#244: Rayne Austin - Cattle Business 101

Chris sits down with his longtime friend Rayne Austin, to do a deep dive into the Cattle Business. Rayne walks Chris through the multiple phases of the life cycle for cattle, how each phase makes money, the "Big 4" packers, and how the pandemic exposed a major bottleneck in the industry. Enjoy! 

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(3:11) - Rayne’s Background

(5:08) - What are the phases of a cow's life and how do you move from one to the next?

(8:07) - Do the calves only live off of their mother’s milk or are they consuming feed in the first phase?

(9:17) - Do cows sell for less if they haven’t been weened?

(9:39) - How much money are people trying to get from selling in the calf/cow phase?

(10:22) - How do you transfer 10,000 calves to the stockyard?

(11:30) - How many calves fit in a truckload?

(11:49) - What’s the purpose of the stockyard?

(13:25) - How big are you trying to get the cows to become in the stock phase?

(13:45) - What’s the pricing model for cattle?

(37:05) - Does the climate and location of feed yards change what the cow will look like?

(39:20) - Are the majority of these legacy companies just growing to a point where the barrier to entry is more difficult?

(41:06) - What’s the day to day like for someone like your grandfather working in the field 7 days a week?

(44:00) - How many cattle are there per acre in America?

(44:56) - How many cattle are there in America?

(45:49) - Who’s the largest cattle rancher in the country?

(46:21) - Have genetics improved vastly over time?

(47:31) - What about cattle genetics has improved?

(48:23) - What’s the rating system for cattle?

(50:31) - Why would someone go through you for doing deals?

(51:47) - What’s a shrink and slide?

 (53:54) - Why do cuts like Wagyu and Kobe sell for so much more? What about grass-fed beef?

(55:15) - Why are Midland steaks so much better than other companies?

(56:25) - How long does a cow live and how often can they give birth?

(58:24) - What are the different breeds of cattle?

(1:00:27) - Is the fake meat industry putting a dent into the business?

(1:03:31) - Are there other false narratives that folks should know about in the cattle industry?

(1:04:29) - How has technology progressed in this industry to create better margins?

(1:07:11) - Have numbers shown that people will pay more for the meat of a cow that’s lived a ‘better life’?

(1:08:27) - 1031-ing in the Cattle Business

(1:10:28) - The JBS Cattle Company

(1:10:57) - Who are the Big 4 in Cattle?

(1:11:23) - What did the government do for cattle ranchers during COVID?

(1:12:35) - How far out can you hedge?

(1:13:51) - Since you’ve been around, what’s been the best year to be in this business?

(1:15:23) - Do the major packers dominate the industry or does it revolve around the cattle rancher?

(1:16:01) - How would you value a cattle operation?

(1:18:09) - The U.S. Beef Trade Deal with China

(1:19:15) - If you had 100 million dollars and you had to invest in the cattle business, where would you put it?

(1:29:24) - How far are we from a point in time where there are not enough people in the industry?

(1:30:07) - What’s your favorite cut of beef & what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

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