Casual Cattle Conversations

casualcattleconversations
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Casual Cattle Conversations is the podcast for beef cattle producers and ranchers to explore new ideas and hear stories that will help them improve their current management practices. Shaye Koester - Wanner connects listeners to other cattle producers and beef industry experts to discover what management practices, industry trends, current events and inspiring stories are impacting today’s beef cattle industry.

  1. 2d ago

    Artificial Intelligence: Is It Benefitting Ranchers?

    This week, Shaye Wanner interviews Haley Potter from the Ambrook team about how artificial intelligence can support ranch profitability and long-term continuity when used responsibly. Potter, who has North Dakota ranching roots and splits time between ranches in Dell and Alder, Montana, says AI fits best for producers who need help with information gathering and admin tasks while keeping humans in control of decisions and fact-checking outputs.   She shares examples such as using Claude to summarize bull sale catalogs based on EPD parameters, building grazing plans, and analyzing financials for expansion scenarios, plus customer examples like an AI-assisted ordering/lead tool for direct-to-consumer beef and a “ranch command center” dashboard. Potter explains Ambrook’s AI-assisted bookkeeping features (tagging, invoice matching, receipt scanning) and emphasizes data quality, transparency, and privacy, including choosing trusted services and requiring approval for data use.  See what Ambrook can do for your operation here: ambrook.com/casualcattle    Learn more about Noble here: https://bit.ly/3DD7uG0  Learn more about Vence here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG  00:00 AI and Ranching Today  00:11 Meet Haley Potter  01:30 AI Not Insemination  01:56 Can AI Help Ranchers  02:51 Haley Ranching Roots  04:10 Responsible AI Basics  05:45 Real Ranch AI Examples  09:56 What Ambrook Does  10:39 AI Features in Ambrook  12:54 Time Savings and Better Data  15:25 Data Privacy and Trust

  2. Aug 10

    Making Virtual Fence Cost Effective for Ranchers

    This week on the Casual Cattle Conversations Podcast, Shaye interviews Jay and Cheyenne Smith, cattle producers on Idaho’s eastern edge near the Montana border, about adopting Vence virtual fencing and coordinating with neighboring permittees to make it cost-effective. After the 2022 Moose Fire and grazing restrictions, they partnered with the University of Idaho and worked with BLM and the Forest Service to implement virtual fencing on rugged public-land range; five permittees now use shared base stations while owning separate collars.   They discuss early hesitations about data being used against producers, onboarding lessons about placing fences to match natural cattle trails, and management gains including fewer emergency rides, more schedulable work, improved utilization control, and more efficient gathers. Virtual fencing enabled their shift from winter to fall calving by keeping cattle positioned to come home, reducing labor needs, and providing movement data useful for investigating events like wolf predation or other disturbances.   Learn more about Vence here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG   Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/    00:00 Virtual Fence Neighbors 01:08 Meet the Smiths 01:34 Ranch and Grazing Setup 04:05 Fire Sparks Adoption 07:02 Getting Neighbors Onboard 09:32 Workload and Riding Changes 11:43 Sharing Towers and Data 14:14 Training and Fence Design 18:01 Better Utilization and Plans 19:15 Fall Calving Made Possible 22:33 Costs and Quality of Life 25:23 Wolves and Movement Clues 27:35 Next Generation Buy In

  3. Aug 3

    Extended Grazing Seasons Do's and Dont's

    This week,  Shaye sits down with Chance, a ranch manager at the Noble Research Institute, about extending grazing seasons to cut winter feeding and hay costs. Chance describes Noble’s 5,100-acre native-grass operation running about 200 cows, using intensive rotational grazing (moving daily to every few days) and aiming to remove only the top third to half of forage during the growing season so enough standing grass remains for winter.  He stresses producers often plan too late, and recommends measuring pasture forage monthly to guide stocking decisions, destocking, or hay purchasing. Winter management includes protein supplementation (cubes/cake) for four to five months and occasional hay during heavy snow. They discuss other options such as cover crops (noting weather risk), rye winter pasture, crop residue grazing, and bale grazing/unrolling or pre-unwrapped bales to improve soil and return nutrients. Learn more about resources from the Noble Research Institute here: http://noble.org/find-a-course  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com  00:00 Cutting Input Costs 00:10 Meet Shay and Chance 01:31 Why Extend Grazing 02:05 Noble Ranch System 02:37 Summer Grazing Plan 04:51 Rotation and Calving Setup 06:42 When to Move Cattle 08:43 Stocking and Weather Limits 10:23 Cover Crops and Rye 12:14 Bale Grazing Methods 14:53 Put Nutrients Back

  4. Jul 27

    Making Ranches Investible for Your Family

    This week, Shaye Wanner welcomes Chris Rawley of Harvest Returns to discuss what makes ranches “investable” and why it matters for operators seeking outside investors or bank financing to expand herds, land, or infrastructure. Raleigh explains Harvest Returns’ model of pooling investor capital and investing as a single partner via loans, notes, or equity, and says investable operations have a solid plan, clear financial statements, defined marketing/sales strategy, and a realistic path to investor returns.  He outlines that key first steps include transparency and documentation across complex land and entity structures, accurate balance sheets reflecting assets and debts, and building a team for missing functions like finance, bookkeeping, accounting, and sales. Common mistakes include poor herd tracking/accountability (amid “phantom cattle” scams) and attempting to raise public capital without proper SEC-compliant legal help. Raleigh emphasizes getting herd and financial numbers in order, including hiring professionals.  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/ 00:00 Is Your Ranch Investible  01:24 Meet Chris Rawley  01:33 Why Investability Matters  02:38 What Harvest Returns Does  04:56 Investible Ranch Checklist  07:50 First Steps to Improve  09:30 Building the Right Team  11:09 Common Mistakes to Avoid  13:20 Raising Capital Legally

  5. Jul 20

    Economics of Developing and Reselling Heifers

    This week, Shaye Wanner interviews NDSU livestock development specialist Jon Biermacher about the economics of buying weaned/backgrounded heifers in spring, breeding them, and selling them about a year later as long-bred heifers or as pairs, using an Excel-based enterprise budget tool developed from a student producer’s plan.   The model includes key costs (heifer purchase, pasture/feed/hay/mineral, health, breeding, transport, interest, marketing) and compares AI plus cleanup bulls versus natural service, finding about a $55/head advantage to not using AI (not counting added labor) and little observed revenue premium for AI’d breds. In their projections, pairs returned about $100/head more than bred heifers. Results show costs are dominated by heifer purchase and feed, with profit highly sensitive to purchase price; a ~$0.20/lb increase can erase roughly $200/head projected net return. This conversation is helpful for anyone looking to create projections on their operation with resources from the NDSU team.   Join Rising Ranchers Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risingranchers  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/     01:31 Meet John Biermacher  04:54 Defining the Enterprise  06:08 Building the Budget Tool  13:03 Markets and Assumptions  15:04 AI Versus Bulls  19:48 Where the Costs Sit  22:26 Breds Versus Pairs  25:35 Break Evens and Risk  31:47 Tools Beyond Spreadsheets

  6. Jul 13

    3 Transition Planning Tips You Won't Want to Forget

    In a solo episode of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, host Shaye Wanner shares her background growing up on a ranch that evolved into a registered Red Angus seedstock operation and now living on her husband’s centennial family farm, to frame three key transition planning tips.   First, she urges producers to honestly ask whether they truly want to be on the family farm or would rather farm/ranch independently while staying close to family, noting legacy isn’t limited to land ownership and that not all family members work well together. Second, she advises financially planning for the unknown by saving and working with bankers and financial professionals even without a clear transition timeline, since taking over must still be a sound business decision. Third, she emphasizes, “You don’t get to change what’s not yours,” encouraging respect for older generations and clarity about one’s current role.  Join Rising Ranchers Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risingranchers Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/   00:08 Welcome and Ways to Connect  01:45 My Ranching Background  05:20 Three Tips Overview  05:41 Family Farm or Nearby  10:01 Plan for the Unknown  13:27 You Cant Change It

  7. Jul 6

    Which Technologies Pay Off for Ranchers

    Today on the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, Shaye Wanner talks with ag tech consultants Chelsea Good (Good & Associates) and Jared Wareham (Horizon Venture Management) about how cow-calf producers can decide which technologies are worth adopting. They stress that many tools enter agriculture from outside the industry and may be “solutions looking for a problem,” so ranchers should evaluate technology like a toolbox and demand ROI, especially in an asset-rich, cash-poor business.  Examples include mismatched expensive tags for sale barns versus value-based traceability programs, strategic uses of GPS and estrus-detection tags (often for herd bulls or specific heifer programs), virtual fencing’s geography-dependent economics, and emerging biometrics, camera applications, and gene-edited pest control. They also discuss digital recordkeeping and payment systems as adoption challenges without policy drivers, and encourage producers to share pain points and explore tech that supports long-term generational sustainability. Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/  Learn more about Chelsea and Good & Associates here: https://www.goodandassoc.com/  Learn more about Jared and Horizon Venture Management here: https://www.horizonventuremanagement.com/   00:00 Tech That Pays Off 01:09 Meet Chelsea and Jared 04:40 Picking Tech by ROI 09:50 AI Is Not Magic 11:50 Genomics Fit and Value 14:39 Virtual Fencing Reality 17:09 Smart Tags and GPS 28:14 Cameras and Computer Vision 37:40 Gene Editing and Pests 43:17 Digital Records and Payments

  8. Jun 29

    Hair Shedding the Secret to Higher Weaning Weights and Conception Rates

    Today, Shaye Wanner interviews Jamie Courter, a University of Missouri assistant professor and genetics extension specialist, about research and producer use of cattle hair shedding scores. Corder explains hair shedding’s link to heat stress—especially in the Southeast with endophyte-infected fescue—and summarizes findings that earlier-shedding cows wean heavier calves, including Simmental data showing hair shed score 1 cows weaned calves 45 pounds heavier than score 5 cows.   She describes the 1–5 scoring system, typical shedding pattern, and recommends scoring the whole herd on the same day when variation is greatest, noting bulls shed earlier and younger cows score higher than mature cows within a year. She discusses recent genomic work suggesting shedding relates more to changing daylight than temperature, notes variation exists within all breeds, and points listeners to University of Missouri Extension publications for scoring guidance and research details.  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/  Learn more about hair shedding research at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g2049  Sign up for the upcoming RancherMind with Jasper here: https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/ranchermind-events   00:51 Jamie’s background  01:37 Why hair shedding matters  03:39 Research results and economics  05:02 Daylight vs temperature genetics  08:37 Scoring timing and method  11:39 Bulls calves and age effects  16:47 Consistent scoring observers  17:48 Across breeds and selection  21:49 Culling signals and resources

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4.9
out of 5
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About

Casual Cattle Conversations is the podcast for beef cattle producers and ranchers to explore new ideas and hear stories that will help them improve their current management practices. Shaye Koester - Wanner connects listeners to other cattle producers and beef industry experts to discover what management practices, industry trends, current events and inspiring stories are impacting today’s beef cattle industry.

Information

  • Creator
    casualcattleconversations
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    294
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Casual Cattle Conversations

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