August 18, 2025 • 53 mins
Cloe Parker of Parker Pastures shares how regenerative ranching practices create more nutrient-dense meat while healing the land and providing optimal nutrition for consumers. She reveals the stark differences between conventional meat production and the holistic approach taken at her Colorado ranch.
• Co-owner of Parker Pastures, practicing regenerative ranching for nutrient-dense, grass-fed and grass-finished beef
• Bioavailable meat explained - beef has up to 90% nutrient bioavailability compared to supplements or plant foods
• Critical difference between "grass-fed" (no regulations) and "grass-finished" (completed life cycle on pasture)
• How grain-finishing disrupts omega-3:omega-6 ratios from ideal 1:1 to inflammatory 15:1
• Regenerative practices mimicking natural bison migration patterns through rotational grazing
• America's cattle numbers at lowest since 1960s, creating unprecedented market challenges
• Deceptive meat packaging practices including carbon monoxide to maintain artificial color
• Quality meat as an investment in long-term health rather than merely a higher expense
• Reconnecting with real food through intentional meals and present connection at the dinner table
Find high-quality, clean meat at parkerpastures.com, where you can sign up and get free chicken breasts or ground beef with a Parker Pastures box for a year. Follow on Instagram @parkerpasturesgrass_fed and check out Chloe's book "Connected Cowgirl: From the Field to Your Dinner Table, Your Journey Back to the Ranch" on Amazon.
A CRM for photographers and owners, it's all in one spot! use my code for 20% off
https://share.honeybook.com/shannastar
Now you can join the thousands of photographers who trust PicTime You can try it for free with my code and get also an extra free month when you upgrade to a paid plan. https://davistaphotography.pic-time.com/referral
Keep Shining- Shanna Star
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shanna (00:08):
Welcome back to another episode of the Shine Podcast.
Today I am especially delightedto introduce today's guest,
chloe Parker.
I could not wait to have thisconversation with her and so
glad that I'm able to sharesomething that not only is she
passionate about and been doingher entire life, but it's
something my husband and I, inthe last year especially, have
(00:30):
been trying to be incrediblyinformed on and really learning
where our meat comes from andeven changing how we buy our own
meat.
So when Chloe reached out, Iknew this was the right
conversation to have.
I already knew of ParkerPastures and now cannot wait to
share it with you as well.
Chloe is the co-owner of ParkerPastures and they do
(00:54):
regenerative ranching, whichpromotes practices that increase
soil organic matter, and withinthat ranch practice they also
do completely grass fed andgrass finished beef.
She will have all the detailsfor you, but I can tell you from
experience, just from uschanging from buying whatever
(01:15):
meat they had at the localsupermarket from buying directly
from a ranch.
It has been like an incredibleshift and journey to how we feel
after we eat and also knowingit is much more nutrient dense
with all of those amazingvitamins that should be in meat
when it is delivered to yourdoor.
I don't want to make you waitanymore, so let's get right to
(01:37):
the conversation.
Today I'm speaking with ChloeParker and I'm so excited.
She's the co-owner of ParkerPastures in Colorado and we're
on right now, so welcome to theShine Podcast, chloe.
Cloe (01:49):
Thank you so much for having me on.
I'm super excited to have thisconversation Me too.
Shanna (01:53):
I already told you that I'm basically fangirling over
you, but I couldn't be morethrilled to have you on.
And when you actually reachedout, I right off the bat, saw
that you said your ranch wasmentioned on the ultimate human
podcast and Joe Rogan, whichthose are two podcasts in my
household that are, like,religiously listened to.
So I couldn't believe it.
(02:13):
So when you said Gary Brekkaand his podcast and Gary Brekka
has actually been to your ranchas well Is that right?
Yeah, he has.
Yep, I loved that, love it.
So, even though I know all thethings about you, I would love
for you to start talking aboutwhat you do, the bioavailable
meat.
I know it's like the a hundredpercent grass, fed and finished
and just makes what makes yourranch different and from what
(02:37):
and how most people buy theirmeat now, yeah, absolutely.
Cloe (02:41):
Um, I'm going to kind of just start with the backstory.
Um, so my parents startedParker Pastures when I was
probably like five or six.
So I've always kind of justgrown up in agriculture and
we've always just had grass fedbeef on the table in the freezer
and I've always, always wantedto be a part of agriculture
because I just love the land andanimals and just how it brings
(03:03):
people together.
And then after high school, Iwent and was working on some
other ranches, just kind ofgetting experience.
And then my mom was actuallydiagnosed with cancer and so I
was like the only thing I couldthink of was to come back and
help my family.
And that kind of just led overtime, being very clear that this
(03:25):
is something that I'm called todo, because I've seen the like,
the, just the like, darknessand the toxicity of our food
system, um, and our medicalsystem, and I'm just like I just
want cause I've always hadclean meat on the table or in
the freezer and I'm like I wantto make sure other families have
that opportunity as well, andI'm like I want to make sure
(03:45):
other families have thatopportunity as well.
Um, and so, yeah, like rightbefore I turned 20,.
I took over um Parker pasturesum, just simply because I know
the importance and quality ofjust having high quality meat,
because meat and meat food isjust something that gathers us
all together, um, and alsonourishes us, um, but something
that was super important to mymom, especially um, and also
nourishes us, um, but somethingthat was super important to my
mom, especially um and me, isjust how the um meat is raised
(04:11):
Like we want it.
We're super um, just thoughtfulabout the intentionality of how
it's raised, of like let'ssteward the land Well, let's
like care for the land and theland will care for us and the
animals.
Um and for like, healthy soilalways creates healthy food, um,
and it always starts kind ofunder our feet at the bottom, um
(04:33):
, and so at parker pastures, um,we are, we collaborate with a
very select few of um vettedpeople.
We have some chicken and beefand bison, um, and cause, I know
how overwhelming it is to likefind all of where you get all
this stuff.
So I'm like, hey, I'm going tovet all the sources and stuff
that I feel good about feeding,uh, or eating um, and feeding
(04:56):
the people I love, um, and so,yeah, everything is grass fed
and grass finished.
Um, our chicken is pastureraised, um, and all of it is
just raised, as I like to say,raised in a way that's healing
to the land.
You could also call thatregenerative agriculture there's
like 10 million different wordsfor that but essentially it's
(05:17):
like it's not stripping the landof like everything.
It's like just stewarding theland well, creating abundance,
and, yeah, it's just super clean, high quality.
Um, I've definitely gone downsome rabbit holes on what's in
most meat.
And after that I'm like, okay,yeah, no, that's most certainly
not in our meat.
Like, no, we're not injectinganything at processing or
anything like that.
Um, yeah, so just that's kindof how Parker Pastures came to
(05:41):
be and what we do currently.
Um, and yeah, like I somethingreally cool about meat.
Um of like especially havingbeen like around Gary Brekka and
just like people who are superpassionate about their health
and like me as well Um, it'slike nothing against supplements
, but it's hard for your body toabsorb nutrients from those
sorts of things.
(06:02):
But meat has up to especiallybeef has up to 90%
bioavailability, so, like yourbody can absorb up to 90% of
those vitamins, those minerals,those nutrients, the mega threes
, and so it's like, a, it's agood investment and, b, it's a
delicious way to like actuallyget in nutrients into your body.
Shanna (06:25):
So is that what the bioavailable meat means?
Is just like yeah, explain thata little bit too.
I know that's been all over.
Cloe (06:32):
Yeah, so bioavailable essentially means like how well
can your body convert thenutrients into like actual
usable stuff for your body touse, instead of just like in and
out, um and so like?
I can't remember the exactnumbers, but I believe spinach,
um, if you kind of just takespinach, it's around like 10 to
(06:53):
15% of like the iron and all ofthe things you'll absorb of
spinach, um, versus like beef,like I said, it's like that 90%
Um, um, and so it's like, okay,your body like we all need
nutrients to thrive.
In most of the food like 60percent of like the average
American diet is processed foodwhich not like has very little
(07:16):
nutrients but it has calories,um and so, like meat, it's like,
okay, you take a steak, let'ssay that that steak is.
It's also let me backtrack andso how meat is raised will
create these nutrients whichwill then make it bioavailable.
So if you can imagine, like acow let's just take a cow out in
(07:39):
the pasture and if she's eatingthe same two grasses every day
for the entirety of her life,that's kind of like if we were
eating the same thing on repeatevery day and it gets boring and
you kind of get sick of it andit doesn't have a bunch of
nutrients.
And so like, yes, you'll havegood beef at the end, but on the
(08:01):
other side, if that animal iseating, like thousands of
different plants grown onhealthy soil and this wide
diversity, because cows know howto like self-medicate and they
know that if they eat this plant, that's going to be good for
them.
Versus, if they like, they caneven eat plants that are
somewhat poisonous if they eatsmall quantities.
And they know how to balance itout.
And like the mom's going toteach her baby how to balance it
(08:24):
out, and like the mom's goingto teach her baby Um.
And so it's like this widearray of plants that this
animal's grazing, which thendirectly translates to either
the meat or the milk, um, whichis going to create a more
flavorful product, and flavorand nutrients are usually
directly tied together, um.
So now we have this steakthat's from an animal that ate
all of these different plants,so it's going to be super
(08:46):
flavorful and also have all ofthese nutrients in it, um.
And then our body, because it'smeat and because of um, the way
that it was designed, with allof it's, especially the fats
that make it easy for your bodyto absorb all the nutrients, and
so then, we're going to be ableto absorb, like those, the mega
breeze, Um, and I mean beef hasso many different things that
(09:14):
we can have ingested into ourbody that our body can actually
use to fuel us well.
Shanna (09:20):
Yes, and will you talk about then I know you've chatted
about this on your YouTubechannel too a little bit the
difference between I know youguys are a hundred percent grass
fed and grass finished, andthen what we normally see like
at a store might be just likegrass fed or just organic, but
that doesn't mean what you guysare offering.
So will you tell the difference, what that means for y'all?
(09:40):
Yeah, it's kind of crazy Um.
Cloe (09:43):
So grass fed?
There's no regulations on it,Um, and most of the time it's
kind of just defined as um a cowwe'll just take it be, for
example, eight grass at somepoint of its life, which is true
, like most cattle, at least atthe beginning of their life, um,
they're eating grass andtowards the end, about like 80,
(10:04):
90% go into a feedlot andthey're fed corn Um, and so
grass fed just means they ategrass at some point of their
life.
Finish means they ate grass atthe end of their life, which is
kind of essential Um, because,like, it's a very, very small
percentage of beef in Americathat is grass finished Um, and
(10:25):
that just means those animalswere on pasture, they were
grazing grass.
Um, and the crazy thing aboutthe difference between, like
beef that's fed corn or inconfinement, versus grass
finished beef, is it completelymesses up the omega three, omega
six ratio.
So, um, like our beef is has aI think it's 1.2 to one, omega
(10:46):
three to Omega six ratio, whichis like literally perfect Um,
it's kind of similar to salmon,like, it's like the ideal ratio.
But grass finished or nope,sorry, uh, beef that's fed corn
at the end of its life, um, thatratio changes, um, I've seen it
as high as like 15 to 1, or um6 to 1, like it completely.
(11:08):
That ratio just goes way off um, and those omega-6s are highly
inflammatory.
And then we're ingesting thatum, and so it's like when you're
looking to find beef, it'ssuper important to look for
something that says grass fedand finished, and you also want
both, because there's so manydifferent loopholes with labels,
(11:28):
um, and so I've started to beof the belief of like okay, does
it actually taste flavorful?
Does it taste like real meat?
Um, does it?
Does it taste like there'sactually nutrients in it?
Cause it can have all the labelsin the world, but there's so
many loopholes to get aroundthose.
So, like, if it doesn'tactually taste good or you like
(11:51):
don't have a good gut feel aboutit, um, or you don't know if
it's actually nutritious,chances are it's probably just a
bunch of labels slapped on it.
Shanna (11:59):
Yes, you know, what's funny is, um, my husband and I
both have a background of.
We exercise and eat well, butin the last couple of years
we've changed our meat sourcelots of other things, but meat
source was one of them.
Because I had some healthissues and we did start ordering
from a like a different.
We're switching to you afterthis.
(12:20):
We're so excited, but we didstart ordering our meat.
That comes right to the door andwhat we noticed is just the
flavor is unmatched.
It's incredible.
We couldn't even believe it.
We're like we don't even thismeat is.
There's just something about itand it looks different, so like
if we run out and I do have torun to the store even looking at
the difference of what it is,I'm like nope, this doesn't even
(12:41):
look anywhere close to what Iknow this flavorful meat is.
So that's been so interestingfor us.
Will you talk about was yourranch always like regenerative
or did that transform at sometime?
And I know you touched a littlebit about what that looks like
and what it means, but will youtalk a little bit more about it?
And kind of, does it mean moreacres or what that looks like?
Cloe (13:06):
Yeah, I growing up was kind of unique because my
parents have always done thingslike the regenerative, holistic
way.
So that's like all I've everknown.
And so for a good example oflike okay, what does this
actually look like?
Is so long, long time ago, wehad the migration of the bison
(13:28):
across Native America, and theywould be migrating across the
landscape and the wolves wouldbe pressuring them to keep going
, and so what this created wasokay, the bison, they're gonna
graze here for however longmaybe a few days and then
they're gonna move off of thatland because, a they ate most of
(13:48):
the grass and B they havepredator pressure, so they're
just going to keep moving.
And grass is designed to begrazed, and ruminant animals
like bison, cattle, sheep, theyare designed to convert that
grass into protein.
But the thing is is it's abouthow those animals are managed.
So, like the bison are, theywere keeping on the move, and so
(14:09):
they'd be grazing that grassgrass, um, so let's just take a
grass plant.
They'd graze it, okay, thenthey'd move to the next area and
then this grass plant would useits root reserves, that kind of
some of the roots would die,and then it would use it to
start to grow back, um, and thenit'd be usually fully recovered
or similar to that, and thenthey'd come and graze it again
(14:31):
and that built the top soils ofAmerica.
But now a lot of animals willstay like in the same spot,
which usually causes overgrazing.
And so overgrazing is when agrass plant let's just take a
grass plant and a cow, forexample like a grass plant, it's
grazed.
(14:51):
So this one plant is grazed, um, and then that it starts to
regrow a tiny little bit, andthen they come, the animal comes
and re grazes it again, whichslowly over time literally kills
the grass plant because it'shaving to use root reserves
every time.
Um and it also like eliminatesplant species that are more, um,
that are not as, uh, robust aslike just um other grasses, um,
(15:19):
and so it just kind of createsthis not very healthy balance
cycle.
And so, if we are taking thatbison and wool example, we are
doing the same thing, except forwe're using electric fence.
Electric fence, um, or just howwe're moving the animals, um,
and so like.
Literally my entire life wewere always moving cows around,
(15:40):
um, it was kind of like musicalcows, um, and what we were doing
, and what we still do, um, iswe're moving them, so we're
going to put them in a pasture,we're going to graze it until
however much of that grass wewhatever the desired outcome is
of how much we're grazing it andthen we're going to allow that
grass to fully recover, becausethe taller the grass is above
(16:01):
ground is how many roots arebelow ground, and so it's like
that big carbon pump of likejust pumping that carbon in from
the atmosphere down to the soil.
Like that's a good example andit just creates this just more
balanced ecosystem, becausethat's kind of how it was
originally designed.
So that's like an example ofsomething that we do and other
(16:26):
people that I work with do tojust like steward the land well.
And so a lot of it is likereally returning back to like
what was God's original design?
Like what?
How should it?
How was it originally createdto operate?
And then it's like, okay, let'sjust like get back to that,
like not all these chemicals andnot all these tractors, like
what's just like originally thedesign, and let's kind of do
(16:49):
that in the current world thatwe live in.
Shanna (16:53):
And how long does that take?
Like, let's say, you have themin this original spot and then
you move them to a new one, anew one?
How long until you go back tothat first spot again?
Or how often are you rotating,like, what does that look like
for plant life to come?
Cloe (17:05):
back.
Yeah, that's a great question.
It totally varies.
So like if we on like irrigatedmeadows where there's a lot of
water, um usually like 90 daysgive or take oh, that's so fast,
okay, gosh yeah.
But if it's more of like hills,um kind of like like I'm in
(17:28):
Colorado, so it's a lot of justlike sagebrush hills or forest,
that can take up to two years.
Shanna (17:34):
Okay, Okay, that's what I was thinking, more so.
But my background, I mean, Iwasn't on a farm, but I grew up
on farms and all my friends hadfarms, and so my first thought
is like, oh, like crop rotation,you know different soil and
different you know has to beused for their corn, or you know
whatever they're growing, butthat 90 days for some, that's
incredible.
(17:55):
So, yeah, there was one quoteyou said on one of your YouTube
videos.
Again, I looked into you realgood.
I was so excited.
Something you said wasfoundation has to be greater
than yourself, and which Ireally loved.
And I love learning about yourwhy you're doing this and I know
you touched on that a littlebit.
But will you talk more aboutyour story and when it changed
(18:16):
and kind of the now trajectoryof your business and where
that's going?
Cloe (18:23):
I have always loved ranching and agriculture because
I just love, I just love theconnection that it brings and
just the closeness to justthings that are actually like
tangible and real.
Like I still have a hard time,like sometimes, running the
business and working on mycomputer, cause like I can go
out and build a fence and I cansee like something was done and
(18:45):
it was like real versus likespreadsheets and numbers, and
like sometimes I'm like, okay, Iknow, this is all like moving
some towards something, but Ican't see the end product.
Um, but I mean I, after, likemy mom had cancer and then she
um went to heaven, I was likejust the, the brokenness and
(19:09):
almost just like the evil anddarkness um in our food system
just started being more and morerevealed and I always knew it
was there, um, and it was justlike it's just so dark and I, I
really just want to be the lightin whatever way that looks like
(19:30):
and like sometimes that's justlike revealing okay, yeah,
here's like what's in your fooddirty secrets, but also like
here's, here's a better way.
And I, I've realized and I'veseen like it's never the farmer
or ranchers fault, it's thesystem and we're just in in this
.
It's almost like a jail cell ofthis system.
(19:52):
Um, like corn is a great examplewhere it's like, okay, you got
to use the massive amounts ofall the chemicals to make it
grow and then you hope to sellit and in debt and all of these
things, and it's like to breakout of that cycle, in with land
that's literally barely alivebecause it's just been spread
with chemicals.
Um, like there's people I knowwho have broken's literally
barely alive because it's justbeen spread with chemicals.
Um, like there's people I knowwho have broken out of that
(20:15):
system.
But it's a massive risk.
It's like years and it's hardyes, yeah, so hard.
And so it's like I just seethat and I'm like I don't, I
don't want that to be for therest of, like, my future.
And also like growing up, I wasalways told like if you want to
be a millionaire, ranching,start with two um.
Growing up, I was always toldlike if you want to be a
millionaire, ranching, startwith two um.
And so it's always been like,oh, you're like it's starting to
(20:37):
change a little bit, but it'slike don't grow up, be a farmer,
renter.
Like you'll be poor all yourlife.
And it's like I don't.
Why are the people who aregrowing our food like?
Why is that?
Why is that true?
Um, and so I like I want moreof my generation to be connected
to the land and with AI and allthese things that we have in
our world.
It's like I think all of usjust like crave something that's
(20:59):
real, like whether that'swatching a sunset, or it's like
getting meat from somewhere andwe're like I know the story
behind it, um, or it's likegrowing tomatoes in your garden
and tasting them of like.
I think we all just like cravejust that realness and that deep
connection.
Or a sitting down to a mealthat's homemade, um, and so it's
like everything with withParker pastures, like I just
(21:21):
want it to bring that connection, um, and bring people back to
just like the family dinnertable and just things that are
things that are real, um, butalso sharing just things of the
darkness in our food system, andI think more and more is
getting revealed, um, which isawesome, Um, and it's also like
there is a better way and thereis ways that we can raise food
(21:44):
and provide food that is healthyand good, um, and also makes us
feel actually well, not likedepleted and drained.
Shanna (21:53):
Right, oh, absolutely.
And it's interesting when you'retalking about the food system
is, you know, I said with somehealth issues, we've really been
diving into what's in, not justmeats, but all the food that we
pick up, or if you just wantsome chips, and the oils that
are in them and you know,whatever that looks like and
it's it goes down that path.
But it also makes you incrediblysad because you're like you
(22:14):
want to have hope that thesystem that we live in they want
to take care of us and whywould they want to give us stuff
that's going to hurt us?
And, yes, we have a lot ofpeople in the US to feed, but
there are ways to make things alot healthier.
And it's been a sad,eye-opening thing, like you said
, really just evil, and I know alot of it's about money, but in
(22:37):
my head, like you could makejust as much money if you want
to sell all the vitamins and allthe nutrient-dense things you
know you could make so muchmoney, so that it has been sad
to see some of that.
And is there something likethat kind of brings it up for
you in that food system wheremaybe we don't know, or
something that you would love toshare that way, cause I'm sure
(22:57):
there's tons of things that youknow that not everyone listening
would know about the system.
Cloe (23:04):
Um, let's see, I'm trying to think, um, I think meat is a
good one because of like, so,yes, well, we can have, we can
have labels, and I thinksometimes labels are true, but
there's a lot of, like I said,loopholes, and so it's like,
okay, what, what?
Um, what color does the meatyou look like?
(23:24):
By what does it taste like?
Um, something really crazy is,um, they can package, uh,
especially beef, which withcalled uh, uh, oh crap, uh,
atmospheric packaging.
I might be missing a word, butit's essentially, um, they take
carbon monoxide and a few othergases, um, and they package that
(23:48):
meat and it, and you'll see, inthe store it's usually a very
bright red, um, but most meat isjust like super bright red, and
that's because, with thispackaging, they can extend the
shelf life, um, and make it looklike it looks fresh, um, but
it's actually you don't reallyknow.
And so it's like I've just hadcompare and contrast of like
(24:11):
okay, our beef versus that, andit's like that bright red versus
like a dark red of like thenutrients, um, and so.
So that's one um, what aboutchicken?
I learned recently, um is theycan like let it sit in a brine
or inject it with like a watersolution, um, and the chicken
can absorb up to 15% of thatweight and so then they can sell
(24:35):
chicken to you for more weightthan it actually is.
Um, and yeah, so like those arejust a few that kind of come
right to mind.
Um, I definitely on my Instagram, um, parker Pastures grass fed.
There's like a ton of differentvideos of just different rat
holes that I go down.
(24:55):
But honestly, the thing that Ilike just keep coming back to is
like, do you know who israising your food?
Like, is it a small family farmor is it like just connecting
back to who's raising our food?
Cause usually that's going tobe the safer alternative, cause
(25:17):
it's just, it's just differentwhen it's massive corporations
versus when it's just like small, just farms and ranches who
just like really deeply care.
Shanna (25:27):
Yeah, something else that I know we touched on this a
little bit, but while I wasgoing through, like health
things, my doctor's like oh, youknow, not as much red meat, and
I noticed when we got good redmeat I would eat it and I would
feel energized and good becauseof the vitamins that are
naturally in it, the supplementsthat you don't have to
(25:47):
necessarily take unless yourbody isn't absorbing them
correctly.
There's a place for supplements,for sure, but I noticed that I
feel really good when I'mputting good food in my body.
And I know that's like a duhthing for most people listening,
but looking back at and seeinghow people eat just every day
it's fast food and garbage andprocessed food and really
(26:11):
realizing like you should feelgood after you eat and energized
and not tired, fatigued, crabby, bloated, and those are things
that I think most people not all, but most people just live with
every day if they're on aregular American diet and that's
a huge change too is you shouldeat the food and feel, like you
said, well after.
(26:31):
So, yeah, yes.
Yes, what are maybe some goalsand I didn't preface this for
you, so hopefully it's not toomuch of a jump Is there some
goals for the future that youhave in this legacy that you've
been building with your familyand something that you would
like to see happen?
Um, for your ranch as well?
Cloe (26:55):
Um, that's a great question.
Uh, honestly, the thing that Ilove and definitely motivates me
is just the messages that I get, um of just whether it's like
oh yeah, had like that.
We had the meat, um, for like aspecial celebration or like when
I ate this, like I actuallyfelt good, or it's just like
(27:19):
those, or it was my personalfavorite.
It's like this is our baby'sfirst food, like marrow bones,
um, and like that sort of thingof like.
I just, I just love providingpeople with good food that I
know like that I know is good.
Shanna (27:37):
Yeah, that.
Cloe (27:37):
I don't have to like second guess or debate or like
hype myself up to sell Like no,I just like providing food, that
like, if I didn't, if I don'teat it myself, I'm not going to
ask somebody else to eat itRight, Like I'm not going to
suggest eating else to eat it,like I'm not going to suggest
eating groceries for me, becauseI literally have bought that
before, mostly for like, just tosee what it's like, and they
(27:58):
literally sit in my freezer,cause I'm like I can't.
I don't know where this is from,I don't know what's in this,
like, I don't feel good abouteating this, but like, um, like
I had some steak for breakfastCause, like, know that I'm gonna
be fueled well, um, and so,honestly, like those are the
things that I'm like I just wantto keep.
Keep doing that, um, because Iknow how, like you said, like
(28:20):
how we eat fuels us or harms us.
Um, and also, food is such a,it's such a gathering thing,
especially in America and othercountries, where it's like what
if we did sit down to a homemademeal and there was laughter and
we had conversations and itjust brings people together and
we're not on our phones RightRight.
Shanna (28:41):
And it is hard with meat because people don't know what
they don't know.
You know, you go in a grocerystore and you read, like you
said, that label and you go good, this is the best that this has
to offer.
And there are a few stores I'venoticed that have particular
ranches or pastures that you canlook for in stores, but they're
so few and far between and thesection of it is so small that
(29:03):
it's hard to find in store forsure.
So that's why we switched andnow we only buy meat in store
when it's like shoot, we're out,we need one more before it
comes in.
You know which fine thathappens.
But can we go to something I wasthinking about my husband and I
were speaking about last night?
Is you have this incredibleranch, and I know it's been
growing, and how does that lookfor scalability when you're
(29:25):
doing things in a way that's notjust, you know, throwing corn
at them and you have to move allof them?
And how is scaling um your meatand your product and how you
give it?
How has that changed or howdoes that look?
Cloe (29:39):
Um, I don't do it alone.
I think that's the thing.
Like all ships rise together,um, and like I am extremely
selective and there's only likewell, there's only one other
place that I work with, but it'slike same standards,
everything's the same.
Um, and yeah, it's a very yeah,because it's like you can't go
(30:01):
from like okay, we need moremeat, to having that the next
day, like that's just taking thelife of a cow, like that's at
least two and a half, threeyears, and so it is a very
complex thing to manage all ofthe moving parts.
(30:21):
But thankfully there is likethere is other people doing this
, and so definitelycollaboration and like highly
vetting things.
But yeah, it's a, it's a, it'san ecosystem, it's like nature
of, like all the differentecosystems and all that.
Like you have the birds and thebugs and the uh, all of the
(30:45):
different the plants and thegrasses and the cows, um and
like if everything workstogether as a whole, it goes
well, but if we start taking outthe parts, then it doesn't go
well, and so it's like thinkingabout things as a whole and yeah
, it's a not gonna lie, it's avery like complicated thing
Because, like right now inAmerica we have the lowest cow
(31:06):
numbers we've had since 1960s.
Shanna (31:09):
And so it's like hey what does that mean?
Cloe (31:11):
What does this look like in three years?
Um, and so there's just uh,there's a ton of different
variables that I'm managing on adaily basis.
Um, to just like, make sure allof the moving parts are flowing
so that people can get that boxof meat.
Shanna (31:28):
Yeah, will you talk about that?
I had no idea.
That's brand new information.
Why is it the lowest that it'sbeen since then as far as cows?
Cloe (31:37):
Yes, I mean there's definitely I mean probably a lot
of different variables.
I mean there's been differentyears of drought which has
affected just family ranches,and it's like you just have to
sell off cows um, there's justlike the cost.
There's the fact that we dolose a decent amount of farms
(31:59):
and ranches every year becauseit's it's hard to do, um, and
financially is hard to likefigure um, and so I think that
plays a big part.
And, yeah, like there's still avery big demand for beef and so
, like to match that, it's likeokay, well then we need the cows
(32:20):
, but then we have to turn itinto beef, and I think there's
like so many different variablesand I think there's even things
that I'm not even fully awareof.
But what this has done is it'screated.
So now it's like we have stillhigh demand for beef, whether
it's domestic or international.
There's a demand for Americanbeef, but then we have this low
(32:40):
supply which has increasedcattle prices to prices that no
one else has ever seen before,like highest prices of all times
, which is great if you'reselling cattle, but it's very
hard for people who are havingto buy cattle or run a meat
company when you have to be like, ok, we like I, if I was to
(33:05):
raise this animal and like sellit to the meat company or if I
was to sell it to somebody else,like it's going to make more
money probably selling it tosomeone else, and like figuring
out all of those numbers.
And so, um, yeah, there's meatcompanies that I've seen like go
out of business in the last fewyears, um, and it's like it's
just a very uh, just a veryinteresting, unprecedented time,
(33:28):
um, and so I think I know thatbeef especially is super
expensive and it just seems toget more expensive.
Um, but it's.
But good, high quality meat issuch a good investment.
And I think in America we're soused to cheap food, um, because
highly processed food is cheap,because it's subsidized, and,
(33:51):
um, I go down a whole rabbithole with all that, but we're
used to cheap food.
And so then when it's like yougo to somewhere or you go buy
meat or you go buy like goodquality vegetables, and it's
like, okay, this is like waymore than I'm used to.
Paying it actually financiallydoes make sense.
I was talking to somebody theother day and they were like
plugging in the nutritionnumbers of their beef um into
(34:15):
chat, gpt, of course, of.
Like, how much would thisannually save on?
Like, just health, all thingshealth.
And it was five grand a year,wow.
So it's like, yes, okay, maybethat steak is going to cost a
little bit more, but what's thelong-term investment?
Um, and usually that, like,what is it worth to actually
feel good, what is it worth toknow that your kids are not
(34:38):
going to have health problems in10, 20 years?
Like, what is it worth to knowthat how that meat was raised
did not deplete the land, it didnot, um, just spray a bunch of
chemicals on it?
It's like, and changing ourmindset between, oh, this is
expensive to know, this is aninvestment and this is something
that I want to invest in.
Shanna (34:57):
Yeah, I think I see that as my age millennial.
There's so many people aroundmy age that are having
especially women, but men toothat are having so many health
issues, and I know there's aplethora of reasons for that,
but it really is like it's gotto be some of food, because if
we're all this sick and it'sjust changed because you look at
the generations before this andthey they don't have the same
(35:20):
health issues we're having, andso it seems like a huge change
within that, like 80s and 90s,that some of that went through
From your perspective.
I know we've talked about likethe huge they're, you know,
pumping out all of the meatthat's not good and to the
stores.
Do you think if moreregenerative practices were
(35:42):
happening, that it could besustainable for all of the us to
eat from and buy from?
Like is that?
Because I know it's a lot, it'sa lot of meat and you said it's
down a little.
Do you think if more peoplepractice this, it could feed the
whole u S as well as far asmeat goes?
Cloe (36:00):
Yes, I think so, but it's?
Um, it can't be switchedovernight or there literally
probably be starvation, um, butthe thing like regenerative
agriculture, for example of likethe um, the headquarters that
I'm on right now um, we havedoubled the production of it two
(36:20):
to three times, just simply byhow we've managed it, so that
means we can grow two to threetimes more grass.
Therefore, usually we can raisetwo to three times more cattle,
um, and it's like, if weactually like land, actually
like good land, managed well,with healthy soil, can grow a
lot, whether we're talking grassor vegetables or whatever that
(36:42):
looks like.
And so I do think that, ifthings are done well, um, and
the land is well steward, likeit will provide, but the
transition to that system islike that's just like that's a
multi year, like multifaceted umtransition.
(37:03):
But I'm seeing it happen moreand more, and I think there's
just more and more awarenessabout food because, um, I heard
a statistic of like 90% ofdiseases are linked to what we
eat, and so what we eat plays abig, big part in our health, and
(37:24):
I think more and more peopleare just like waking up to that
and it's like when you vote withyour dollar.
That's what's going to changethe system, like that's the most
powerful thing you can do islike, how are you voting with
your dollar?
Shanna (37:35):
Yeah, I totally agree.
I was just curious Again.
My husband and I were talkingabout it and we were like like
how much would have to change inorder for the corporations to
kind of settle down?
And it would take years andlots of money and lots of
changes within ranches andfarming and all of that.
But it's been cool to see andhear about like as we've gotten
into like the health sector ofpodcasts and people just hearing
(37:57):
how many there actually are,because prior to searching it I
didn't know it really existed.
To be honest, I didn't know itwas available.
It was.
You can go to a market andmaybe buy from your actual local
meat, you know, or ranch orfarm, but other than that it was
, you have to go to the store.
So it's been so incrediblelearning about different places
(38:17):
and ranches like yours that it'slike yes, we have another
option if we want to buysomething that's healthier and
better and nutrient dense.
So that's been exciting.
But I was just curious what youthought about that.
Are you ready to streamline yourbusiness and elevate your
client experience?
I have been using HoneyBook forover two and a half years and
it transforms the way I work.
(38:39):
With HoneyBook, you can manageall your projects from start to
finish all in one place.
In fact, this is how Ischeduled these podcast episodes
today.
Say goodbye to scattered emailsand unorganized files.
With its user-friendlyinterface, honeybook allows you
to create professional proposals, contracts and invoices that
impress clients and make youstand out in your field.
(39:01):
Automate your workflows andspend less time on tasks,
freeing up time to focus on whatyou do best.
Honeybook's client managementtools help you keep
communication clear andconsistent, ensuring that every
client feels valued, informedthrough the entire process.
Plus, with the ability toaccept online payments, you get
paid faster and more securely.
(39:23):
Right now, you can get 30% offwith my discount code.
You simply just go tosharehoneybookcom forward slash
Shauna Star.
That's S-H-A-N-N-A-S-T-A-R.
It will also be in the notesfor you.
I love HoneyBook and can't waitfor you to use it too.
And as you kind of changed toco-owner because you said that
(39:45):
started about the age of 20.
Is that right?
How has your what you're doingin the business changed?
Because I'm sure that's beenhuge from when you kind of
started to take over to nowyou're a little bit older and
you are co-owner, so how hasyour hand like changed and
everything?
Because I know you said youwant to go out there and do the
fencing, but is it like, is thatwhat you're actually doing now
or do you feel like you have tobe behind the desk more?
Cloe (40:09):
Yeah, the whole CEO thing is not what people crack it up
to me sometimes it's tricky.
I mean I, I ranching is like whyI do what I do, and I do try to
do it as much as I can, even ifit's just like helping friends
or just like the other day I wasmoving some cows for somebody
(40:30):
else, just so I could like beoutside and be on my horse.
So it's a little bit more oflike a hobby now, um.
But I've also realized thatlike to do what I want to do, um
, I need to be like behind adesk a lot of times yeah, um and
.
I've also like because I've kindof just wrestled with it
(40:52):
because like I love just beingoutside and like I love moving
cows and all of Um, and there'sa lot of people that I know and
respect who are really good atthat and who do do that, but
they don't like running abusiness or they don't like
marketing.
Shanna (41:08):
And.
Cloe (41:08):
I I genuinely do enjoy that, and so I've realized, just
like as a whole to the industry, that I love um me, me doing
the business stuff and sometimesbeing on a computer most of the
day is actually the mostbeneficial thing that I can do
in this season, um.
So currently, yeah, it's a lotof it's a lot of phone calls and
(41:28):
meetings, um, and emails andall of that Um.
But I think that's kind of justlike the season I'm in and
we'll see how it evolves.
Shanna (41:38):
Yeah, I was curious about that because I know you
like to be hands-on and outthere, and part of it all the
time, and I don't have the samekind of business, of course.
But I'm a full-timephotographer and I think people
like think I'm just takingpictures all day.
I'm like so actually that's 10%.
I'm behind the computer 90% ofthe time.
So I would assume, as theco-owner, that's how you feel as
well.
So I'm still glad you're ableto go out there and do the
(42:01):
things that you really lovedoing as an owner.
But I just figured there wassome good desk chair time.
Cloe (42:08):
So yeah, you understand it .
Shanna (42:09):
Yeah, and I know, and I don't know if you're comfortable
sharing this, and I know and Idon't know if you're comfortable
sharing this, but on one ofyour YouTube shorts or videos
you talked about just a timewhere you got more connected
with God and there was a momentin time where you felt more
spiritually led, or maybe thathe spoke to you on something, or
(42:30):
maybe just kind of that helpedthe path.
I don't know if you rememberthat video it might've been a
few years ago, but would youspeak about that a little bit
and maybe how that's changed foryou as well, or when that point
happened?
Cloe (42:42):
Yeah, Um, I like there's kind of like two things that
come to mind, um, cause I likeI've growing up, um, I was
raised about like to care aboutGod and Jesus and all of that,
but I never really had apersonal relationship.
Um, and this like also kind ofties into why I I'm so
(43:03):
passionate about just likeconnection.
Um, because like 15, 16, I justremember being like at rock
bottom and feeling like I don'tknow what I'm doing.
I like just like anxiety anddepression and also like not
really realizing how food doesaffect me, um, and how like the
toxins in our food can reallyaffect us.
(43:25):
Um, and I was, um, I was just onthis Hill.
I was just like I'm like justout somewhere, um, on this Hill,
and I was like, okay, I'm done,like I can't, I don't, my life
doesn't feel like it's worthliving anymore and like I
remember, as soon as I had thatthought, there was this female
deer and our two babies thatjust like crossed my line of
(43:46):
sight and it was like alightning bolt hit me.
And that was like when Ibelieved in God for the first
time.
And it was also like this startof like okay is connection what
is it that?
I love so much about ranchingthat I can't put a word on, and
I realized it's like that, thatintimacy with the land.
It's watching a sunset, it'swatching a cow give birth, um.
(44:08):
It's sitting down to a meal.
It's like we can name all ofwhere the food is coming from,
um, and it's just like the deep,meaningful connection, and so
that's something that's like.
Ever since that moment I'vejust been like there's something
.
There's something about this,like I want to keep um learning
more about this, um, and I wantto share about this.
(44:28):
Um also happened to write a bookabout it and I'm called
connected cowgirl.
Um and I was just like okay.
And then I remember when my momwas sick and I was like okay,
like I was, I was running thecompany already just cause I
just stepping in to help outwhere I could, I was like okay,
but I actually kind of enjoythis.
(44:49):
This is hard as absolute heckand I don't know half of what
I'm doing, but I feel likethere's something to this and
that was kind of I was like,okay, I.
I don't know half of what I'mdoing, but I feel like there's
something to this, and that waskind of I was like okay, I.
I don't know how I'm going todo this, but I feel like this is
my calling and I need to dothis um and so, like, if it
wasn't for just my faith, Idon't think I would be in the
spot that I'm at and that's abig um thing that just
(45:11):
influences what I do.
Um, because I want it to be likedone well and be an example of
light.
Um, and so I think, out of, outof all of the things, um, my
faith definitely influences likeeverything.
So very much Um, cause, like I,I don't think, um, things would
(45:32):
be the way they are, um, if itwasn't for just the doors that
God has opened and just thethings that have come forth,
because I think, in my ownstrength, I probably would have
bankrupted or failed or donesomething, because running a
business is hard and also it'slike it's.
(45:52):
It is a lot of faith and it's alot of just surrender and being
like, hey, I don't know, but Itrust that if this is meant to
be, it's going to come be howit's meant to be.
Shanna (46:03):
Yeah, I can.
I could already tell by a lotof the terminology and stuff.
I grew up in a Christian homeand consider myself a Christian
as well, and so when I saw thatabout you I was like, oh, that
makes sense Just with how youspeak about being light and the
passion that you have.
And I I'm really sorry aboutsome of the things that you had
to go through and I know some ofthat is incredibly hard.
But like looking from theoutside and following you,
(46:26):
you're doing such incrediblework.
Even from just like a marketing, what you're doing has been
huge and so wonderful.
So I know it's been hard, butwhat you're doing is wonderful,
so yeah.
Cloe (46:38):
Thank you, yeah, of course .
Shanna (46:40):
Of course Is there anything that you feel.
I know you've shared so muchalready from your heart, but is
there anything lately that'smaybe been on your heart that
you want to share?
It can be about work or thingsyou found out, or it can be in
your personal life as well.
Cloe (47:04):
To be honest, the last few weeks I've been thinking a lot
about the dinner table and how,like, growing up, my mom made
sure we always sat down at thedinner table and we had
home-cooked meal and I don'tthink I really appreciated that
growing up.
There were some days where Iwas like no, I don't want to do
that.
But I've just been thinkingabout that a lot because, like,
we have our phones and we havethe computers and these devices
(47:27):
and now we have AI and like Ithink all of those things have
good, depending on how they'remanaged and steward.
But I feel like I personallyand I know there's other people
too of like like real connection, to like go grab coffee and
just have a conversation and youdon't ever look at your phone
or just sitting down at thedinner table and it's like, okay
(47:48):
, this is like good, nourishingfood and we're just going to be
present.
Um, and honestly, I would justchallenge people to just like
how can you just be present?
And like fully present, causethere's like even I'm guilty of
like there's 10 milliondifferent distractions and there
are all these different things.
But I've realized when I'm likepresent it, it really does
(48:09):
change a lot of things and it'sreally hard to do, and so just
like, I think a really simpleone is like sitting down to the
dinner table and just eating ahome cooked meal, or maybe
you're watching a sunset tonight, or there's so many different
things but just like connection,just like real, authentic
(48:31):
connection, things that are notnot through um, but are just
like real and like ground us.
Shanna (48:39):
I really love that.
Um, my husband and I have kindof different.
Our lives are crazy right now.
It's a good season, it's not abad one, but we do try as much
as we can to have dinnertogether and it's it's huge,
it's when you can decompress,it's when you can connect.
And we don't have kids.
But as a kid, when my parentsmade us sit down at the dinner
(49:00):
table too, it was a time ofconnection, no matter what that
looked like, even if it was justchatting, or sometimes they'd,
you know, whip out something tochat about, a little book or
whatever and it meant a lot,looking back, because there was
always time of intentionalconnection.
And those who maybe aren'tclose with parents or don't have
parents or a spouse, I do thateven with my friends, but it's
(49:21):
not dinner, because I find we'reall distracted.
Is I've been taking because youcan sit?
You said we could do anythingand what I love to do is go on a
walk with a friend, becauseyou're not going to be looking
at your phone, you're going tobe chatting and you're also
moving your body, which I'm likegood let's move our body a
little.
So I love that you said thatjust to have some intentional
(49:42):
time.
That was beautiful.
And before I let you go, I dowant to know I know you kind of
said it before and I'll put itin all the notes so they can
click and purchase and all thethings how can we find and
follow you and find your booktoo?
Cloe (49:55):
Yeah, Um, so if you're looking for a source of good,
high quality, clean meat, uh,parkerpasturescom.
Um, you can also sign up, uh,and get free chicken breasts or
ground beef, um, with a ParkerPastures box for a year.
Um, yeah, and then, uh, parkerPastures grass fed on Instagram.
And then, yeah, if you justwant to kind of learn more about
(50:16):
, like, what does it look liketo live a connected life?
Um, and connected cowgirl, um,I published this year and you
can find it on Amazon.
It's just connected cowgirlfrom the field to your dinner
table, your journey back to theranch, um, and I talk a lot
about like connection and justlike more about regenerative
agriculture and what that lookslike.
(50:37):
Yeah, and then, yeah, if youhave any questions about meat or
anything, please reach out.
Like, I love answeringquestions and helping people.
Shanna (50:45):
Yes, perfect, I'll have all those, like I said, and I'm
going to go get your book aswell.
I'm like, oh good, amazon, Ican go get it right away and not
to bring up Gary Brekka again.
But he also is such an advocateof y'all and he always is like,
if you look at all of his Iknow you know this, but the
people listening all of hispodcasts they link right to your
(51:08):
website as well, and so to seesuch an incredible human
advocating for another one ishas been wonderful.
So I'm so excited for you andfor the future and for my
husband and I that we'reswitching to your meat like
tomorrow.
So, thank you so much for theconversation today.
I really, really was excitedthat we were going to be able to
connect and hear more aboutyour ranch and you and how you
(51:30):
do all the things, so yeah,thank you, and thank you for
doing what you do and just thebeautiful impact you have on
people and the memories andmoments you capture with your
photography.
Are you a photography businessowner looking to elevate your
business?
I started using PicTime and I'mabsolutely in love.
I have been looking for adifferent solution and this has
(51:52):
been it.
It is the ultimate streamlinefor workflow and enhancing
client experience.
It has beautiful galleries andit's easy for clients to
navigate download with all ofimages or you can select how
many images they download, whichis incredible for my business.
I also love the AI integration,which means if you have more
(52:13):
than six people in the gallery,they can just simply click on
their face and look for them anddownload those photos.
I love it.
It has a built-in e-commercecapabilities, making it simple
to sell those digital downloads,prints and merchandise all in
one place.
Now you can join the thousandsof photographers who trust
PicTime and me not to just storeyour work but grow your
(52:37):
business.
You can try it for free with mycode and get also an extra free
month when you upgrade to apaid plan.
Link is going to be in thenotes or you can head to
davistaphotographypic-timecomslash referral.
You can head right to the notesand click on the link so you
can start your beautifulgalleries today.
Welcome back to another episode of the Shine Podcast.
Today I am especially delightedto introduce today's guest,
chloe Parker.
I could not wait to have thisconversation with her and so
glad that I'm able to sharesomething that not only is she
passionate about and been doingher entire life, but it's
something my husband and I, inthe last year especially, have
(00:30):
been trying to be incrediblyinformed on and really learning
where our meat comes from andeven changing how we buy our own
meat.
So when Chloe reached out, Iknew this was the right
conversation to have.
I already knew of ParkerPastures and now cannot wait to
share it with you as well.
Chloe is the co-owner of ParkerPastures and they do
(00:54):
regenerative ranching, whichpromotes practices that increase
soil organic matter, and withinthat ranch practice they also
do completely grass fed andgrass finished beef.
She will have all the detailsfor you, but I can tell you from
experience, just from uschanging from buying whatever
(01:15):
meat they had at the localsupermarket from buying directly
from a ranch.
It has been like an incredibleshift and journey to how we feel
after we eat and also knowingit is much more nutrient dense
with all of those amazingvitamins that should be in meat
when it is delivered to yourdoor.
I don't want to make you waitanymore, so let's get right to
(01:37):
the conversation.
Today I'm speaking with ChloeParker and I'm so excited.
She's the co-owner of ParkerPastures in Colorado and we're
on right now, so welcome to theShine Podcast, chloe.
Cloe (01:49):
Thank you so much for having me on.
I'm super excited to have thisconversation Me too.
Shanna (01:53):
I already told you that I'm basically fangirling over
you, but I couldn't be morethrilled to have you on.
And when you actually reachedout, I right off the bat, saw
that you said your ranch wasmentioned on the ultimate human
podcast and Joe Rogan, whichthose are two podcasts in my
household that are, like,religiously listened to.
So I couldn't believe it.
(02:13):
So when you said Gary Brekkaand his podcast and Gary Brekka
has actually been to your ranchas well Is that right?
Yeah, he has.
Yep, I loved that, love it.
So, even though I know all thethings about you, I would love
for you to start talking aboutwhat you do, the bioavailable
meat.
I know it's like the a hundredpercent grass, fed and finished
and just makes what makes yourranch different and from what
(02:37):
and how most people buy theirmeat now, yeah, absolutely.
Cloe (02:41):
Um, I'm going to kind of just start with the backstory.
Um, so my parents startedParker Pastures when I was
probably like five or six.
So I've always kind of justgrown up in agriculture and
we've always just had grass fedbeef on the table in the freezer
and I've always, always wantedto be a part of agriculture
because I just love the land andanimals and just how it brings
(03:03):
people together.
And then after high school, Iwent and was working on some
other ranches, just kind ofgetting experience.
And then my mom was actuallydiagnosed with cancer and so I
was like the only thing I couldthink of was to come back and
help my family.
And that kind of just led overtime, being very clear that this
(03:25):
is something that I'm called todo, because I've seen the like,
the, just the like, darknessand the toxicity of our food
system, um, and our medicalsystem, and I'm just like I just
want cause I've always hadclean meat on the table or in
the freezer and I'm like I wantto make sure other families have
that opportunity as well, andI'm like I want to make sure
(03:45):
other families have thatopportunity as well.
Um, and so, yeah, like rightbefore I turned 20,.
I took over um Parker pasturesum, just simply because I know
the importance and quality ofjust having high quality meat,
because meat and meat food isjust something that gathers us
all together, um, and alsonourishes us, um, but something
that was super important to mymom, especially um, and also
nourishes us, um, but somethingthat was super important to my
mom, especially um and me, isjust how the um meat is raised
(04:11):
Like we want it.
We're super um, just thoughtfulabout the intentionality of how
it's raised, of like let'ssteward the land Well, let's
like care for the land and theland will care for us and the
animals.
Um and for like, healthy soilalways creates healthy food, um,
and it always starts kind ofunder our feet at the bottom, um
(04:33):
, and so at parker pastures, um,we are, we collaborate with a
very select few of um vettedpeople.
We have some chicken and beefand bison, um, and cause, I know
how overwhelming it is to likefind all of where you get all
this stuff.
So I'm like, hey, I'm going tovet all the sources and stuff
that I feel good about feeding,uh, or eating um, and feeding
(04:56):
the people I love, um, and so,yeah, everything is grass fed
and grass finished.
Um, our chicken is pastureraised, um, and all of it is
just raised, as I like to say,raised in a way that's healing
to the land.
You could also call thatregenerative agriculture there's
like 10 million different wordsfor that but essentially it's
(05:17):
like it's not stripping the landof like everything.
It's like just stewarding theland well, creating abundance,
and, yeah, it's just super clean, high quality.
Um, I've definitely gone downsome rabbit holes on what's in
most meat.
And after that I'm like, okay,yeah, no, that's most certainly
not in our meat.
Like, no, we're not injectinganything at processing or
anything like that.
Um, yeah, so just that's kindof how Parker Pastures came to
(05:41):
be and what we do currently.
Um, and yeah, like I somethingreally cool about meat.
Um of like especially havingbeen like around Gary Brekka and
just like people who are superpassionate about their health
and like me as well Um, it'slike nothing against supplements
, but it's hard for your body toabsorb nutrients from those
sorts of things.
(06:02):
But meat has up to especiallybeef has up to 90%
bioavailability, so, like yourbody can absorb up to 90% of
those vitamins, those minerals,those nutrients, the mega threes
, and so it's like, a, it's agood investment and, b, it's a
delicious way to like actuallyget in nutrients into your body.
Shanna (06:25):
So is that what the bioavailable meat means?
Is just like yeah, explain thata little bit too.
I know that's been all over.
Cloe (06:32):
Yeah, so bioavailable essentially means like how well
can your body convert thenutrients into like actual
usable stuff for your body touse, instead of just like in and
out, um and so like?
I can't remember the exactnumbers, but I believe spinach,
um, if you kind of just takespinach, it's around like 10 to
(06:53):
15% of like the iron and all ofthe things you'll absorb of
spinach, um, versus like beef,like I said, it's like that 90%
Um, um, and so it's like, okay,your body like we all need
nutrients to thrive.
In most of the food like 60percent of like the average
American diet is processed foodwhich not like has very little
(07:16):
nutrients but it has calories,um and so, like meat, it's like,
okay, you take a steak, let'ssay that that steak is.
It's also let me backtrack andso how meat is raised will
create these nutrients whichwill then make it bioavailable.
So if you can imagine, like acow let's just take a cow out in
(07:39):
the pasture and if she's eatingthe same two grasses every day
for the entirety of her life,that's kind of like if we were
eating the same thing on repeatevery day and it gets boring and
you kind of get sick of it andit doesn't have a bunch of
nutrients.
And so like, yes, you'll havegood beef at the end, but on the
(08:01):
other side, if that animal iseating, like thousands of
different plants grown onhealthy soil and this wide
diversity, because cows know howto like self-medicate and they
know that if they eat this plant, that's going to be good for
them.
Versus, if they like, they caneven eat plants that are
somewhat poisonous if they eatsmall quantities.
And they know how to balance itout.
And like the mom's going toteach her baby how to balance it
(08:24):
out, and like the mom's goingto teach her baby Um.
And so it's like this widearray of plants that this
animal's grazing, which thendirectly translates to either
the meat or the milk, um, whichis going to create a more
flavorful product, and flavorand nutrients are usually
directly tied together, um.
So now we have this steakthat's from an animal that ate
all of these different plants,so it's going to be super
(08:46):
flavorful and also have all ofthese nutrients in it, um.
And then our body, because it'smeat and because of um, the way
that it was designed, with allof it's, especially the fats
that make it easy for your bodyto absorb all the nutrients, and
so then, we're going to be ableto absorb, like those, the mega
breeze, Um, and I mean beef hasso many different things that
(09:14):
we can have ingested into ourbody that our body can actually
use to fuel us well.
Shanna (09:20):
Yes, and will you talk about then I know you've chatted
about this on your YouTubechannel too a little bit the
difference between I know youguys are a hundred percent grass
fed and grass finished, andthen what we normally see like
at a store might be just likegrass fed or just organic, but
that doesn't mean what you guysare offering.
So will you tell the difference, what that means for y'all?
(09:40):
Yeah, it's kind of crazy Um.
Cloe (09:43):
So grass fed?
There's no regulations on it,Um, and most of the time it's
kind of just defined as um a cowwe'll just take it be, for
example, eight grass at somepoint of its life, which is true
, like most cattle, at least atthe beginning of their life, um,
they're eating grass andtowards the end, about like 80,
(10:04):
90% go into a feedlot andthey're fed corn Um, and so
grass fed just means they ategrass at some point of their
life.
Finish means they ate grass atthe end of their life, which is
kind of essential Um, because,like, it's a very, very small
percentage of beef in Americathat is grass finished Um, and
(10:25):
that just means those animalswere on pasture, they were
grazing grass.
Um, and the crazy thing aboutthe difference between, like
beef that's fed corn or inconfinement, versus grass
finished beef, is it completelymesses up the omega three, omega
six ratio.
So, um, like our beef is has aI think it's 1.2 to one, omega
(10:46):
three to Omega six ratio, whichis like literally perfect Um,
it's kind of similar to salmon,like, it's like the ideal ratio.
But grass finished or nope,sorry, uh, beef that's fed corn
at the end of its life, um, thatratio changes, um, I've seen it
as high as like 15 to 1, or um6 to 1, like it completely.
(11:08):
That ratio just goes way off um, and those omega-6s are highly
inflammatory.
And then we're ingesting thatum, and so it's like when you're
looking to find beef, it'ssuper important to look for
something that says grass fedand finished, and you also want
both, because there's so manydifferent loopholes with labels,
(11:28):
um, and so I've started to beof the belief of like okay, does
it actually taste flavorful?
Does it taste like real meat?
Um, does it?
Does it taste like there'sactually nutrients in it?
Cause it can have all the labelsin the world, but there's so
many loopholes to get aroundthose.
So, like, if it doesn'tactually taste good or you like
(11:51):
don't have a good gut feel aboutit, um, or you don't know if
it's actually nutritious,chances are it's probably just a
bunch of labels slapped on it.
Shanna (11:59):
Yes, you know, what's funny is, um, my husband and I
both have a background of.
We exercise and eat well, butin the last couple of years
we've changed our meat sourcelots of other things, but meat
source was one of them.
Because I had some healthissues and we did start ordering
from a like a different.
We're switching to you afterthis.
(12:20):
We're so excited, but we didstart ordering our meat.
That comes right to the door andwhat we noticed is just the
flavor is unmatched.
It's incredible.
We couldn't even believe it.
We're like we don't even thismeat is.
There's just something about itand it looks different, so like
if we run out and I do have torun to the store even looking at
the difference of what it is,I'm like nope, this doesn't even
(12:41):
look anywhere close to what Iknow this flavorful meat is.
So that's been so interestingfor us.
Will you talk about was yourranch always like regenerative
or did that transform at sometime?
And I know you touched a littlebit about what that looks like
and what it means, but will youtalk a little bit more about it?
And kind of, does it mean moreacres or what that looks like?
Cloe (13:06):
Yeah, I growing up was kind of unique because my
parents have always done thingslike the regenerative, holistic
way.
So that's like all I've everknown.
And so for a good example oflike okay, what does this
actually look like?
Is so long, long time ago, wehad the migration of the bison
(13:28):
across Native America, and theywould be migrating across the
landscape and the wolves wouldbe pressuring them to keep going
, and so what this created wasokay, the bison, they're gonna
graze here for however longmaybe a few days and then
they're gonna move off of thatland because, a they ate most of
(13:48):
the grass and B they havepredator pressure, so they're
just going to keep moving.
And grass is designed to begrazed, and ruminant animals
like bison, cattle, sheep, theyare designed to convert that
grass into protein.
But the thing is is it's abouthow those animals are managed.
So, like the bison are, theywere keeping on the move, and so
(14:09):
they'd be grazing that grassgrass, um, so let's just take a
grass plant.
They'd graze it, okay, thenthey'd move to the next area and
then this grass plant would useits root reserves, that kind of
some of the roots would die,and then it would use it to
start to grow back, um, and thenit'd be usually fully recovered
or similar to that, and thenthey'd come and graze it again
(14:31):
and that built the top soils ofAmerica.
But now a lot of animals willstay like in the same spot,
which usually causes overgrazing.
And so overgrazing is when agrass plant let's just take a
grass plant and a cow, forexample like a grass plant, it's
grazed.
(14:51):
So this one plant is grazed, um, and then that it starts to
regrow a tiny little bit, andthen they come, the animal comes
and re grazes it again, whichslowly over time literally kills
the grass plant because it'shaving to use root reserves
every time.
Um and it also like eliminatesplant species that are more, um,
that are not as, uh, robust aslike just um other grasses, um,
(15:19):
and so it just kind of createsthis not very healthy balance
cycle.
And so, if we are taking thatbison and wool example, we are
doing the same thing, except forwe're using electric fence.
Electric fence, um, or just howwe're moving the animals, um,
and so like.
Literally my entire life wewere always moving cows around,
(15:40):
um, it was kind of like musicalcows, um, and what we were doing
, and what we still do, um, iswe're moving them, so we're
going to put them in a pasture,we're going to graze it until
however much of that grass wewhatever the desired outcome is
of how much we're grazing it andthen we're going to allow that
grass to fully recover, becausethe taller the grass is above
(16:01):
ground is how many roots arebelow ground, and so it's like
that big carbon pump of likejust pumping that carbon in from
the atmosphere down to the soil.
Like that's a good example andit just creates this just more
balanced ecosystem, becausethat's kind of how it was
originally designed.
So that's like an example ofsomething that we do and other
(16:26):
people that I work with do tojust like steward the land well.
And so a lot of it is likereally returning back to like
what was God's original design?
Like what?
How should it?
How was it originally createdto operate?
And then it's like, okay, let'sjust like get back to that,
like not all these chemicals andnot all these tractors, like
what's just like originally thedesign, and let's kind of do
(16:49):
that in the current world thatwe live in.
Shanna (16:53):
And how long does that take?
Like, let's say, you have themin this original spot and then
you move them to a new one, anew one?
How long until you go back tothat first spot again?
Or how often are you rotating,like, what does that look like
for plant life to come?
Cloe (17:05):
back.
Yeah, that's a great question.
It totally varies.
So like if we on like irrigatedmeadows where there's a lot of
water, um usually like 90 daysgive or take oh, that's so fast,
okay, gosh yeah.
But if it's more of like hills,um kind of like like I'm in
(17:28):
Colorado, so it's a lot of justlike sagebrush hills or forest,
that can take up to two years.
Shanna (17:34):
Okay, Okay, that's what I was thinking, more so.
But my background, I mean, Iwasn't on a farm, but I grew up
on farms and all my friends hadfarms, and so my first thought
is like, oh, like crop rotation,you know different soil and
different you know has to beused for their corn, or you know
whatever they're growing, butthat 90 days for some, that's
incredible.
(17:55):
So, yeah, there was one quoteyou said on one of your YouTube
videos.
Again, I looked into you realgood.
I was so excited.
Something you said wasfoundation has to be greater
than yourself, and which Ireally loved.
And I love learning about yourwhy you're doing this and I know
you touched on that a littlebit.
But will you talk more aboutyour story and when it changed
(18:16):
and kind of the now trajectoryof your business and where
that's going?
Cloe (18:23):
I have always loved ranching and agriculture because
I just love, I just love theconnection that it brings and
just the closeness to justthings that are actually like
tangible and real.
Like I still have a hard time,like sometimes, running the
business and working on mycomputer, cause like I can go
out and build a fence and I cansee like something was done and
(18:45):
it was like real versus likespreadsheets and numbers, and
like sometimes I'm like, okay, Iknow, this is all like moving
some towards something, but Ican't see the end product.
Um, but I mean I, after, likemy mom had cancer and then she
um went to heaven, I was likejust the, the brokenness and
(19:09):
almost just like the evil anddarkness um in our food system
just started being more and morerevealed and I always knew it
was there, um, and it was justlike it's just so dark and I, I
really just want to be the lightin whatever way that looks like
(19:30):
and like sometimes that's justlike revealing okay, yeah,
here's like what's in your fooddirty secrets, but also like
here's, here's a better way.
And I, I've realized and I'veseen like it's never the farmer
or ranchers fault, it's thesystem and we're just in in this
.
It's almost like a jail cell ofthis system.
(19:52):
Um, like corn is a great examplewhere it's like, okay, you got
to use the massive amounts ofall the chemicals to make it
grow and then you hope to sellit and in debt and all of these
things, and it's like to breakout of that cycle, in with land
that's literally barely alivebecause it's just been spread
with chemicals.
Um, like there's people I knowwho have broken's literally
barely alive because it's justbeen spread with chemicals.
Um, like there's people I knowwho have broken out of that
(20:15):
system.
But it's a massive risk.
It's like years and it's hardyes, yeah, so hard.
And so it's like I just seethat and I'm like I don't, I
don't want that to be for therest of, like, my future.
And also like growing up, I wasalways told like if you want to
be a millionaire, ranching,start with two um.
Growing up, I was always toldlike if you want to be a
millionaire, ranching, startwith two um.
And so it's always been like,oh, you're like it's starting to
(20:37):
change a little bit, but it'slike don't grow up, be a farmer,
renter.
Like you'll be poor all yourlife.
And it's like I don't.
Why are the people who aregrowing our food like?
Why is that?
Why is that true?
Um, and so I like I want moreof my generation to be connected
to the land and with AI and allthese things that we have in
our world.
It's like I think all of usjust like crave something that's
(20:59):
real, like whether that'swatching a sunset, or it's like
getting meat from somewhere andwe're like I know the story
behind it, um, or it's likegrowing tomatoes in your garden
and tasting them of like.
I think we all just like cravejust that realness and that deep
connection.
Or a sitting down to a mealthat's homemade, um, and so it's
like everything with withParker pastures, like I just
(21:21):
want it to bring that connection, um, and bring people back to
just like the family dinnertable and just things that are
things that are real, um, butalso sharing just things of the
darkness in our food system, andI think more and more is
getting revealed, um, which isawesome, Um, and it's also like
there is a better way and thereis ways that we can raise food
(21:44):
and provide food that is healthyand good, um, and also makes us
feel actually well, not likedepleted and drained.
Shanna (21:53):
Right, oh, absolutely.
And it's interesting when you'retalking about the food system
is, you know, I said with somehealth issues, we've really been
diving into what's in, not justmeats, but all the food that we
pick up, or if you just wantsome chips, and the oils that
are in them and you know,whatever that looks like and
it's it goes down that path.
But it also makes you incrediblysad because you're like you
(22:14):
want to have hope that thesystem that we live in they want
to take care of us and whywould they want to give us stuff
that's going to hurt us?
And, yes, we have a lot ofpeople in the US to feed, but
there are ways to make things alot healthier.
And it's been a sad,eye-opening thing, like you said
, really just evil, and I know alot of it's about money, but in
(22:37):
my head, like you could makejust as much money if you want
to sell all the vitamins and allthe nutrient-dense things you
know you could make so muchmoney, so that it has been sad
to see some of that.
And is there something likethat kind of brings it up for
you in that food system wheremaybe we don't know, or
something that you would love toshare that way, cause I'm sure
(22:57):
there's tons of things that youknow that not everyone listening
would know about the system.
Cloe (23:04):
Um, let's see, I'm trying to think, um, I think meat is a
good one because of like, so,yes, well, we can have, we can
have labels, and I thinksometimes labels are true, but
there's a lot of, like I said,loopholes, and so it's like,
okay, what, what?
Um, what color does the meatyou look like?
(23:24):
By what does it taste like?
Um, something really crazy is,um, they can package, uh,
especially beef, which withcalled uh, uh, oh crap, uh,
atmospheric packaging.
I might be missing a word, butit's essentially, um, they take
carbon monoxide and a few othergases, um, and they package that
(23:48):
meat and it, and you'll see, inthe store it's usually a very
bright red, um, but most meat isjust like super bright red, and
that's because, with thispackaging, they can extend the
shelf life, um, and make it looklike it looks fresh, um, but
it's actually you don't reallyknow.
And so it's like I've just hadcompare and contrast of like
(24:11):
okay, our beef versus that, andit's like that bright red versus
like a dark red of like thenutrients, um, and so.
So that's one um, what aboutchicken?
I learned recently, um is theycan like let it sit in a brine
or inject it with like a watersolution, um, and the chicken
can absorb up to 15% of thatweight and so then they can sell
(24:35):
chicken to you for more weightthan it actually is.
Um, and yeah, so like those arejust a few that kind of come
right to mind.
Um, I definitely on my Instagram, um, parker Pastures grass fed.
There's like a ton of differentvideos of just different rat
holes that I go down.
(24:55):
But honestly, the thing that Ilike just keep coming back to is
like, do you know who israising your food?
Like, is it a small family farmor is it like just connecting
back to who's raising our food?
Cause usually that's going tobe the safer alternative, cause
(25:17):
it's just, it's just differentwhen it's massive corporations
versus when it's just like small, just farms and ranches who
just like really deeply care.
Shanna (25:27):
Yeah, something else that I know we touched on this a
little bit, but while I wasgoing through, like health
things, my doctor's like oh, youknow, not as much red meat, and
I noticed when we got good redmeat I would eat it and I would
feel energized and good becauseof the vitamins that are
naturally in it, the supplementsthat you don't have to
(25:47):
necessarily take unless yourbody isn't absorbing them
correctly.
There's a place for supplements,for sure, but I noticed that I
feel really good when I'mputting good food in my body.
And I know that's like a duhthing for most people listening,
but looking back at and seeinghow people eat just every day
it's fast food and garbage andprocessed food and really
(26:11):
realizing like you should feelgood after you eat and energized
and not tired, fatigued, crabby, bloated, and those are things
that I think most people not all, but most people just live with
every day if they're on aregular American diet and that's
a huge change too is you shouldeat the food and feel, like you
said, well after.
(26:31):
So, yeah, yes.
Yes, what are maybe some goalsand I didn't preface this for
you, so hopefully it's not toomuch of a jump Is there some
goals for the future that youhave in this legacy that you've
been building with your familyand something that you would
like to see happen?
Um, for your ranch as well?
Cloe (26:55):
Um, that's a great question.
Uh, honestly, the thing that Ilove and definitely motivates me
is just the messages that I get, um of just whether it's like
oh yeah, had like that.
We had the meat, um, for like aspecial celebration or like when
I ate this, like I actuallyfelt good, or it's just like
(27:19):
those, or it was my personalfavorite.
It's like this is our baby'sfirst food, like marrow bones,
um, and like that sort of thingof like.
I just, I just love providingpeople with good food that I
know like that I know is good.
Shanna (27:37):
Yeah, that.
Cloe (27:37):
I don't have to like second guess or debate or like
hype myself up to sell Like no,I just like providing food, that
like, if I didn't, if I don'teat it myself, I'm not going to
ask somebody else to eat itRight, Like I'm not going to
suggest eating else to eat it,like I'm not going to suggest
eating groceries for me, becauseI literally have bought that
before, mostly for like, just tosee what it's like, and they
(27:58):
literally sit in my freezer,cause I'm like I can't.
I don't know where this is from,I don't know what's in this,
like, I don't feel good abouteating this, but like, um, like
I had some steak for breakfastCause, like, know that I'm gonna
be fueled well, um, and so,honestly, like those are the
things that I'm like I just wantto keep.
Keep doing that, um, because Iknow how, like you said, like
(28:20):
how we eat fuels us or harms us.
Um, and also, food is such a,it's such a gathering thing,
especially in America and othercountries, where it's like what
if we did sit down to a homemademeal and there was laughter and
we had conversations and itjust brings people together and
we're not on our phones RightRight.
Shanna (28:41):
And it is hard with meat because people don't know what
they don't know.
You know, you go in a grocerystore and you read, like you
said, that label and you go good, this is the best that this has
to offer.
And there are a few stores I'venoticed that have particular
ranches or pastures that you canlook for in stores, but they're
so few and far between and thesection of it is so small that
(29:03):
it's hard to find in store forsure.
So that's why we switched andnow we only buy meat in store
when it's like shoot, we're out,we need one more before it
comes in.
You know which fine thathappens.
But can we go to something I wasthinking about my husband and I
were speaking about last night?
Is you have this incredibleranch, and I know it's been
growing, and how does that lookfor scalability when you're
(29:25):
doing things in a way that's notjust, you know, throwing corn
at them and you have to move allof them?
And how is scaling um your meatand your product and how you
give it?
How has that changed or howdoes that look?
Cloe (29:39):
Um, I don't do it alone.
I think that's the thing.
Like all ships rise together,um, and like I am extremely
selective and there's only likewell, there's only one other
place that I work with, but it'slike same standards,
everything's the same.
Um, and yeah, it's a very yeah,because it's like you can't go
(30:01):
from like okay, we need moremeat, to having that the next
day, like that's just taking thelife of a cow, like that's at
least two and a half, threeyears, and so it is a very
complex thing to manage all ofthe moving parts.
(30:21):
But thankfully there is likethere is other people doing this
, and so definitelycollaboration and like highly
vetting things.
But yeah, it's a, it's a, it'san ecosystem, it's like nature
of, like all the differentecosystems and all that.
Like you have the birds and thebugs and the uh, all of the
(30:45):
different the plants and thegrasses and the cows, um and
like if everything workstogether as a whole, it goes
well, but if we start taking outthe parts, then it doesn't go
well, and so it's like thinkingabout things as a whole and yeah
, it's a not gonna lie, it's avery like complicated thing
Because, like right now inAmerica we have the lowest cow
(31:06):
numbers we've had since 1960s.
Shanna (31:09):
And so it's like hey what does that mean?
Cloe (31:11):
What does this look like in three years?
Um, and so there's just uh,there's a ton of different
variables that I'm managing on adaily basis.
Um, to just like, make sure allof the moving parts are flowing
so that people can get that boxof meat.
Shanna (31:28):
Yeah, will you talk about that?
I had no idea.
That's brand new information.
Why is it the lowest that it'sbeen since then as far as cows?
Cloe (31:37):
Yes, I mean there's definitely I mean probably a lot
of different variables.
I mean there's been differentyears of drought which has
affected just family ranches,and it's like you just have to
sell off cows um, there's justlike the cost.
There's the fact that we dolose a decent amount of farms
(31:59):
and ranches every year becauseit's it's hard to do, um, and
financially is hard to likefigure um, and so I think that
plays a big part.
And, yeah, like there's still avery big demand for beef and so
, like to match that, it's likeokay, well then we need the cows
(32:20):
, but then we have to turn itinto beef, and I think there's
like so many different variablesand I think there's even things
that I'm not even fully awareof.
But what this has done is it'screated.
So now it's like we have stillhigh demand for beef, whether
it's domestic or international.
There's a demand for Americanbeef, but then we have this low
(32:40):
supply which has increasedcattle prices to prices that no
one else has ever seen before,like highest prices of all times
, which is great if you'reselling cattle, but it's very
hard for people who are havingto buy cattle or run a meat
company when you have to be like, ok, we like I, if I was to
(33:05):
raise this animal and like sellit to the meat company or if I
was to sell it to somebody else,like it's going to make more
money probably selling it tosomeone else, and like figuring
out all of those numbers.
And so, um, yeah, there's meatcompanies that I've seen like go
out of business in the last fewyears, um, and it's like it's
just a very uh, just a veryinteresting, unprecedented time,
(33:28):
um, and so I think I know thatbeef especially is super
expensive and it just seems toget more expensive.
Um, but it's.
But good, high quality meat issuch a good investment.
And I think in America we're soused to cheap food, um, because
highly processed food is cheap,because it's subsidized, and,
(33:51):
um, I go down a whole rabbithole with all that, but we're
used to cheap food.
And so then when it's like yougo to somewhere or you go buy
meat or you go buy like goodquality vegetables, and it's
like, okay, this is like waymore than I'm used to.
Paying it actually financiallydoes make sense.
I was talking to somebody theother day and they were like
plugging in the nutritionnumbers of their beef um into
(34:15):
chat, gpt, of course, of.
Like, how much would thisannually save on?
Like, just health, all thingshealth.
And it was five grand a year,wow.
So it's like, yes, okay, maybethat steak is going to cost a
little bit more, but what's thelong-term investment?
Um, and usually that, like,what is it worth to actually
feel good, what is it worth toknow that your kids are not
(34:38):
going to have health problems in10, 20 years?
Like, what is it worth to knowthat how that meat was raised
did not deplete the land, it didnot, um, just spray a bunch of
chemicals on it?
It's like, and changing ourmindset between, oh, this is
expensive to know, this is aninvestment and this is something
that I want to invest in.
Shanna (34:57):
Yeah, I think I see that as my age millennial.
There's so many people aroundmy age that are having
especially women, but men toothat are having so many health
issues, and I know there's aplethora of reasons for that,
but it really is like it's gotto be some of food, because if
we're all this sick and it'sjust changed because you look at
the generations before this andthey they don't have the same
(35:20):
health issues we're having, andso it seems like a huge change
within that, like 80s and 90s,that some of that went through
From your perspective.
I know we've talked about likethe huge they're, you know,
pumping out all of the meatthat's not good and to the
stores.
Do you think if moreregenerative practices were
(35:42):
happening, that it could besustainable for all of the us to
eat from and buy from?
Like is that?
Because I know it's a lot, it'sa lot of meat and you said it's
down a little.
Do you think if more peoplepractice this, it could feed the
whole u S as well as far asmeat goes?
Cloe (36:00):
Yes, I think so, but it's?
Um, it can't be switchedovernight or there literally
probably be starvation, um, butthe thing like regenerative
agriculture, for example of likethe um, the headquarters that
I'm on right now um, we havedoubled the production of it two
(36:20):
to three times, just simply byhow we've managed it, so that
means we can grow two to threetimes more grass.
Therefore, usually we can raisetwo to three times more cattle,
um, and it's like, if weactually like land, actually
like good land, managed well,with healthy soil, can grow a
lot, whether we're talking grassor vegetables or whatever that
(36:42):
looks like.
And so I do think that, ifthings are done well, um, and
the land is well steward, likeit will provide, but the
transition to that system islike that's just like that's a
multi year, like multifaceted umtransition.
(37:03):
But I'm seeing it happen moreand more, and I think there's
just more and more awarenessabout food because, um, I heard
a statistic of like 90% ofdiseases are linked to what we
eat, and so what we eat plays abig, big part in our health, and
(37:24):
I think more and more peopleare just like waking up to that
and it's like when you vote withyour dollar.
That's what's going to changethe system, like that's the most
powerful thing you can do islike, how are you voting with
your dollar?
Shanna (37:35):
Yeah, I totally agree.
I was just curious Again.
My husband and I were talkingabout it and we were like like
how much would have to change inorder for the corporations to
kind of settle down?
And it would take years andlots of money and lots of
changes within ranches andfarming and all of that.
But it's been cool to see andhear about like as we've gotten
into like the health sector ofpodcasts and people just hearing
(37:57):
how many there actually are,because prior to searching it I
didn't know it really existed.
To be honest, I didn't know itwas available.
It was.
You can go to a market andmaybe buy from your actual local
meat, you know, or ranch orfarm, but other than that it was
, you have to go to the store.
So it's been so incrediblelearning about different places
(38:17):
and ranches like yours that it'slike yes, we have another
option if we want to buysomething that's healthier and
better and nutrient dense.
So that's been exciting.
But I was just curious what youthought about that.
Are you ready to streamline yourbusiness and elevate your
client experience?
I have been using HoneyBook forover two and a half years and
it transforms the way I work.
(38:39):
With HoneyBook, you can manageall your projects from start to
finish all in one place.
In fact, this is how Ischeduled these podcast episodes
today.
Say goodbye to scattered emailsand unorganized files.
With its user-friendlyinterface, honeybook allows you
to create professional proposals, contracts and invoices that
impress clients and make youstand out in your field.
(39:01):
Automate your workflows andspend less time on tasks,
freeing up time to focus on whatyou do best.
Honeybook's client managementtools help you keep
communication clear andconsistent, ensuring that every
client feels valued, informedthrough the entire process.
Plus, with the ability toaccept online payments, you get
paid faster and more securely.
(39:23):
Right now, you can get 30% offwith my discount code.
You simply just go tosharehoneybookcom forward slash
Shauna Star.
That's S-H-A-N-N-A-S-T-A-R.
It will also be in the notesfor you.
I love HoneyBook and can't waitfor you to use it too.
And as you kind of changed toco-owner because you said that
(39:45):
started about the age of 20.
Is that right?
How has your what you're doingin the business changed?
Because I'm sure that's beenhuge from when you kind of
started to take over to nowyou're a little bit older and
you are co-owner, so how hasyour hand like changed and
everything?
Because I know you said youwant to go out there and do the
fencing, but is it like, is thatwhat you're actually doing now
or do you feel like you have tobe behind the desk more?
Cloe (40:09):
Yeah, the whole CEO thing is not what people crack it up
to me sometimes it's tricky.
I mean I, I ranching is like whyI do what I do, and I do try to
do it as much as I can, even ifit's just like helping friends
or just like the other day I wasmoving some cows for somebody
(40:30):
else, just so I could like beoutside and be on my horse.
So it's a little bit more oflike a hobby now, um.
But I've also realized thatlike to do what I want to do, um
, I need to be like behind adesk a lot of times yeah, um and
.
I've also like because I've kindof just wrestled with it
(40:52):
because like I love just beingoutside and like I love moving
cows and all of Um, and there'sa lot of people that I know and
respect who are really good atthat and who do do that, but
they don't like running abusiness or they don't like
marketing.
Shanna (41:08):
And.
Cloe (41:08):
I I genuinely do enjoy that, and so I've realized, just
like as a whole to the industry, that I love um me, me doing
the business stuff and sometimesbeing on a computer most of the
day is actually the mostbeneficial thing that I can do
in this season, um.
So currently, yeah, it's a lotof it's a lot of phone calls and
(41:28):
meetings, um, and emails andall of that Um.
But I think that's kind of justlike the season I'm in and
we'll see how it evolves.
Shanna (41:38):
Yeah, I was curious about that because I know you
like to be hands-on and outthere, and part of it all the
time, and I don't have the samekind of business, of course.
But I'm a full-timephotographer and I think people
like think I'm just takingpictures all day.
I'm like so actually that's 10%.
I'm behind the computer 90% ofthe time.
So I would assume, as theco-owner, that's how you feel as
well.
So I'm still glad you're ableto go out there and do the
(42:01):
things that you really lovedoing as an owner.
But I just figured there wassome good desk chair time.
Cloe (42:08):
So yeah, you understand it .
Shanna (42:09):
Yeah, and I know, and I don't know if you're comfortable
sharing this, and I know and Idon't know if you're comfortable
sharing this, but on one ofyour YouTube shorts or videos
you talked about just a timewhere you got more connected
with God and there was a momentin time where you felt more
spiritually led, or maybe thathe spoke to you on something, or
(42:30):
maybe just kind of that helpedthe path.
I don't know if you rememberthat video it might've been a
few years ago, but would youspeak about that a little bit
and maybe how that's changed foryou as well, or when that point
happened?
Cloe (42:42):
Yeah, Um, I like there's kind of like two things that
come to mind, um, cause I likeI've growing up, um, I was
raised about like to care aboutGod and Jesus and all of that,
but I never really had apersonal relationship.
Um, and this like also kind ofties into why I I'm so
(43:03):
passionate about just likeconnection.
Um, because like 15, 16, I justremember being like at rock
bottom and feeling like I don'tknow what I'm doing.
I like just like anxiety anddepression and also like not
really realizing how food doesaffect me, um, and how like the
toxins in our food can reallyaffect us.
(43:25):
Um, and I was, um, I was just onthis Hill.
I was just like I'm like justout somewhere, um, on this Hill,
and I was like, okay, I'm done,like I can't, I don't, my life
doesn't feel like it's worthliving anymore and like I
remember, as soon as I had thatthought, there was this female
deer and our two babies thatjust like crossed my line of
(43:46):
sight and it was like alightning bolt hit me.
And that was like when Ibelieved in God for the first
time.
And it was also like this startof like okay is connection what
is it that?
I love so much about ranchingthat I can't put a word on, and
I realized it's like that, thatintimacy with the land.
It's watching a sunset, it'swatching a cow give birth, um.
(44:08):
It's sitting down to a meal.
It's like we can name all ofwhere the food is coming from,
um, and it's just like the deep,meaningful connection, and so
that's something that's like.
Ever since that moment I'vejust been like there's something
.
There's something about this,like I want to keep um learning
more about this, um, and I wantto share about this.
(44:28):
Um also happened to write a bookabout it and I'm called
connected cowgirl.
Um and I was just like okay.
And then I remember when my momwas sick and I was like okay,
like I was, I was running thecompany already just cause I
just stepping in to help outwhere I could, I was like okay,
but I actually kind of enjoythis.
(44:49):
This is hard as absolute heckand I don't know half of what
I'm doing, but I feel likethere's something to this and
that was kind of I was like,okay, I.
I don't know half of what I'mdoing, but I feel like there's
something to this, and that waskind of I was like okay, I.
I don't know how I'm going todo this, but I feel like this is
my calling and I need to dothis um and so, like, if it
wasn't for just my faith, Idon't think I would be in the
spot that I'm at and that's abig um thing that just
(45:11):
influences what I do.
Um, because I want it to be likedone well and be an example of
light.
Um, and so I think, out of, outof all of the things, um, my
faith definitely influences likeeverything.
So very much Um, cause, like I,I don't think, um, things would
(45:32):
be the way they are, um, if itwasn't for just the doors that
God has opened and just thethings that have come forth,
because I think, in my ownstrength, I probably would have
bankrupted or failed or donesomething, because running a
business is hard and also it'slike it's.
(45:52):
It is a lot of faith and it's alot of just surrender and being
like, hey, I don't know, but Itrust that if this is meant to
be, it's going to come be howit's meant to be.
Shanna (46:03):
Yeah, I can.
I could already tell by a lotof the terminology and stuff.
I grew up in a Christian homeand consider myself a Christian
as well, and so when I saw thatabout you I was like, oh, that
makes sense Just with how youspeak about being light and the
passion that you have.
And I I'm really sorry aboutsome of the things that you had
to go through and I know some ofthat is incredibly hard.
But like looking from theoutside and following you,
(46:26):
you're doing such incrediblework.
Even from just like a marketing, what you're doing has been
huge and so wonderful.
So I know it's been hard, butwhat you're doing is wonderful,
so yeah.
Cloe (46:38):
Thank you, yeah, of course .
Shanna (46:40):
Of course Is there anything that you feel.
I know you've shared so muchalready from your heart, but is
there anything lately that'smaybe been on your heart that
you want to share?
It can be about work or thingsyou found out, or it can be in
your personal life as well.
Cloe (47:04):
To be honest, the last few weeks I've been thinking a lot
about the dinner table and how,like, growing up, my mom made
sure we always sat down at thedinner table and we had
home-cooked meal and I don'tthink I really appreciated that
growing up.
There were some days where Iwas like no, I don't want to do
that.
But I've just been thinkingabout that a lot because, like,
we have our phones and we havethe computers and these devices
(47:27):
and now we have AI and like Ithink all of those things have
good, depending on how they'remanaged and steward.
But I feel like I personallyand I know there's other people
too of like like real connection, to like go grab coffee and
just have a conversation and youdon't ever look at your phone
or just sitting down at thedinner table and it's like, okay
(47:48):
, this is like good, nourishingfood and we're just going to be
present.
Um, and honestly, I would justchallenge people to just like
how can you just be present?
And like fully present, causethere's like even I'm guilty of
like there's 10 milliondifferent distractions and there
are all these different things.
But I've realized when I'm likepresent it, it really does
(48:09):
change a lot of things and it'sreally hard to do, and so just
like, I think a really simpleone is like sitting down to the
dinner table and just eating ahome cooked meal, or maybe
you're watching a sunset tonight, or there's so many different
things but just like connection,just like real, authentic
(48:31):
connection, things that are notnot through um, but are just
like real and like ground us.
Shanna (48:39):
I really love that.
Um, my husband and I have kindof different.
Our lives are crazy right now.
It's a good season, it's not abad one, but we do try as much
as we can to have dinnertogether and it's it's huge,
it's when you can decompress,it's when you can connect.
And we don't have kids.
But as a kid, when my parentsmade us sit down at the dinner
(49:00):
table too, it was a time ofconnection, no matter what that
looked like, even if it was justchatting, or sometimes they'd,
you know, whip out something tochat about, a little book or
whatever and it meant a lot,looking back, because there was
always time of intentionalconnection.
And those who maybe aren'tclose with parents or don't have
parents or a spouse, I do thateven with my friends, but it's
(49:21):
not dinner, because I find we'reall distracted.
Is I've been taking because youcan sit?
You said we could do anythingand what I love to do is go on a
walk with a friend, becauseyou're not going to be looking
at your phone, you're going tobe chatting and you're also
moving your body, which I'm likegood let's move our body a
little.
So I love that you said thatjust to have some intentional
(49:42):
time.
That was beautiful.
And before I let you go, I dowant to know I know you kind of
said it before and I'll put itin all the notes so they can
click and purchase and all thethings how can we find and
follow you and find your booktoo?
Cloe (49:55):
Yeah, Um, so if you're looking for a source of good,
high quality, clean meat, uh,parkerpasturescom.
Um, you can also sign up, uh,and get free chicken breasts or
ground beef, um, with a ParkerPastures box for a year.
Um, yeah, and then, uh, parkerPastures grass fed on Instagram.
And then, yeah, if you justwant to kind of learn more about
(50:16):
, like, what does it look liketo live a connected life?
Um, and connected cowgirl, um,I published this year and you
can find it on Amazon.
It's just connected cowgirlfrom the field to your dinner
table, your journey back to theranch, um, and I talk a lot
about like connection and justlike more about regenerative
agriculture and what that lookslike.
(50:37):
Yeah, and then, yeah, if youhave any questions about meat or
anything, please reach out.
Like, I love answeringquestions and helping people.
Shanna (50:45):
Yes, perfect, I'll have all those, like I said, and I'm
going to go get your book aswell.
I'm like, oh good, amazon, Ican go get it right away and not
to bring up Gary Brekka again.
But he also is such an advocateof y'all and he always is like,
if you look at all of his Iknow you know this, but the
people listening all of hispodcasts they link right to your
(51:08):
website as well, and so to seesuch an incredible human
advocating for another one ishas been wonderful.
So I'm so excited for you andfor the future and for my
husband and I that we'reswitching to your meat like
tomorrow.
So, thank you so much for theconversation today.
I really, really was excitedthat we were going to be able to
connect and hear more aboutyour ranch and you and how you
(51:30):
do all the things, so yeah,thank you, and thank you for
doing what you do and just thebeautiful impact you have on
people and the memories andmoments you capture with your
photography.
Are you a photography businessowner looking to elevate your
business?
I started using PicTime and I'mabsolutely in love.
I have been looking for adifferent solution and this has
(51:52):
been it.
It is the ultimate streamlinefor workflow and enhancing
client experience.
It has beautiful galleries andit's easy for clients to
navigate download with all ofimages or you can select how
many images they download, whichis incredible for my business.
I also love the AI integration,which means if you have more
(52:13):
than six people in the gallery,they can just simply click on
their face and look for them anddownload those photos.
I love it.
It has a built-in e-commercecapabilities, making it simple
to sell those digital downloads,prints and merchandise all in
one place.
Now you can join the thousandsof photographers who trust
PicTime and me not to just storeyour work but grow your
(52:37):
business.
You can try it for free with mycode and get also an extra free
month when you upgrade to apaid plan.
Link is going to be in thenotes or you can head to
davistaphotographypic-timecomslash referral.
You can head right to the notesand click on the link so you
can start your beautifulgalleries today.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com