Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

Hosted by Clay Conry

Business Entrepreneurship Marketing

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Episodes

635

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

What is the key to becoming a more regenerative ranch? How do we increase the effectiveness of our management of the Land, Animals, Money, and People that have been entrusted to us? The Working Cows podcast exists to glorify God by providing farmers and ranchers a platform to discuss and share best practices for increasing soil health, profitability, stockmanship and leadership ability. Each week host, Clay Conry, will talk to leaders in the industry who have made the regenerative shift in their business so that their ranches are more profitable from an economic and ecologic perspective. They will discuss grazing, Holistic Management, herd health, low-stress stockmanship, leadership, and of course putting your cows to work for you.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 11, 202655 min

How to Help Everyone on Your Team Reach their Full Potential (WCP 544)

Most teams could be more productive. It isn't always a lack of alignment, mission, or vision that limits the effectiveness of teams. What really limits the effectiveness of teams is the execution. How do we analyze what needs done a break it down into digestible chunks. This is what the Ranch Work Method was designed to help you do. John Locke and his teammates at Ranch Work Solutions are using the SCRUM method to help teams reach their full potential. Sponsor: Sea-90 Ocean Minerals Relevant Links: Ranch Work Solutions

November 9, 20261 hr 4 min

John Kempf on How to Wean off of Chemical Fertilizers (WCP 543)

John Kempf of The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast and Advancing Eco Ag has been helping people develop more regenerative systems for years. One of the links in that chain is a reduction of dependence on chemical fertilizers. He joins me today to discuss the three-step process they have been taking people through to accomplish that goal. Sponsors: Indreland Angus Ranch Ranch Right Barber Industries South Dakota Grassland Coalition "Grasslands in Action" Conference Relevant Links: Advancing Eco Ag John Kempf Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

November 6, 202645 min

How Adapted Genetics Grew into a Large-Scale Grass Finished Beef Business (WCP 542)

Daniel Doerksen and his family were seeking genetics that could get by on what the landscape could provide. They were able to accomplish that. One result of that was that they now had animals that could finish well on grass. This meant that they were able to take advantage of a market for Grass Finished Beef in their local area. This has lead to the starting of a butcher shop and a burger restaurant that has contributed to the success of their business. Sponsors: Big Country Genetics ( Catalog ) RanchWork.com Relevant Links: Gemstone Cattle Company Gemstone Grass Fed Beef

November 4, 20261 hr 12 min

Continuous Improvement of Your Herd Through Genetic Selection (WCP 541)

How do we find the animals that can drive profitability by producing great offspring in their environment without assistance? We can do it yes, through management. That was part one of this conversation. In this, part two of the conversation, we discuss how the genetics express themselves in their environment and how to continually seek more and more adapted animals. Sponsor: By-O-Reg+ Relevant Links: Wedge Tent Ranch Principled Land Managers South Dakota Grassland Coalition Grasslands in Action Conference

November 3, 202648 min

How Peter Askew Helps Rancher Find Employees and Employment (WCP 540)

Peter Askew has been running RanchWork.com for decades. He has seen a lot of what works and doesn't work when it comes to hiring employees on the ranch. He joins me to discuss some the lessons he has learned in helping ranchers find employees and employment. Sponsors: Barber Industries South Dakota Grassland Coalition Indreland Angus Graze! Magazine Relevant Links: RanchWork.com

October 26, 20261 hr 4 min

How Functional Genetics Protect Rural Communities (WCP 539)

Rob Havard has been on a journey from disillusionment with agriculture to running a financially struggling farm to paying off debt and being able to help others in his community get started. This has been made possible by his adherence to the principles of Holistic Management. Holistic Management has helped him see how functional genetics fit into a profitable system. Sponsors: South Dakota Grassland Coalition "Grasslands in Action" Conference Ranch Right Ranching.FYI Indreland Ranch Relevant Links: Call to the Land Podcast Phepson Angus Rob's Previous Episodes: Ep. 225 Bob Havard – Grass-Fed Beef Genetics Ep. 098 Bob Havard – Regenerative Ag in the UK

October 19, 202654 min

Starting and Scaling a Ranch from Scratch (WCP 538)

Jimmy and ShayLe Stewart of Big Country Genetics have scaled their operation from scratch. This December they will sell 130 forage developed bulls and 100 bred heifers. They started in 2019. The ability to scale that quickly intrigued me. I invited them on to talk about their mindset, how profitable cows helped this growth, and the values that have shaped their business over time. Sponsors: Remedi Animal Solutions Ep. 371 Ellen Bench – Implementing Homeopathic Livestock Health Ep. 368 Ellen Bench – Homeopathic Livestock Health Relevant Links: Big Country Genetics Jimmy's Previous Episode: Ep. 504 Jimmy Stewart - How to Let Your Environment Shape Your Cattle

October 12, 20261 hr 1 min

How the RANCH Act Helps Grow the Cow Herd (WCP 537)

The deck has been stacked against grass and specifically grazing animals for a while now. The RANCH Act seeks to help alleviate these challenges by creating a working lands payment structure that encourages marginal crop acres to come out of row crop production and open them again for grazing acres. AJ Munger has been involved in the development of this legislation. He joins me to discuss the process of bringing this legislation as well as what it seeks to accomplish and how it could help grow the cow herd in the United States. Sponsors: Big Country Genetics Ranch Right Graze! Magazine Seven Weeks Coffee Relevant Links: South Dakota Grassland Coalition South Dakota Grasslands Initiative Central Grasslands Roadmap RANCH Act

October 5, 202658 min

Maintaining Profitability in Any Market (WCP 536)

Luke Perman helps me think better. He has recently been sharing some challenging articles and perspectives on X. He joins me to discuss those ideas today. We talk about indicators of a peak in the cattle market, how to remain profitable no matter where the market goes, and where to make strategic investments to help mitigate our tax burden. Sponsors: Ranching.FYI Big Country Genetics Seven Weeks Coffee Relevant Links Luke on X American Hippopotamus Knowledge Rich Ranching by Allan Nation

September 28, 20261 hr 3 min

How a Great Vision Can Help Build a Fruitful Business (WCP 535)

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