Practically Ranching

Rich Porter owns and operates Porter Cattle Company, a grazing and backgrounding operation, located north of Emporia, Kansas. He receives around 7,000 head of three-weight, high-risk calves from the southeast annually and grows them to roughly 800 pounds.

Rich holds degrees in chemical engineering, business and law, but for the last five decades, he has been a student of agriculture. His knowledge and ingenuity in the areas of beef ...

Ed Greiman is General Manager of Upper Iowa Beef, a mid-sized beef processing plant located in Lime Springs, Iowa.

He was born and raised as a typical farm kid in rural Iowa, went to college at Iowa State University, and has had significant experience in nearly all segments of the beef industry supply chain.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in early February 2025, so some of the references to political landscape and economics may soun...

Don Schiefelbein is President of Schiefelbein Farms, a large seedstock operation near Kimball, MN. He is the past-president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the American Angus Association.

In this episode, Don outlines his family's business structure and efforts to sustain their family business for generations. He also shares his hopes and vision for the beef industry leadership in the National Cattlemen&ap...

Dale Brisby is the self-proclaimed greatest bull rider who ever lived. You may know him from the popular Dale Brisby YouTube channel, the Rodeo Time YouTube channel, and other social media platforms. He also has a Netflix original series How to Be a Cowboy. In addition to his rodeo apparel line, he’s a bona fide rancher, cowboy, and rodeo rider who proudly lives the life 24/7. Follow the World’s Greatest Bull Rider on Instagram.

Lin...

Bill Bowman works with Method Genetics, LLC, in St. Joseph, MO. Through the years, Bill has worked in a variety of roles within the Angus breed, from the production to association levels.

In this episode, we talk about the early days of multi-trait indexes, the move to genomic-enhanced EPDs, how commercial producers can benefit from the use of indexes; and finally, a few trends that Bill envisions as the beef industry mov...

Sam Hands and his family own and operate Triangle H, a diversified cow-calf, farming and feeding operation near Garden City, KS.

Sam and daughter, Marisa Kleysteuber, provide the management and leadership for this progressive, quality-focused beef operation.

In this episode, Sam shares some of his outlooks on employee management, working with the younger generation; plus the lessons he has learned from his time at...

Amy Perrier is a Christian, Physical Therapist, Mother to five children...and a ranch wife. 
In this episode, she discusses the challenges, rewards and learnings that she has gathered over the past two+ decades of trying to balance all of these duties.

We talk spousal communication, generational transitions, Retirement (or lack thereof) and community leadership. 

Like the one I did with Ava last January, we re...

Dr. Dale R. Woerner, Professor and Cargill Endowed Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, is an academic professional and meat and food industry consultant. Dr. Woerner earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science, Meat and Food Industry Management from Texas Tech University in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in Animal Science/Meat Science from Colorado State University in ...

Bradley Wolter is a relative newcomer to the beef business, but has certainly been a student of the industry since his move from a successful career in the swine industry.
In this episode, we talk about his tenure with Maschhoffs, one of the largest family-owned pork producers in the United States. We talk about data collection, management strategy, operational efficiency and the major differences between pork and beef producti...

Dr. David Lalman is a professor and Extension Beef Cattle Specialist at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Lalman holds the Harrington Endowed Chair with split extension and research appointment. He works primarily in the beef cattle industry focused on cow/calf and stocker cattle production. His extension and applied research program includes beef cattle nutrition and management with emphasis on beef cattle grazing and genetic by envi...

Josh Mueller and Charly Cummings both work with Superior Livestock Auction.

Josh and his wife, Macey, also operate Eldorado Livestock Auction, plus farm and ranch with their family near Halstead, KS.

Charly is an auctioneer, real estate agent, and partners on his family's diversified hay and livestock operation near Yates Center, KS.

On this episode, we cover decisions that producers should consider ...

Kevin Ochsner was born and raised on an irrigated farm and registered cattle operation in Fort Collins, Colo. He attended Colorado State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. During his undergraduate studies, Kevin was a member of the CSU livestock judging team earning high individual honors at the National Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest and was actively involved in FFA, serving as a National...

This was a live audio recording from last March at South by Southwest in Austin, TX.
SXSW is an annual festival that celebrates the convergence of various fields and genres. 
This panel consisted of host, Tyler Florence, world-renowned chef and Food Network Star, Dr. Temple Grandin, Animal Behaviorist from Colorado State University, Harris Heckelman, CEO of Chef's Warehouse and Matt Perrier, Eureka, KS.

www.sx...

Don Close is Terrain’s Chief Research & Analytics Officer. Don’s prior experience includes his work as a senior animal protein analyst at Rabobank, and as a market director for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, where he worked on all economic and market-sensitive policy issues for cattle feeders in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. 

In his three decades of professional experience, Don has been a licensed commodity broker, hand...