09/03/2026
Find people who know what you don’t. Learn from them. Work beside them. Then pass it on.
In nearly every competitive space, success is built by teams. Athletes have coaches and trainers. Race car drivers have an entire crew behind them. Businesses hire people who specialize in things they don’t. Nobody expects one person to know everything, do everything, and figure everything out alone.
Why should the livestock industry be any different?
Some of the most valuable things I’ve learned in this industry came from people who knew more than I did and were willing to teach me. How to feed one. How to manage one. How to show one. How to make adjustments when something isn’t working. You take pieces of knowledge from breeders, feeders, fitters, judges, mentors, friends and families, and eventually you develop knowledge of your own.
That’s not a shortcut. That’s mentorship.
A good team doesn’t eliminate hard work. It gives people access to knowledge, accountability, experience and a group of people invested in a common goal.
And eventually, the kid who once needed someone to teach them becomes the person another kid calls for help.
That cycle- learn it, work at it, and pass it on- is how knowledge survives in this industry.
There will always be people with more money, more connections, more experience or more resources. That isn’t unique to livestock. But I don’t believe the answer is criticizing people for surrounding themselves with knowledgeable people.
I think we should be encouraging more of it.
Find your people. Ask the dumb questions. Learn everything they’ll teach you. Put in the work alongside them. And when you finally know something worth sharing, turn around and teach somebody else.
That’s how we move this industry forward.
