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 (http://www.pharocattle.com)…
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:…
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…
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 (http://www.pharocattle.com)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Everybody talking about #soilhealth talks about planting green. We are trying our 3rd year in a row of planting corn directly into standing, living green rye. We've been happy with the results and are excited about the soil building we're doing!
Integrating livestock on cropland is talked about a lot these days as one of the principles of soil health! I'm going to walk through one example of how we are doing that by grazing rye in the spring and cornstalks after corn harvest on this 30 acre field. That means…
Getting some last minute fencing done before we turn everything out on grass in the next few days and a little more seeding.
We got our latest delivery of Pharo Cattle Company bulls and discuss ways to reduce breeding expenses by co-owning bulls with people in other calving windows, and by using bulls you can turn out with more cows for longer! #PCC #PharoCattleCompany #bulls
After the angus cows came up from Colorado we ran them separate while the angus adapted and the reds were on cornstalks. But now it's time to combine groups and simplify things!
On our tillable land we try to integrate livestock in a cropping rotation using annual cover crops. Some fields will be warm season annuals for late summer, fall or winter grazing but these fields are cool season annuals for full season grazing!
In 2024 we tried bale grazing cornstalks for the first time to save money on our cows winter feed costs! It went well so we tried it again this winter! It leaves a lot of residue which definitely reduces forage growth but is building soil!
Laura won't do a deal if she doesn't predict 20% or higher return on investment!
Every spring we need to check fences to make sure winter hasn't pulled wires of fences or broken posts. We've been really happy using these fiberglass fence posts for the past few years! Much cheaper, lighter and easier to install than railroad ties!
Casey's family increased organic matter from 1% to 8% through management!
"I was one of those guys who thought, at the scale we were at, the only way to make it was to do direct to the consumer. I had blinders on." - George Walker episode 218 of Ranching Returns Podcast
Bale grazing is a method of feeding that does result in more feed wasted than if it was fed in tmr or bunk, but it requires almost no equipment or infrastructure to feed and is very labor efficient. Plus wasted feed just ends up fertilizing the soil! I'm pretty excited…
