Jirl grew up on a small cow calf operation which mainly produced Limousin cattle and ran yearlings on grass in the summer. His family showed heifers and steers and was involved in 4-H and FFA. The highlight of Jirl’s junior show career was when his steer won a class at Oklahoma City his senior year. His dad, Bill Buck, was very talented at clipping and many people brought cattle to him to clip in the early days, as a result, Jirl learned some valuable skills at a very early age. He attended Murray State College and Oklahoma State University. It was during college that he had the opportunity to work for several top cattle producers including McKown Limousin, Magness Land & Cattle Co., American Cattle Services, Hal Courtney, and Ferris Ranch. 

Jirl and Brenda were married in the fall of 1988, and with very little in their pockets, they started their club calf business.