Vitalix Inc. | The American Rancher

[Music] coming up vitalix is one of those products that our customers just keep coming back time after time for once we got those animals on this product they started to do everything that i wanted them to do everything works just the way it's supposed to animal health and profitability and vitaliks all go together here's the story of vitalik's mineral tubs and some folks who know them well next on the american rancher [Music] hello and welcome to the american rancher i'm pam minich western nebraska is home to family owned vitalix protein vitamin and mineral supplement tubs built on strong value and close relationships vitalx has grown over the past three decades to become a leader in improving cattle performance in all stages of life and across every segment of live beef cattle production first we're with matt lowry a world champion cattle auctioneer with a passion for ranching i grew up in a ranching family so my ranching roots have run deep for a long long time as a young boy i'd always played auctioneer and little did i know what what it was going to do and it lit a fire in me in 1995 after graduating high school and going to college i went to auction school in mason city iowa knowing that at that given point in time i needed something else to supplement the ranching income since that given point in time in 1995 i've sold 5500 sales many of them today which would be registered sales but where my heart and soul is is the ranching business the cow business and that's one thing that i'm passionate about in today's operation our numbers fluctuate you know within this past year we've seen some droughts and things this ranch can run anywhere from six to seven hundred cows mama cows and calves each and every year we also try to retain our yearlings and then run them over and those cattle are to be marketed in the summer the one problem that that we face within this industry is labor so we have switched our calving program to a summer operation and and it's really helped what we're doing not only from a labor standpoint but we're finding out we're able to do more things genetically with our cattle and being in sync with nature we're finding out that it's it's a lot easier calvin cows it's in warmer weather and and it takes a lot less labor no matter whether it's a wet year or a dry year we're always blessed with a lot of grass but it is a lower grade poorer forage and and we're very low washy type grass but the one thing that we have to face is it is a very low protein forage so we look at body condition scores in cows and we winter the one thing that we have to figure out is how i can get more protein to these cattle we weren't able to optimize the genetics and everything that we were bringing in with this operation because of the poor quality forages that we had and so that was one thing that we've struggled a lot with within this operation is trying to get the most out of an animal with what we have and so i have to figure out how i can bridge the gap and there's many many options out there there's many good feed programs out there but with my situation i sell 100 registered sales a year so i'm gone and i'm on the road at least 200 days a year and with my job like many ranchers and farmers that are out there i have to figure out what works for me and my operation i had tried other products i've tried lots of different products i mean just like everybody we're trying to find something that works and works well in our environment we tried several liquid products and and and some other products as well as just plain corn and alfalfa most every rancher in in the country utilizes cake in some form or another we thought it was rather expensive but it is still a good product and it's a useful tool also uh the ease of product and and how well can i use this and and how easy is it to use uh how much labor will it take to use this product but the cost of it and the ease of using it within our situation that was a challenge for us to try to figure out what we needed to do and and then that's when we discovered vitalx and what it's done for us i go down to the local feed store i get uh eight tubs and and we put it on flatbed and we go out we drop these tubs off no harm no foul i walk away and i don't have to worry about them for another week from the labor standpoint the ease of use everything works just the way it's supposed to and i identified vitalx not only from the ease of use but it bridged the gap i felt like it made us more profitable and i was able to see a noticeable difference immediately so once we got those animals on this product that they started to do everything that i wanted them to do vitalix is a family-owned protein vitamin and mineral tub supplement violex ranges protein-wise from seven percent all the way up to 40 percent we are in 250 pound sizes 200 pound and 125 pound we have equine products and sheep products goat etc but the bread and butter is and probably always well be the cow calf industry in the over 30 years of violence we've always been about enhancing the cow's rumen i don't care if you're feeding the best feed in the world or the poorest feed in the world with vitix you can either get along with a poor quality forage or feed less of a good forage you the producer can be very confident that when you purchase a violex tub that it has been through the fire it has been university studied peer-reviewed we have the research and data to back up the claims that we make i looked at lots of different feed programs i locked it lots of different supplements but the one thing that vitalik's did better is it guaranteed me a source and a consistent source on a daily basis whether i'm there or not and if you spend any time out in your animals and your cattle you look at them you can see the difference day in and day out and what these tubs do and how they can improve not only fertility but health and overall well-being of animals from an auctioneer standpoint when we talk about marketing our livestock that day there's the term 12 o'clock when you think about a great big pot load of steers entering into the ring you want your cattle to be 12 o'clock you want them to look absolutely their best you know and it's somewhat of a beauty pageant if you want to say that the importance of what vitaliks does is it balances the it balances everything within that animal it gives them a chance to fight off anything that they need to fight with the proper vitamins the proper minerals and they are able to handle stress on those certain days you've always heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and with vitalx i think that's pretty accurate because everything we do with our product line we're trying to prevent problems prevent open cows with our breed back to prevent scours of the moss products prevent flies with igr claire fly or garlic we go a long way to preventing the problems and it's so much cheaper than treating the problems up next after all these years we've developed a good rapport with the people and they trust us and we value their opinion we trust them too successful companies are only as good as the relationships behind them more on that after the break here on the american rancher [Music] introducing vitalix feedlot starter tubs formulated for beef calves before and after weaning to help decrease pull rates and stress while increasing saliva feedlot starter tubs contain diamond v nature safe which supports immune strength antibiotics stewardship and gut health they're also packed with a veil of four a nutrient containing organic zinc manganese copper and cobalt vital inks stretch your profits with every lick visit vitaliks.com to find out more hi i'm bob mclaren with 44 farms we have a new program with walmart called prime pursuits which brings together great angus producers from around the united states together to provide great beef for the consumer producers all around the country we would love for you to join us in this great pursuit so please give us a call we would love to talk to you about the specifics of this great new program thank you join superior productions for the tuambly performance horse sale in fort worth texas on december 4th and 5th during the nfr this sale features the finest broke gildings all owned by twomleys ridden on their ranch and ready to go to work for you the twombly performance horse sale will be broadcast live on superiorclicktobid.com call us at 800-422-2117 to secure your buyer's number today for more information visit superiorlivestock.com or call us at 800-422-2117 the superior country page is the leading online marketplace for buying and selling load lots of calves feeders and breeding stock the country page is an efficient easy to use and low-cost solution for selling cattle you set the price and move at your pace with flexible delivery options the country page matches the best buyers to the best sellers at the best price for both parties call or log on today to find out more about the superior country page [Music] welcome back to the american rancher vitaliks became a leader in the cattle supplement industry by delivering the highest value tub for their customers but a company is no better than the relationships that it's built upon from vitalik's representatives to feed store owners to producers excellent customer service and a proven mineral tub create a successful formula of profitability for vitalx customers i grew up in agriculture matter of fact my mom's family homestead goes back to 1874 in custer county nebraska and involved in a little bit in 4-h and ffa in high school and just always interested in the industry uh when i was in college i worked at my uncle's lumber yard in ashby nebraska in the middle of the sand hills and we sold vitalix there when a rancher would show up i was the guy that typically loaded the tubs and of course you had a conversation with those producers and talked to them and they were the ones telling me how good vitalik's products worked in that same summer we were going through a drought in central nebraska and i brought a tub home to my dad's cows they were walking the fence line they weren't content at all so we put that tub out and i came home the next weekend and he said what a difference it was he said we haven't had any rain in the last week but all of a sudden the cows are more content they're not walking the fence line chewing their cud laying down and they're happier and calves are happier and everything and so that all kind of sparked an interest in the violex products when unbiased people are telling me how good they work and so when an opportunity came along in 1997 i was hired by violex to be a district sales manager for central nebraska vitalik's has been around 30 years there was just one plant in western nebraska and only three or four products and as the footprint of our company has grown the products that we carry has grown and then since then we now carry over 40 different lines of tubs we have three different manufacturing plants throughout the united states and so we are in most of america and canada now you know as a district sales manager for vitaliks obviously i get to meet and work with lots of dealers lots of producers in my hometown i'm blessed to work with evans feed company mike and amber evans good friends great dealer and it's just been a joy to work with them over the years my grandparents had started a feed store back in 1927 and i started managing the feed store for my grandma in 1989 and we bought it in 95 but i've had customers with me since the very very beginning there in 89 we'd probably cover a 50 to 60 mile radius in central nebraska right in the heart of cattle country we had a lot of different feed companies that were trying to get us to sell their products and i tried i tried quite a few of them back in those days i was a little bit more uh experimental you could say we tried all the popular brands back in the day and the consistency wasn't there the consumption wasn't there sometimes they would rip roar through the product when it was supposed to last so long and all sudden it would be gone in a day or two and sometimes they never would eat it finally these guys from vitalix approached me and it was just a great fit the product's been consistent and we put tubs out and the cattle just shine the the overall health is better the immune system is better they clean better they breed back better i feel it's my responsibility or our responsibility as a as a feed retailer in central nebraska that we need to bring products to these people that are going to help make them more profitable and i believe that after all these years that we've developed a good rapport with the people and they trust us and we value their opinion we trust them too and when they come back year after year and say i want to use that product it worked for us then then we know that we're selling the right product vitalix is one of those products that our customers just keep coming back time after time for since 2013 we have been feeding vitalx tubs and since 2013 we've incorporated a 100 ai program here at the ranch since these cows have been on a vitalex program our conception rates uh not only on natural service sires but our ai conception service has been much better so not only the cows are on it the bulls are on it as well as the yearlings and the heifer calves and so we feel like that what vitalex does is and especially in the number 10 breedback tub it has really really helped our conception rates and for me if i can get more cows to cab in that first 21 days it's money in the pocket for me after the break animal health and profitability and and vitaliks all go together see how vitalix combines all the ingredients you need for a successful all-natural supplement program you're watching the american rancher stay with us [Music] lucky seven angus started in this industry to make the toughest cattle that would make our customers the most amount of money we've created cattle that definitely hit a home run with the feed efficiency and we're absolutely tickled with the results we're seeing it's real hard for us to ever find a set that don't go 100 percent choice and better and we've had several sets of beyond 59 prime our sales the first saturday in march and i invite anybody to come out to our ranch come see what these cattle look like and what they can do watch lucky 7 angus december 28th on the american rancher established in 1987 superior livestock auction is the largest cattle marketing network in north america we sell forward contracted load lots of ranch fresh cattle on video and internet auctions last year almost 1.4 million head were sold by superior livestock auction and they brought top dollar world champion auctioneers present your cattle to buyers across the nation we have over 8 000 active and qualified buyers maximizing competitive bidding and true price discovery your cattle stay at the ranch until delivery and your superior rep writes you a check when it's done simple as that our job is getting you the best paycheck possible we know that most producers only get one paycheck a year for their cattle and more cattle men and women trust us to get the most out of every sale call us at 800-422-2117 or go online to learn more about how superior livestock action can work for you welcome back to the american rancher nebraska-based vitalyx protein vitamin and mineral supplement tubs have expanded across north america over the past 30 years their story combines the value of strong relationships with results that producers trust year after year vitalix brings the value to the customer because when they come in here or they order it on the phone they know what they're going to get i mean it's going to be a good quality product that their cattle perform well on vitalix is a very very key player in our operation because of the consistency of the product but not only the product they've developed a friendship and and that's something that's pretty important to me and you have a tendency to want to do business with your friends we grew right along with vitalix and it was it's been fun it still is fun we have new products all the time and we sell a lot of vital x tubs and about any time you drive by our locations you can see us loading vitalix tubs on somebody's truck and uh we maybe one at a time or maybe maybe 48 at a time it amazes me when i see the loads roll in how many tubs that we we sell nowadays with this product in the beginning when we first started handling vialix they only had i believe one or two tubs available different types and we went with the one we was a number four high energy tub and that's pretty much all we carried for a while and then they started adding this tub like with with fly control igr uh and then they started adding garlic here lately they're they're always adding things that that we can use in the marketplace they put moss in their tubs for for weaning calves and and overall health of of cattle and it's just uh it's been a great thing because we have all these different types of tubs to choose from breed back tubs fly control tubs energy lick tubs and about anything you want they have it at vitalx the best selling tub is our conditioner supplement number one and it has been for years but it's been really neat to see the advance as we've added different products throughout the years that we are now officially a 12 month a year program for the livestock producer whether that's a summertime need with mineral or breedback tub adding garlic or igr or clairfly at weaning time or conditioning throughout the winter will have a tub to fit your needs we're always looking to kind of push the throttle and improve our products coming alongside other family-owned companies like zenpro then our yeast package with companies like diamond v and the xpc ultra that we put in our products now most recently violex has added kickstart weaning tub as well as our feedlot starter tub those tubs utilize the diamond v nature safe products we've had phenomenal success with those whether you wean your calves take in cattle or have a feedlot it's worked great for us when the when the calves come in and they wean them from mama and they're looking for a little extra and we've got this lick tub there and it kind of turns into a babysitter for the calf you could say and they they just take right off it gets the room and functioning well for them and it seems to really help them transition into a wean calf we utilize two products from vitalix the number one tub in the number 10 tub the breed bath tub the number one tub is more of a maintenance tub the one thing that i do like what the number 10 tub offers is it's it's a higher fat of course it's a chelated mineral both tubs are a chelated mineral and it's an all-natural tub and we're just like every other ranch we have horses around here and and so the safety and the ease of using i never have to worry about what gets into this tub it's a safe product for everything and that's another reason why we use it there's a lot of value in vitalx products for a couple reasons you need to first of all think of the difference between supplement costs and supplementation costs with supplement costs that's the cost of the vitalex products itself and that's it there's no bins there's no tractors and there's very little time needed to supplement with vitax versus if you're caking every day or whatever there's a lot of extra things you have to do extra equipment you have to have so there's a value right there but also in the ingredients that we use violex focuses on a high quality preferably american made and a highly concentrated product and you get a lot better value for the cow and if it works for the cow it's going to work for the rancher another way vitalix brings value to our customers is with our over consumption guarantee we realize with any self-limiting supplement that cows consume it at different levels and that can be very expensive when they over consume so violex has puts a lid on our cost puts a lid on your costs with an over consumption guarantee simple if they overeat according to our feeding recommendations we make up the difference there's only been one time that i ever had to call my rep and say hey i thought that these cows over consumed on this tub and it was one of the first times that we actually used the product and and after looking back on it realizing that the the vitamins and the minerals and everything that was in that tub these cows are starved for that and and so they did hit it a little bit harder than they should vitalik's backed up the vitalik story is a 30-year journey of creating value that helps producers create more profitability for their operation as an industry leader vitalix makes a wide variety of tubs for every season of the year and for every stage of an animal's life you can trust vitalix for the right tub that works for the nutritional needs of your livestock no matter the quality of your forage when i look at the operation and i look at cash in and cash out i thought that my return on my investment was by far more than what the money was to buy the product the ease of use i put the tubs out and i walk away i never have to worry about whether or not that cow or that steer or that heifer is getting what they should it works here it works for our operation we have a a great representative that lives in our neighborhood and the producers love the product and i believe it helps them make more money and in the end that's what it's about animal health and and profitability and and vitalik's all go together we're family owned we're american made and whenever we can we purchase ingredients from suppliers from america zen pro diamond v or garlic comes from all american companies no different than a lot of other companies it's fun to follow us on social media including twitter facebook instagram follow us become a friend because you never know when we might have a contest or a product giveaway you can take advantage of we encourage you to find a dealer in your area if you don't know who that is or where that is simply call our 1-800 number or check us out at www.violex.com and find the dealer locator feature on the website we hope you enjoyed the vitalx story to learn more about us visit our website theamericanrancher.com or connect with us on facebook i'm pam minich for our entire american rancher team thanks for joining us we'll see you next time [Music] that was superior

Channel: Superior Productions

Views: 1,543

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: livestock breeding and nutrition, agriculture, angus cattle, animal agriculture, auctioneer, cattle for sale, cattle management, cattle marketing, feeder cattle, hereford cattle, livestock management, marketing livestock, raising livestock, shipping cattle, simmental cattle

Id: 0hWwtJDJCHw

Length: 25min 32sec (1532 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 14 2021