The panel was set. A senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A 35-year-old professional who returned to the family ranch in the middle a successful corporate career. A livestock industry legend who’s reached the “3/4 of a century mark.”
Each may not have much in common, but they all have a passion for the beef industry. David Schuler, Tessa Quittner and Al Svajgr all spoke during the Young Cattlemen’s roundtable at the Nebraska Cattlemen’s meeting last month in Kearney, Nebraska.
The student
Schuler encouraged roundtable participants to “share your story.”
“I encourage you to think deeper on what that means to sharing your story in your own local right,” he said. “Maybe you’ll (be) sharing your values, or share family morals as well.”
As an intern for the U.S. Grains Council in Washington, D.C., in 2017, Schuler helped organize a tour for Japanese reporters visiting Nebraska. On the tour, the reporters asked his thoughts on GMOs. Schuler was a little surprised they wanted his personal opinion on the subject, but he believes situations like this are beneficial.
“The one thing we need to embrace are those hard conflicts and accept those responsibilities some times and own the industry we have today,” Schuler said. “We have good. We have some bad. But as a whole we’re working for our animals so they have a great life and one bad day.”
Schuler hopes he left an impression on the Japanese group.
“They’re not going to remember all the details, all the facts, but they’re really going to remember a 21-year-old kid that had enough passion to tell them what he thought of the industry, who respected their decision to say their ideas were wrong about GMOs but also respected their response in what they believed in as well as what I believed in as well for agriculture,” he said.
Schuler suggested three takeaways:
• Embrace hard conflicts instead of false harmonies.
• See gaps as opportunities for growth in yourself as well as profit.
• Act locally, but think globally in those gaps.
A homecoming
Tessa Quittner said she had the quote, “Life takes us to unexpected places, love brings us home,” on a shelf for many years. It didn’t have much meaning until five years ago when she decided to move back to her family’s ranch near Halsey, Nebraska.
“It was never my plan, returning home to my family’s ranch in the sandhills,” she said. “Maybe I like the bright lights of the city a little too much, but it was the best split second, overnight decision I have ever made.”
Quittner moved home out of necessity, out of love for her family and passion for the industry and a ranch she found it harder and harder to leave. Since her move back home she’s become involved with the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association and appreciates the young members who attended the roundtable.
“I have so much gratitude for each of you setting in this room,” she said. “Thanks for caring. Thank you for getting involved. Thanks for seeing the bigger picture. It’s never been more critical to come together as an industry. We have unbelievable challenges ahead.”
Quittner moved back to the ranch in 2013 after about 16 years away. Looking back on it, she said in the first year back she had many regrets.
She questioned more than once why she didn’t get a degree in animal science, instead of biology, from Creighton University. She also racked her brain why she didn’t move home earlier.
“Why did it take me 16 years, until I was in my mid-30s, to come and help my dad out?” she said. “I always knew my sisters didn’t really want to but I have to be honest, it never crossed my mind.”
However, after being home several months and working until dark seven days a week, she wondered why she even moved home at all.
“I lost my mind,” she said. “My dad wasn’t kidding; it was going to be tough.”
She’s grateful now that she had the time way because it gave her a new appreciation for the ranching lifestyle. In her years away from the ranch she had conversations with people outside of agriculture and was advocating for the industry unknowingly.
“I gave insight into the curiosity of everyone who works outside of our industry,” she said. “I discussed raising corn fed beef to almost every group of physicians and nurses I ever encountered. You know the topic of grass fed beef versus corn fed beef and GMOS came up at almost every dinner once they learned I grew up on a ranch in Nebraska.”
People are curious she said and after 10 years of wearing a suit and heels every day she now loves her boots and Carhartt overalls.
“I draw inspiration from everyone of you. I love the stories you share. I admire you for knowing what you want and going after it,” Quittner said. “We do have challenges ahead, but each of us in this room will shape the future of the industry. It’s never been more important for transparency and sharing our story.”
Old hand
Al Svajgr also spent some time away from the farm and said the prospect of a good job sent him to Chicago many years ago. At one point a promotion was on the line and all he had to do was move to New York City. He was supposed to be in an office making management decisions for Continental Grain.
“For some reason that just really didn’t appeal to me,” Svajgr said. “I guess maybe you can’t quite take the farmer out of the boy.”
From there he and his wife moved to Cozad, Nebraska where his father-in-law gave him an opportunity of a lifetime.
“Her father was involved with ranching, cattle feeding, farming and they had one bank,” he said. “Well, that was a little over 40 years ago.”
He got involved with the operation and started feeding and growing cattle. Svajgr and his wife started their own corporation and still own it today.
“Our operation today sells nothing but finished cattle,” he said. “All of our grass, all of our alfalfa, all of our corn, silage, wet corn—everything goes into feeding cattle.”
But he credits the opportunity to work with his father-in-law as a stepping-stone for his success in the cattle industry.
“He didn’t give me any money to do it, but he gave me a hell of an opportunity,” Svajgr said. “We’ve been able to add to the land base. Been able to add banks. We’ve been able to add a lot of things and he never second guessed me.”
That’s what Svajgr appreciates the most.
“If it’s good for you as a partner, it’s good for him. We all make mistakes,” he said. “I think that opportunity is probably the greatest.”
Svajgr had an opportunity to chat with those at his table during the session and many of them at his table were facing challenges. One young man has had to build his own herd up over eight to 10 years.
“You take some risk and you take some chance,” he said. “We all have to look for those opportunities.”
Challenges
Schuler said the top challenge of his generation is resources. Students who want to come back to the ranch after college struggle with family management, especially if they want to implement some of the things they’ve learned at school. The younger generation has “all the time in the world” and all the technologies the 21st century provides.
“We just have to figure out how to use that time efficiently when we have it now that we’re young and have the energy to do it,” he said.
Quittner faces similar challenges with her aging parents and how hard it is to get started in agriculture. If someone has the time and desire to “come back to the ranch,” they should save every penny possible when away from it. Start small—buying some cattle of your own.
“I think one of the biggest challenges that I know that we’re going to face in my family and each of us are going to face, one of the biggest opportunities is to transfer our operations to our generation,” she said. “It can certainly become complex and I think the sooner we can get our parents in those conversations, the better.”
Transition plans can be as complicated or as simple as needed. When it came time for her parents to have “true ownership” of the ranch it was work.
“It was a huge learning experience for our family—one that we’re taking advantage of and hope to do a better job. We can still do a better job,” she said. “Starting this conversation sooner. Start understanding what the interests of your siblings are.”
Kylene Scott can be reached at [email protected] or 620-227-1804.
