Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

How do we find the animals that can drive profitability by producing great offspring in their environment without assistance? We can do it yes, through management. That was part one of this conversation. In this, part two of the conversation, we discuss how the genetics express themselves in their environment and how to continually seek more and more adapted animals.

Sponsor:

By-O-Reg+

Relevant Links:

Wedge Tent Ranch

Principled Land Managers

South Dakota Grassland Coalition Grasslands in Action Conference

Peter Askew has been running RanchWork.com for decades. He has seen a lot of what works and doesn't work when it comes to hiring employees on the ranch. He joins me to discuss some the lessons he has learned in helping ranchers find employees and employment.

Sponsors:

Barber Industries

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Indreland Angus

Graze! Magazine

Relevant Links:

RanchWork.com

Rob Havard has been on a journey from disillusionment with agriculture to running a financially struggling farm to paying off debt and being able to help others in his community get started. This has been made possible by his adherence to the principles of Holistic Management. Holistic Management has helped him see how functional genetics fit into a profitable system.

Sponsors:

South Dakota Grassland Coalition "Grasslands in Action" Conference

Ranch Right

Ranching.FYI

Indreland Ranch

Relevant Links:

Call to the Land...

Jimmy and ShayLe Stewart of Big Country Genetics have scaled their operation from scratch. This December they will sell 130 forage developed bulls and 100 bred heifers. They started in 2019. The ability to scale that quickly intrigued me. I invited them on to talk about their mindset, how profitable cows helped this growth, and the values that have shaped their business over time.

Sponsors:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Big Country Genetics

Jimmy's Prev...

The deck has been stacked against grass and specifically grazing animals for a while now. The RANCH Act seeks to help alleviate these challenges by creating a working lands payment structure that encourages marginal crop acres to come out of row crop production and open them again for grazing acres. AJ Munger has been involved in the development of this legislation. He joins me to discuss the process of bringing this legislation as well as what it seeks to accomplish and how it could help grow the cow herd in the United States.

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Luke Perman helps me think better. He has recently been sharing some challenging articles and perspectives on X. He joins me to discuss those ideas today. We talk about indicators of a peak in the cattle market, how to remain profitable no matter where the market goes, and where to make strategic investments to help mitigate our tax burden.

Sponsors:

Ranching.FYI

Big Country Genetics

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links

Luke on X

American Hippopotamus

Knowledge Rich Ranching by...

The team at Vision Flight has helped many people hone their vision through their various consulting and educational roles. The problem was this wasn't scalable. They could only help one family at a time. Today we talk to Melinda Sims, John Locke, Shanon Sims, and Emilie Hopson about how they put their years of experience together and develop a tool to help people develop a great vision for the future of their business and life.

Sponsors:

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Ranching.FYI

Big Country Genetics

...

Stan Oller and his family have been making intentional pivots not only so they can generate greater profitability, but also to bring the business more into alignment with their passions. This includes pivoting away from direct marketing, pivoting to sheep, and now a desire to move West from Arkansas to fulfill their desire to steward vast landscapes.

Sponsors:

Graze Magazine

Big Country Genetics

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Relevant Links:

Contact Working Cows

In a previous conversation with Luke Jones he told me that healthy soil has room for air, light, and water. That got me thinking about the similarities to the conditions that help make for a healthy soul. I have had this sermon percolating for a long time and finally got a chance to share it at the Cowboys for Christ kickoff to the Newell, SD Labor Day Celebration.

Sponsor:

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links:

Ep. 411 Luke Jones – Changing Our Mindset to Facilitate Regenerative Agriculture

When Derek Jackson was described by his Ranch Rolodex Co-Host Zach Hopson Zach said Derek's strengths were in his ability to run the numbers and get useful information out of spreadsheets and other analytical tools. We discuss what numbers have mattered most in helping Derek and his family succeed early in their ranching journey.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Ranch Rolodex Podcast

We are continuing to try and think outside the box regarding New World Screwworm. This time we are joined by Ellen Bench to discuss a homeopathic perspective on what makes animals vulnerable to infestation as well as how to prevent infestation and ways to approach care of those who are most vulnerable.

Sponsors:

Remedi Animal Solutions

The crew at Ranching.FYI has introduced a true innovation in the Marketing Education sector. Their Ranching SIM helps simulate the pressure we face everyday in our marketing decisions. Nelson Koehn, Cinnamon Lenhart, and Brian Munger joined me to discuss the mindset we must have to prepare for the next market fluctuation. We also discuss the ways that an understanding of the philosophy of learning has shaped their school.

Sponsors:

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

100th Meridian Ranching

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Zach Hopson struggled to get traction in the ranch business until he learned the skills and mindset necessary to scale his business. Since that time he has been able to successfully place cattle in a few different states. We discuss the advantages and challenges of this strategy as well as the benefits.

Sponsors:

Ranching.FYI

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links:

The Ranch Rolodex

Steve Campbell and Will Winter have decades of experience in keeping cattle thriving. They seek to do this through natural means that don't require a load of pharmaceuticals. Today we are turning our attention toward New World Screw Worm. What is it? Can we treat it? And how do we prevent it?

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Relevant Links:

Campbell's Daily Apple - Bulk Apple Cider Vinegar

Steve Campbell<...

Daniel Unruh and his wife Elli have started their ranch from nothing. They have taken an unconventional approach that wasn't worried about fitting into anyone else's box or ranching according to predetermined paradigms. We discuss the journey thus far as well as how they are working towards reaching some of their loftier goals in the near future.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

100th Meridian Ranching

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Relevant Links:

Ranch Rolodex Podcast

On this episode I share with you a conversation I had with Abby Rose of Farmerama, Ffinlo Costain of Farm Gate, and Ben Eagle of Meet the Farmers. They are all longtime UK based podcasters. This conversation was facilitated by Richard Tufton and Claire Mackenzie of the Six Inches of Soil Podcast. We discuss the ways that stories and storytelling are helping to heal soil and inspire change in our agricultural and food systems.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Kip Fladland...

Will Harris has a unique perspective on the growth of regenerative agriculture. He has a front row seat to see its adoption and pushback. He joins me to discuss the ways he has seen it grow. Where it is today and what is needed for further progress in the adoption of regenerative agriculture.

Sponsors:

Redd Summit Advisors - Austin Hart

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

100th Meridian Ranching

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Relevant Links:

White Oak Pastures

Center for Agricultural Resilience<...

Derek Schwanebeck has been on a journey of lifelong learning. Some of his classrooms have been unconventional, but they have all shaped him into the manager and leader that he is today. In this episode we discuss the winding road of his lifelong learning path.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

Relevant Links:

Cornerstone Grazing

Executive Link

The Ranch Rolodex podcast is coming soon. The guys behind the podcast joined me to discuss their stories as it relates to starting a ranch. We discuss the importance of mentorship, challenging paradigms, and finding a network of people who can help you go further. Make sure to regularly hang out with Zach Hopson, Derek Jackson, and Daniel Unruh of the Ranch Rolodex Podcast.

Sponsors:

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition - Grazing School

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Ranch Right

100th Meridian Ranching

Relevant...

Many are familiar with the benefits of essential oils for external use and aroma therapy. Advanced Ag Products has figured out a coating technology that can get essential oils to the lower GI tract. They have been seeing great results with increasing livestock health and animal performance. We discuss this technology and its benefits with Dr. James Caldwell and Ken Stewart today.

Sponsor:

By-O-reg+

Jake Miller has been facing a prolonged drought. They have been diligent to protect the range health and continue to challenge their cattle to move their ranch forward in the face of this drought. This has paid dividends when they have had large rainfalls. They have been able to hold on to the rain they do get and see the range spring back to life.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Ranch Right

100th Meridian Ranching

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition - Grazing School

Relevant Links:<...

Long-term Care can easily eclipse five figures per month. That becomes an issue pretty quickly from a cash-flow perspective. There are ways to protect the ranch and other assets from the threat of long-term care expenses. Mary Jo Irmen and Michelle Prather are writing a new book that will walk ranchers through the process of protecting their assets. 

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Care Income Planning

Farming without the Bank

Michelle's Book

As the regenerative space matures it becomes more and more apparent that one of the challenges is finding genetics that won't break the bank with their maintenance requirements. On the other side of the same coin a challenge can be finding a marketplace for grass-based genetics that you have raised. Cory Eft is seeking to solve that through his Astoria Livestock Platform. We discuss what drew him to this work as well as the process through which he has been going to get it off the ground.

Sponsor:

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition...

Emilie Hopson has spent years working in corporate HR. Now she has moved on to server ranchers with that expertise. She wants to help give ranchers the tools they need to grow thriving business that serve the ranchers, their families, their employees, and their communities.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Agri-Culture

Gabe Wight had experience in fields where technology was deployed to help improve the effectiveness of the businesses in which he was involved. So he knew there was a way for technology to help his livestock business thrive as well. He developed Herd Advisor to help get his arms around the data he needed to help him make better decisions.

Sponsors:

Sunshine Bible Academy

Ranch Right

Relevant Links:

Herd Advisor

Pat Miletich struggled to breathe. For someone competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts that was a significant limitation. He found out that through detoxification of his body he could breathe better. This lead him on a journey about the connection between soil health and human health. Now he is on a mission to help farmers and ranchers detoxify their soil.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Soil Saviors (Code: WorkingCows10)

The problem with most AI platforms is that they are more concerned about keeping you engaged than they are about giving you accurate well researched information. Ian Murdock trained Save.Ag on quality information from research papers and other sources to make sure that it gives accurate and relevant information to serve ranchers.

Sponsors:

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Sunshine Bible Academy

Kip Fladland

Relevant Links:

Save.Ag

It's easy to love the idea of being a day working cowboy. It is less clear hot to survive and thrive financially while doing that. Crockett Carothers has found a way to do both. It requires a different way of thinking about how you use your time. Crockett has managed to create the margin whereby he can make a living and have time to day work. 

Sponsors:

Graze Magazine

South Dakota Grassland Coalition Bird Tour

Sunshine Bible Academy

Ranch Right

Relevant Links:

Raising food is honorable and resonates deeply with us as humans. Much of worship throughout time has involved food. On top of that food can heal many of the diseases caused by our broken food system. Justin and Jenni Bajema are doing what they can to fix this broken system where they are. We discuss the reasons this work matters and resonates so deeply.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Rebel Truth Podcast

Rebe...

Finding cattle that are adapted to your environment goes a long way to generating and protecting profit. Ken and Jenny Stewart have recently acquired a herd of Aubrac Cattle and given their breadth of experience they are very excited about their ability to adapt to a plethora of different environments.

Sponsors:

Indreland Ranch

Create Coaches

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine

Relevant Links:

XL Ranch

There are many challenges with passing the ranch on to the next generation. It is difficult financially because many times people need to live on the equity they have built. It is also difficult financially because of the pressure that development puts on ranches to make room for urban expansion. The South Dakota Ag Land Trust has a solution that can help with both of these aspects. Bill Eastman and Karl Jensen join me today to discuss the logistics and considerations of putting your land into a conservation easement.

Sponsors:

Create Coaching (Applications...

Marc Walther joined me to discuss several of the products his company produces. Trey Schmidt has been testing these products on his ranch for some time, and he was able to offer his perspective on the effectiveness of the products.

Relevant Link:

Impact Fusion Brands

Morgan Mickel has been sharing his ranching story on YouTube for about four years. He joins me to discuss the logistics of running a large-scale western sheep operation. We discuss working with herders, lambing, using guardian dogs, and marketing.

Sponsors:

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Ranch Right

Sunshine Bible Academy

Indreland Ranch

Relevant Links:

Morgan Mickel on YouTube

Kip Fladland has been helping people get the most out of their ranch horse for decades. Today we are going to talk about the process of developing a connection with your horse and how to take your horse to the next stage of their training.

Sponsors:

Indreland Ranch

Create Coaches

Graze Magazine

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Relevant Link:

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

Joel Salatin gave a great talk about how to undo the consolidation in our nation's food system. As part of that talk he read a chapter of his unreleased book "Food Emancipation." He also discussed at length the circumstances that led us to where we are with regard to food in this country and how we can chart a better path forward.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Rogue Food Conference at Polyface (Code: Cows30 for $30 off)

The Lunatic Farmer Blog

Working Cows...

Tom Shea has found that unconventional mentorships are key to finding your way in Regenerative Agriculture. His relationships have continued to shape his path forward in finding a way to be profitable. This has led him to take unconventional approaches like grazing solar farms and using technology to increase his effectiveness.

Sponsors:

Create Coaches

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

National Grazing Lands Coalition Bus Tour

National Grazing Land Coalition

How do we hear from God? The Bible is the Word of God. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are where we can hear from God. But what about other channels? What about coincidences? What about other voices that claim to be from God? How do we test those? Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching has some questions as a result of some classes he has been taking at church. I try to answer those questions today.

Sponsor:

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Greener...

Jimmy Stewart and his wife have been on a journey to find cattle that can graze year-round, calve on their own, and raise a calf on the range. They are continuing to push the envelope to find consistent and even cattle that can provide a heterosis bump for the customers purchasing their bulls.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine (Code: WORKINGCOWS)

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Big Country Genetics

Dan Glenn of Deep Grass Graziers has been thinking deeply about what it means to be profitable in the ranching business. He has come up with a plan that could help more people be profitable when this current cattle cycle comes to an end. We discuss this plan as well as his upcoming innaugural bull sale where you can get your hands on his forage developed bulls and females.

Sponsor:

Ambrook

Relevant Links:

Deep Grass Graziers

When times are good in any sector of the economy it presents an opportunity to grow the business or diversify by investing outside of the sector in which we are most heavily invested. Chris Wiley has been a successful real estate investor for many years. He has done this while also holding down other positions sometimes across the continent from his properties. We discuss the how, when, and why of real estate investing with him today. We also discuss how to take a risk and some of the practical considerations to being a landlord.

Sponsors:<...