Episodes

Steve Cote is a stockmanship expert from Idaho. He has traveled extensively putting on stockmanship clinics in the vein of Bud Williams. He joined me to talk about a day of stockmanship. We pick up this conversation where we started last week with Dr. Tom Noffsinger. We start from the corral and talk about our approach to getting cattle through the facilities in which we find ourselves.

Dr. Tom Noffsinger joined me to start a two-part series on stockmanship in the vein of Bud Williams. We start at the trailers and walkthrough our approach of the cattle all the way to the corrals. We will pick this series up next week with Steve Cote about our approach in the pens and through the chute.

Luke and Natalie Kovarik joined me to discuss how they have used technology to build a business that can scale as first generation operators. We talk about the importance of making use of overheads to produce multiple streams of income as well as tools like Performance Beef and how it has helped them keep track of where they are in their backgrounding operation.Sponsor:PerformanceLivestockAnalytics.com

Steve Kenyon a grazier and educator in Canada joined me to discuss how he manages every year to prepare for a drought. We talked about his approach to grazing in good years and drier years and how he thinks about grazing given the history of a given paddock’s management.

Aaron and Tara Helmick joined me to talk about the journey they have been on toward radically transforming their business. We talk about what facilitated that change, how they decided which direction to head, and some of the lessons they have learned on the road less traveled.

Roger and Betsy Indreland of Indreland Angus near Big Timber, MT joined me to talk about the journey they have been on to rejuvinate soil health on the landscape they manage. We talk about the use of different soil ammendments and how they have kickstarted their soil health and their plan to use grazing to maintain the gains they have seen in production and landscape health.Take the Survey:https://bit.ly/2ZfpXnX

Wyatt Donald is a key decision maker at Cayuse Livestock Co. near Big Timber, MT. This is a ranch that manages land in multiple locations with people from outside the family in different states. We talked about the what goes into management of all those moving parts.Sponsor:PerformanceLivestockAnalytics.com

Aaron Berger, an Extension Educator from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, joined me to answer a listener question regarding ranching as a side hustle. How do we do it well? What are the challenges? What enterprise lends itself to fitting into a side hustle?

Margaret Byfield is the Executive Director for American Stewards for Liberty an organization committed to protecting property rights. Specifically they focus on helping agriculturalists respond to Federal overreach into their lands and operations.

Jared and Marion Wine are first generation stocker operators from near Corpus Christi, TX. We talked about what it takes to get started as a first generation couple. We also talked about how they are using technology like Performance Beef and social media as part of their operation.

Chad and Crystal Berg are living nomadically and working to develop a platform where ranchers can develop relationships with the end consumers of their beef. They sat down with my wife and I to talk about a wide range of subjects from property rights, to beef consumption in urban areas, to the role of the church in society.

Ryan Noble, a rancher in Eastern Colorado, joined me to discuss how they make use of the information contained in EPDs. We talk about what the numbers mean and what numbers matter most when trying to organize a profitable ranching business.

Dr. Jonathan Lundgren is and agroecologist and the CEO of Blue Dasher Farm near Estelline, SD. He joined me to discuss the role of bugs on the landscapes we managed. We talked about how to invite beneficial bugs and how to mitigate the damage of less desirable bugs.

Derek Schwanebeck welcomed me into his office to talk about what they have been doing with Corriente cattle on their ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages as well as why they are getting out of cow/calf all together.

Steve Campbell joined me again to talk about an out of the box approach to delivering minerals to cattle. We talk about the things affecting cow health as well as the things to avoid when looking for quality cattle minerals.

Troy Bishopp is a farmer, a husband, a father, and a grandfather. He joined me to discuss the process of moving from a dairy with forage to a custom grazing business in central New York. We talk about the differences between farming in the East and ranching in the West. We also touch on some the myths about the differences between the two regions.

Austin Troyer is a first generation rancher in Ohio. He and his wife have gotten their start by finding undervalued land and putting the work in to make it usable. We talk about the process of obtaining these leases as well as getting them ready for livestock and finding the right class of livestock to take advantage of the topography and forage.

Greg Christiansen of Grandview Livestock in Eastern Kansas joined me to discuss the benefits and challenges of incorporating goats and sheep into a commercial cattle operation. We talk about how goats are good for land than trends toward brush as well as the opportunities that exist to incorporate goats into land that is currently only being grazed by cattle.

Elaine Froese is a farm coach with 30 years of experience helping families facilitate healthy relationships. She joined me to discuss the process of getting the succession planning discussion started as well as some realistic goals and expectations. We also take some voicemails about getting people to join in the discussion and what to do when someone wants to change the agreement.

Mother-Daughter pair Leann Schafer and Chelsey Erdmann are Proud 5th and 6th generation on the farm, feedlot, cow-calf, and Purina feed dealership operation in central North Dakota. Their family farm got its start in 1893. Today it continues to be a family business with four generations involved daily. The opportunity to work close to and see family every day is the best part of their business. After working off farm following college, Chelsey left a job she enjoyed to invest in her family farm ...

Craig Thompson and Gordon Decker joined me to talk about how agriculture is a great place for men in crisis to experience life change. We talk about how they are approaching this at Rockside Ranch as well as future expansion goals for the ministry.

Zack Smith joined me to discuss the progress on bringing the Cluster Cluck 5000 to market and scale the practice of Stock Cropping. We also talk about the economic benefits from the first year of the experiment plot.

Don Campbell is a legend of Canadian Holistic Management. He has been involved in all levels of Holistic Management International in Canada since the early days of it existence. Don joined me to talk about how HMI thinks about the grazing principles. We talk about how Don has seen the carrying capacity of his ranch nearly tripled with this management style. Don has a refreshing people first approach to management and grazing.

Justin Fruechte and Jared Knock, hosts of the new Roots and Ruminants podcast, joined me to talk about why they chose those two entities as their foci for their podcast. We also discuss the opportunities that exist on annual crop ground. To close out the show we answer a couple of questions from the private Facebook Group the “Working Cows Microbiome.”