10/11/2026
🐑 10 YEARS! Some milestones take a decade to build towards, and yesterday was one of them.
Yesterday, Jake & I AI’ed the Texel ewes using 🏴 & 🇺🇸 genetics that I believe will make a meaningful contribution to the future of our program. Thank you to Dr. Scott Bowdridge/Eric Nestor from WVU, Rachael Gately, and Dan Goldstein for providing me the opportunity to acquire the straws we used yesterday. 🙏
When I look back on the day, I know I’ll remember far more than the breeding decisions or the genetics we chose. I’ll remember the people that showed up for me, the work that brought us here, and the privilege of accomplishing our goal by being able to do it all together. Yesterday wasn’t a job it was family business. 🤝
Ten years of friendship means a lot of things. It means late-night phone calls, hard conversations, missed sleep (too much), heartbreak, second-guessing decisions and being comfortable to call the other in panic just to lovingly tell the other to stop being a dumb ass and to keep grinding 😂, celebrating the little wins we know will motivate us towards larger milestones, and working through the days when things often don’t go according to plan. It means knowing when to push each other, when to offer a different perspective, and when to simply show up in the 💩 and help carry the load without saying a single word.
We’ve had our own complimentary goals to chase, our own challenges to overcome, and our own lessons to learn, but somewhere along the way, we’ve also learned how much further you can go when you have someone in your corner who genuinely wants to see you succeed.
Yesterday was and will continue being a reflection of that.
Having friends walk through our entire AI group, audit my breeding decisions, and drive us towards building the consistency I desire for our Texel program was an opportunity I don’t take lightly. There’s a certain humility in allowing someone to question your decisions, especially when you’ve invested so much time, thought, and emotion into them. But if we’re serious about improving, we have to be willing to listen, reconsider, and recognize that there is always more to learn. I’m grateful for the trust, honesty, and time that make those conversations possible, and for a friendship where we can push each other to think bigger without losing sight of the daunting work in front of us to get where we want to go both professionally and in our side hustles with my sheep and his Show Goats.
That willingness to keep learning and networking is at the heart of everything we do.
One of the things I respect most about our friendship is our drive to make genetic progress mean something beyond our own fences. The commitment to empowering small-ruminant producers with the genetic tools to accelerate progress in their flocks and herds is bigger than any one breeding season. It’s about helping producers make informed decisions, giving them opportunities to improve, and recognizing that advancing this industry takes people who are willing to share knowledge and move forward together. I’m glad Kayla Hanold Kennerknecht was able to join us and we are praying Emma has some AI babies to look forward to this Spring. 🙏
And while we certainly missed having Kate with us to keep us all sharp; her brother Kaiden & cousin Parker stepped up in a HUGE way in her absence. Their willingness to jump in the truck with Jake and come up is so appreciated! Days like this are made possible by people who are willing to give their time, lend a hand, and be part of something they care about. I’m so thankful to have had help that understood how to safely handle the ewes. It allowed me to solely care about thawing straws and breeding sheep with my buddy.
If yesterday reminded me of anything, it’s that the things we’re most proud of rarely happen alone.
Behind every breeding decision is a person who has spent hours thinking it through. Behind every goal is a collection of painful sacrifices most people will never see. And behind the moments that feel like milestones are often years of people showing up for one another, long before there is anything to celebrate.
I’m proud of the direction we’re taking our Texel program, and I’m humbled knowing I have the best people and experiences helping shape not only it but more importantly my life. I’m doubling down on the type and kind that I like and am incredibly thankful to everyone who finds value in them. I know how much work & time remains, how much we still have to learn, and how many hard decisions lie ahead. We make the best we can with the resources accessible to us. That perspective keeps me grounded. It also makes days like yesterday that much sweeter.
Most importantly to everyone who has helped us along the way, whether through a conversation, a shared lesson, a helping hand, or simply believing in what we’re working toward, please know that it matters more than you may realize. The support and education I have received from all over the world truly is such a life enriching experience, that often leaves me wondering - why me?
We measure genetic progress in generations, but the foundation is built day by day, decision by decision, and relationship by relationship.
Here’s to building something we believe in, staying humble enough to keep learning, and never getting so focused on where we want to go that we forget to appreciate the people walking alongside us right now. Like Katelynn Bennett Ritenour said yesterday when we talked:
“These ARE the good ol’ days!” ❤️🐑🍻
