Growing up on his family’s Ashland, Kan., ranch Mark Gardiner remembers their seedstock business was “a breakeven to a loss business.”  

His dad, Henry, wasn’t selling many bulls, and even though they had an idea of the cattle they wanted to raise, they weren’t making much progress. 

Then timed artificial insemination (AI) met the regular sire evaluation reports.  

“With the American Angus Association and those genetic predictions, we were able to grow the business and give my brother and I an opportunity to come home,” Gardiner says.  

The tools have continued to develop, so they’re now running an extensive embryo transfer (ET) program and using DNA technology in their herd and when advising customers.  

Today Gardiner Angus Ranch is among the most recognizable in the breed.  

In the recent episode of The Angus Conversation, Gardiner covers the history of the ranch and the beef industry over time. He talked about his breeding philosophy, including how to make cattle that work in the cooler and on the ranch.  

“Somebody asked me recently, 'What's the one trait in the Angus breed that there's no diminishing return?’ That's pretty easy. It's marbling,” Gardiner says. “There is no downside to marbling.” 

He simply lets the cows tell him which ones will remain raising those high-quality calves in their environment and which ones can’t hack it, he says. 

Part of that focus on marbling comes from his dad’s idea that the beef industry sells taste — Gardiner spent a lot of time growing up collecting carcass data in packing plant coolers. The other part comes from his involvement in U.S. Premium Beef as a founding stockholder and early figurehead of the startup, convincing his fellow producers to invest in the dream that they’d get paid for cattle based on their merits.  

“We all gave more than we should have or could have, and we had to accomplish this. We really felt like if we didn't get skin in the game that we wouldn't make it,” he says.  

Beef demand was tanking, but learning how their cattle really performed for the consumer was part of the strategy to turn it around.  

That wasn’t just mission critical for Gardiner Angus Ranch, but also for their customers, something that’s central to all the decisions they make, Gardiner says. 

“I like the cattle, I like the horses, but every animal’s connected to a human, and so we have to be sure that the humans succeed,” he says.  

The podcast ends by touching on one time when humanity came out in full force to support their own family during the March 6, 2017, wildfires that touched nearly every part of their ranch.  

Help came from across the country, and Gardiner says he’s never forgotten that. He tries to live this mantra: “The Lord has he spared you for a reason, and so all you can do is one day at a time, one step at a time, but honor that life by going forward and helping others.” 

To hear the entire episode, search for The Angus Conversation in your favorite podcast platform, or follow this direct link.