Her concerns stem from her past experiences seeing ranchers in other countries impacted by government mandates and seeing how other protein industries have been impacted by what look like small compromises on the surface but pose greater challenges down the road.

What started as a wedding gift has turned into something that serves not only the community of San Diego County but also the entire United States beef community. Alli and Bryce Fender – owners of Flying F Ranch – go above and beyond to connect with and create experiences for beef consumers while taking advantage of owning a smaller than average herd in the United States.

The main challenge he faces is communication between the rancher and the customer. “If the customer can’t get out to your farm to see which animal they are buying, communicate with them about the animal. Let them know if it is a steer, bull or heifer. Let them know the age and if it is grain or grass-finished. It shouldn’t be a surprise to them when they come to pick it up. If they are used to grain-finished,” said Sandquist.

Imagine a beef industry where commercial cattlemen and women have the power to negotiate prices and the ability to collaborate without losing their independence and ability to make their own management decisions? Truth be told, some cattlemen and women are already living in this world.

“I think in the same way your genetics impact how you look, your legacy is what gets handed down to you through hard-won experiences. It’s how your family handles problems and challenges. To have a family legacy is to know how we as a group of people handle ourselves when challenges inevitably come up,” said Vance Crowe – founder of Legacy Interviews.

Remember your role as a cow-calf producer. You have the opportunity to set calves up to be premium beef and high-end replacement females just by making sure your mineral and nutrition program are in line.

“Whenever we had people over for supper, they kept saying that this was the best beef. Yet, there really was no way to prove that and when you look around at other industries such as wine, cheese, or whiskey they all have some type of tasting event,” said Tyler. As they thought about the problem, Angela threw out the idea that they need to find a way to bring ranches together to judge who has the best steak.

Season 7 || Episode 19 Let's dive into heifer marketing and profitability with Doug Ferguson. Doug's sell-buy marketing strategies and mindset shifts will open your mind to how participating in the female side of the cattle market can be a profitability game changer for your ranch.

The difference in those who get to the other side and those who revert back to old ways comes down to practicing patience and maintaining the proper mindset. Joe Pokay, general ranch manager at the Noble Research Institute, shared how to stay patient and adopt the right mindset to make it through the first five years of focusing on regenerative principles during Season 7, Episode 18 of the Casual Cattle Conversations Podcast.

At the end of the day, take it back to the basics, be honest and ask yourself, “Where do I currently stand and how can I get where I want to be.” There is no cookie cutter approach, so take advantage of opportunities you have to try new things and customize the six soil health principles to fit your own unique operations and goals.

Cattle and crops. That’s what a lot of us make our living on and know best. But what if adding one more species to your operation could not only improve your soil health and forages but also offer another revenue source throughout the year? Kevin Lynch shares the pros and cons of multispecies grazing as well as what beginners need to consider in Season 7, Episode 16 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

When you hear the word crop, it’s easy to start thinking about farming and disassociate how it could pertain to ranching if you aren’t a diversified operation. Yet, cover crops are a valuable practice for both farmers and ranchers. Steve Swaffar said, “Soil health is what drives the discussion around cover crops and just as the word says it's a tool to keep the soil covered. It's a tool to add diversity to your soil. But for the livestock producer, it's also an appealing forage source. So, we see a pretty good opportunity for marriage between the pure farmer and the pure rancher in that overlap.” Steve Swaffar shared how cover crops can be beneficial to both farmers and ranchers along with how to get started in Season 7, Episode 15 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

Regenerative. It’s a word that seems to be everywhere. It’s talked about on podcasts, scattered throughout articles and of course, all over social media. However, what does it really mean and why has there been so much hype about it? Caitlin Word with the Noble Research Institute shared her thoughts on what regenerative means, why there is a modern wave of livestock producers focusing on natural resources and how cattle producers can start slow to avoid crashing during the early stages of implementing these principles in Season 7, Episode 14 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

Picture this. You wake up in the morning feeling energized. You have your coffee because you want to and not because you need it to function. And, you can go about your day on the ranch without relying on Ibuprofen to make your aches and pains manageable. A day like this might seem far-fetched for many people working blue collar jobs in rural America, but Kennedy Youngren is changing the narrative and making this a reality for farmers, ranchers, truck drivers, veterinarians and so many others in the agriculture industry. 

When we are asked about the technology used on cattle operations, it’s easy to start thinking about software, apps, computers, GPS and other equipment features. We live in an age of computers and forget that even the vaccines we use in our herd health protocols are examples of technology. While we get caught up in the advancements being made with computers, the advancements in the animal health space are equally as impressive. Gary Bosch, DVM, Executive Vice President with MedGene Labs, shared how platform vaccines are impacting livestock and livestock producers.

With all the variables cow-calf producers face, making confident decisions can sometimes feel challenging. However, ranchers in 2024 have more tools to increase their confidence about management decisions than generations before them. One of these tools is genomic testing, like Igenity® Beef. Nick Hammett, Key Accounts Manager for Neogen®, shared how genomic testing is allowing commercial cow-calf producers to make more confident decisions when they select bulls and pick replacement heifers in Season 7, Episode 11 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast. 

Cattle producers can now measure forage intake on a per-head basis in their pastures with the implementation of Ceres Tag devices. David Smith, Dr. Troy Rowan and Barbara Jackson share valuable insights about how Ceres Tag devices measure pasture feed intake and how it can be applied in real-world settings during Season 7, Episode 10 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

Chelsey Erdmann has an undeniable passion for agriculture and continuing the legacy of her family’s diversified operation. She approaches agriculture with a powerful balance of an open mind, burning passion and empathy for the consumer that we all can learn from. The approach she took when finding ways to return to the family farm teach us all the importance of communicating with others, being flexible and learning to enjoy the process.

You never know which hat you’ll see Andrew Uden wearing. He is always switching between them and has been known to wear them around the world. He might be ranching, working in the family feedlot, consulting with ranchers or serving as the CEO for HerdDogg – a data analytics company that has developed what is essentially a Fitbit for cattle. Despite wearing many hats they all have one thing in common – they allow him to solve problems for others. “You’ve got to be in the business of solving problems for people,” said Uden and you can guarantee that no matter which hat he has on, that is what he’s doing.

Creating cash flow and mitigating risk are two things that frequently cross the minds of cattle producers. For that matter, maybe they never leave our thoughts. Luke and Natalie Kovarik set an example of how young and first-generation producers can make things work and get started in production agriculture if they are willing to take on opportunities, work hard, try new technology and keep a business mindset.