Opening Gates to Opportunity

By Lindsey Sawin

​Feedyard employees serve as the backbone of beef production. However, it is no secret that finding employees for jobs in the fed beef industry can be difficult. A job at the feedyard requires hard work, dedication to a craft, unconventional working hours and a willingness to care for cattle and feedyard facilities no matter the weather conditions.
 
“Employee retention has always been an issue in the feedyards,” Brady Miller, TCFA Director of Market, Membership and Education, said. “So, we sent a survey to members asking about the need for employees and the survey said yes, we need help, yes, we will support a program that will help drive employees to the feedyard.”
 
Fifteen years ago, TCFA set out to find the best way to introduce young adults to a career in the feedyard. For several years TCFA staff completed research and sought information and partnerships to put together a program that would help meet staffing needs. 
 
“It took a lot of time to hone in on what is now called the Feedyard Technician Program and build a specialized curriculum for high school students,” Miller said.
 
In 2013 the association settled on a program that would expose high school juniors and seniors to cattle care and handling and machinery operations at a feedyard, splitting the program into two sessions so that students could gain more hands-on opportunities in each portion.
 
Since the beginning, it has been TCFA’s goal to show students a path for them at the feedyard, whether it be working directly with cattle, in the office, in the mill or in maintenance.
 
“It is important to get opportunities in front of students. If they don’t ever see it, they don’t ever know it exists,” Miller said.
 
He knew that if the program was going to be a success, they needed someone who was familiar with agricultural education teachers to help them in their outreach to schools.
 
Robert Devin was the person who could do exactly that. When the program was in its early years, the retired extension agent went to each school individually and taught students the material needed to successfully complete the program.
 
The program started with just 20 students from five schools in the Panhandle.
 
It has grown immensely in the last 10 years. In 2023 over 450 students were exposed to opportunities they may not know exist at a feedyard and over 3,000 students have gone through the program since its inception. This growth has opened doors to opportunities for TCFA feedyard members, the schools that participate and the students.
 
Texas started putting more emphasis on students graduating high school with certificates after House Bill 5 was passed in 2013 and was implemented for students entering high school during the 2014-15 school year, Miller said.
 
Agriculture teachers and TCFA began looking into how they could help participating schools reach that goal. In 2019 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) recognized the program allowing participating students and schools to receive credit when a student successfully completes the program.
 
“The TEA recognition took our program to a whole new level and soon after the program
expanded beyond the Panhandle,” Miller said.
 
The cattle care and handling part of the program is now hosted at three locations across
Texas each spring. Miller said they plan to do the same with the machinery operation session.

​How It Works
The Feedyard Technician Program is split into spring and fall sessions, allowing students a more in-depth view of what opportunities are available to them.
“The idea behind having separate categories at different times of the year is that not all students will want to handle cattle and not all students will want to be welders or be involved with maintenance although many students do participate in both sessions,” Miller said.
 
Since its beginnings, the program and people involved with it have had a goal of engaging students with an industry they may or may not be familiar with.
 
“The mission of the program is to create, generate and build the future work force,” Miller said.
 
Students do not just listen and watch speakers; they participate and have the chance to practice newly learned skills themselves.
 
“I distinctly remember the lab exercise of giving intramuscular and subcutaneous shots,” Cutter Smith, 2015 Feedyard Technician Program participant and manager at Tascosa Feedyard, said. “That’s where I learned how to give shots and is still something I
use today.”
 
Once students have spent time learning the materials, visiting feedyards, driving machinery and practicing new skills, they participate in test day.
 
Test day requires them to showcase their knowledge during a written exam, perform the newly learned skills and participate in an interview with an industry professional. In order to earn their certificate, they must receive a 70 percent score or higher in each category.
 
TCFA felt the interview portion was important to the success of students outside of high school.
 
“It does not matter how good you are at whatever skill you have if you cannot get through an interview,” Miller said.
 
Creating Success Stories
As the program has progressed over the years, success stories have evolved and students who were once participants in the program have become program speakers, successful feedyard employees and advocates for the industry.
 
“The program has been offered for 10 years, and we are starting to see these students grow in their roles and responsibilities at feedyards,” Miller said. “If a student gets hired as a doctor, we may not work directly with that student to start with, but now we are seeing these students rise to supervisor and manager positions.”
 
For Smith, the program solidified his path for the future and helped him climb the ladder.
 
“Going through the tech program my senior year solidified that I was interested in the feedyard industry,” Smith said. “I have always said I am interested in making cattle make money and I really like fat cattle. This portion of the industry is what interests me the most.”
 
In 2015, Antonio Adame, mill manager at Dimmitt Feedyard, was introduced to the feeding industry through the Feedyard Tech Program which gave him the confidence to apply for feedyard jobs.
 
“I was interested in welding and using machinery so I thought going through the program would expose me to future opportunities,” Adame said. “Going through the program gave me the confidence to apply for a job at the West Texas A&M University Feedlot while working on my degree.”
 
Adame now helps with the program each fall, leading students through the mill and answering questions about his job at the feedyard.
 
“After going through the program and now speaking to participants, I understand the students who do not have a lot of questions,” Adame said. “Now as a manager, I try to answer the questions I had when I was in their shoes.”
 
In addition to exposing students to future careers at the feedyard, the program develops advocates for the cattle feeding industry.
 
“Even if you do not have a plan or desire to be in the industry, the most important thing that anyone should know is that we get up and eat, sleep and breathe taking care of animals,” Smith said. “Our livelihoods, our jobs and our purpose in life at the feedyard is to make sure that the animals have the best lives before it goes back to feed us.”
 
While the Feedyard Technician Program has not fixed every labor issue faced by TCFA member feedyards, it has introduced students to new career paths and brought many talented employees to the table.
 
“The students see the TCFA program up front and can see how it benefits the industry in training employees and in lobbying for our industry,” Smith said. “How many kids would know what the feedyard industry does
without the efforts of TCFA?”