In her nutrition consulting role with the Oklahoma Beef Council, she is passionate about highlighting beef as a meal staple, and empowering others to choose confidently, prepare and serve the authentically nutrient rich protein source, that is beef.
Presentation:
Panelist
Cassidy Johnston
Speaker and Consultant, Not Your Average Rancher
Cassidy Johnston grew up in the Denver metro area—population 3 million—and was pretty sure she was going to be a professional snowboarder, a fashion designer, or an environmental lawyer when she grew up.
Spoiler: She did not end up doing any of those things. What she did end up doing is falling in love with ranching, marrying a cowboy, and never looking back.
She and her husband now live with their three little boys on a ranch near Canon City, Colorado. Along the way and in between raising boys and keeping the wheels on, Cassidy has discovered a passion for connecting to people outside of the cattle industry. She speaks and consults to build relationships and bridge the gap between where she grew up and where she lives now.
Presentation:
Panelist
Jean Gottenborg
Owner-Operator Eagle Rock Ranch
Jean and her husband Dave acquired the Eagle Rock Ranch located in Jefferson Colorado in 2012. They run a cow calf high altitude operation and together with the help of their daughter, sell the majority of their beef direct to consumer thru their mercantile in Fair Play Colorado. Jean enjoys being involved in the day to day operations of the ranch whether it’s calving, doctoring or haying the acres of grass to feed the cattle in the winter. Jean’s “can do” attitude is infectious and she bends an ear wherever she can to spread the good word of life on a ranch and raising happy healthy cows.
Presentation:
Panelist
Phil Perry
Owner of Perry Ranch
Phil Perry owns and operates a cow calf operation in northeast Kansas. He also has a small custom preconditioning yard mostly handling calves out of the northeast United States and purchases calves for resale when extra feed is available. The operation is run by Phil and his wife Rhonda, along with some day help. The cows run on cold season grasses where they stay year round. They make the cows work and feed as little hay as possible. The Perry’s cows are Angus based and they quit doing any cross breeding to get their herd as uniform as possible. Calves in recent years have been sold after a 60- to 90-day weaning. A good share of the heifers are retained to go back in the herd. Both Rhonda and Phil grew up in Oskaloosa, they have a daughter and son and 11 grandchildren.
Presentation:
Panelist
Tom Jones
Hy-Plains Feedyard
Tom Jones put an investment group together to purchase Hy-Plains Feedyard located near Montezuma, Kansas, in 1999 where he is the managing member. Seeing the advancement in the quality of the animals provided from the cow-calf producers and the need to make further advancements led to the opening of the Education and Research Center in 2017. The Education and Research Center hosts multiple meetings throughout the year ranging from appropriate antimicrobial use, water conservation, farming practices, to community development. The overall goal with these meetings is to educate the producers and consumers. There are also multiple groups that come together to identify issues for the industry, collaborate on research projects, and help make improvements throughout the entire supply chain.
Presentation:
Panelist
Scott Johnson
Owner and Chairman of Flying Diamond Ranch
Scott Johnson is a fourth generation rancher from Kit Carson, Colorado. He along with his wife, Jean, and their four married children—and 10 grandchildren—own and operate the Flying Diamond Ranch. The Flying Diamond Ranch has cow-calf, yearling, and commercial bred female enterprises, and has won multiple regional and national conservation awards.
Scott is a Colorado State University alumni. He is the president-elect of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo of Colorado Springs, he served two terms on the Colorado State University System Board of Governors, is past president of the Colorado Livestock Association and past treasurer of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. Scott is a devoted family man and very pleased that all four of his children and their families are involved in the family cattle business.
Presentation:
Panelist
Jeff Jackson
Alfalfa & Forage Specialist & National Forage Sorghum Product Manager, CROPLAN by Winfield United
Jeff Jackson grew up on a family farm in northwestern Iowa. He holds a bachelor’s in animal science and a master’s in plant science from South Dakota State University. Having started working in ag retail in Bruce, S.D., Jackson was hired in 2005 by Land O Lakes as a seed district sales manager, representing the CROPLAN brand of seed in East Central South Dakota. Becoming a full-time alfalfa and forage specialist in 2010, he became very involved in the I-29 Dairy Expansion. Jackson continues to work as a technical support advisor on growing high yielding, high quality forages with alfalfa and sorghums. Today he works nationally with agronomists, nutritionists, and forage growers on forage management and technical support. He currently resides just north of Kansas City, Mo. and enjoys hunting, ATV riding, woodworking and his newly acquired sawmill.
Presentation:
Panelist
Dr. Randy Brown
Director of Agronomic Strategy, WinField United
Dr. Randy Brown is the director of agronomic strategy for WinField United, a Land O Lakes company. He received his B.S. and M.S. in agronomy from the University of Nebraska and his Ph.D. from Kansas State. After graduation, Dr. Brown was on the faculty of Kansas State as a crops and soil specialist, teaching and doing research in soil fertility and precision ag. He has been with the WinField United agronomy team for 23 years. Dr. Brown has a life-long passion for agriculture, especially working in the area of interface between science and agronomic practice. He is currently focused on agronomic sustainability. Dr. Brown, his wife, Beth, and their two sons, Justin and Cody, are active in production agriculture as owners of the Lazy ET Ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska.
Presentation:
Panelist
David Whalen
Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Management Representative, Forage Genetics International
David Whalen is the director of regulatory affairs and quality management representative at Forage Genetics International, where he leads U.S. and international regulatory initiatives and oversees the quality management system (QMS). He is also the operations lead for all FGI R&D facilities responsible for managing employees and resources. Whalen has worked at FGI since the company was established in 1991. Past roles include plant pathology, forage quality manager, entomologist, forage yield trial manager and station manager. He has worked in partnership with Monsanto, The Noble Research Institute, and other collaborators to successfully obtain approvals for multiple genetically engineered alfalfa products in several countries. Whalen was instrumental in building the QMS for Forage Genetics R&D, operations, and seed production.
Presentation:
Panelist
Drew Thompson
Fifth Generation Alfalfa Farmer
Drew Thompson is a 5th generation alfalfa farmer from Holly, Colo. and works alongside his father, two uncles, three cousins, and several hired men. Thompson graduated in 2017 from West Texas A&M with a bachelors degree in agronomy. Since returning to the farm, he has immersed himself in improving the practices of growing and putting up alfalfa. Thompson and his wife have a 13 month old son.
Presentation:
Panelist
Tom Brink
CEO Red Angus Association of America
Kansas native and KSU graduate Tom Brink is well-known throughout the U.S. beef industry, Brink has earned a reputation as one of the foremost experts on beef production and supply chain economics. Brink spent 14 years in the cattle feeding business in various leadership positions at JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding and ContiBeef. He also served as President and COO of J & F Oklahoma Holdings, Inc., the cattle ownership sister company to Five Rivers. Brink has overseen feeder cattle procurement and risk management for a cattle-feeding business that went on to procure and market over 1.6
Why Genetics Matter in the Feedyard