Ranchonomics

In this Ranchonomics Stories episode, host John Haskell sits down with Wade Sherrick to hear how a $6,500 check from Wade's uncle Jerry helped launch his ranching journey. From those early yearling partnerships to purchasing a ranch with his uncle, Wade and his wife Kim built their operation through hard work, careful reinvestment, and a willingness to grow when the opportunity was right. Kim and...

Wally Olson joins John Haskell to discuss why a drop in cattle prices doesn't mean opportunity has disappeared. Although the market has pulled back from its summer highs, Wally explains that ranchers can still find strong margins by paying attention to the relationships between what they're selling and what they're buying and thrive in a down market. Rather than getting caught up in predicting mar...

In part 2 of this Ranchonomics Stories conversation, John Haskell continues his discussion with Steve Teichert about the lessons he’s learned over 80 years in the cattle business. From starting over in different ranching environments to turning struggling herds into profitable operations, Steve shares how experience, observation, and a willingness to learn from mistakes have shaped his approach to...

In this episode of Ranchonomics, John Haskell continues his conversation with a cattleman who has spent decades selecting cattle for performance without sacrificing fertility. Steve Teichert explains why fertility is the most important trait in a cow herd and how calf vigor, birth weight, growth, and the ability to thrive without extra inputs all factor into building a productive, profitable herd....

Long before Steve Teichert developed his own approach to cattle genetics and nutrition, his family was learning what it took to make a living in the rugged country of Idaho and Wyoming. In Part 1 of this Ranchonomics Stories conversation, John Haskell sits down with Steve, a fourth-generation cattleman, to trace his family's journey from German immigrant Adolph Teichert arriving at Ellis Island to...

What happens when the government tries to solve a cattle market problem that the market may already be correcting? In this episode of Ranchonomics, John Haskell is joined by lifelong cattlemen Wally Olson and Monty Nail to discuss proposals for government incentives to encourage heifer retention. Both guests argue that high cattle prices are already giving producers a strong incentive to breed and...

What does it take to build a successful ranch from scratch when you start with borrowed money and a pickup truck as collateral? In this episode of Ranchonomics Stories, John Haskell and Wally Olson sit down with Monty Nail to trace his journey from buying his first load of cattle as a high school senior in 1979 to building a diversified cattle operation and acquiring his own ranch land. Monty shar...

Why is it so hard to change, even when we know our current approach isn't working? In this episode, John Haskell explores why individuals and businesses struggle to adopt new behaviors and practices, even when those changes could lead to better results. He explains how we become comfortable with familiar ways of doing things, and why learning a new process often means temporarily performing worse...

What does it take to build a farm and ranch business when you don't have much money to start with? In this Ranchonomics Stories episode, John Haskell and Wally Olson sit down with Greg and Ann Christiansen to look back at more than 40 years of marriage, ranching, farming, raising a family, and figuring things out along the way. From low-paying cowboy jobs and a growing family to renting their firs...

What can four generations of ranching teach you about selecting cattle that actually work? In this episode, John Haskell talks with Steve Teichert of Mackay, Idaho, about the lessons he has learned over more than 80 years of working with cattle. Steve challenges some common assumptions about EPDs, phenotype, and cattle performance, arguing that genetics can't be evaluated separately from the envir...

What does it take to build a ranch that lasts for five generations? In this episode of Ranchonomics Stories, John Haskell sits down with Ryan Noble to trace the history of his family ranch in eastern Colorado, beginning with his great-grandfather William A. Noble driving a stake into the ground in 1910 and filing a homestead claim. Ryan shares the stories of the generations that followed, from his...

What happens when you stop thinking of your acres as having just one job? In this episode, John Haskell talks with Greg Christiansen about how he has built a farming system that combines cash crops, cover crops, and livestock grazing across more than 2,000 acres. Greg shares how he got started with cover crops, why he continues to plant them on nearly every acre he can, and how grazing those crops...

How can custom grazing become a year-round business, even in the middle of an Alberta winter? In this episode, John Haskell talks with Steve Kenyon about his experience managing cattle through harsh Canadian winters and using winter grazing to create additional income while improving his land. Steve explains how custom grazing, bale grazing, swath grazing, and crop residue have allowed him to brin...

What separates ranchers who win, those consistently finding opportunities, from those who get stuck when things go wrong? In this episode, John Haskell explores the problem of zero-sum thinking and how it can limit the way we see value, markets, and opportunity. He explains why someone else benefiting doesn't necessarily mean someone else has to lose, and how recognizing win-win opportunities can...

What does HR support actually look like for a ranch operation and why do you need it? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell sits down with HR advisor, Emilie Hopson, to break down the foundational people-management systems every ag operation needs as it scales. The conversation covers what to think through when hiring a first employee, why onboarding sets the long-term...

What does payroll actually look like once you hand it off to Ranch Right? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell sits down with payroll and onboarding specialist Brianna Lopez, to walk through exactly how payroll works and the way it runs month after month. Brianna explains the onboarding process for new payroll clients, from verifying tax ID numbers and state withholdi...

What does the accounting process actually look like with Ranch Right? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell sits down with account managers, Mandy and Daniel, to walk through exactly what it looks like to keep the books accurate month after month. They explain the transition to a dedicated bookkeeper, why supporting documents (like receipts) are vital to the process, a...

What can you actually expect from your Ranch Right consulting team? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell sits down with team members Micayla and Travis to share what actually happens once someone becomes a Ranch Right client. They walk through the entire consulting relationship and explain how the team uses tools like the cash planning tool, the cost-to-keep calculato...

What happens after you decide to become a Ranch Right customer? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell talks with Brianna Lopez about the onboarding process and what it takes to get a new client set up for success. From gathering information about your operation and existing accounting system to setting up QuickBooks Online, banking access, payroll, and livestock tracki...

What actually happens when you book a discovery call with Ranch Right? In this episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, John Haskell sits down with members of the sales team to walk through what happens during that first conversation. They explain what they want to learn about your operation, from your enterprises and business structure to revenue, bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, and your goals...

What does it actually look like to build a more profitable ranch business? In this first episode of the Ranch Right Experience Series, host John Haskell explains why Ranch Right exists and what the team is ultimately trying to help producers accomplish. The goal is simple: help ranchers and farmers win in business, with profitability as a key part of that success. John explains why financial liter...

What can a simple YouTube channel do for a ranching business? In this episode, John Haskell talks with Greg Christiansen of Grandview Livestock about how Greg turned his everyday work with sheep, goats, fencing, feeding, and grazing into a growing online audience. Greg explains why he started making videos, how social media as a marketing tool has expanded his market for breeding stock and livesto...

What if the numbers could make your biggest business decisions easier? In this episode, John Haskell sits down with Steve Kenyon to discuss the financial and economic tools that changed how Steve viewed his farm. Steve shares how learning to use gross margin analysis revealed that some parts of his operation were losing money despite strong production numbers, and how understanding opportunity cos...

In this episode, host John Haskell explains why separating personal finances and business finances is one of the most fundamental steps a rancher can take toward gaining financial clarity. From creating separate accounts and books to establishing a family budget and treating money taken from the business as a deliberate draw, John breaks down how mixing personal and business spending can hide wher...

In this episode, John Haskell talks with Greg Christiansen of Grandview Livestock about the 26 years he has spent raising meat goats and sheep alongside row crops and cattle. Greg shares how he got started, what he learned along the way, and how adjustments to kidding dates, grazing strategies, fencing, and marketing have shaped the enterprise over time. The conversation gets into the practical de...