#203 – John Maddux – Wall Street to Full Time Rancher
John Maddux shares his family’s story of aggressively purchasing land and expanding their ranching operation over the generations. We dive into his unique breeding and genetics program, marketing strategy, low-cost winter feeding program, and begin to discuss his risk...
#203 – John Maddux – Wall Street to Full Time Rancher
John Maddux shares his family’s story of aggressively purchasing land and expanding their ranching operation over the generations. We dive into his unique breeding and genetics program, marketing strategy, low-cost winter feeding program, and begin to discuss his risk management strategy, which...
#191 – Austin Troyer – Scaling a First-Generation Ranch
Austin and his wife are exactly the type of story that inspires me! What they’ve done to expand and scale their enterprise is fascinating. They manage thousands of acres while raising sheep and custom-grazing cattle. Austin shares a ton of valuable insights while...
#190 – David Breune – Swath Grazing Sorghum-Sudangrass
For those who deal with snow and ice in the winter, this episode is for you! David and his team at Iowa State are researching swath grazing of sorghum-sudangrass in the Midwest to feed cows through the winter at a reduced cost, and I am super excited about its...
#189 – John Gutzman – Cow/Calf in Wisconsin
For this week's episode, I interviewed John Gutzman, who is running a cow/calf and crop operation in Wisconsin. I really enjoyed this conversation where we discuss the best ways we’ve found to make cow/calf work in this region with high snowfall and crusty snow. I...
#188 – Greg Christiansen and Travis Hampton – Part 2
In this week's episode, we carry on with our conversation from last week but focus on their operations. We discuss their soil health practices on cropland, livestock integration on that cropland, and how they graze and expand their sheep and goat enterprises....
#187 – Greg Christiansen and Travis Hampton – Part 1
In this episode, we talk farm transition plans with Greg Christiansen and Travis Hampton and discuss how Greg has begun the process of transitioning the operating business of their farm to Travis, who is not a family member. We explore how they found each other, why...
#186 – Levi Kokes – Regenerative Ranching, Carbon Contracts, and Virtual Fencing
Levi is new to his regenerative ranching journey, having just taken over the family ranch from his dad and other family members. He shares his experience with that transition, as well as the changes he's made to his management on both the cropping and livestock sides,...
#185 – Allan Crockett – Profitable Ranch Business
Allan shares his thoughts on managing ranch businesses and finding a balance between finances, time, relationships, and purpose. He also discusses how to leverage profits during prosperous times, prepare for down times, invest beyond the ranch, and more! Resources...
#184 – Kit Pharo – How to Evaluate Bulls
Kit walks through the process the Pharo Cattle Company team uses to evaluate over 1,000 bulls every year. He explains the different traits they evaluate, as well as their importance in selecting good low-input maternal genetics. For more information, check us out at...
#183 – Steve Kenyon – What You Need to Know to Custom Graze on Leased Land
Steve Kenyon shares what he does about fence, water, and corral infrastructure to manage his several-thousand-acre custom grazing enterprise in Canada. He discusses his unique calculations to determine how much time he can afford to spend on a particular farm and much...
#182 – Jeremia Markway – Complimentary Grazing Enterprise
I really liked how Jeremia has matched his enterprise mix to his unique ranch context. Custom cow/calf allows him to vary his stocking rate to take advantage of the spring flush, sheep utilize grass and graze cover crops on neighbor cropland without damaging the...
#181 – John Wagner – Taking Over a Non-Family Ranch
In the last episode, Pete Ferrell shares his experience buying back the family ranch and his perspective on passing on the grazing business to somebody not in his family. Today, we talk to that somebody, John Wagner, and hear his story of taking over the business and...
#180 – Pete Ferrell – Continuing a Ranch Legacy to Non-Family
Pete Ferrell shares his story of building his ranch and buying much of his original family ranch back from other family members after it was split up in the past. He shares his decision to move largely to custom grazing and explains why and how he found a non-family...
About the Ranching Returns Podcast
On this podcast, we talk to farmers and ranchers who are leading the industry in so many ways. We’ll discuss the various returns they get from ranching, including, of course, the significant financial returns, but also returns to their land resources and ultimately the amazing lifestyle. That might be the most important return ranching can offer!
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Optimum Cow Size
For the last 40+ years, land-grant universities and status quo beef producers have been single-mindedly focused on increasing pounds per cow (bragging rights) — at the expense of pounds per acre (profit). Consequently, cow size has increased by 40% — and ranch profits have decreased substantially. It was quite refreshing to read an article written by a University of Wyoming Extension educator in a status quo beef publication that came very close to getting it...