#266 – Joe Pokay and Hugh Aljoe – Cutting Inputs on 13,500 Acres
Noble Research Institute does more than offer outstanding classes on ranch finance, soil health, and grazing management. The actually own and manage 13,500 acres across six ranches. Today, Joe Pokay and Hugh Aljoe join me from Noble to discuss their experience...
#266 – Joe Pokay and Hugh Aljoe – Cutting Inputs on 13,500 Acres
Noble Research Institute does more than offer outstanding classes on ranch finance, soil health, and grazing management. The actually own and manage 13,500 acres across six ranches. Today, Joe Pokay and Hugh Aljoe join me from Noble to discuss their experience reducing inputs on their ranch five...
#232 – Keith Olsen – Low Input Crop and Cattle Farming
Keith Olsen is passionate about low-input, regenerative agriculture and is exploring both approaches on his own operation in southeast Minnesota. We discuss how he’s working to improve both his land and his bottom line through these enterprises—and much more....
#231 – Sam Fryer – Ranching, Podcasting, and Working!
Sam Fryer has an incredible story. He shares how he made the decision to step away from the family farm and strike out on his own in order to preserve family relationships. We talk about the process of building his operation independently, as well as his thoughts on...
#230 – Jacob Gilley – Enterprise Analysis, Real Estate, and More
There’s a lot of great insight in this conversation with Jacob Gilley. We talk about his path to farming, his decision to leave his off-farm job, and the many enterprises he’s been involved with. We also spend time diving into his record-keeping strategy and approach...
#229 – Ben Minden – Training Cowboys and Buying a Business
Ben Minden is the founder and president of Bear Hug Cattle Company, a non-profit organization that trains retiring military members on the basics required to work in the cattle industry in the West. In the second part of our conversation, Ben shares his unique...
#228 – Drew Bruner – Going All in on Sheep
Drew Bruner shares why, in today’s market, he chose to shift away from stockers and focus entirely on sheep. He discusses both his permanent flock and his stocker ewe flock experiment for this year. Drew dives into the key challenges of sheep production, how he...
#227 – Matthew Menke – Risk vs. Reward, Leverage, & Knowing Your Business
Matthew Menke shares his powerful story of turning down what many would consider a dream opportunity—taking over a family business—because he couldn’t make it work profitably. Instead, he built an ag business from the ground up and eventually returned to farming and...
#226 – Randal Breen – From Living in a Shed to Full Time Farmer
Randal Breen shares his incredible story of building a farm from the ground up. Today, he operates on over 650 acres and direct markets meat and eggs to local individuals and wholesale accounts. One powerful example of the strong relationship he has with his community...
#225 – Alex McKiernan – Car Wrecks Can’t Stop This Family!
Alex McKiernan and his wife have built a diverse and thriving farm and ranch business that began with direct-to-consumer vegetable production through a CSA. Over time, it has grown into a large ranching operation that includes custom grazing, goat production for weed...
#224 – Caleb Smith – Switching from Dairy to Sheep
Caleb Smith has taken a unique path into agriculture. He had the opportunity to take on a 40-year land lease from a non-profit, which allowed him to build a dairy farm from scratch. In this episode, he shares that story, along with his recent transition from the dairy...
#223 – Hayden Heigele – Changing Genetics, Calving Window, and More
Hayden Heigele encountered some resistance when he wanted to introduce new farming and ranching practices on his family farm. Rather than giving up, he has been experimenting with low-input ranching while building an operation of his own, all while continuing to work...
#222 – Doug Badcock – Building an Adapted Cow on a Zambian Ranch
Doug Badcock 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...
#221 – Ryan Cone – Building a Business in Order to Buy a Ranch
I absolutely love Ryan Cone’s story of finding a creative path to building a large and successful ranch from the ground up. He shares how he bought a struggling medical sales business—just weeks away from shutting down—turned it around and eventually sold it to fund...
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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#219 – Bull Buying Tips
Bulls will be expensive this year, so why not spend your money on one that takes your program in the right direction? Click to read the full transcript If you are buying bulls this spring, you will probably pay more than you ever have in your life. However, keep in mind that you've been selling calves for more than you ever have in your life. Many spring bull sales are averaging $12-14,000. If you're going to spend that much money, it only makes sense to buy bulls...






