Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health
Clay Conry
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 5, 2025 • 50min
Burke Teichert on Developing and Grazing Stockpiled Forage with Jeremy Sweeten (WCP 450)
One of the major determinants of ranch profitability is the amount of hay fed every year. One way to avoid feeding excess hay is to develop quality stockpiled forage for winter and dormant season grazing. Burke Teichert and Jeremy Sweeten have experience is very different contexts. This varied experience helps us get a very well-rounded perspective on how to develop graze quality stockpiled forage to increase profitability and herd performance.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.comGuests's Previous Episodes:Ep. 445 John Hays and Jeremy Sweeten - Practical Tips for Regenerative Hay MakingEp. 439 John Hays and Jeremy Sweeten - How Amp Grazing Drives Profitability Even in the Midwest Ep. 434 Kent Solberg and Jeremy Sweeten – Capitalizing on the Wildlife Attracted by Regenerative AgricultureEp. 427 Burke Teichert – Five Essentials of Successful Ranch ManagersEp. 385 Kent Solberg and Jeremy Sweeten – Outwintering Cattle Ep. 324 Jeremy Sweeten – Adding Value to Land and LivestockEp. 302 Burke Teichert – Characteristics of Successful Ranch Managers pt. 2Ep. 299 Burke Teichert – Characteristics of Successful Ranch Managers pt. 1Ep. 100 Burke Teichert – Training the Next Generation of Ranch Managers
Jul 28, 2025 • 54min
Meeting the Demand for Regenerative Products (WCP 449)
The market for products raised regeneratively is continuing to grow and mature. It may have even reached a tipping point. The consumers looking for these products are educated, tenacious, and willing to pay more for products that match their values and meet their demands. Kristine Root of Regenified joined me to discuss the ways this market has changed as well as how to market our products to those interested in regenerative agriculture.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:RangeWard.comPowerflexSupply.comRelevant Links:Regenified.comGuest's Previous Appearance:Ep. 365 Kristine Root – Verifying Regenerative Systems
Jul 21, 2025 • 47min
Making Artificial Intelligence Work for Ranchers (WCP 448)
Artificial Intelligence presents an opportunity for ranchers to outsource some of the tasks that they may not enjoy as much as others. Among them are data and analytics. Rooted Ag is on a mission to help farmers and ranchers track the things that matter and then analyze the data that they have collected. In time they hope to continue to expand the effectiveness of this platform as the AI is trained on more and more information and becomes adapted more to the different regions of the world. Nate Stucky, of Rooted Ag, joined me to discuss all that and more on this episode.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Redd Summit AdvisorsRanchRightLLC.com Relevant Links:RootedAg.com
Jul 18, 2025 • 53min
Profiting from Diversity by Developing Marketing Skill (WCP 447)
Diversity is a key to success in regenerative agriculture. However, most markets are not set up to receive diversity. This means we will have to develop our own markets to profit from the diversity we are bringing to our operation. Luke Jones, of Understanding Ag joins me to discuss the economics of introducing diversity.
Jul 14, 2025 • 46min
Bringing Technology to Your Marketing to Drive Ranch Profitability (WCP 446)
Marketing is one of our biggest levers. If we are not intentional about marketing, we will leave a lot of money on the table. Ty deCordova and the team at LiveAg are on a mission to make that process easier for ranchers through creating an online platform for auctions as well as the XChange for livestock and equipment.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:RanchRightLLC.comRedd Summit AdvisorsRelevant Links:Live-Ag.comWe Live It Podcast
Jul 7, 2025 • 1h 7min
Practical Tips for Regenerative Hay Making (WCP 445)
We often think that hay making and land regeneration are at odds. That doesn't have to be the case if we are intentional with our approach to hay making. John Hays and Jeremy Sweeten of Understanding Ag join me to discuss the ins and outs of regenerative hay making. We discuss the challenges to landscape regeneration presented by hay making as well as some practical tips for how to hay in a way that fits the 6-3-4 framework.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.com
Jul 1, 2025 • 1h 4min
Regenerating Hay Fields (WCP 444)
When it comes to regenerating landscapes hay fields present a particular set of challenges. Keith Berns of Green Cover Seed joined me to share what he has seen work well in helping those hay fields improve using cover crops, grazing, and strategy to keep progress moving forward.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:TireWinder.com\PatreonRelevant Links:Green Cover Seed<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ALWgx2CvTV0?si=oWaF03y8QA7XfHTT" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
5 snips
Jun 27, 2025 • 48min
Does Regenerative Agriculture Work in Northern Environments (WCP 443)
Northern Environments can be challenging. From ice and snow to bitter cold temperatures there are a different set of challenges in the North. Blain Hjertaas and Michael Thiele of Understanding Ag have a lot of experience making Regenerative Agriculture work in these challenging environments. We discuss the strategies and practices that they have found helpful in overcoming the many challenges of their environment.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:UnderstandingAg.com
Jun 23, 2025 • 60min
How Dung Beetles Help Make Use of Cow Poop (WCP 442)
Cow poop is an ecosystem unto itself. There are many insects and other organisms living in a dung pat that can help us to make use of the nutrients excreted out of the back end of a cow. Dr. Ryan Schmid shares with me what he has seen work well as far as taking advantage of the helpful insects and mitigating the impact of those that can become pests if the system gets out of balance.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag!Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSD Grassland Coalition Grazing SchoolRelevant Links:Ecdysis.bioCow Patty Critter w/ Dr. Kevin Floate on Wednesday Night Networking
Jun 16, 2025 • 53min
How People Help You Escape the Entrepreneurial Trap (WCP 441)
You will go farther with people than you can go by yourself. To succeed with people you will need to build different skills than it takes to manage grass, money, and livestock. Josh Kerpan is seeking to equip ranchers with the skills they need to manage their people well.Thanks to our Studio Sponsor, Understanding Ag! Head over to UnderstandingAg.com to book your consultation today!Sponsor:Ranch RightSea-90 Ocean MineralsRelevant Links:KZNSolutions.caJosh's Previous Episode:Ep. 407 Josh Kerpan – The Necessary Pieces for Leaders to Replaces Themselves
