Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

When we think of a generational farm we often think of multiple generations from the same family working the land over the course of centuries. Brian Dougherty and Sara Faivre are seeking to start a generational farm that is generational in it's founding and has a vision of being passed on to another generation sooner rather than later. This approach has changed the way they think about structure, roles, and a host of other crucial topics. We discuss this unique approach in this episode.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comRelevant Links:WildTypeRanch.com

Stress at shipping, processing, and weaning are three things that cause major losses in the cattle industry. There are more tools available to deal with these than just those that have been typical in recent years. Ellen Bench of Remedi Animal Solutions joins me to discuss the remedies available to help with these issues. We also talk about best practices for the implementation of a homeopathic livestock health protocol.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:RogueFoodConference.com (Use Code: Cows30 for $30 off your ticket)Relevant Links:RemediAnimalSolutions.comEllen’s Previous Episodes:Ep. 412 Ellen Bench – A Homeopathic Approach to Calving SeasonEp. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock HealthEp. 368 Ellen Bench – Homeopathic Livestock Health

Grazing Lawns? What is that? According to Nate Chisholm they are an integral part of natural grazing systems and they should have a place in our grazing systems. We discuss what a Grazing Lawn is as well as how they would be practically implemented into our grazing plans.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean Minerals

How do we balance cows that won't break the bank with calves that the market is willing to bid on. Steve Campbell helps me answer this question that was recently posed to me. We discuss different strategies that can help with this conundrum as well as the common questions Steve is getting as he travels the country.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:RogueFoodConference.com (THROUGH MONDAY 12/1 Use Code Black40 for $40 off your ticket)Relevant Links:TailorMadeCattle.comSteve's Previous Episodes:Ep. 233 Steve Campbell – Bull Sale Catalog Wish ListEp. 196 Steve Campbell – Remineralizing Cattle with SaltEp. 160 Steve Campbell – Selecting the Right Cow

Roger and Betsy Indreland have been on a journey to develop bulls that fit holistically. These are bulls that are durable and fertile, but they are also tested for some of the intangible traits like sensitivity to pressure in stockamnship scenarios.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Powerflex SupplyRangeWardRelevant Links:Indreland Angus

Passing the Ranch on to the Next Generation isn't easy. The Consultants at Understanding Ag have caught my attention due to the high concentration of their consultants that have accomplished this goal. Today on the Working Cows Podcast we discuss the keys to successful succession with Gabe Brown, Blain Hjertaas, and John Hays about how they have approached this challenging task.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comGuest's Previous EpisodesEp. 463 Gabe Brown - How Food Can be Common Ground for Common GoodEp. 461 Blain Hjertaas - Winter Feeding Strategies that Drive ProfitabilityEp. 459 Gabe Brown and Dr. Temple Grandin on Creating a More Resilient Food SystemEp. 445 John Hays and Jeremy Sweeten - Practical Tips for Regenerative Hay MakingEp. 443 Blain Hjertaas and Michael Thiele - Does Regenerative Agriculture Work in Northern EnvironmentsEp. 439 John Hays and Jeremy Sweeten - How Amp Grazing Drives Profitability Even in the MidwestEp. 404 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams on Fixing America’s Broken Rural EconomiesEp. 402 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Fixing America’s Broken Water CycleEp. 380 Gabe Brown, Dr. Allen Williams, and Fernando Falomir – Soil Health Academy Q and AEp. 388 Gabe Brown and Luke Jones – Making the Regenerative ShiftEp. 361 Gabe Brown and Allen Williams – 2024 State of AgricultureEp. 305 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Matching Management to ContextEp. 293 Gabe Brown and Matt McGinn – Transitioning to More Adaptive StewardshipEp. 290 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipEp. 288 Gabe Brown and Shane New – Managing the Nutrient CyleEp. 283 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The 6-3-4Ep. 281 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The State of Agriculture in North AmericaEp. 277 Gabe Brown – The State of the American Food SystemEp. 121 Gabe Brown – Heifer Development in Sync with NatureEp. 067 Gabe Brown – Dirt to Soil

Winter feed costs continue to be one of the greatest determiners of profitability for ranches. Meaning, that more of it we have to do using equipment the less profitable we will be. Brett McRae has been working diligently to find ways to cut down on winter feed costs. One practice that has really moved the needle for him and his operation is grazing standing corn. Today we discuss this practice with him. We talk about how he chooses a field, how he determines forage demand, forage availability, as well as the soil health benefits of this practice.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean Minerals

John Moody has been involved in many fights for food freedom. From Raw Milk to Cottage Food Laws he has seen the tactics that work and those that don't. He has also seen the tactics used by the other side of these arguments. John helps us think critically about how to win these fights and the tools that are actually effective in battle.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:RogueFoodConference.com (Use Code Cows30 for $30 off your ticket)

There are myriad reasons to stop making hay. Dr. Carson Roberts shared 10 of them in a recent article. He joins me to discuss those reasons, but we also discuss the practicalities of quitting hay making as well as a case study of the difference in makes in profitability.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comRelevant Links:10 Reasons You Should Quit Hay Making

Joel Salatin has an invitation to soybean farmers. He wants them to trade in the equipment for cattle and take advantage of present market conditions in both the cattle markets and the soybean markets that mean it is more profitable and fun to run cows. We also discuss the upcoming Rogue Food Conference in Rapid City, SD on February 6th and 7th and some of the reasons he and John Moody started the Rogue Food Conference.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Rogue Food ConferenceMark Your Calendars: February 6th and 7th, 2026 in Rapid City, SD

If we raise great grass-finished beef and get it processed with excellence, but we can't sell it we will have invested a lot of time and money in a product that doesn't generate revenue. Dr. Allen Williams is here to help us think deeply about how we actually sell grass-finished beef to our customers. We will talk about how to respond to questions regarding pricing as well as what cuts we should spend the most time marketing.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comGuest's Previous Episodes:Ep. 458 Dr. Allen Williams - The Connection Between Epigenetics and ProfitabilityEp. 452 Dr. Allen Williams - Tips for Maintaining the Quality of Grass-Finished Beef Through the Processing PhaseEp. 430 Dr. Allen Williams - Keys to Successful Grass-FinishingEp. 404 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams on Fixing America’s Broken Rural EconomiesEp. 402 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Fixing America’s Broken Water CycleEp. 380 Gabe Brown, Dr. Allen Williams, and Fernando Falomir – Soil Health Academy Q and AEp. 369 Dr. Stephan Van Vliet and Dr. Allen Williams – Growing Nutrient Dense FoodEp. 361 Gabe Brown and Allen Williams – 2024 State of AgricultureEp. 305 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Matching Management to ContextEp. 290 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipEp. 283 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The 6-3-4Ep. 281 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The State of Agriculture in North AmericaEp. 148 Dr. Allen Williams – Grazing for Soil Health

If you read one author you can become a clone, if you read two authors you can become confused, if you read 100 authors you can become wise. Taylor Henry listened to many books as he planned his exit from one profession. We discuss what he sees as the commonalities among those books and how that has shaped how he thinks about the business of agriculture.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Remedi Animal SolutionsEp. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock HealthEp. 368 Ellen Bench – Homeopathic Livestock HealthAcres USA:ConferencePodcasts

BeefMaps.com is facilitating direct connections between ranchers and those looking to purchase beef. They have a variety of producers on the platform to meet the demand of a variety of consumers. RS June and Shanen Ebersole both have a unique set of skills that helps them to accomplish this task well. We discuss the challenges and the ground they have gained toward the goal on this episode of the Working Cows Podcast.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean MineralsRelevant Links:BeefMaps.comBeefNews.orgBeef Initiative on XShanen Ebersole on X

Zach Osburn's farm has become a place that produces more than just healthy soil and profits. He is working to see life transformation among men in crisis on his farm. He does this through several different approaches. He shares some of the different pieces of this process today on the Working Cows Podcast.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean MineralsRelevant Links:Rockside RanchRelevant Episodes:Ep. 236 Craig Thompson and Gordon Decker – Restoration Matters PodcastEp. 190 Craig Thompson and Gordon Decker – Rockside Ranch

Gabe Brown has traveled extensively within the United States and around the world. He sees a movement taking shape. People are passionate about healthy food that is grown in healthy soils. This movement reaches into communities, businesses, and governments. It has even reached into the castle of a king or two. He joins me to discuss the way this movement is impacting these different sectors and how we can make sure our businesses are primed to make the most of this opportunity. Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comGabe Brown's Previous Episodes:Ep. 459 Gabe Brown and Dr. Temple Grandin on Creating a More Resilient Food SystemEp. 404 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams on Fixing America’s Broken Rural EconomiesEp. 402 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Fixing America’s Broken Water CycleEp. 380 Gabe Brown, Dr. Allen Williams, and Fernando Falomir – Soil Health Academy Q and AEp. 388 Gabe Brown and Luke Jones – Making the Regenerative ShiftEp. 361 Gabe Brown and Allen Williams – 2024 State of AgricultureEp. 305 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Matching Management to ContextEp. 293 Gabe Brown and Matt McGinn – Transitioning to More Adaptive StewardshipEp. 290 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipEp. 288 Gabe Brown and Shane New – Managing the Nutrient CyleEp. 283 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The 6-3-4Ep. 281 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The State of Agriculture in North AmericaEp. 277 Gabe Brown – The State of the American Food SystemEp. 121 Gabe Brown – Heifer Development in Sync with NatureEp. 067 Gabe Brown – Dirt to Soil

Many gurus and business consultants have sung the praises of highly diversified businesses with many streams of income. These businesses are not without their own unique challenges. Dallas Mount of Ranch Management Consultants is here to help us think differently about what success looks like. Sometimes it means identifying the one or two things we do really well and then doing a lot more of those few things rather than adding a lot more enterprises that only produce marginal results.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean MineralsRelevant Links:Ranching for ProfitDallas' Previous Episodes:Ep. 372 Dallas Mount – Using Business Language – July 8th, 2024Ep. 333 Dallas Mount – Making Good DecisionsEp. 304 Dallas Mount – What is Profit For?Ep. 198 Dallas Mount – Succession Strategies – July 14th, 2021Ep. 179 Dallas Mount – The Grazing Principles – March 9th, 2021Ep. 156 Dallas Mount – Having the Courage to Talk – September 22nd, 2020Ep. 120 Dallas Mount – Working ON the Business – December 30th, 2019Ep. 090 Dallas Mount – Profitablity Targets – May 21st, 2019Ep. 043 Dallas Mount – Turning the Tables – August 20th, 2018Ep. 029 Dallas Mount – Learning in the Land Down Under – May 15th, 2018Ep. 002 Dallas Mount – Four Pillars of a Ranching Operation – November 6th, 2017

Winter feed costs often go a long way in determining our profitability as ranchers. As a Canadian Rancher Blain Hjertaas has learned some valuable lessons in controlling winter feed costs. He joins me today to discuss the strategies that he has found that go a long way to helping drive profitability by reducing expenses related to winter feeding.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.com

The idea of purchasing land and animals at the same time seems unthinkable. However, if we are willing to think differently about our management of our key inventories, we can open up a whole new realm of possibilities. John Haskell and Wally Olson are familiar with many stories of people accomplishing lofty goals because they were willing to think outside the box.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Redd Summit AdvisorsRemedi Animal SolutionsEp. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock HealthEp. 368 Ellen Bench – Homeopathic Livestock HealthRelevant Links:Ranching.FYICow Bell Curve Image available at workingcows.net/460

Richard Tufton and Claire Mackenzie of the Six Inches of Soil Podcast generously shared with me a conversation they hosted between Gabe Brown and Dr. Temple Grandin. This is a fascinating conversation that covers Dr. Temple Grandin's perspective on regenerative agriculture and some of her solutions to the fragility in our food system. We get some great back and forth between Gabe and Dr. Grandin. Thanks again to Richard and Claire for sharing this conversation!Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comRelevant Links:Dr. Temple GrandinSubscribe to the Six Inches of Soil Podcast:<iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5sYPBGgYUDR7t9Z0yIudhM?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>Gabe Brown's Previous Episodes:Ep. 404 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams on Fixing America’s Broken Rural EconomiesEp. 402 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Fixing America’s Broken Water CycleEp. 380 Gabe Brown, Dr. Allen Williams, and Fernando Falomir – Soil Health Academy Q and AEp. 388 Gabe Brown and Luke Jones – Making the Regenerative ShiftEp. 361 Gabe Brown and Allen Williams – 2024 State of AgricultureEp. 305 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Matching Management to ContextEp. 293 Gabe Brown and Matt McGinn – Transitioning to More Adaptive StewardshipEp. 290 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipEp. 288 Gabe Brown and Shane New – Managing the Nutrient CyleEp. 283 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The 6-3-4Ep. 281 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The State of Agriculture in North AmericaEp. 277 Gabe Brown – The State of the American Food SystemEp. 121 Gabe Brown – Heifer Development in Sync with NatureEp. 067 Gabe Brown – Dirt to SoilMore Info About Six Inches of Soil:Six Inches of Soil Podcast, Episode 8:Unbound: discovering unlimited potential when what’s better for cattle is better for businessHost, producer: Richard TuftonCo-host, producer: Claire MackenzieSix Inches of Soil: Website: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/Book: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/bookInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sixinchesofsoil/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/six-inches-of-soil-b75059234/Introduction:Dr Grandin and Gabe explore how uniting animal welfare with regenerative agriculture and combining soil practices with Temple’s farming solutions, you have nature and nurture working together as one big metaphorical “hug machine”. This offers a communal hug, if you will, by enveloping the animal’s life with a safe, healthy, happy and tranquil environment, which we know will undoubtedly provide a better life for them. Their conversations weave between regenerative agriculture, animal welfare, and consumer demand. The speakers discuss the importance of integrating livestock with crops, the challenges faced in modern agriculture, and the role of youth in shaping the future of farming. They emphasize the need for visual thinking and innovation in agricultural practices, as well as the impact of climate change on food production. Featuring: Dr Temple Grandin is an American scientist and industrial designer whose own experience with autism funded her professional work in creating systems to counter stress in certain human and animal populations.Dr. Grandin did not talk until she was three and a half years old. She was fortunate to get early speech therapy. Her teachers also taught her how to wait and take turns when playing board games. She was mainstreamed into a normal kindergarten at age five. Dr. Grandin became a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior. Today she is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. She also has a successful career consulting on both livestock handling equipment design and animal welfare. She has been featured on NPR (National Public Radio) and a BBC Special – "The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow". HBO made an Emmy Award winning movie about her life and she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.Gabe BrownGabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources. Gabe, along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, ran Brown's Ranch, a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. Their ranch focuses on farming and ranching in nature's image.They have now transitioned ownership of the ranch over to their son, Paul and his wife, Jazmin.Gabe authored the bestselling book, “Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture.”Gabe is a partner and Board Member at Regenified and serves as the public face of the company. He is a founding partner in Understanding Ag, LLC.Websites: https://brownsranch.us/https://regenified.com/about-us/https://understandingag.com/partners/gabe-brown/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brownsranch/?hl=en

If we can develop animals that don't depend on inputs we can drive profitability. To do this we need to pay attention to more than just genetics. We need to also allow epigenetics to play a role in that selection process. Dr. Allen Williams was a university professor focused on genetics. His perspective has changed radically since those days. We discuss his understanding of what it takes to use the lever of epigenetics to our advantage.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comRelated Resources:Epigenetics: Blessing or CurseGuest's Previous Episodes:Ep. 430 - Dr. Allen Williams - Keys to Successful Grass-FinishingEp. 404 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams on Fixing America’s Broken Rural EconomiesEp. 402 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Fixing America’s Broken Water CycleEp. 380 Gabe Brown, Dr. Allen Williams, and Fernando Falomir – Soil Health Academy Q and AEp. 369 Dr. Stephan Van Vliet and Dr. Allen Williams – Growing Nutrient Dense FoodEp. 361 Gabe Brown and Allen Williams – 2024 State of AgricultureEp. 305 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Matching Management to ContextEp. 290 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipEp. 283 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The 6-3-4Ep. 281 Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams – The State of Agriculture in North AmericaEp. 148 Dr. Allen Williams – Grazing for Soil Health