Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

Daniel Doerksen and his family were seeking genetics that could get by on what the landscape could provide. They were able to accomplish that. One result of that was that they now had animals that could finish well on grass. This meant that they were able to take advantage of a market for Grass Finished Beef in their local area. This has lead to the starting of a butcher shop and a burger restaurant that has contributed to the success of their business. Sponsors: Big Country Genetics (Catalog)

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 Ac

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

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 Ep. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock Health Ep. 368 Ellen B

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 t