EPISODE NAME: Junior Takeover — Sibling Support on the Farm and In the Ring

Nearly all of Kolton and Kinleigh Grim’s Angus memories include each other. The siblings started showing Angus cattle at a young age, and their partnership began. Today, they approach their cattle operation with a similar mindset — how you work the animals at home is a direct reflection of how they’ll behave in the ring. In a flurry of National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) competition, the Grims paused to share their tips for preparation and advice for making the most of the experience. 

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman, Mark McCully 

GUESTS:  

Kolton and Kinleigh Grim, Beaver Creek Angus, have been involved in their family’s Thomasville, Pa., cattle herd from very early ages. They're both currently serving in leadership roles on the Pennsylvania Junior Angus Association board and are active in the National Junior Angus Association. They were members of this year’s Team Fitting Champion team.  

GUEST HOST: Ava Leibfried is a third-generation Angus breeder from Platteville, Wis., currently serving as the National Junior Angus Association board chair. Ava is studying agricultural business at Iowa State University and intends to keep Angus cattle as part of her long-term career goals.  

RELATED CONTENT:   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_RciyleBOg 

Miranda Reiman (00:02):
Welcome to the Angus Conversation. I'm your host, Miranda Reiman, with my co-host, Mark McCully, and we are here at the National Junior Angus Show, Mark.

Mark McCully (00:10):
Louisville, Kentucky. Got green shavings out in the ring, which is always kind of a tradition of Louisville and here at the North American facility and things are off to a fast start.


Miranda Reiman (00:20):
Absolutely. And a really cool bases loaded kind of theme here with all of the nods to baseball and the little sluggers and it's just really a fun atmosphere.


Mark McCully (00:31):
Absolutely.


Miranda Reiman (00:32):
And we are here with a guest co-host as we've done traditionally on these Junior Takeover podcasts. We have Ava Leibfried here from Platteville, Wisconsin.


Ava Leibfried (00:41):
Hello everyone. Excited to join you all on the podcast today.


Mark McCully (00:46):
Ava, your term is starting to come to an end here.


Ava Leibfried (00:49):
Yes, it is.


Mark McCully (00:50):
Currently serving as the chairman of the National Junior Angus Association Board and have done just a fantastic job with that.


Ava Leibfried (00:56):
Thank you. Yeah, it's a bittersweet week for me. Last Junior National and Last Junior National on the board. So very much enjoyed my time on the board and especially this last year as chairman, we've had a great team and always fun to hang out and interact with the juniors too.


Miranda Reiman (01:12):
So you're a junior at Iowa State University. Tell us a little bit about your career plans and where you're going next.


Ava Leibfried (01:18):
Yeah. So I just finished up my year as a junior at Iowa State majoring in agricultural business and I'm thinking I want to pursue the animal health in the sales realm. So we'll see how that goes, but always want to return back to the family Angus farm as well. So yeah, really enjoy Iowa State and excited for my senior year.


Miranda Reiman (01:38):
Sure. And in terms of your involvement with the National Junior Angus Association, what were some of your kind of highlights or key things that were your events?


Ava Leibfried (01:46):
Yeah. Obviously we're sitting at the National Junior Angus Show, so I'd be remiss to not mention that. So that was always my favorite week of the summer to see everyone and hang out with all my Angus family. Also LEAD, I loved going to that and getting to see my Angus family in a different light, in a different location every year. And then Raising the Bar that we have in the spring, highlighting different colleges. So all of the events are a lot of my favorites, but as a junior board member, I've really enjoyed getting to go to different preview shows all over the country. I've been to MAJAC, Atlantic, and I'd never been to Reno, so I was very excited to go there too. So very fun, different perspective going across the country in that aspect. But yeah, I'd say the National Junior Angus Show has always been my favorite highlight.


Mark McCully (02:33):
And you guys, I think for maybe those that just come and watch, they see you in the ring and see all of that work, but you guys have a really busy week. You guys run contests. Obviously the work leading up to this, all the planning of the contest, but you guys are busy from sun up to sundown.


Ava Leibfried (02:49):
Oh yes, we are. We have a very fun filled week, but it's a very busy one. So we have a wonderful events department, but us 12 junior board members help lead all the contests, work the ring every day. AMP, obviously our Angus Mentoring Program that we have a lot of the days that is more of a fun activity for our juniors to take part in each day has been really fun to plan and really fun to do with our juniors. But yeah, every day has something different and it's fun to be able to be busy and be able to make this week the best week for our juniors.


Miranda Reiman (03:21):
So we've added to your list of responsibilities coming to help be a guest co-host for us on these next three episodes we'll have at the junior takeover. But when you talk about busy with lots of contests and events going on, we have a real life example sitting in front of us here with Kolton and Kinleigh Grim of Thomasville, Pennsylvania. Thank you for joining us on what has already been an eventful day for you.


Kolton Grim (03:44):
Yeah, thank you for having us.


Miranda Reiman (03:45):
We were joking that when I scheduled all of these podcasts out, I usually asked, now you're not in this event or that event, but I actually called your dad to arrange the podcast. Your dad said you'd be fine to do the contest and you were fine to do the podcast, but I found out that you were competing this morning in the fitting contest. Already have that under your belt. Yep.


Mark McCully (04:07):
And won.


Miranda Reiman (04:08):
And were announced as champions.


Mark McCully (04:11):
The high team in the team fitting competition. Congratulations.


Kolton Grim (04:13):
Thank you.


Miranda Reiman (04:14):
Yeah. So tell us a little bit about that contest.


Kolton Grim (04:17):
So the fitting contest is mainly like a teamwork building. You take your animal in the ring, put her in the chute and then everybody goes to work and everybody main goal is to stay organized and stay busy, helping the younger members, some of the older members help the younger members improve their fitting skills and get the animal presented to our best of our abilities. And yeah, that's kind of the gist of it.


Mark McCully (04:38):
Kinleigh, what all roles did you have?


Kinleigh Grim (04:42):
So I have had a little bit of experience fitting just around nationals and in the fitting contest. So I did the offshow side front leg and then the tail. And Kolton, who had a lot more experience than me, has definitely helped me. And he gave me a couple pointers down there, which was very nice of him.


Kolton Grim (05:02):
I think the judge said though the tail, that she did put us over the top. So look at that. It was a big piece.


Miranda Reiman (05:08):
Very good. Well done. Well, I should back up maybe just a little bit and introduce you guys as a family. Obviously I didn't mention your sibling pair here on the podcast. You guys come from Beaver Creek, Angus. Tell us just a little bit about your kind of operation and experience. We're


Kolton Grim (05:23):
Kind of a breeder of Angus cattle. So we're located in South Central Pennsylvania. We have a fall sale in the fall and a spring bull sale, which was our first year.


Mark McCully (05:33):
First one this year, right? And a very, very successful one. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, congratulations to your family.


Kolton Grim (05:38):
Surprised us very, to say the least. So we come to all these shows and try to have a good time and help younger members get involved in the Angus breed. Yes, there is. And


Mark McCully (05:47):
Where are you guys at in school? What ages?


Kolton Grim (05:50):
I'm going in my senior year. And


Kinleigh Grim (05:51):
Then I'm in eighth grade now.


Mark McCully (05:53):
Eighth grade. OK.


Miranda Reiman (05:54):
And both involved in your state junior Angus association board as well.


Kolton Grim (05:58):
Yep.


Kinleigh Grim (05:58):
So he's a director. Yeah,


Kolton Grim (06:00):
I'm a director at the Pennsylvania and you're the -


Kinleigh Grim (06:03):
News reporter.


Kolton Grim (06:04):
News reporter.


Mark McCully (06:04):
Very good.


Ava Leibfried (06:05):
Kolton, you talk a lot about encouraging younger members. Can you maybe talk about people that mentored you or where that spirit has come from?


Kolton Grim (06:13):
So when I started, my family was raising cattle and selling cattle and the kids that were showing with us at the time helped me get started and helped me through showing and get around the cattle. And I think that really propped me up to get an earlier start. So I kind of just wanted to give back to everybody, especially the people that show with us and support my family. I like to support them and give them knowledge that I have. So yeah, it's kind of a cool piece to be able to contribute that to everybody.


Ava Leibfried (06:41):
On the farm and at the fitting contest, right? With the tips.


Kolton Grim (06:44):
Yep.


Miranda Reiman (06:44):
Yeah. And Kinleigh, your involvement, were you expected to show cattle because your older brother did or did you fall in love with it the same?


Kinleigh Grim (06:53):
I wouldn't say I was expected to, but just my personality. I really liked the cattle. So I definitely was probably, after I've seen Kolton show, I definitely knew that I wanted to play a role in it and see that I would always want to work his cattle. And I obviously participated in the peewee showmanship. So once I aged out the peewee showmanship, I knew that I was going to go in novice and keep moving up.


Miranda Reiman (07:17):
Sure. I was going to ask how long you've been showing cattle together, but it sounds like the answer's probably going to be your whole life.


Kolton Grim (07:22):
Yeah. I can't remember how old I was the first time, but I know at our Pennsylvania breeder show we had a bull that was, I don't know, I think he was around a ton and I took him in for peewee showmanship and they still talk about that to this day.


Mark McCully (07:36):
Not typically the animal you take in for peewee showmanship. Yeah. So what all contests are you guys doing? So you just finished team fitting, right? And getting ready to do the judging contest next. Yep.


Kolton Grim (07:48):
And I think we're set to do the skil-a-thon too.


Kinleigh Grim (07:50):
And the showmanship contest.


Kolton Grim (07:51):
And the showmanship contest.


Mark McCully (07:52):
And showmanship.


Kolton Grim (07:53):
Yep. And then she has a PGS heifer and I have two heifers and then she has a steer on Friday.


Miranda Reiman (07:59):
I mean, so just a few things going on.


Kolton Grim (08:02):
Yeah.


Ava Leibfried (08:02):
What are you most looking forward to?


Kolton Grim (08:05):
I'm kind of geared up for the showmanship contest. That's always one of my favorites.


Kinleigh Grim (08:09):
Yeah. I'm looking forward to the showmanship too because we haven't done it. We weren't at Nationals last year, so I didn't get to participate in it. So I'm looking forward to that.


Miranda Reiman (08:18):
Excellent. So I had asked your regional manager, Reese, ahead of time if there was anything I should ask you. And he said, you should probably ask Kolton what it feels like to have Kinleigh show him up. I feel like there's a story here.


Mark McCully (08:32):
There's a big grin, so on both you guys' faces.


Kolton Grim (08:36):
He always gives me a hard time because we do showmanship and we're very competitive at it from ourselves. We take it very seriously. And here as of lately, she's been right on my heels and he makes sure to let me know that every time.


Miranda Reiman (08:49):
It's kind of great to have a good example to kind of follow and know what you're doing though.


Kinleigh Grim (08:52):
He's always giving me pointers whenever we're working cattle just at home.


Miranda Reiman (08:56):
Sure. So when you guys are working cattle at home, tell me how that goes. Do you have specialties? Everybody's a jack of all trades?


Kolton Grim (09:05):
So my father, he was kind of, everybody calls him a cow whisperer because he seems to be able to calm the uncalmable, but we don't really do a routine every day. But when we work them, we work them hard and we work them for a long time. So we work them, I don't know, in the summer we work them more than in the winter. And we take them out, we work them for a couple hours. We don't tie them up every day to feed them. We don't just rinse them every day. We try to, but it don't always get done. But when we work them, we work them to like they're going in the show ring every time and that seems to help us in the past.


Miranda Reiman (09:38):
Sure.


Kinleigh Grim (09:38):
Yeah. And I think another thing that we try to do is, especially whenever we're gearing up to go to a show, we try and take them to different places around the farm, just that way they get experience and kind of try to have them relay their trust on you versus a specific place or another animal. Oh,


Miranda Reiman (09:54):
That's a great place.


Mark McCully (09:55):
Real smart.


Miranda Reiman (09:56):
So do you guys have a chore list? Just somebody in charge of packing the show box and somebody else to feed or is that an all hands on deck?


Kolton Grim (10:04):
 It's kind of all hands on deck. Everybody pitches in where they can.


Kinleigh Grim (10:06):
Whatever needs done.


Kolton Grim (10:07):
Yeah.


Miranda Reiman (10:08):
That's impressive. And never any fights?


Kolton Grim (10:10):
I'm not going to say never, but we try to keep it to a minimum. Yeah.


Miranda Reiman (10:15):
I'm a mom to a bunch of kids, so I'm trying to see how this works. I'll tell them I interviewed these siblings. They said they don't fight and they all pitch in. I appreciate that.


Mark McCully (10:25):
How was your trip down to Louisville? Did you guys have a good...


Kolton Grim (10:27):
Yeah, it was very good. Couldn't ask for a better day as far as weather.


Mark McCully (10:30):
Good.


Kolton Grim (10:31):
So yeah, traffic wasn't terrible.


Mark McCully (10:33):
You got in here Saturday or Sunday?


Kolton Grim (10:36):
Got in Saturday night. ... Saturday morning.


Ava Leibfried (10:40):
Where else have you guys been this year show-wise?


Kolton Grim (10:43):
So we've kind of been pretty busy in the May. We had a little county show. That was just a one day. And then we skipped Atlantic Nationals this year. We went down to help some people. We went to the Eastern Regionals in New York and then the Breeder Show in Huntington, Pennsylvania, and here. And then we have our county fair yet.


Miranda Reiman (11:00):
County fair after this.


Kolton Grim (11:02):
A week after.


Miranda Reiman (11:03):
You'll be really practiced up by the time county fair rolls around.


Mark McCully (11:07):
Just cattle at the county fair? Do you guys show some other species?


Kinleigh Grim (11:10):
Just cattle.


Kolton Grim (11:10):
We're kind of focused on cattle. Yeah.


Miranda Reiman (11:14):
So when you're talking about showing all around the country, what are some of the benefits to having a sibling or somebody else in the family that's doing it alongside of you?


Kolton Grim (11:25):
I don't know how to really answer that confidently. I think it's very good to be able to talk to somebody about what they saw to show and what they picked up and learned and talked to other people about. But definitely just having that support and the backing, the knowing that somebody's always in your corner.


Kinleigh Grim (11:40):
And we don't really work cattle as his heifer or my heifer. We always kind of work them together so we know what each one of them personality likes and what they've been up to. So


Mark McCully (11:51):
That kind of leans into a rule change that came about here at the junior show a couple years ago around family ownership. So you guys kind of take advantage of that rule today as a family, right?


Kolton Grim (12:04):
Yep. So we show cattle from our farm. So it can only be bred and owned as for one person, correct?


Mark McCully (12:10):
Right, right.


Kolton Grim (12:10):
But if you dual register them in her and I's, both names, you can take them to a show and one weekend you can show on the bred and owned show and one weekend show in the owned show, like vice versa. So that's kind of worked out pretty good for us.


Kinleigh Grim (12:25):
And then whenever we turn them out to pasture, whenever they have their first calf, it always benefits because whoever ends up showing her calf, it can be bred and owned for them if we have a dual ownership in them.


Kolton Grim (12:36):
Both children can, or both people can have bred and owned both way. Before whoever owned the cow, it was bred and owned for one kid and kind of pigeonholed the other kid if they didn't have a calf. So if you do register them, both kids or both people can have bred and owned.


Miranda Reiman (12:50):
Sure. Yeah. And no fights ever...


Mark McCully (12:52):
I'd say this eliminates all fights, right?


Miranda Reiman (12:56):
You guys called dibs on a specific one. One of the things that I always like to do when I have podcast guests on is do a little Google search and see if I can find information about them. And one thing that came up was an I Am Angus episode that your parents were on something like 10 or 12 years ago. Yeah,


Kolton Grim (13:15):
I remember that.


Miranda Reiman (13:15):
Yeah. And you guys were pretty little in the video. One of the things that your dad said on there is he was talking about 10 years from now, I'd really like to be involved with cattle with the... I think I have the exact quote. 10 years from now, I really look forward to sharing the land and the cattle with my kids if that's something they have an interest in. What does it mean to you guys to be living out that dream now?


Kolton Grim (13:37):
It means a lot. Yeah. For everything that we've worked through over the years and worked for, it's kind of rewarding to be able to sit back and look at what we've accomplished as a family and what we continue to work towards.


Miranda Reiman (13:49):
If you've looked at that I Am Angus video, we'll probably have to post a link in the show notes now. The one thing that I thought was kind of cute is at the time I think you must have been kind of a toddler, Kinleigh.


Kinleigh Grim (13:59):
Yeah, I don't know if I remember that.


Miranda Reiman (14:01):
They asked whose cows they were and you guys were fighting over whose cows they were using my cows.


Kinleigh Grim (14:06):
That sounds about right.


Miranda Reiman (14:08):
I think it's pretty neat to see that 10 years later and all that you've been involved in and just how that's, you have grown up to be that family that's kind of living that out. So it was kind of neat.


Ava Leibfried (14:19):
Thinking about 10 years ago to now, some goals that you have accomplished has been awesome, but what are some goals that you guys have set for yourselves within your junior career and within the next few years?


Kolton Grim (14:31):
So one thing that I've kind of set for myself and I imagine Kinleigh will be along the same lines is I'm kind of getting ready to run for the junior board here in a few years. So that's kind of a goal that I've had to set for a long time. So that's kind of a big one for me.


Kinleigh Grim (14:46):
I would either probably like to do that or maybe try and run for Miss American Angus, one of the two. I like how Miss American Angus interacts with the young girls, but the junior board gets interact with the juniors and stuff. So that sounds really fun too.


Miranda Reiman (14:59):
Yeah, absolutely.


Mark McCully (15:00):
Was win the team fitting competition on your bucket list, your checklist of goals? We can check that one off.


Miranda Reiman (15:08):
After you guys had competed, how did you feel about your... I mean, did you think you'd won it?


Kolton Grim (15:12):
I did not think we were going to win. I was hoping we were being the top half for sure because I thought our heifer looked pretty decent. We pulled out of the chute and I thought our team worked well together and I thought everybody contributed equally. So I was hoping we were in the hunt, but I was not expecting to win to say the least.


Miranda Reiman (15:30):
How do you prepare for a contest like that?


Kolton Grim (15:32):
A lot of it starts at home. Starts at home back when you're starting to breed and starting to get everything sorted out because hair plays into the fitting contest and you got to pick your genetics correctly and working them at home and getting them ready and you don't just walk them in the ring and start fitting. It takes a lot of hours beforehand to get ready. But then when you get to the contest, it's all hands on deck and everybody needs to have the same vision. You got to be pulling the wagon in the same direction is guess kind of how I would say.


Kinleigh Grim (16:01):
Yeah. And then when you're at home too, you need to, months before, work their hair and make sure that it's going in the right direction because it's kind of hard to start from rock bottom out there in the show ring. Yeah.


Miranda Reiman (16:11):
That's great perspective that most of these contests are that way. Start with lots and lots of work that people don't see when you get here.


Mark McCully (16:18):
How about the judging contest coming up? Have you done any preparation, any coaching, getting coached up on the judging contest?


Kolton Grim (16:25):
We're always looking at cattle and sorting them at home. So we are all the time practicing, but judging contest is kind of one of our favorites. Yeah.


Ava Leibfried (16:33):
What's your perspective last year? I know we kind of instated that the juniors would be able to get on the ground and look at the cattle. What's your guys' perspective on that? Do you enjoy that or maybe other changes that you would like to recommend for the judging contest?


Kinleigh Grim (16:46):
Well, at our Pennsylvania breeder show, we're allowed to get in the ring and look at the cattle. And I like that better than we were here at nationals previously where we had to sit up in the stands. It's just the perspective from looking down in the ring. You can't really visualize the cattle as well as you would if you were out in the ring. So that definitely plays a major role whenever placing.


Kolton Grim (17:06):
When you're sitting up in the stand, you can see the whole picture. You can see the whole animal, but you can't see the fine details, their feet, their legs, their joints, their testicular development, all that kind of stuff. You can't quite judge that from afar. You got to be right down and next to them.


Miranda Reiman (17:19):
Absolutely.


Mark McCully (17:21):
As one, I could never watch a show sitting up in the stands. I could watch it for about five minutes and then I'd have to get down on the rail and get down close. Yeah, I agree. I agree.


Miranda Reiman (17:31):
As you look ahead to the rest of the week, so how does your routine play out when you... What do you got tomorrow morning when you're getting ready for showmanship?


Kolton Grim (17:40):
Tomorrow morning I think we'll get here, get washed and everything. And then I imagine we'll probably wash them right before showmanship because if you guys noticed our heifer was pretty hairy so she gets warm pretty quick. So we got to make sure she stays cool and ready for showmanship and get her geared up. So yeah.


Ava Leibfried (17:56):
What are some showmanship little quirks you guys have or maybe tips for some juniors that might be listening?


Kolton Grim (18:04):
I was watching the stock up supply guy the other day, if you've seen them, he was talking about how you never let your animal eat grass when you're on the halter. And that makes a lot of sense because when you are working them at home, you won't work them like you're going in the show ring because how you work them at home is how they're going to listen theoretically in the show ring.


Mark McCully (18:20):
Theoretically.


Miranda Reiman (18:22):
Hopefully. Very smart. I was thinking that sounds a lot like parenting actually. Yeah, theoretically. The parents will say yeah.


Kolton Grim (18:27):
To get them in the ring. If they're looking for to eat grass or something like that, they're not going to listen. You think that's an option. Right. Smart.


Kinleigh Grim (18:34):
I would say probably whenever you're walking around barns and stuff, I used to do it. I would just have the halter down by my hip and just walk them like they were a dog. And my dad has definitely helped me with that. He tells me always to walk them with their head up. That way they're used to walking with their head up and looking presentable in the ring.


Miranda Reiman (18:52):
Absolutely. So maybe kind of moving on beyond this week. I mean, we know that this is a big highlight of your junior experience, but when you think over the course of being involved in the National Junior Angus Association, what are some things that you've learned along the way that maybe make you a better cattleman or a better cattle woman or make you kind of prepared for a career in this business if you want that?


Kolton Grim (19:15):
I would say take the ups with the downs. So everything's not always going to be roses and life, stuff like that. I think you got to take the good with the bad and definitely in cattle you have just as much bad as good some days. Some days are better


Miranda Reiman (19:27):
Some days more. Yeah.


Kolton Grim (19:29):
Some days are better than others, but you just got to learn to... And it carries through with life too. You got to keep your chin up and keep working, so you can't get discouraged.


Kinleigh Grim (19:36):
Yeah. Yeah. I think it's also really important to help out other members. I know there's a lot of roles like being a junior board member or a Miss American Angus, something like that, just to help out other members. And like us, we have a crew that goes along and we help people come and work their hair and showmanship skills and stuff at home, like what nutrition they should be getting. So just helping everyone out and not always trying to make yourself the best and putting others underneath you.


Miranda Reiman (20:02):
Excellent. That kind of pretty much answers my next question was going to be what advice do you have for anybody? But maybe take that from the perspective of those young members just getting started in National Junior Angus Association. What advice do you have for them?


Kolton Grim (20:16):
Advice? I would say to watch older members, watch the people in the ring that are doing well. Watch them see how they're doing it. See how you do it compared to them. See what you could change, what your opinion is on it. Because even if somebody's doing well, it's not always right. So you got to give your own spin on it and see what they're doing and kind of just focus on the step ahead. Don't look what's behind you. So if you had an animal that didn't listen that day, just kind of move past it and work hard and overcome that.


Kinleigh Grim (20:46):
Yeah. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And there's a lot of people that are in with us or that my dad asks questions to that are kind of inspirations and stuff in the breed. So definitely don't be afraid to ask questions and stuff on how they work their cattle or do anything like that.


Mark McCully (21:00):
I think that's great advice. Sometimes it can be a litle intimidating coming to something like this if you're kind of new to it and you see the level of competition. But I also know that there's exhibitors throughout that barn that at any second would drop what they're doing. Maybe not right at five minutes before a heifer's getting ready to go into the show ring might not be the best time to ask. But to really encourage young folks to walk around the barn, find those folks and those families that are having success and just visit with them and ask them questions. I think that's great advice. I think a new person would learn very, very quickly that there's a wealth of information that folks are just ready to share just if given the opportunity. So yeah, absolutely. Exclamation point that.


Kolton Grim (21:45):
I think that's well said. I think you'd have to search long and hard to find somebody that wouldn't do exactly what you're saying in the Angus world and even the cattle world in general.


Mark McCully (21:52):
I agree.


Ava Leibfried (21:53):
And it sounds like you guys are doing that obviously here at the National Junior Angus Show and then within the Pennsylvania Junior Angus Association serving as board members and always being a resource for younger members. I think that's very important, like you say, just being there and being able to ask and answer questions. I think another thing too is to just get involved and try to get out of your comfort zone. I think a lot of the times we like to kind of stay with our own people and maybe do contests that we feel safe in, but I think the most growth happens when you guys get out of your comfort zone and talk to different people and get yourself involved in different contests that way. So sounds like you guys are doing that. So doing a fantastic job that way, but yeah.


Kolton Grim (22:34):
Thank you. Thank you.


Miranda Reiman (22:36):
I think we talked at the beginning of this or before we pushed record that this was definitely out of your comfort zone to come and sit on a podcast. But man, you guys seem like


Mark McCully (22:44):
It's hard to tell...


Miranda Reiman (22:45):
Seasoned pros.


Mark McCully (22:45):
...this is out of your comfort zone. When we're in your comfort zone.


Miranda Reiman (22:49):
Absolutely. So I guess before I move on to the, we always end with a random question of the week. Is there anything, Ava or Mark, that you wanted to ask before I move on to that? No?


Mark McCully (22:59):
I think we're ready.


Miranda Reiman (22:59):
All right. So random question of the week. I want to know what's show day breakfast.


Kolton Grim (23:05):
Today was McDonald's.


Miranda Reiman (23:09):
I love a good McDonald's breakfast sandwich, so it's not the same every time.


Kolton Grim (23:13):
I usually get the steak, egg and cheese.


Kinleigh Grim (23:15):
Then I get the pancakes.


Miranda Reiman (23:18):
Excellent. Well, we are just getting ready to start the judging contest. You can hear it behind us. And we've got these contestants that need to get down there and compete. So I guess we'll wrap that up.


Mark McCully (23:30):
Yeah. Thanks for coming in guys and joining us. Congratulations Ava. Thank you for all the work that you do and the leadership. You guys are just fantastic examples of everything this junior association strives to develop and be a part of. And man, you guys are inspirational. So thanks for being here. And good luck for the rest of the week. Thank you. Thank you.


Miranda Reiman (23:54):
I love to hear about siblings that work together and have success as a family. What a fun story. If you want to hear more stories about breeders or other youth involved in the Angus breed, be sure to subscribe to the Angus Journal. Our September issue will focus on coverage of the National Junior Angus Show. Visit angusjournal.net to learn more. This has been the Angus Conversation, an Angus Journal podcast.