Ranching Returns Podcast

Ben is founder and president of Bear Hug Cattle Company which is a non-profit that trains retiring military members on the basics required to work in the cattle industry in the west! And in the second part of the conversation we discuss Ben's experience buying a well drilling business to generate revenue rather than getting a normal job. If you are looking to add somebody to your team to help...

Drew talks about why in this particular market he chose not to invest in stockers and switch entirely to sheep. He discusses his permanent flock as well as his stocker ewe flock experiment for this year. He shares the main challenges with sheep production and how he manages them and finds success. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.pharocattle.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on how to put more fun and profit ba...

Matthew shares his incredible story of turning down a dream opportunity to take over a family business because he couldn't do so profitably. He shares how he grew an ag business and eventually got back into farming and ranching when he knew he could do so successfully! He shares his perspective on not doing things just for the sake of growth and why knowing your business financials is so impor...

Randal shares his incredible story of building a farm. He now operates on over 650 acres and direct markets meat and eggs to local individuals and wholesale accounts! A story that highlights the relationship he has with his community is that when he experience complete drought and destocked almost entirely, their community continued paying CSA shares receiving only eggs until rain returned. We dis...

Alex and his wife have built a diverse farm and ranch business that started with direct to consumer vegetable production through a CSA and has grown to a large ranch that does custom grazing, goat production for weed management as well as building a brand that serves food from their farm and other local farms direct to local consumers! Resources Mentioned: Robinette Farms Ranching For Profit and E...

Caleb has a unique story to getting into agriculture, he had the opportunity to take on a 40 year land lease from a non-profit and built a dairy farm from scratch. He shares that story and also how he recently switched from the dairy model to a sheep production model and why. He shares the very real challenges that shift presented and how he adapted and improved the operation to accomplish his lif...

Hayden felt some resistance when wanting to experiment with new farming and ranching practices on his family farm. Rather than give up, he has been growing an operation of his own on the side of working for the family business and is experimenting with low input ranching. Resources Mentioned: Greg Judy Dave Ramsey Will Harris Understanding Ag Ranching Returns Podcast Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.pharocatt...

Doug is building a ranch in Zambia and trying to develop a cow herd adapted to his harsh climate! He shares all the traditional paradigms he's pushing back against and where he's finding success. He also shares the story of how and why he left the family farm to build this on his own. Resources Mentioned: Man, Cattle, Veld - Johann Zietsmann Dirt to Soil - Gabe Brown Fertility Farming - Newman Tur...

I absolutely love Ryan's story of finding a creative way to building a large and successful ranch from nothing! He shares his story of buying and improving a medical sales business that was weeks away from being shut down and turning it around and ultimately selling that to buy and grow a 1000+ cow ranch on his own! He's confident that it's still possible to get into ranching today wit...

After doing missions work overseas Neil moved back to the family farm in Iowa. He is working to build a diversified and profitable farm that integrates cattle on land that most wouldn't consider for anything but crops. We discuss how he does that as well as his marketing business that is not in a highly populated area of the state! Resources Mentioned: Bible Wendell Berry Dirt to Soil - Gabe B...

I really enjoyed discussing Craig's operation and perspectives on things from diversification vs. specialization on a large farm and ranch, to land ownership and more. We also discuss his unique cow program which involves grazing thousands of cows on thousands of acres of corn every year! Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.pharocattle.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on how to put more fun and profit back in...

George shares his story of starting his own farm when there wasn't room on the family farm. He also discusses why he moved from a direct marketing model to sell/ buy marketing and how that has improved his business and lifestyle and why he's so excited to continue. Resources Mentioned: Ranching for Profit Sell/buy marketing schools If you are looking to add somebody to your team to help wi...

Doug is the developer of all the bulls being sold at the PCC sale in Texas coming up on April 1. He shares his story of not being raised on a ranch and after years of working on other ranches having the opportunity to lease his own land and start his own business! I love his story of faith in God and how God provides and ultimately resulted in Doug accomplishing his dream of working for himself! S...

Laura has been a popular past guest back on episodes 122 and 126. Today she comes on again to discuss their stocker cow enterprise. She discusses what it is, the advantages and challenges and why they choose to have that in addition to a native herd. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.pharocattle.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on how to put more fun and profit back into your ranching business!  As always, chec...

Casey and his family at Fishburn Ranch took what was considered very poor land and have turned it around through management. The number of creative ways they are finding success in their operation is incredible. They import cattle and feed and custom bale graze during the winter, they flex enterprises as the market calls for it from cows, to stockers or others. They are building a direct marketing...

I have known Steve for years but this is the first time hearing his story of shifting his ranching focus from a high production, high input ranching to a more enjoyable and profitable ranch system. Resources Mentioned: PCC Updates and Newsletters For Ranching Returns shirts, hats, and sweatshirts check out https://farmfocused.com/ranching-returns-merch/ Wonder where you can buy Sea-90 mineral? You...

Dean Hunt shares his story of growing the family ranch while working an off farm job. He had an opportunity to expand at a time that he wasn't sure he could handle it but shares how they made it work. He also shares his experience using Farmatan to stop coccidiosis and scours and shares his thoughts on getting started in ranching. For Ranching Returns shirts, hats, and sweatshirts check out ht...

Knute and Amanda are fun! They met working for the Seattle Seahawks and through a long journey ended up back at Knutes family farm in Iowa. It's there that they purchased land, built infrastructure and have created a successful meat marketing business Grand View Beef! They share the struggles, and successes of that journey! Resources Mentioned: Fiver Shopify NRCS Programs Practical Farmers of...

I had a great listener question asking about how to convert from a high input cow/calf herd and operation to a low input operation. Kit and I discuss making that transition, both in management as well as actually converting the herd genetics. If you have questions you'd like answered on the podcast let me know! If you are looking to add somebody to your team to help with your farm or ranch num...

Mitch Dahl is another one of those guys my age making me feel behind the game and I love it! He had the opportunity to take over an existing ranch from retiring ranchers and took it and ran with it. He now owns hundreds of cows, custom grazes, has a small amount of cropping acres and isn't afraid to experiment with new things. We discuss his experience grazing standing corn and so much more! R...

Since having Doug on last time back on episode 33, he has expanded his land base significantly. We talk about how he has done this on both public and private land. We discuss his experience grazing on a large piece of publicly owned land including his trial with virtual fencing and more. Resources Mentioned: Ranching for Profit Soil Health Academy Peer Groups/Consulting Soil Health Coalitions If y...

Garth is intentional with his cattle business, focusing on enterprises where he can add value. Because of this he's found great success and is able to be full time in the cattle business, a feat that many folks dream of. He shares his marketing strategy for all of his cattle, the different enterprises he runs, and his unique perspective on debt. Lots to learn from Garth in this one! Resources Ment...

We catch back up with Sean and Kat Weinert, previously on episodes 5 and 44 to discuss life after Sean left the off ranch job. We talk about the challenges that it presented, things that caught him off guard and how they've made it work. If you are looking to add somebody to your team to help with your farm or ranch numbers, check out John Haskell and his team at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ranchrightllc.com/⁠...

Duane and his family run a ranch in Canada. They have figured out how to be successful in a northern environment facing challenges like snow, ice, cold temperatures, short growing seasons, etc. In todays episode we dive into the details of his cow/calf enterprise. Be sure to listen to episode 177, my previous episode with Duane where we discuss how he integrates cows on his cropland. Check out ⁠⁠⁠...

Merry Christmas! I pray God blesses your holiday season. Cody shares his awesome story of taking over his in laws ranch in North Dakota and how he went from struggling to finding improved profitability and an improved lifestyle! He shifted from a cow/calf enterprise to a stocker enterprise and is excited about what that is doing for their future! So much to learn from his story! Resources Mentione...