How Kim Rounds is Rewriting the Script on Feedyards, Hiring, and Ag Storytelling
It’s not every day you meet someone who can navigate carcass data, call out bad hiring practices, and roast your ag content strategy—all before lunch, but that’s Kim Rounds.
At first glance, Rounds might look like the social-savvy voice behind Five Rivers Cattle Feeding’s digital presence, and she is. But scratch the surface, and you’ll find something a little more rare: a communicator who doesn’t just speak ag fluently, she also holds the industry accountable to it.
Kim Rounds
In a recent episode of Your Ag Empire, Jonathon Haralson sat down with Rounds for a conversation that spanned everything from the future of feedyards to fixing the talent pipeline in agriculture. The result wasn’t your typical beef industry fluff piece. It was a candid look at the uncomfortable questions ag needs to be asking right now, and the answers many don’t want to hear.
Behind the Numbers, a Story
As the talent acquisition manager for the world’s largest cattle feeding company, Rounds doesn’t just sort résumés. She scouts for potential in the places agriculture often overlooks, which includes communities outside the traditional ag bubble and candidates who might not have grown up showing steers, but bring serious value to the table.
“We talk a lot about feeding the world, but then we turn around and gate keep who gets to be part of it,” Rounds said. “That has to change.”
She’s spent years reshaping what recruitment looks like in one of the most scrutinized sectors of American agriculture, and that means being honest about workforce gaps, the low pay that plagues entry-level ag roles, and the stories companies tell themselves about why they can’t find good help.
The Truth About Feedyards
One of the most enlightening parts of the conversation was Rounds’ take on the public’s perception of feedyards. Despite caring for hundreds of thousands of animals across the company’s locations, the feedyard system remains one of the least understood parts of the beef supply chain.
Rounds wants to change that.
Through facility tours, social media, and direct engagement, she aims to peel back the curtain. She doesn’t sugarcoat it, but she does offer context, which is something ag content often skips in favor of polished, jargon-filled defenses.
“People aren’t asking to be convinced,” she said. “They’re asking to be invited in.”
Kim Rounds
Needle-Moving Content
As much as Rounds loves numbers, she knows they rarely move hearts. What does? Real, relatable stories from the people who live agriculture every day.
Her rule of thumb: if it doesn’t make someone care, it probably doesn’t belong on the feed.
That might mean highlighting an employee’s first day on the job, showcasing how feed is mixed during a snowstorm, or explaining cattle handling without turning it into a PowerPoint slide.
It’s about being useful, honest, and a little funny.
Kim Rounds
What Ag Needs Next
Rounds doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but she’s asking better questions. Like how can we stop losing good people to other industries? What does meaningful succession planning actually look like? And, what happens if we don’t figure it out?
