Explore every episode of the podcast Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

The team at Vision Flight has helped many people hone their vision through their various consulting and educational roles. The problem was this wasn't scalable. They could only help one family at a time. Today we talk to Melinda Sims, John Locke, Shanon Sims, and Emilie Hopson about how they put their years of experience together and develop a tool to help people develop a great vision for the future of their business and life.

Sponsors:

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Ranching.FYI

Big Country Genetics

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links:

Vision Flight (Code: WORKINGCOWS20 for 20% off)

Guests Previous Episodes:

Ep. 003 Melinda Sims – Windrow Grazing

Ep. 084 John Coleman Locke – Mob Grazing to Improve Land, Livestock, and Life

Ep. 147 Stuart Austin and John Coleman Locke – Discussing Density

Ep. 199 Shanon Sims – Raising Your Own Bulls

Ep. 276 Shanon Sims – Having Hobbies Away from the Ranch

Ep. 387 Shanon Sims – Being a Grass Nerd

Ep. 518 Emilie Hopson - How to Grow Employees that Help your Business Thrive

Stan Oller and his family have been making intentional pivots not only so they can generate greater profitability, but also to bring the business more into alignment with their passions. This includes pivoting away from direct marketing, pivoting to sheep, and now a desire to move West from Arkansas to fulfill their desire to steward vast landscapes.

Sponsors:

Graze Magazine

Big Country Genetics

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Relevant Links:

Contact Working Cows

In a previous conversation with Luke Jones he told me that healthy soil has room for air, light, and water. That got me thinking about the similarities to the conditions that help make for a healthy soul. I have had this sermon percolating for a long time and finally got a chance to share it at the Cowboys for Christ kickoff to the Newell, SD Labor Day Celebration.

Sponsor:

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links:

Ep. 411 Luke Jones – Changing Our Mindset to Facilitate Regenerative Agriculture

When Derek Jackson was described by his Ranch Rolodex Co-Host Zach Hopson Zach said Derek's strengths were in his ability to run the numbers and get useful information out of spreadsheets and other analytical tools. We discuss what numbers have mattered most in helping Derek and his family succeed early in their ranching journey.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Ranch Rolodex Podcast

We are continuing to try and think outside the box regarding New World Screwworm. This time we are joined by Ellen Bench to discuss a homeopathic perspective on what makes animals vulnerable to infestation as well as how to prevent infestation and ways to approach care of those who are most vulnerable.

Sponsors:

Remedi Animal Solutions

The crew at Ranching.FYI has introduced a true innovation in the Marketing Education sector. Their Ranching SIM helps simulate the pressure we face everyday in our marketing decisions. Nelson Koehn, Cinnamon Lenhart, and Brian Munger joined me to discuss the mindset we must have to prepare for the next market fluctuation. We also discuss the ways that an understanding of the philosophy of learning has shaped their school.

Sponsors:

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

100th Meridian Ranching

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Relevant Links:

Ranching.FYI

Zach Hopson struggled to get traction in the ranch business until he learned the skills and mindset necessary to scale his business. Since that time he has been able to successfully place cattle in a few different states. We discuss the advantages and challenges of this strategy as well as the benefits.

Sponsors:

Ranching.FYI

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Seven Weeks Coffee

Relevant Links:

The Ranch Rolodex

Steve Campbell and Will Winter have decades of experience in keeping cattle thriving. They seek to do this through natural means that don't require a load of pharmaceuticals. Today we are turning our attention toward New World Screw Worm. What is it? Can we treat it? And how do we prevent it?

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

Relevant Links:

Campbell's Daily Apple - Bulk Apple Cider Vinegar

Steve Campbell

Will Winter

Will Winter on Working Cows Discussing ACV

Steve Campbell on Working Cows Discussing Remineralizing Cattle with Salt

Steve Campbell on Working Cows Discussing Selecting Adapted Cattle

Joel Salatin on Working Cows Discussing Polyface's Approach to Profitability

Phone Numbers for the Plain Community to Listen:

New Episodes: (605)501-6005

Top Ten: (605)599-1535

Daniel Unruh and his wife Elli have started their ranch from nothing. They have taken an unconventional approach that wasn't worried about fitting into anyone else's box or ranching according to predetermined paradigms. We discuss the journey thus far as well as how they are working towards reaching some of their loftier goals in the near future.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Austin Hart at Redd Summit Advisors

100th Meridian Ranching

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Relevant Links:

Ranch Rolodex Podcast

On this episode I share with you a conversation I had with Abby Rose of Farmerama, Ffinlo Costain of Farm Gate, and Ben Eagle of Meet the Farmers. They are all longtime UK based podcasters. This conversation was facilitated by Richard Tufton and Claire Mackenzie of the Six Inches of Soil Podcast. We discuss the ways that stories and storytelling are helping to heal soil and inspire change in our agricultural and food systems.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

Relevant Links:

The Full Conversation

Farmerama Cereals Series by Abby Rose

Farm Gate with ffinlo Costain

Meet the Farmers with Ben Eagle

Will Harris has a unique perspective on the growth of regenerative agriculture. He has a front row seat to see its adoption and pushback. He joins me to discuss the ways he has seen it grow. Where it is today and what is needed for further progress in the adoption of regenerative agriculture.

Sponsors:

Redd Summit Advisors - Austin Hart

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

100th Meridian Ranching

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Relevant Links:

White Oak Pastures

Center for Agricultural Resilience

Derek Schwanebeck has been on a journey of lifelong learning. Some of his classrooms have been unconventional, but they have all shaped him into the manager and leader that he is today. In this episode we discuss the winding road of his lifelong learning path.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

100th Meridian Ranching

Relevant Links:

Cornerstone Grazing

Executive Link

The Ranch Rolodex podcast is coming soon. The guys behind the podcast joined me to discuss their stories as it relates to starting a ranch. We discuss the importance of mentorship, challenging paradigms, and finding a network of people who can help you go further. Make sure to regularly hang out with Zach Hopson, Derek Jackson, and Daniel Unruh of the Ranch Rolodex Podcast.

Sponsors:

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition - Grazing School

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Ranch Right

100th Meridian Ranching

Relevant Links:

Ranch Rolodex Podcast

Ranch Rolodex of Facebook

Many are familiar with the benefits of essential oils for external use and aroma therapy. Advanced Ag Products has figured out a coating technology that can get essential oils to the lower GI tract. They have been seeing great results with increasing livestock health and animal performance. We discuss this technology and its benefits with Dr. James Caldwell and Ken Stewart today.

Sponsor:

By-O-reg+

Jake Miller has been facing a prolonged drought. They have been diligent to protect the range health and continue to challenge their cattle to move their ranch forward in the face of this drought. This has paid dividends when they have had large rainfalls. They have been able to hold on to the rain they do get and see the range spring back to life.

Sponsors:

Dominium Wealth (Episode 490)

Ranch Right

100th Meridian Ranching

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition - Grazing School

Relevant Links:

Livewire Fence Supply

Long-term Care can easily eclipse five figures per month. That becomes an issue pretty quickly from a cash-flow perspective. There are ways to protect the ranch and other assets from the threat of long-term care expenses. Mary Jo Irmen and Michelle Prather are writing a new book that will walk ranchers through the process of protecting their assets. 

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Care Income Planning

Farming without the Bank

Michelle's Book

As the regenerative space matures it becomes more and more apparent that one of the challenges is finding genetics that won't break the bank with their maintenance requirements. On the other side of the same coin a challenge can be finding a marketplace for grass-based genetics that you have raised. Cory Eft is seeking to solve that through his Astoria Livestock Platform. We discuss what drew him to this work as well as the process through which he has been going to get it off the ground.

Sponsor:

Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition - Grazing School

Relevant Links:

Astoria Livestock

Emilie Hopson has spent years working in corporate HR. Now she has moved on to server ranchers with that expertise. She wants to help give ranchers the tools they need to grow thriving business that serve the ranchers, their families, their employees, and their communities.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Agri-Culture

Gabe Wight had experience in fields where technology was deployed to help improve the effectiveness of the businesses in which he was involved. So he knew there was a way for technology to help his livestock business thrive as well. He developed Herd Advisor to help get his arms around the data he needed to help him make better decisions.

Sponsors:

Sunshine Bible Academy

Ranch Right

Relevant Links:

Herd Advisor

Pat Miletich struggled to breathe. For someone competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts that was a significant limitation. He found out that through detoxification of his body he could breathe better. This lead him on a journey about the connection between soil health and human health. Now he is on a mission to help farmers and ranchers detoxify their soil.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Soil Saviors (Code: WorkingCows10)

The problem with most AI platforms is that they are more concerned about keeping you engaged than they are about giving you accurate well researched information. Ian Murdock trained Save.Ag on quality information from research papers and other sources to make sure that it gives accurate and relevant information to serve ranchers.

Sponsors:

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Sunshine Bible Academy

Kip Fladland

Relevant Links:

Save.Ag

It's easy to love the idea of being a day working cowboy. It is less clear hot to survive and thrive financially while doing that. Crockett Carothers has found a way to do both. It requires a different way of thinking about how you use your time. Crockett has managed to create the margin whereby he can make a living and have time to day work. 

Sponsors:

Graze Magazine

South Dakota Grassland Coalition Bird Tour

Sunshine Bible Academy

Ranch Right

Relevant Links:

Crockett Carothers on Facebook

The Wealth Cowboy Show on YouTube

Raising food is honorable and resonates deeply with us as humans. Much of worship throughout time has involved food. On top of that food can heal many of the diseases caused by our broken food system. Justin and Jenni Bajema are doing what they can to fix this broken system where they are. We discuss the reasons this work matters and resonates so deeply.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

• Ep. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock Health
• Ep. 368 Ellen Bench – Homeopathic Livestock Health

Relevant Links:

Rebel Truth Podcast

Rebel Pastures

Finding cattle that are adapted to your environment goes a long way to generating and protecting profit. Ken and Jenny Stewart have recently acquired a herd of Aubrac Cattle and given their breadth of experience they are very excited about their ability to adapt to a plethora of different environments.

Sponsors:

Indreland Ranch

Create Coaches

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine

Relevant Links:

XL Ranch

There are many challenges with passing the ranch on to the next generation. It is difficult financially because many times people need to live on the equity they have built. It is also difficult financially because of the pressure that development puts on ranches to make room for urban expansion. The South Dakota Ag Land Trust has a solution that can help with both of these aspects. Bill Eastman and Karl Jensen join me today to discuss the logistics and considerations of putting your land into a conservation easement.

Sponsors:

Create Coaching (Applications Now Being Accepted)

Indreland Ranch

Sunshine Bible Academy

South Dakota Grassland Coalition Bird Tour

Relevant Links:

South Dakota Ag Land Trust

Partnership of Rangeland Trust

Land Trust Alliance

Marc Walther joined me to discuss several of the products his company produces. Trey Schmidt has been testing these products on his ranch for some time, and he was able to offer his perspective on the effectiveness of the products.

Relevant Link:

Impact Fusion Brands

Morgan Mickel has been sharing his ranching story on YouTube for about four years. He joins me to discuss the logistics of running a large-scale western sheep operation. We discuss working with herders, lambing, using guardian dogs, and marketing.

Sponsors:

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Ranch Right

Sunshine Bible Academy

Indreland Ranch

Relevant Links:

Morgan Mickel on YouTube

Kip Fladland has been helping people get the most out of their ranch horse for decades. Today we are going to talk about the process of developing a connection with your horse and how to take your horse to the next stage of their training.

Sponsors:

Indreland Ranch

Create Coaches

Graze Magazine

South Dakota Grassland Coalition

Relevant Link:

Kip Fladland Horsemanship

Joel Salatin gave a great talk about how to undo the consolidation in our nation's food system. As part of that talk he read a chapter of his unreleased book "Food Emancipation." He also discussed at length the circumstances that led us to where we are with regard to food in this country and how we can chart a better path forward.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Rogue Food Conference at Polyface (Code: Cows30 for $30 off)

The Lunatic Farmer Blog

Working Cows on Patreon

Tom Shea has found that unconventional mentorships are key to finding your way in Regenerative Agriculture. His relationships have continued to shape his path forward in finding a way to be profitable. This has led him to take unconventional approaches like grazing solar farms and using technology to increase his effectiveness.

Sponsors:

Create Coaches

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

National Grazing Lands Coalition Bus Tour

National Grazing Land Coalition

How do we hear from God? The Bible is the Word of God. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are where we can hear from God. But what about other channels? What about coincidences? What about other voices that claim to be from God? How do we test those? Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching has some questions as a result of some classes he has been taking at church. I try to answer those questions today.

Sponsor:

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Greener Pastures Ranching on Facebook

Jimmy Stewart and his wife have been on a journey to find cattle that can graze year-round, calve on their own, and raise a calf on the range. They are continuing to push the envelope to find consistent and even cattle that can provide a heterosis bump for the customers purchasing their bulls.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Graze Magazine (Code: WORKINGCOWS)

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Big Country Genetics

Dan Glenn of Deep Grass Graziers has been thinking deeply about what it means to be profitable in the ranching business. He has come up with a plan that could help more people be profitable when this current cattle cycle comes to an end. We discuss this plan as well as his upcoming innaugural bull sale where you can get your hands on his forage developed bulls and females.

Sponsor:

Ambrook

Relevant Links:

Deep Grass Graziers

When times are good in any sector of the economy it presents an opportunity to grow the business or diversify by investing outside of the sector in which we are most heavily invested. Chris Wiley has been a successful real estate investor for many years. He has done this while also holding down other positions sometimes across the continent from his properties. We discuss the how, when, and why of real estate investing with him today. We also discuss how to take a risk and some of the practical considerations to being a landlord.

Sponsors:

Ranch Right

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

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One of My Favorite Episodes of the Theology Pugcast

Another of My Favorite Theology Pugcast Episodes

And Another

There is a day coming when food buyers will be able to scan an individual food item, not a barcode, and determine its nutrient density. Dan Kittredge is a part of the team working to develop this technology. Karl Palmberg is a farmer excited about the prospect of the technology and working to retool his farm to take advantage of it by growing the most nutrient dense beef possible.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

The BioNutrient Institute

Sunlight and Rain Grass-Fed Beef

Teddy Gentry of the band Alabama was self-educated in the back of a tour bus about what it takes to make money in the cattle business. He learned about soil health, grazing, and genetics. This led to his development of the South Poll Grass Cattle breed. We discuss the breeds that make up this hearty and profitable composite as well as the process and the unique restrictions they have placed on the breed to protect its long-term success.

Sponsor:

Ambrook

Relevant Links:

South Poll Grass Cattle Association

Jay Young of Young Red Angus is a big picture thinker. He has been experimenting with grazing collars for a while now and he is excited about the potential they have to revolutionize his business. He is talking about being more profitable running on fewer acres with better soil health and less time invested. That hits every facet of ranching. We discuss his vision for what the future could look like on this episode.

Sponsor:

Remedi Animal Solutions

Relevant Links:

Young Red Angus

5th Annual Bull Sale

Young Red Angus on YouTube

Jay's Previous Episode:

Ep. 287 Jay Young – Using Compost Extracts

South Dakota Representative John Shubeck is on a mission to help South Dakota be ready when Thomas Massie's PRIME Act passes. He joins me to discuss his bill as well as what other states and residents in other states can do to help with Thomas Massie's PRIME Act. 

Sponsor:

Get Rogue Food Conference Recordings

Relevant Links:

John Shubeck Legislative Page

Bill Page (Already Signed :facepalm: Congrats Rep. Shubeck!)

One of the sweet spots in any system is when you can turn a "waste" product into a beneficial output. Wool, unfortunately, has become one such product. It isn't as high quality in wetter environments and certain breeds also struggle to produce high quality wool. Add to that the difficulty of those who know how to or want to shear sheep and you can see how this has led to a drying up of the wool market in many places. Israel Vasek has found a way to take these undervalued wool fleeces and turn them into a powerful, carbon rich, soil amendment. We are going to discuss that process with him today as well as the results of some of the studies using wool pellets as a soil amendment.

Sponsors:

Kaizen Solutions

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Wooly Naturals

Whenever I hear the "Welcome Back to Ranch Hacks" opener I am immediately intrigued to see what Malcolm MacLean has done to repurpose something to optimize his effectiveness on the ranch. While we do discuss some of his Ranch Hacks today we actually spend a fair bit of our time discussing his Total Grazing program and the cowherd he has been developing to fit that system. 

Sponsors:

Kaizen Solutions

Sunshine Bible Academy

Relevant Links:

Ranch Hack on Facebook

Ranch Hacks on YouTube

Ranch Hacks on Instagram

It takes a unique mindset to continue to stay in touch with the traditional way of doing things. Scott Gore has been on this journey from a young age. His focus has been on rawhide braiding. We discuss how he got started, lessons he has learned, as well as how he would recommend getting started today. We also discuss what he is doing to help others develop a similar passion to what he has for rawhide braiding.

Relevant LInks:

Scott Gore Rawhide

How do you regenerate a landscape that your family hasn't managed for decades? This has been the journey that Jim Eitel has been on. We discuss his strategy and the usefulness of the good financial information provided by Ambrook in deciding what to do next.

Sponsor:

Ambrook

Relevant Links:

Eitel Valley Farms

Many are familiar with the three-legged stool of Holistic Management made up of Economic, Social, and Environmental legs. While conventional agriculture by and large does a great job of focusing on the environmental and economic legs we can tend to neglect the social leg. Even if we focus on caring for our people it is easy to neglect our community. Today we are joined by Desi King and Bill Milton of Winnett ACES an organization focused on revitalizing rural Montana through facilitating education in regenerative agriculture and making improvements to rural social and cultural infrastructure.

Sponsors:

Wineglass Ranch

Relevant Links:

WinnettAces.org

South Dakota Grasslands Initiative Summit

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Noone wants to work these days?" Dallas Mount joins me to discuss how to find, hire, and keep good employees. We discuss when to hire and what to pay those people we do hire. 

Sponsors:

Wineglass Ranch

Arrow L Ranch Composite Bull Sale

Relevant Links:

RanchingforProfit.com

We hear many references to a "land of milk and honey." What is that? Why is it desirable? How can we make it a reality on our ranch? We answer these questions and more with Alejandro Carrillo on this episode. Alejandro Carrillo is an accomplished grazier and ranch manager who has had much success in creating a thriving and diverse ecosystem.

Sponsors:

Wineglass Ranch

Arrow L Ranch Composite Bull Sale

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

Relevant Links:

Desert Grasslands

We could potentially be leaving a lot of money on the table when we don't have control of our own monetary system. We know the banks often have the largest and fanciest buildings in town. What if we became our own banker. Nick Kosko is here to help us understand how the process works and who would benefit from taking this approach.

Sponsors:

Rogue Food Conference (Code: Cows30)

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

Relevant Links:

CreateTailwind

The more off ramps we can build into our cattle marketing strategy the better. Having versatile cattle that are capable of working in multiple different enterprises gives us more opportunities. Mason Lautenschlager has been on a journey to develop a composite breed that can provide marketing flexibility along with maternal longevity for his customers. He joins me to discuss the process of developing this breed today.

Sponsor:

Wineglass Ranch

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

Relevant Links:

Arrow L Ranch Composite Bull Sale

There are many people saying out loud and in public that they would like to see global beef production greatly curtailed or even ended. Organizations like the World Economic Forum talk about ending the idea of private property. Then they elect Larry Fink of BlackRock, a company that is actively buying up private property. How do we engage in the fight to protect this way of life and the property necessary to continue in it. Shad Sullivan joins us to help us understand what is happening and how we can get involved to push back against those who would oppose our freedom to continue in this way of life.

Sponsors:

Rogue Food Conference (Code: Shad30)

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

My family joined me at the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts Annual Meeting to share their thoughts on their favorite (and least favorite) parts of ranching the way we do. We discuss the importance of recognizing the importance of having differing specific on our team. We also discuss the importance of allowing our employees to rest and the lessons we can learn from "The Head of Ranch Security." This was such a special opportunity to have my whole family on stage with me.

Sponsors:

Arrow L Ranch Composite Bull Sale

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

Relevant Links:

North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts

Shawn Freeland has been on quite a journey to get started as a first generation rancher. We discuss the role of grazing and paying attention to soil health in helping that journey succeed. We talk about getting started by buying 10 cows on a whim to pursuing a high input approach to putting his cows to work for him.

Sponsors:

Rogue Food Conference (Code: Cows30)

Take the Survey:

Working Cows 2026 Listener Survey

Relevant Links:

Dry Creek Ranch