Regenerative Ag Stories on the Grazing Grass Podcast

Speaker: On today's episode, we
have Trevor and Cheryl Branvold.

They are on to share their journey.

We also discuss grass genetics, their
upcoming bull sale, forage developed

bulls, and then we dive into calving
for the first time at two years

of age versus three years of age.

And then we introduce a new
segment after the famous four.

So stay tuned.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: So we will get
started with our Fast five questions.

First question, what's your name?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
I'm Trevor Branvold

and , I'm Cheryl Branvold.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: All
right, and what's your farm's name

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
We use, we go in under

the umbrella of GBT Angus.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: and
where's your farm located?

And I say farm.

I'm in Oklahoma.

Maybe I should say say ranch.

Better for your country.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Sometimes we go by ranch,

sometimes we go go by farm.

So yeah, it doesn't really matter to us.

We're in Wawota, Saskatchewan,
so that's Southeast Saskatchewan.

And we are about 80 miles
from the North Dakota border.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, okay.

Okay.

So not too far up there?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, straight north of Minot.

If anybody knows where Minot, North
Dakota is, that's, we're about

two hours straight north of there.

So,

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, very good.

And when did you all
start grazing animals?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
We've, I guess right from when I was

in junior high or high school that we
kind of, I was 14 or 15 years old, I

guess is when I've kind of first bought
my first bunch of cows or a few cows.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, so I kinda came along with that.

I was raised on a mixed
grain and cattle farm.

And and then we, once we got
together when I was about 18,

then yeah, we kind of started into
the cattle together at that time.

So

it's been, it's been a few years.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640:
Not very long at all

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640:
And what livestock species

do you graze on your farm?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
So, it's cow-calf operation.

And we do have, our son does
have, he picked up some sheep.

I guess that would be
considered a grazing enterprise.

But yeah, it's pretty small
scale and just enough to kind of.

Keep 'em busy and give
'em something to do.

Yeah.

And then we've done custom, custom
graziers of yearlings before.

So we have done the yearling yearling
thing and, you know, groups of

anywhere between three and 500 head,
depending on their weight range.

We kind of would bring those in as
custom graziers, and then we background

our own yearlings usually as well.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, very good.

Cal: Welcome to the grazing grass podcast.

The podcast dedicated to sharing
the stories of grass-based

livestock producers, exploring
regenerative practices that improve

the land animals and our lives.

I'm your host, Cal Hardage and each
week we'll dive into the journeys,

challenges, and successes of
producers like you, learning from

their experiences, and inspiring
each other to grow, and graze better.

Whether you're a seasoned
grazier or just getting started.

This is the place for you.

Speaker 3: Calling all
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You'll gain proven methods to maximize
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Speaker 2: For 10 seconds about
the farm, this season, and, and I'm

not using the season as winter or
spring, but this season that's mud

season may be a better term for it.

We're getting some nice rain today,
the pastures are muddy, uh, we still

bale graze, we're having bales out
there, but we don't do in a, We put

a few bales per paddock, per pasture,
and then move our cows through it,

so they have a much bigger area.

So they're plugging certain
areas, but not everything.

And by moving them like that,
we try to decrease how much

of that mud we get developed.

If it gets really bad, I've got one
small pasture that has a feeder in it

and stuff that I can put them in there
and, you know, as a sacrifice paddock.

Now granted, if I'd stockpiled
more forage last fall?

And my grass wasn't short right
now, I'd be in much better shape.

Um, that did not happen.

It'll be a goal for next year.

But, on the other hand, I
am seeing a green tint out

there on some of the pasture.

So I'm pretty excited to see a
little bit of green out there.

I don't know if it's just me
being hopeful, as I look that way.

Or if it's really out there.

For 10 seconds about the podcast.

Two new things today.

First new thing, after the Famous
Four, stay tuned because we

have a new segment after that.

It's called Ask the Host.

So the guests get to ask me something.

Now I did that at the very end, so after
you've listened, if you've heard all that

the guest says, you can go ahead and leave
and you're not going to miss anything.

But if you want to hear a little bit
more about me or what the guests may

ask me, hang out to the very end.

It's on there.

We're starting it.

We're going to try it
out for a couple weeks.

We'll see how it goes.

If you like it, drop me
a message, let me know.

If you don't like it, that's okay too.

The second thing is, we are going to
start posting who our guests are going

to be for the Grazing Grass Insiders.

So we'll do that on the website.

I haven't really figured
out the exact mechanism.

Right now it'll be a blog post.

Oh, let me try that one again.

It'll be a blog post that the Grazing
Grass Insiders have access to and it'll

list our upcoming guests and that way if
an insider has a question they would like

to ask one of our upcoming guests or They
want to ask a question of every guest.

They can.

Uh, just another perk for
being a grazing grass insider.

And we will start getting that
implemented over the week.

Um, getting that set up
so insiders can do it.

So that'll be something to
listen for in future episodes.

Our insiders asking
questions of our guests.

With all that, let's get
back to Cheryl and Trevor.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Now, the
question I like to ask at this point,

when y'all were growing up, did you
think you would be where you are now?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
I think we're probably pretty,

or for myself anyways, I think
it's probably pretty close to I.

What I was imagining I used to tell my
parents that I was gonna build a house in

the backyard where my mom's garden was.

I'm not quite that close, but
we're about 10 miles from my

parents' home farm, and I.

On some land that was in my
family and, and that my dad

had farmed at, at one point.

It was part of his operation at one time.

So yeah, I guess I'm probably
relatively close to what I

thought I was gonna be doing.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

For myself, it's, yeah, definitely.

I guess you have different
aspirations as you're growing

up and quite young, but I think.

I guess basically in those early
years when we got into red, like seed

stock it was kind of early nineties
and that's definitely from there on.

I knew for sure that this
is what I wanted to do.

It's, you know, cattle was all I
could think about from there on in.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640:
I, I understand that.

In fact, my wife gets on to me
once in a while that I don't

think about other things enough.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, I'm the same way.

Yeah, it's kind of a bad, I dunno if
it's a good or a bad addiction, but

I guess it sometimes pays the bills.

So that's, I guess a
positive could be worse than

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Were you all
active in four H and FFA growing up?

I.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
I was.

I was and I guess that's probably what
really kicked it off for me was I.

We joined four H up here and I
don't know, I guess it was late

eighties maybe that I started that.

And so, that's where we started with I.

Our cow herd, I guess is, or started
being introduced to other seed stock

breeders 'cause you wanted a purebred
female or that was kind of the, generally

that's what people did was use seeds
stock for their heifer projects.

And so that's how it all began and, yep.

Yeah, and I didn't really do
much as far as that avenue.

I was involved in a four H light horse
club when I was younger in my, you know.

Kind of elementary school days or
early early teens or that and I never

actually had anything to do with
cattle before h or anything like that.

But trevor and I started dating when I was
17 and he was, they were showing cattle

at that time with their purebred herd.

Things have changed a lot on
the operation since then, but

at that time they're showing.

And so I kind of jumped in with that
because my interest was veterinary.

So I'm a veterinary technologist
and, and so that was my interest

as a teenager was vet medicine.

So that's kind of my background.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Okay.

When did you all get your first
cattle, I assume Trevor, you

got it with that four H program?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

More so actually like it,
it was a 19 90, 19 91 model.

Cows that or bread heifers is
where we kind of really made the

start into actual production.

Like it, you know, the, the female
that we used for four H, she was.

Kind of almost, I guess, I guess it
was a start, but more so it was a year

or two after that where we actually
kind of really decided that that's

the, the avenue we wanted to take.

Yeah, and I, in our family production,
we all got to choose a bread heifer

outta the herd when we were 12.

So that was kind of when I got to be
able to have some ownership in the herd.

So that's kind of how I
started into a little bit of,

of the cattle side of things.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

And has it always been Angus?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
It has, well, for us, I guess we

were, our parents had and family
had commercial cattle, so they were

kind of a mixed cattle operation

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
But ever since the early nineties,

it's been straight Angus.

Yeah.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Why did
you, sorry, go ahead, Cheryl.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
No, I was just gonna say my cattle my

family had mixed, mixed breed, kinda
more leaning towards continental breed,

sort of a Charla simmental cross herd.

But yeah, I, I really liked the
Angus cattle when we, when I got

together with Trevor and, and kind
of took to them quite easily so.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640:
Why Angus of all the choices

Out there.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, that's kind of an interesting

question 'cause we did, I do remember when
we were kind of venturing out and trying

to decide what breed to go with, and I
remember specifically we toured I dunno if

it was a herd or a couple herds of Tartes.

There was a few herds up in this area
and for whatever reason it's, I don't

know why we landed on Angus specifically,
I would assume it was probably just.

A matter of maybe connecting with those
breeders or you know, the, maybe just

they just fit or just the right people
come along that we're we bumped into.

And that's, I would assume that's
kind of what, why the decision

was made to go with Angus was
probably just the people and, yeah.

Yeah, I was just along
for the ride on that part.

It was already decided by that point.

Yeah.

I don't think there was anything, you
know, we I don't know if it was a matter

of knowing that it was Angus were known
for calving and, and that because they

weren't, there was a bit of popularity
coming and Angus at that time, but

they weren't, they sure weren't as.

As dominant in Canada anyways, at that
point they were, you know, we could still

buy them for a pretty reasonable dollar.

They weren't any inflated price
compared to any other breeds.

So, yeah, I would say around that
time in this area, because we're from

relatively the same area here, but
it definitely was a, a bit more of a.

There was a lot of continental cattle
that was a main, you know, the cow herd

bases a lot of times were continental
cattle and, and people would just

use Angus bulls for heifer bulls.

That was kinda the,

that was, you know, like Trevor
said, maybe the CESE thing.

But yeah, so they were just starting to
really kind of gain in, in popularity for

a commercial herd more up in our area.

Anyways.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah, when,
when I think back to that time, you know,

I could still drive down the road and
different people's herds looked different.

You know, we, I had a neighbor that
was big into OLS and he had spotted

yellow and white cattle out there.

And, now you won't find too
many yellow and white OLS here.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, for

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: then
we, we used Angus Bull for

years on our hosting heifers.

Then towards the end, before we sold
out, we were always concerned, is

it a old style Angus or a new style?

But yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

Yeah, I remember once we decided on
the Angus and then started touring

around to try and populate a herd more.

Different genetics or learn, trying to
learn genetics more in the Angus breed.

It was kind of, you know, we
go south is where we went,

was into Montana specifically.

'cause it's fairly reasonably
close to get to Montana here.

And, and so of course that's
all you see down there was just

black herds after black herds.

So it was kind of, you know, when
you decided that that was your

avenue that you wanted to go was
Angus, it was kind of neat to see.

That's all you could see
in, in those big countries.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: O on getting
your initial cows, what was your

thought pattern on, on picking out
your cows or bread heifers at the time?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, I, it was like anything, it was

a learning process as we went along.

You know, you kind of, we bought, we
didn't go in and buy just from one herd.

We bought from multiple
herds that were kind of.

Mostly local breeders at that time in
the early years, and I don't know for,

I just keep thinking back, I was always
interested in really moderate frame cattle

and in the early nineties there was still
pretty frame cattle up here and it was

just starting to go slide down in in frame
or less frame was getting promoted more

and people were kind of going that way.

And so I guess, I don't know, it just,
it's kind of funny how, I don't know why.

I preferred there were still people
that liked high performance and bigger

frame cattle and it, they just didn't
appeal to me and I don't know why.

But you know, as time went on that
we're quite thankful that that's

the route we went because it just
seems like they've been more feasible

and especially in today's times, I.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

I, I think it's interesting when we think
back to, to those pivotal moments when

we make decisions, and a lot of times
looking back, we're not quite sure why

we ended up going that direction, but

going that direction
made all the difference.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, yeah.

No, I think there's kind of a, a plan
for you whether you know it or not.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.

Right.

Rather or not, you listen, there's

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, that's right.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.

I, I think back to, to my
career in education and I didn't

wanna do technology very bad.

I wanted to be in the classroom,
except I get, I kept ending up in

technology and I was thinking, and I
viewed that as the Lord was rerouting

my plan, because he's like, Nope,
that's not where you're supposed to be.

You're supposed to be back over here.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, you weren't taking the hints.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640:
I, I know, I know.

And, and I think back
and it, it cracks me up.

And I actually see more of a path there
now, but years ago I was like, why?

But

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: on your,
let's jump back to grazing because

technology is not really grazing too
much when were you introduced into

more reti practices and rotating
animals and, and managing your soil?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
So, I always go back to the year

that we went out on our own.

We kind of went away from, you know,
we, we picked up our cows and we

rented a place in the fall of 2002.

And so that was kind of our venture out on
our own and kind of thrown to the wolves

and, you know, our, our parents definitely
had our back and give us guidance and

whenever we asked and but they stayed
out of our, out of our way and let us,

allowed us to do what we wanted to do.

So, BSE happened the spring of
2003, so basically like 6, 5, 6

months after we went out on our own.

And thankfully we weren't out on our own
long enough to collect a bunch of debt

and so that probably saved our bacon.

It was it was tough times and
definitely, but that's, that was

our stepping stone to regenerative.

I guess we didn't know at the time that,
I don't think really regenerative or

I didn't know about regenerative term

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
but basically it was, okay,

we gotta find a way to.

Make this work.

We don't wanna be you know, we did work
off farm a little bit to kind of make

ends meet for those first number of
years, but we wanted to ranch and we

wanted to be solely ranching and look
after, you know, that was gonna be our

sole business or that was our dream.

And so we just knew that we gotta cut
costs and right away and run these things,

lean and you know, did a lot of research
for as much as we could at that time.

And we were lucky enough that we
had a neighbor or someone we knew

that wasn't too far away, that was
practicing and he was actually a, or

he is a holistic management educator.

And so we visited his place and
seen bale grazing and, and the

positive effects of bale grazing.

And so then we.

The fir that first winter, we didn't
use bale grazing, but we did harvest

a small portion of oats that we'd
put in that year, the spring of BSE.

And so we left those swaths out there.

Instead of bailing 'em up, we left 'em
out in the field and swath graze that

just to try and reduce, tractor use and
diesel use and, and that, so that was,

that was kind of our kickoff, I guess.

Yeah, I think, yeah.

And I guess for like here, I don't
know if your other listeners in

the states will understand the
connotation of BSE, how devastating

it was on, on Canadian producers
because we entirely lost our market.

Right.

There was, most of our cattle,
especially at that time, were

all being exported to the US and,

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
and the border was closed.

So it was, you know, it went from,
actually the markets had been

pretty good going into that time.

And then it really, really like.

It was really devastating.

So yeah, that was really what forced
our hand and made us really have to

change everything because we couldn't
afford to do anything different.

So we had to, had to find a
way to, to make it work and,

and what was most economical.

And that's where the
particularly wintering costs.

You know, that's, that's what really
changed our, our point of view.

And, and so wintering costs
led us into, like Trevor said,

the regenerative kinda aspects.

So we just built off of that.

We just, you know, we went from
swath grazing those that straw,

oat straw that winter to bale
grazing probably the next year.

And then mm-hmm.

You know, just kind of snowballed to
learning better grazing practices and.

And rest and recovery and
all that kind of business.

So it's, yeah, it was, it was a stepping,
it was painful at the time, but I think,

like, say it, it was, it was a plan
for us, you know, that we didn't know

and, and didn't realize at the time.

And, but it, yeah, I, I'm
almost thankful for it.

I think now, looking back, 'cause
I don't know where we'd be at,

if we'd be still on the farm.

If things were softer
and easier back then.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Very good

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

I think it really like forced us
to, to change and for the better.

And then we did end up taking
a holistic management course,

down the road a little bit.

Yeah.

A handful of years after that.

But yeah, our, our neighbor, Ralph
Corcoran that Trevor was mentioning,

he, he really helped us out and, and
did a course for us and some other

young people in the area and that,
that's kind of what got us then onto

the grazing side of things more so.

So we are already looking
at the wintering aspects.

Of different alternatives because
that is, you know, especially in

our area, that's huge costs, right?

So if you can adjust those costs and so
yeah, then that led us into the grazing.

Once we took the holistic
management course.

I think that's really what, you
know, when we started realizing

more about rest periods before we
were kind of rotationally grazing,

but we didn't really understand.

What we're doing.

If the grass was growing again, we're
like, turn the cattle back on it.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.

So what that reminds me of, well first
off, yeah, coming to it from lowering

those costs and I, I would like to
think that's probably where I came from.

It in a lot of ways too, except I was
seeing a lot for rotational grazing

for dairy cattle in New Zealand style.

So I was trying to mimic some
of that years and years ago.

But for the beef cows,
yeah, lowering those costs,

extending that grazing season.

Um, trying to squeak a little
bit more profit out of it and.

When, when I think about that rotational
grazing, my dad has always believed in it.

Even as a kid, we subdivided pastures and
in the place where dad has his cows, we

have it subdivided with permanent fences.

Actually, the paradigm shift for him is
those fences don't have to be permanent.

He doesn't understand that yet.

He's, we were talking other day about
something else, he's like, well, I

gotta put up a mile offense to do that.

We don't have to do it that
way, but that's where he was.

He was rotating cattle because he
knew they needed rotated, but there

wasn't, there wasn't anything,
any time period or anything.

It was just like, okay, we got
'em here so this other can grow.

Well, it's growing, so
let's go back there.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, exactly.

That's exactly

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: it's a start.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, yeah.

That's right.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.

I like to encourage people, if
you're not moving cows, just put

up one fence, move them once.

Just just get started
moving them some way.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

Not so daunting if you just
start small and and slow.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.

It

gives you time to learn

and, and develop and get a feel for it.

So when you all went to that holistic
thing, your big takeaway was grazing

management, and when you got home,
how did that change your practice?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
You know, again, looking back, I don't

think it, you know, I don't, we didn't
make big drastic changes after that.

I don't think it really
hit home actually as much.

'cause we were kind of in
that mindset a little bit.

But I.

I don't think holistic
management really forced us to

really uptake those practices.

You know,

we were doing the bale grazing and moving
the cattle a bit, but I think what, for

me, what really built off of that was
just researching for myself and just.

Taking my own pace.

And I don't know if it, I just
didn't understand maybe the, some of

the, or didn't take my uptake maybe
wasn't as good as what it should

have been maybe during the course.

But there was definitely lots of good
things, but I think it was just kind of

a stepping stone to create more curiosity
for me to go and start YouTubing things

and, and Googling things so that I could
learn on my own pace and, and yeah.

Yeah, I think so I was working.

At a vet clinic at that time
for, for most of the time.

And the kids were, we had two
young boys at that time, and so I

wasn't nearly as involved in the
day-to-day management of things.

But I think a big swing happened,
or I know when Trevor came back and

he was so, like, he'd been, like
you say, kind of YouTubing and.

Following a few things, but he'd
gone to the Grass Fed Exchange

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
in Missouri.

Missouri.

So when he came home from that, of
course, if anybody listening has gone

to conferences when you go, when you're
with like-minded people and you hear,

you know, you're just revved up, right?

Like.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh,

you are?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
You feel, even for us now, we've

gone to, like, we usually go to
at least one conference a year.

Mm-hmm.

And it just, it refills your cup.

Right.

And so he came from the grass fed
exchange and, and he hadn't been

to anything like that before.

We hadn't been to any regenerative
or grazing conferences or anything.

And when he came home from
that, he was just like.

His mind was blown and he was just
trying to tell me all about what he'd

learned and, and all the different
things that he'd taken away from that.

And I was, I'm usually, I really
resist change, we'll put it that way.

So I was pretty skeptical
about a lot of the stuff.

'cause of course, you know,
a lot of it involved doing

some fencing, doing some water

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
you know, so we, we needed to start

looking at adjusting some infrastructure
and and we did, we went ahead at that

point and started, but that was a
real, I think, something that really

kickstarted things for us here.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I, I think those
conferences are, are so important to

get you to take that next step because
like you said, it just energizes you and

you come back with these ideas, these
things you can do, and even as we're,

we know more what we should be doing.

Going, those inter going to
those conferences are important.

Standard practice.

I'm, I'm going this weekend
to a BEE conference.

I'm, I'm excited because I know
every time I come back from

that my beekeeping improves and
I want more hives than I have.

But it's the same with
grazing conferences.

People need to go to 'em, and I
know sometimes they're expensive,

but just figure out a way to go.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I've actually started in, I do our
bookkeeping for the for the farm,

and I have a column now in our
bookkeeping just for education.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
And because I, I like to have thats

separated out and I can look back
over the year and, and some years it's

almost nothing that we maybe spent on
education, but I like to have that there.

And it's something that you can refer
to and say, like, if there's nothing

in that column, maybe you better
look at putting something in that

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
it's it's important.

And I think, you know, sometimes
you go to some conferences and,

and maybe it's set up more for.

People that are just coming into you
know, a regenerative process or, or maybe

just starting to move cattle and it's
maybe things that we've already heard

or speakers that we've already seen.

And like you say, you still
take something away from it.

And a lot of it is just speaking
with your peers and that networking

that you get out of that.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I,
I agree so much about that.

And, and the bad part for me,
I go to these beginner grazing

deals and I'm like, oh, yeah, I
sh I'm supposed to be doing that.

I, I may try that.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, I feel really bad for people

that are not fortunate enough to
be able to get off the farm or the

ranch to go to these things because
a lot of those people, I feel are.

The ones that really need to go.

'cause they have so much to learn or, you
know, they could adopt a few practices

that would, you know, totally change
their ranching business, I believe.

But yeah, unfortunately there's
some that, you know, we've had that

comment before where, well, how do
you find time to go to these things?

But I don't know, we just can't
afford to not go, or at least

in those early years for sure.

It's, you know, looking
back it was so invaluable.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: It reminds me of,
you know, we're all busy, but what do we

prioritize?

You're, you gotta make that a priority.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Now.

Now one thing as we move forward and
what we're gonna talk about in the

overgrazing section is grass genetics.

But let's talk a little bit
about coming back from your grass

fed exchange and your holistic.

Did that ever change your breeding or
have you always been kind of focused

on that moderate cow and doing the

same path as you own?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah, I don't know if

it really changed our.

Our, the way we looked at our
genetics or I guess, you know,

probably small tweaks for sure.

I think the biggest thing is we've
always just been chasing just whatever's

gonna make more, more profit or be,
you know, just more sustainable for us.

And so we just adopted different.

Whether it was genetics or we just try
and tried to source the right kind of

genetics or what we felt were the genetics
that that would do better fertility wise

or flushing ease wise or you know, yeah.

The biggest thing that happened
outta that, and it wasn't necessarily

a genetic tweak or change.

Like, there's been lots of, you
know, tweaks like Trevor said, but.

I guess would be when we had to, we had
to change to a spring calving program.

Or we felt like we had to anyways, and

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
certainly saw the, the benefit to it.

And of course most purebred producers
are calving for that yearling bull sale.

And so you gotta have them born in
January or early February so that

they're ready to see a test and be
sold for, for March or April sale or

even as early as February some places.

And for us being pure bred breeders
and switching to regenerative and

like Trevor said, the cost impact
of things we needed to switch.

It was number one.

We didn't have.

Enough space inside to Cal our
herd of cows, we were gonna have

to build a new calving facility.

And that wasn't in the cards.

So, between that and knowing that we
needed to change to a more, you know.

Mimicking nature type of system that
we had to switch to we switched to

May, may having we're, we're May,
June, basically May 15th to the

end of June is what we have now.

So that's kind of, I guess, one major
change that happened to our breeding.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.

How did that affect you
all in selling bulls?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
A big positive for sure.

There's, I, there was a little bit of
a hurdle because it seemed like, there

was offerings of 2-year-old bulls in
yearling bull sales in other places.

And basically for the most part, they
would be just left over bulls that

didn't get sold to previous year.

So they'd kind of have that that.

Kind of, I don't know what kind
of a connotation of a failure.

Yeah,

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.

Kind of a stigma with

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
yeah, yeah.

So that, you know, we kind of had to get
through that hurdle and to our customers

that this is exactly what we're doing.

We're not doing a yearling program,
it's just strictly a 2-year-old program.

We're calving on grass.

And there's, you know, there's
no leftovers, there's no, no

nothing sold before our sale
or before our offering is up.

And, so, but yeah, as far as selling
them now, it just seems like it,

that's probably a real big easy sell
for us, is just that added age is

because you can get more coverage,
the customer gets more value.

'cause they're not in our experience
anyways, we don't typically get

really any dollars per animal.

Selling them as two year olds versus many
of the guys that are selling yearlings.

But I think it comes a lot easier.

There's less less input to try
and get 'em sold because guys know

that they, they do have value.

They just maybe, I don't know if it's
just not enough people know the value and

so then the price doesn't reflect that.

But we're, we're really happy with.

Selling the two year olds and, and
because we've got our cost structures

and the inputs suppressed enough
that we can make it make sense.

Yeah.

I think one of the biggest hurdles, and
I think if you talk to any, especially

a young pure bred breeder, and they say,
I can't make that work because number

one, you have the, you know, there's,
there's a chance that you're gonna go

out an entire year without any income.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
'cause you're, you're switching

your whole production system over.

Right?

So, the way we did it to make it work
for us, we were in an annual bull sale

at that time with other breeders that
were selling yearling Angus bulls.

And so we switched half the cow herds.

So we had a cutoff date that
if the cows calved April 1st.

Yeah.

I believe if they calved.

Anything caved after April 1st was sold
as a 2-year-old bull, and then anything

before that was sold as a yearling.

And so the first year we, we just
split the, the calf crop in half kind

of, and sold half of them as yearlings
and then we held the other ones over.

So we were without a chunk of
income for that year, but it's how

we transit 50%, hundred percent
loss of income for that year.

cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: R Right.

You, you still had some income and that's
a big discussion whenever you think

about moving a ke season, depending on
how long, like, so I have in May with my

cattle and my dad calves in September and
we've talked about moving them to spring,

moving them backwards is really difficult.

Going to take a number of years unless
we just move them forward, that big jump.

But then we have a, a income
problem during part of the time.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639:
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that's how we, we made that work for
our, our operation was we, we split it

halfway and then slowly moved the cow
herd to, to the timeframe that we're

at now, where we felt like it was the
optimum time for us to be calving here.

And yeah.

And like Trevor said, you
know, we just need to.

Going from a yearling bull production
to a 2-year-old there is some

people that produce two year olds.

Almost in the same manner as some guys
produce a conventional yearling bull.

And I'm not sure how, you know, that's
definitely a scary cost system and they

gotta get a lot more outta those bulls.

But for our bulls, they're definitely
green coming through as a yearling.

They just have, you know, growth support.

Basically is sort of what,
how we want them to develop.

And then you know, the same as once
they're 2-year-old then, or once they're

coming to that, that fall and that
winter it's, you know, same thing.

You're just supporting
their growth basically.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
On the switch to two year olds and, and,

the way we were raising them, you know,
bringing them through pretty green and

and our customer acceptance to that.

And overall

it was very, very good.

But I remember there
was a customer too that.

You could tell they didn't say, but
they, you know, come and viewed the

bulls and they didn't look like they
did before and, and they didn't look

like, you know, other breeders in the
area's, cattle as far as condition goes.

And so I don't know that it just, I guess,
maybe just didn't fit their system or what

they felt they wanted in their system.

But overall that's been,
that's been a, a great change.

And today it's been awesome.

It's, you know, people come to us now
for those specific parameters that we

kind of abide by or try to abide by.

Yeah, I think the biggest thing
is that if people are used to

looking at a yearling bowl, and
I, we always talk about hair like.

Yearling bulls have beautiful, fine,
fluffy hair, and typically most guys

around here are clipping the bulls as
well are, they're getting torched and

their, their heads clipped and, and
we're not doing that on 2-year-old bulls

and we're not gonna touch 'em or that.

So, that's just, we like to present
our bulls as they are and not have to.

Outline a picture for our customer.

Our customers,

you know, our customers can look
at them and, and choose themselves.

But yeah, a 2-year-old bull
is a lot different to look at.

He is not, not quite as fancy as some
of these fluffed up yearlings and

definitely the condition on what most
people are doing with yearling bowls.

At least what our customers would
be seeing would be, you know,

something that's been fed quite a bit.

And it's definitely
fluffy and fancy looking.

And a 2-year-old bull is, you know,
got sometimes a little flatter hair.

And we're not, like I say,
we're not touching them.

We're, we're presenting
the cattle as they are.

And so that takes some getting used
to, if, if you're used to looking

at yearling bulls that have been
clipped all the time and, and,

your eyes have to adjust a little
bit to, a yearling bull that's been

fed pretty good and and clipped up
versus a two row bull that's been

out and rough through the winter.

So.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: And what, what
kind of diet are these bulls developed on?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
So we in the past we were kind of

doing the similar to anybody else
you'd feed a pellet ration or a rolled

grain ration alongside their, we.

So we've never really gotten into silage.

We just don't feel that we're to the scale
where it would make sense to be starting

tractors and feed wagons and whatnot.

So we.

Still lean on dry hay for
their roughage source.

And then they're just, they had
been pale fed before, you know, in

previous years, every morning their,
their pellet ration or whatever.

But now, you know, the last couple
years we've backed that off and, and

this year specifically, we totally did
away with any grain in their ration.

So they've just had a protein supplement
and all they want to eat for dry hay,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: How
does your bulls, in your opinion,

compare to those past ones?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well they, they definitely have a

little bit different look for sure.

But I, we've really tried to work on
fleshing ease because we knew we wanted

to be a strictly a grass-based
operation, and so we really focused

on easy fleshing cattle and cattle
that can look good in their natural.

State without a lot of influence.

And so, today, you know, without these
cattle, these bulls having any grain

at all we're very pleased and we've had

some customers come in and go through the
bulls and they're very happy with how they

look and, and happy with what we're doing.

And they're really interested
in the no grain route.

Yeah, we just, yeah.

I don't think, I think they're as
good or better than, you know, I think

they're better than genetically for sure.

Than they were in years
past, just because we've

kind of worked so hard on those traits.

Yeah.

And I think like in the past when
we haven't, or when we have fed a, a

grain to them, we've always tried
to do it as minimal as possible.

So it's always been just enough to
have enough condition on the bull

that he can go out and work as soon
as he's delivered to his operation.

And so really the idea of cutting it out
was almost more of a mental hurdle then

anything else?

So there and, and we
weren't sure right, because.

We've, we've raised these cattle to
perform well with very little inputs,

but at the same time, we didn't
know what the outcome was gonna be.

So it was a bit of a, a leap to say,
okay, we're just gonna, you know, give

them this protein supplement and I.

And yeah, like Trevor said,
I think we're really happy.

We've had some customers come through
and, and they seem to be happy with

bulls and really, I think if you looked
at videos or pictures of our previous

sale bulls, you probably wouldn't
really see any difference in conditions.

So we're really happy with how
they're, how they're doing.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.

When you, when you think about
genetics aspect of it, what are you

selecting for, for your cows and for
the bulls you're deciding to use?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Fertility is our number one deal, and

it's kind of a we've went to a lot of
multi sire breeding pastures and so we

have to lean on DNA to, to figure
out what those calves are sied by.

And so for.

Quite a few years, we actually would never
have those results when we were selecting.

We always use some yearling
bowls just back into our herd

and in a multi sire fashion.

And so we would know, other than
the, their, their mothers, we

wouldn't know who they're sied by.

So we basically just.

Go through the cows, the, the mothers
to the bulls, and we utter score

all of our cows at calving time.

And we don't put up with any bad
feet or, or that, or TERs or, so if

they score really high on, on otters
and, and their feet are really good

and their fertility, they're calving
in the first and second cycle.

That's kind of the biggest.

Hurdle for us to say we're
gonna use a bowl or not.

We really don't, I don't, we don't post
EPDs on our bowls for sale, and we don't

use them for selection criteria, and we
really don't even use weaning weights.

It's, it's mostly just by
eye and who the mother is.

So, yeah, just the selection tool
of fertility and, and longevity I

think has really come into it for us.

We look at the age of the dam too,
and, and if she's holding up in

the parameters that we've built for

her you know, 45 day breed,
no misses and no assists.

No assists.

Yeah.

So anything that's ever
been assisted won't stay.

Whether it was.

Maybe not, you know, if there was
some sort of issue with the calf

that it was, or it was backwards or
that it's still we don't allow that.

So they all calve out on
pasture about usually within I.

A mile, but this year we're
three miles from the yard, so,

And we don't rope.

So it's if, if they need assistance,
it's probably gonna be a big ordeal.

So yeah,

they're, they're on their own and
heifers are calving with cows.

They're all calving together
within the same timeframe as well.

So, yeah, that's kind of how we,
you know, have selection tools.

Yeah, just, I don't know.

I just keep on going
back to p practicality.

If it's practical for the, the
commercial beef producer, then that's

kind of what the things we adopt
and the genetics that we try and

push through to the next generation.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738:
I, agree with all that.

I, I love the aspect that if you assist
a animal, you know you're not gonna use

those genetics for further your herd.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
yeah.

Well, we just, we, we actually went away
from even taking birth weights anymore.

It's been a lot of years that
we've ever taken a birth weight.

And so we just lean on that.

Calling criteria is if we
gotta touch 'em, whether it's

calf or if it's trying to get a calf
to nurse, she's marked down and.

And

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
It

just simplifies things and I think
that's what where our calving

ease comes from and why we don't
really need to be worried about.

We run nine years outta 10.

We'll run our heifers, our yielding
heifers with our cow herds.

They're all bred the
same, to the same bulls,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
and they're expected to calve,

you know, calving season.

The heifers are run with the
cows, and so they're expected

to calve just like the cows are.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: And are you,
Kevin, your heifers at 24 months?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yes we are.

Yep.

We're actually kind of did a
little bit of a, a trial here.

Our 2022 born females, we actually held
them back for a year and we tried the

breeding 'em at two to Cabot three route.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And then this, this past year

we went back to breeding 'em
as that group as yearlings.

But you know, we've heard lots of
positive things with the Calvin at three

and especially in a grass-based system

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
the way inputs are.

So we, we, I don't, there's no data
where we, I could never find any data

to say one way or the other, which is
better, but we just were curious enough

that we thought, well, we better.

Do our own trial and see
how it fits in our system.

So we'll see this, this spring will
be those, those staffers will be,

those three year olds will be calving
this spring, so it'll be kind of

interesting to see what happens.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Okay, so
this spring you'll have some three

year olds, Kevin, for the first time

alongside some two year olds.

Kevin, for the

first

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
yeah, that's right.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: That,
that'll be really interesting to see.

You know, I've always, my dad's
always, always said, you know, we

gotta get that cow in production.

But then when you think about low input,
grass fed, grow, growing them out,

sometimes that's difficult when you
really lean heavily and, and totally

grass fed to get that heifer to the
weight she needs to be to ke too.

So it'll be interesting
to see how that works out.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, well, like I say it, like it just

the way inputs have gone over the years I
think it needs to be revisited 'cause it

was a practice that, you know, they didn't
breed yearling heifers 50 years ago or so.

It was standard practice
to cabinet at at three.

So, I think we're kind of back
into those times maybe where you

gotta repre pencil it and, and

'cause there's, I dunno, I've,
I've made a list of different.

Pros and cons, and it seems like
there's a lot of pros on the calving

at three side side of things.

It's, well, it's something that's so hard
to calculate because, so if you take that

heifer, calving as a two, like having
a calf at two years of age, how do you

figure out at what point if she falls
out of the herd and doesn't breed back?

Because she's managed the same way
as the entire rest of the cow herd.

What, what, at what
point was that her fault?

Or at what point was that our fault?

That we weren't supporting her
because she couldn't keep up?

So yes,

we want to, you know, make sure
that they're doing as best that

they can in a low input system, but.

Are we losing that halfer as a 4-year-old
because we pushed her so hard to

try to keep up with the rest of the
cow herd without any extra supports.

And so, you know, where
is the balance with that?

But it's something, it's really
interesting to look at anyways, we're

not committed obviously one way or the
other right now, but it's certainly

something that we were curious
enough about that we, like Trevor

said, we, we did this trial year.

So I guess we'll see.

Well, and I just, you know, there's a
lot of talking to other producers a lot.

There's a lot of pushback to the idea,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
I just kind of wonder if it's

more so because it's, it's.

Like the rest of this grazing
system and low input deal.

It's just a foreign concept to
people that, you know, they're,

they're our ourselves and our
parents never did that practice.

Right?

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Right.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
such a foreign concept

to even think of that.

And so the, the biggest pushback
we've seen with the idea is,

well, how are you, you're kind
of letting them be freeloaders.

You're not gonna identify the
fer, the real fertile ones.

But at the same time there's all these
different management practices that we

see people doing to try and keep those.

That system, that two year Calvin
two going, whether it's like, a

few points that I've kind of come
up with was a reduced weaning

weight weight on those first caver.

Like there's definitely gonna

be, for the most part, on an average,
if you take a mature cows versus

your first caver, there's gonna be
a, a real lag in weaning weight.

So you're losing there.

And then most people we see,
they'll sort those first caver

and even the second caver.

Off come wintertime and
give them special treatment.

So what, what system is actually being
lenient or you know, it's it you're kind

of, and so they're feeding them those
animals more for those year or two.

And even before, like when
you're developing them as

yearlings, you're having to put
a lot more inputs in to try and

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
get as

much of them bred as possible.

So, I dunno, our stance is kind of.

There, it's either a four system, which
is kind of the yearling way, or the

two you're breeding at two is kind of
a more natural u utilizing time, and

it's the same as our 2-year-old bulls.

You're utilizing time versus
inputs to grow them out.

So I.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I think
this is a interesting discussion.

Like I said, you know, growing
up always they gotta have it too.

We gotta get 'em in production.

Of course I grew up on dairy,
so dairy and beef are a little

bit different in that aspect.

But with our beef, her, that's one
thing we struggle with and we've changed

up some breeding or breeds we've used
and stuff because we're struggling

to get 'em to breed at 24 months.

Or not breed at 24 months.

I apologize to Kev at 24 months
and breed back because that's

such a huge job at that time.

And we don't treat our heifers with any
favoritism, and now we have to try and

get 'em so they'll breed in that time.

But if we gave them an extra year.

We probably would, we wouldn't do that.

We wouldn't have to do that.

So it's interesting, actually, we need
to go ahead and schedule you all's

episode for early in 26 so we can
discuss how this has gone for you.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, that'd be good.

Revisit it.

Yeah.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, yeah.

It, it reminds me of goats,
you know, with goats and sheep.

Do you.

Lamb, 'em, kid 'em at a
yearling of age or two years.

And that's a huge debate that
happens, especially with goats.

I think lamb or sheep,
it's not quite so much.

But with goats, a lot of
people hold 'em for two years.

A lot of people think they ought
to be kidding as a, as a yearling.

And I have the debate in my head.

I have a lot of debates in my head, but
that's one I have, which is the best way.

I don't know.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well, I think the good thing about it

in discussions like this, and the same
with us, is it's having an open mindset

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
to have that debate, even

if it's just with yourself.

But yeah, and I think like there's so
many unmeasurable things, like how do you

know if, if pushing that animal to calve
as a 2-year-old, and she ends up falling

out earlier than she would've, you know,
you lose her, lose production out of her.

She doesn't breed back as

a, you know, 4-year-old, 3-year-old.

You could kind of understand that
that's probably what the issue

was, but you don't know what you're
losing on the end of longevity.

So that goes to the cost of
losing that first year production.

And like Trevor said, that
first calf isn't gonna be a

real whopper usually anyways.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
So it's, you're getting production

out of her, but it's, it's
not a great calf probably.

And then at what cost, you know, in
the long run or in the short term.

So yeah, it's definitely something
that's interesting to look into.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

What if Kevin, him a year early causes
you to lose three years on the back end?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yeah.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: it, yeah.

Interesting.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well, and the other,

and the, you know, the financial thing
for us that, that was really blatant

in this scenario is when you're low
input and you're trying to use all

these practices that are making them
graze longer and, and doing with less,

and, so those first caver, when the
calve is two year olds, and if they,

any of the ones that come in open, like
we, our policy is to get rid of 'em.

Like every

cow has to, every cow has
to pay her way every year.

So whether it's

her calf or herself, she's,
she that's the way it goes.

So we were say losing if you're
losing 20 or 30% of those females

because they can't breed back.

Is that, financially viable because
though they're at a reduced value because

they're thinner and you know, they,
they brought in a smaller calf 'cause

it was their first calf most likely.

And then they come in thinner.

So then that salvage value is.

Is incredibly low on those skinnier
females versus if they were caved at

three years old and if they did still
come in open at that point, they're

gonna be so fleshy and, and valuable.

There.

Yeah.

So it's, there's a lot of, a
lot of value to capture there.

I think too, actually, just
because of probably the way our

program is and our genetics, the
ones that we did this trial on.

A couple of 'em that came open.

They were great freezer beef right off

the ready to eat right away.

As soon as the vet said that they
were open, we could book 'em in at the

abattoir because they were ready to eat.

Yeah.

And we just,

we see like we'd never adopted the
practice, but you always hear when,

when you kind of listen to people talk
about their practices and a lot of

those people, those, they will give
those heifers the a second chance.

So.

If

that's your policy, why not just
pull back and, and let them develop

naturally and and be actual cows
before the cab for the first time?

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

Yeah.

Very interesting discussion that
I don't have the answers on.

I know what we've been doing.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well, we

don't.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: before we
get to the famous four, we wanna talk

about your bull cell just a little bit.

But before we talk about your bull
cell, is there anything about.

Your all's journey, your operation
you'd like to share that I didn't ask?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
I guess one thing that we really,

lean on heavily here and that we
utilize that we haven't touched

on here was our stockpile grazing

that we do.

That's been a really
major game changer for us.

So I mean, I, I know a lot of the
listeners will, will be familiar

with Northern climates and,
and winters and grazing, but.

If we can get, so right now
we're in a lovely warmup phase.

We had about three weeks of really
miserable, cold close to minus

40 every day and, and wind chills.

And, and we've had quite a bit of snow
this year, which can be good if you're

in a, a droughty time or you need

some dugouts to fill with runoff.

But it, it was getting to be a real
pain and we were having some troubles.

Getting cattle out to bale grazing
because we were getting a lot of snow

in our regrowth, but right now it's
melting and we're hopefully looking at,

you know, turning cattle out on some
stockpile grass that we left last year.

So we maybe would've grazed it in
April or May last year and let it grow

and recover for the rest of the year.

Maybe not as late as, you know, it
could have been as late as June, but,

We let it grow and recover, and then
we can turn cattle out on it, you know,

in, in March sometimes and into April.

And those cattle have, it's, it's
such a great system because you've

got so much regrowth and everybody
thinks it's old, dead, oxidized grass.

But when that creates such a blanket of
insulation, it catches a lot of snow.

And the amount of green
regrowth we get early, early.

Earlier than any other grasses
would be ready to graze.

Those cattle are getting that fresh
regrowth and it's just like rocket fuel.

And

then you mix that with that
old dead standing, and it's

a, we call it our, our TMR.

You know, it's a perfect ration for them.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
you know, most graziers on here

will be familiar with watching your
cattle's manure and knowing, you know.

Are they getting too much lignin
or, you know, not enough and, and

are they, you know, what their
manure sack looks like, their pat.

And so that's how we
monitor our stockpile.

But yeah, I've kind of dubbed
it our, our grazing gold.

It's incredible.

It's probably our favorite, favorite
grazing just because the cow, you

know, it's the time of year when
cows want to get out anyways.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, they do?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
But, and I've had people say, well, of

course they want to go out and graze,
but it, I just find that it's a, it's not

just a novelty thing, it's a 'cause they,
I'm sure they'd come back to the ba the

bales are good quality bales that they'd
be bale grazing on or swath grazing and

I'm sure they'd get tired of the, the
dried dead forage that is stockpile and

go back to the bales after a few days.

But they don't, they just, they're
really content out there and I don't

know what happens over the winter,
but that stockpile, if you're to put

them in there in the fall, they're.

mostly mostly discontent.

They just, I don't know if there's some
kind of change that happens over winter,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
they just love it come spring.

Well, and our grass here, like we're
in a fairly high rainfall area,

our grass here gets quite washy.

Like it doesn't have a lot to
it, especially in the spring.

So you turn cows out on a fresh, like a.

Conventionally grazed pasture that's
been grazed right down and hardly had

any chance to recover in the fall.

Those cows are just shooting
that out out the back, right?

It's very watery.

The cows will look really hollow and
they're not getting a lot outta that.

And just having that stockpile dead
grass on top adds, you know, to that.

That ration.

And then they're grazing that
really fresh new green shoots.

And like I say, normally that would just
go right through them and, you know,

you can look at those cattle pats and
they're just exactly what you wanna see.

Like Trevor said, the cows are so
content out there and, and that's

actually when they're out there.

Our cattle are right into
their third trimester.

So they're actually at, you
know, their highest need.

For nutritional input and they're
doing well and they start just going,

you can see them start from that
point on, they just start blooming.

Yeah, well there's definitely, there's
been winters where we've been pretty tough

on the cows and they come through in a
body condition less than ideal, and it's

just, I can't get over how well they do.

You tick kick 'em out on that

stockpile.

They just, especially when that little
bit of green shoots start coming, it just

seems like, there's so much nutrition to
it, or they do well on it for some reason.

And they can go from being under
conditioned and to almost obese in a,

you know, three or four weeks time.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

Do, do you all have enough stockpile
that you can keep 'em out on pasture

all winter, or do you bring 'em in some.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Not really because we do try

and push 'em to graze late
into as we can into the fall.

Our limiting factor, of course,
is cold the wind chill, and then

the, and then the depth of snow.

So it.

And it's not even the, the snow
depth more as it is, we get the,

a little bit of warmup or just the
sunny days where it, it'll make

a crust on that snow and it'll do

that several times.

So it'll kind of warm up just enough to
soften the snow a little bit, and then

it'll get down to 2030 below again.

And so then it, so we've just, we
just know that there's probably.

Three months of time during
the winter that there's no way

we're gonna be able to graze,

perennials standing.

We've toyed with the idea of trying to
swath some of that stockpile so that we

could graze it through the winter and
just, it would be better than bailing

it and a little bit cheaper way to go.

But I just feel there's so much value
to save that stuff for the spring.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And utilize it at that time.

And the cows just seemed to
be that much more content at

that time, eating that stuff.

So we've just focused on that.

So we actually we had a neighbor
offer a, a piece of land for us.

He didn't get his cows.

He's at quite a distance
from where this pasture is.

And so he offered us.

The grazing rights to it, and he kind
of wanted us to graze it last fall.

But we were good.

We had enough feed for until what we were
gonna, until we were gonna hit the winter.

And so we just asked him if we could
buy it and utilize it in the spring.

And so that'll be

a big portion of our stockpile.

And then of course, we did save quite a
bit of our own acres to intentionally.

Stockpile and graze come spring too,
but that's a little bit closer to home.

So we'll graze his field early on as early
as we can get out there, and then we'll

kind of shift the cows closer to home
when they're getting closer to calving

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.

Yeah.

I think stockpile is wonderful.

I never have as much as I want, so

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah.

And we're I,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I'll have more.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
yeah, we're, I know we're trying to make

a concerted effort every year to try
and save more acres just because, and

even, you know, I'd like to have,
ideally, if I could use stockpile

ground up until even July.

Just to get away from
that spring flush of that

really rich grass that

they really, they like it, but they
just, I don't think they do as well on

it because they don't have the ability
to slow it down in the room and when

they don't have any dead product there.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Right.

Yeah.

You all have a bull cell coming up.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, we do.

It seems like it comes around every
year and rarely ever ready for it.

But catalogs in the mail and yeah, videos,
pictures are all done, so it's kind of,

kind of behind us other than getting
people through the bullpen and trying

to fit 'em up with a, a new herd bowl.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And when is your cell?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
So, so it's it opens up

on, the 20th, March 20th.

So we usually do a two day,
'cause it's, it's only online.

We don't do a live auction at all.

So it's online bidding
over a two day period.

So it opens on March 20th and then
it closes the evening of March 21st.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so we, we actually changed venues.

We, when we started out, this
is the 13th year of doing

strictly online bidding format.

And at that time there wasn't a.

A venue in Canada that would do that.

They would, they would do it if it
was in conjunction with a live sale.

And we didn't wanna do that.

We didn't want to bring the bulls to town
and, and fuss with having a live sale.

We just wanted to keep it
kind of low key and, and but.

So we utilized a, a place in, I
can't remember what state they're

out of actually, but it was in
the states that we utilized.

It was a really cheap way of offering
our bowls and online bidding.

And it worked fantastic.

A little bit of growing pains in the
first couple years to try and, you

know, it was early enough where a lot
of these ranchers, they weren't real

comfortable with computers and definitely

not online, and definitely
not online bidding.

So it was a bit of a hurdle and.

But it was good way to, to move our bulls.

And so this year we actually changed
venues to a Canadian site that's really

known Canada wide with commercial
bull buyers or even commercial stock.

And it's called DLMS, and
it's a timed auction system.

It's basically the same,
same thing that we were doing

before, just a different venue.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.

Do you have days where buyers or
potential buyers can come look

at the bulls, or is it through
videos that's posted on the site?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, we're, we're wide open.

I'd say, you know, 365 days of the years.

If guys wanna see, come see the cows
when they're calving, that's awesome.

If they wanna come and see the bulls
when they're put out on grass or out

grazing during the summer, that's awesome.

Yeah, we don't, we don't have
a set day where we have an

open house per se.

Yeah, we just say, just come
whenever it's works for you guys.

'cause I know everybody's busy and
so we just try and, you know, there's

days where you have to kind of give
up your plans that you had made, but

that's kind of what we're, that's
our, that's our gravy for the year.

So we kind of try and look after
that and make it work for our

customers as best as possible.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I am,
I'm not sure what the laws are.

Are your bulls available to come
into the states or are they mainly

for

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
that.

Yeah.

So we have sold into the states before.

It's pretty seamless to bring a bull in.

We have to do some blood
tests to get them across.

But, we sold some bulls into North
Dakota last year, and so we kind

of take care of that for the buyer.

It's, it's pretty, pretty painless.

We've, we've dealt with bringing.

Bulls from the states.

Lots in our own, I shouldn't say
lots, but we've definitely brought

bulls up from the states before,
so we were pretty familiar with it.

And we've sold into the states you know,
different times and, and we're willing

to do the background work on that.

And the great thing for any of
our American friends is right

now our dollar is not very good.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And so an American dollar is, got a lot

of buying power up here, so, yeah, it's
pretty, we like to make it pretty seamless

for our American friends to come and buy.

And like I say, right now, you guys have
have the upper hand on us by quite a bit.

It's we're only at about we 70 cent.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh,

yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
now.

So below, yeah.

Or even a little bit below that.

Yeah.

69.

So yeah, it's definitely gives,
gives some buying power to,

to those south of the line,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, it does?

Yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
which is nice.

it's it's kind of, it's, we've
had some interest, especially

this year, some new interests from
down in the States and actually

quite south and yeah, and it's,
they're basically chasing.

Or have been following what we've
been doing and kind of like our

2-year-old system and how we're
not pushing them and stuff.

So it's, you know, it's kind of, I don't
know how they hear about us if it's social

media or whatnot, but it's, it's kind
of interesting and, and just another big

market that if we can supply or help.

Guys that are in that low input system
mindset, then if if we can supply them

with some seed stock that way, that's
kind of, kind of neat and interesting to

get 'em into different environments too,
to really put the test to them and see

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
actually do it.

Yeah, and we've, I think the other
thing that, you know, kind of, I

guess, brings us to some of people,
people's minds is because we have

bought genetics from the states before.

So, you know, we've used Sinclair Cattle
Company and Y Angus and, and things like

that, and our breeding program and, and
just bought some cattle from Nebraska

and over the last two years, some cows
from Nebraska and brought them up here.

So we kind of have some connections
down in the states as well.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.

I think mentioned earlier
you'll have a cell catalog.

If someone is interested in
that, what would they need to do?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, so we're on social media, so

you can contact us through there
and or you know, give us a call.

But we do actually still print
a catalog like we did when

we had a live sale years ago.

And, you know, there's a, there's a
fair bit of cost to it, but I think

we just kind of consider it as.

Part of our advertising, I guess it
seems like people still like to get

something in their hands, especially
a Bull Sail catalog, so that they can

flip back and forth a little easier
and, and it gives 'em something more

to look at or make notes on when
they're going through the bulls.

And rather than just a piece
of paper with a list of.

Tattoos or

whatever.

So, yeah.

and it, it kind of gives us a,
it's a bit of an avenue to tell

our story a little bit more too.

And

so, yeah, so we just actually this
morning we've packaged up some catalogs

for people that have contacted us
through either text or messaging us.

And requesting catalogs.

So yeah, we just drop 'em in the mail.

We've got a SA pretty limited
mailing list, so we don't mail

out thousands of catalogs.

We kind of just stick with the
guys that have really expressed

interest or bought in past

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And so then we just add to

it a little bit at a time.

If people actually reach out to us,
we're not really looking to, you

know, we'd like to sell a lot of
bulls and we'd like to have a lot

of, a lot of customer base, but.

We wanna really be specific and, and
allow, you know, let people come to us if

they're actually interested in what we're

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
And

the nice thing is too, if we get too
late that a sale catalog isn't gonna

make it physically into someone's hands.

It is available and all the bowls, videos,
and pictures are all available online.

Through our sales site DLMS or off of
our own GBT Angus website as well, so

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.

And we'll make, we'll make sure we
have that link in our show notes for

people if they want to access that.

Trevor and Cheryl, it is time
for our famous four questions.

Same four questions we
ask of all of our guests.

And yes, you both have to answer.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
We're debating about whether

we could get away with one.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I, I, I, I love
the discomfort and the fear in people's

eyes when I say you both have to answer.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
I.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: The first
question, what is your favorite

grazing grass related book or resource?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Now can I, can I throw

like a dozen at you then?

I'll

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Uh oh.

You can, you can, I love resources,
so you can just start making your

list and Cheryl can be hoping
that Cal says it's long enough.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well, I think she probably has some

ideas, but I, I just want, I guess a
few books that I'm not a big reader.

I, I do read magazines, I like
kind of brief articles, but.

Some more longer books that I
have went through and I think are,

have been pretty important for us.

And kind of building on what we do
is man Cattle and VE by Johan Zeman.

I think he's

been on your pod, you know, or been
mentioned on your podcast quite a bit.

And actually probably a new one
maybe would be Cover Cropping

in Western Canada by Kevin Elmi.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, okay.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
it's, it's kind of a, you know, just

a pretty thorough but easy read on if
you're wanting to get into cover crops.

We, we dabble in cover crops just because
we need a, a winter feed source or

sometimes we plant it for summer grazing.

But yeah, it covers a lot of the
basics, but kind of gets a little

bit in depth too, and selecting your
species and what they do for you.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
and I guess one more would be the

Basis of Line Breeding by Jim Lents.

And that's, I kind of picked that
one up because you know, my genetic

interest and, and line breeding.

We do quite a bit of line
breeding here just to try and

solidify some consistency in our herd and

predictability.

And so that kind of was of interest.

It's a little tougher read for sure,
but if that's your, if that's your

interest, it's I think there's the
odd person that would like that.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: well,
I'm an odd person because I'm

like, I gotta go get that book.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
I guess I'm gonna call mine a resource

because I don't typically read books.

I read books a lot,
but novels not usually,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
not usually things I can actually utilize.

But we have and I know that there's people
from the states that listen to it as well,

but our Canadian friends up here will.

No.

Wednesday night networking.

Steve Kenyon

has a, a thing that he does
called Wednesday Night Networking.

And so in the.

You know, terrible days
of winter in Saskatchewan.

Here it is a Wednesday night that we
can sit down in front of the fireplace

and, and listen to networking.

And it's kind of like we talked
about before a conference or that I.

Gives you a little bit more enthusiasm for

what you're doing, especially
in the miserable part of winter.

And opens your mind up to
some new and different ideas.

Yeah, and I gotta give you a plug, cow
at the podcasts have been big for me.

Like, it's so versatile.

I can take it in the truck, in
the track doing chores, or I've

even, you know, just walking across
the yard or working in the shop.

I'll have a podcast on most
of the time 'cause I'm just.

So curious of what every everybody else is

doing.

So I, we, we'd spend, we probably, I dunno
if I've listened to all your episodes,

but probably most of them and, and

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh,
some of the early ones are rough.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
learning curves.

Hey.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

Yeah.

The guests were great.

The host is kind of questionable.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
No, it's, it's, it's awesome and

I really encourage people to pick
that up if they aren't a podcaster,

it's, or listening to podcasts.

'cause there's a lot of good information.

It's, yeah.

And for myself too, like I say,
I don't necessarily, most books

on, on topics of grazing or, or
cattle breeding, I find too dry.

But I really like listening to podcasts.

So yeah.

it's a great resource.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Obviously
I love podcasts as well, and you

all listed some great resources

also.

Our second question, what's
your favorite tool for the farm?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
We're gonna have to fight over this one.

No.

Well, you can go ahead.

I'll take my second choice.

I'll Oh, okay.

Yeah, right.

You can go ahead on it.

Yeah, so probably like most of
your guests, a quad four wheeler

is really, I don't know if we could
do what we do if we didn't have it.

I remember the early years when we
couldn't afford a quad and we were

using a pickup truck or walking and,
so we actually have two quads and

we've got 'em outfitted with a toolbox
on the back, like a, and then on the

front I've devised a system where
it holds the step in posts and our,

our poly reels.

And so we can actually
string out poly wire.

We, our system's pretty
simple, we just use one wire.

So we just, I'm able to.

Actually not even get off the quad
and put our posts in and string

our reel and make our paddocks.

So that's been a game changer
for sure, just making life a lot

easier and making the, the grazing
system work without a big headache.

Y Yeah, I'm just on, like, we, we were
discussing this earlier and we both

said immediately quad, like our quads.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
we're both on them all

day long, every day.

Going and checking pastures and
moving cattle and I think for

people that find the idea of moving
cattle and setting up new fences

too daunting, you have to have a.

It, it's pretty integral to have a good
setup if you've got step-in posts that

are all tangled and jumbled together.

And you know, like Trevor's
pretty good at fabricating things.

So he's got racks on the front of the quad
that hold all the step-in posts so that

they're never getting tangled together.

And

we can hold up to, actually, if
I use on the back hookups too,

we can hold like four reels.

On the quad at any time.

And our drills and everything else
that we use are in the toolbox.

Or anything that we need to fix
a fence is all in the toolbox.

But because I need to have a different
answer our other secondary thing

that is pretty useful, especially
when we used to run a lot of custom

yearlings is a, we use a new dart gun.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
the treatment system for, for

treating for foot rod or pink eye.

Our cow herd is usually pretty good.

We do occasionally have or have had in the
past where we get pink eye foot wrought.

We have a lot of low lying land here
and slews and wet areas, and so foot

wrought can definitely be an issue.

And pink eye seems to be a problem
sometimes too, depending on the year.

So, yeah, new dark gun, making things
easy to treat and keeping our, our

custom graziers happy when they get
their cattle back at the end of the

year and they say, I can't believe
you don't have any club foot or

bad eyes left over in a group.

Out of 500 head is, is good
in our area of the world.

So it makes

a big difference.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

Excellent tools there.

With your quad setup.

I, I'm sure you posted pictures.

I know the listeners will wanna see
it, so especially if you go to a

Grazing Grass community on Facebook,
you could post a picture in there

so

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
sure.

Yeah, you be.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

Appreciate it.

Our third question, what would you
tell someone just getting started.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah.

It's kind of interesting 'cause we.

You know, we're not the first
people to be, I don't know like

low input or regenerative type
system, but kind of one of them.

And so we've had younger producers
actually contact us quite regularly.

You know, they're dipping their toe
where they wanna dip their toe into what

we're doing and, and so I guess just,
you know, try and find that community

that you can bounce ideas off of and.

You know, I think the biggest
misconception in, in beef production and

probably lots of ruminant production,
is you have to have equipment and

barns and, and all kinds of fancy
facilities, which is not true at all.

If you kind of match your system
with the environment and play

by mother nature's rules, it's.

You basically need a piece of
ground with grass and a little

bit of electric fence and a, and
a water source, and away you go.

It's, it doesn't have to be as
daunting or as expensive as what

some people make it out to be or
what tradition or conventional

thought wisdom makes it out to be.

So I

think, you know, that those two things
is just try and get in with a group

of producers that are outside of the
box thinking and, and trying things

different and being open-minded and.

Broaden your horizons.

Yeah, obviously I agree with all of that.

And just I guess to add to it is that
it is good to have a social group

that you can have peers, you can
ask questions, and you don't feel

so isolated that you're doing things
differently than conventional producers.

And you don't have to go to coffee row
and hear, what everybody's weaning,

weight brags are, and and, and, you
know, think that you're missing out

on something or that you're doing
something that's not gonna be successful.

Try to find a group, but we're very
lucky in today's day and age with

social media and things like this,
resources, like podcasts, and that,

that you can, you can bounce ideas off
of other people and learn from them.

And then I think start moving
your cattle like we'd mentioned

before, you know, cross fencing
and that any, and, and even for

ourselves, we have some pieces of
land that are solid bush and we can't

move the cattle as often as we would
like to, to utilize that grass as a.

To the best of our ability that

we know we could.

But the more you move them,
the better, you know, to a

certain extent.

Right?

You don't want

to have to get moving
any more than four times.

You know, more than four times a
day is probably gonna be too much.

But you know, certainly any more that
you're moving is, is better for your grass

and, and I think people would be shocked
at how fast you see the results of that.

Mm-hmm.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah,
excellent advice there, both of you.

You know, that community
aspect is so important.

And then the other thing,
just move your cows.

If, if all you can do is move them
once this month, that's better.

If, if you can move them
once this week, even better.

If you can move 'em once each day.

Wonderful.

Just whatever you can do,
just do a little bit more

and, and like you said,
the results are very quick.

You can see a difference.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah, and I, and I'd kind of maybe

add to that too, is just, you know,
use good common sense and, and

good livestock management practices
and, and keep an eye on your cows.

Like there

you gotta look after 'em.

And, and that's, I think some of
the flaws with some of this low

input system is there's been some.

Guys that, you know, they really dive
in head first and take big bites of it

and it kind of can burn 'em 'cause they
don't fully understand the whole system

and how to, you know, it was there's,
there's a lot of, a lot to it, I guess.

And so to understand from front to back
and, and don't just say you're gonna be

tough on your cows and, and leave 'em out.

And you know, to fend for themselves,
you kind of, you still gotta look

after the factory and just tweak a
little bit at a time both your genetics

and, and your management style.

And I think you'd, there'd be a
lot, lot more success that way

than just jumping whole hog in.

Yeah, because I think people think
that I could just take my herd

of, you know, continental bread.

You know, I don't wanna bang on any
breeds or that, but obviously you

want to, you know, you can't just take
any herd of cows and put them full

hog into, you know, maybe a system
like how we're managing our cow herd.

It's, it's been developed and, and
tweaked to get to this point, but.

Start small and start.

Mm-hmm.

Just start.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Get started.

Yeah.

Lastly, where can others
find out more about you?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Well, we're pretty, I don't know.

I, I don't, I'm kind of pretty focused
on Facebook, I guess as far as social

media, and I'm on Twitter as well.

And so we try and post on
there fairly regularly and.

And then of course, phone and email.

We've, we've got those options
in our website as well.

So, and most of everything is if
you search GBT Angus, that's our

Twitter handle and our Facebook
handle and, and our website.

Yep.

So any of those Trevor's pretty
good at staying active on the

social media end of things.

I occasionally post on.

Our farm Facebook page.

Lots on my own, but I'm
not usually on it too much.

But Trevor's pretty good on some of
the other sites that there are on

various discussion groups or that,
and, and, yeah, so it's G as in Jerry,

B as in Betty, T as in Trevor, Angus.

If people are wondering, those
are the names that make up GBT.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Very good.

I really appreciate you
all coming on today.

But before we stop, we have a new segment.

We're gonna try out and see how it goes.

It's ask the host, so do you all have
a question for me that I can answer?

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
You have something brewed up yet?

I was thinking about that.

Like I say earlier, it kind of crossed
my mind wondering what Cal Hardage

does, but I guess as gen in general
I've probably heard in the past a few

tidbits of what you do in your, your
system or where you're at and, but

I guess where did you get started?

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I am located in
northeast Oklahoma dairy, and I grew up on

dairy and I discovered the stockman grass
farmer in, I wanna say the late eighties,

it could have been the early nineties.

I was in college in the early nineties
and I know we didn't discuss it and I

know when I came back home to the farm
in 94, I was trying to do some of it.

I don't recall.

Part of me feels like I was
discovered a grassing stock farmer

in the late eighties, and I didn't
get to try anything in there.

Actually, I take it back.

I am a hundred percent sure I
discovered it in the late eighties.

'cause when I went to OSU for
dairying, I'd asked people about

seasonal dairying and trying to
figure out this New Zealand style.

And they all thought I was crazy.

And then we, then I came back home to the
dairy and so we started rotational grazing

then, and I did a very terrible job at it.

It was, it was awful.

And, and with dairy cows, it's really
nice because you get immediate results.

Oh, I didn't give them enough grass today.

And dad's not happy.

Bulk tank's not as full as it should be.

Some immediate feedback there.

But then we had some problems.

My electric fence, if I didn't
give them a big enough area, and

I'm trying to figure this out,
they'd go through electric fence.

Well,

and so that really
stymied my growth there.

And then we sold out the dairy in 99.

Yeah.

But after that, you know, it led
me to the point that I knew how to

put an electric fence system in.

You gotta have it grounded good,

and you can make that fence hold animals.

If you don't, if you don't ground
it, they're not gonna hold very good.

And that's kind of what we dealt with.

And we bought cheap energizers.

The energizers.

Now dad still screams a little
bit when I tell him the price,

but it's so much better than
those cheap ones we were buying.

It makes all the difference.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
for sure.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: so, so so that's
really where I got started with the,

you know, coming into it, rotational
grazing, trying to reduce costs.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Okay.

Yeah.

And you said that you,
you, you taught as well.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.

I, I taught in education for 23 years.

I started, when we sold out the dairy
in 99, I, I was like, what do I do now?

We didn't have a big enough land base.

We, we started running beef cows and
we had chicken houses, but I needed a

job and I had a bachelor's in animal
science, which does you a whole lot of

good if you don't wanna be a salesman and.

I didn't want to be.

And so my kids were gonna school.

So I went back to school and got
an early childhood degree, which is

crazy because I'm not short or small.

I'm six four.

I am the runt in my family,

but I'm six four and I taught
my first year teaching.

I taught four year olds.

So the giant was with the little kids.

And then I have an administrative
degree and I've, I've taught from.

pre-K through fifth grade.

I've taught computers to all those grades.

I've been tech support for a district.

I've been the tech
director for a district.

And and then I left education at the start
of 24 to try and make this farming podcast

deal make a run of it and see how it goes.

And I don't know how good it's going,
but we're surviving and here I am.

What, 15 months later, 14 months later.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Right.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738:
and I'm enjoying it greatly.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
That's great.

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah.

I'll be able to talk to people
that you're interested in.

Hey, I'd like to see their
different systems and, and

bounce ideas off of people.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: oh, I, I love it.

I like to tell people I started the
podcast for very selfish reasons,

so I can talk to everyone about
grazing, and I just happened to

record it and share it with the world.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah.

Well, if you're taking the
initiative to do this that's pretty

dedicated, so you're, you're allowed
to have some value out of it,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: It, it, it has
improved my practice so much getting

to talk to everyone, and I hope it
has that effect on our listeners.

Well, Cheryl and Trevor, I
appreciate the questions.

I appreciate you all coming
on and sharing today.

Thank you.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yeah.

Well, thanks for having us
Cal and reaching out to us.

I sorry it took so long.

I think it was maybe last year at this
time when you actually contacted us,

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: It.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
the way life goes we're

yeah, we we got here
anyways, so I guess that's

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: right.

that's

the important part.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
But no, thanks for, like I say, I'm

big at listening on podcasts and
gathering information from podcasts,

so I really appreciate what you guys
do on your end and, and creating

this venue to, for other producers,
everybody else in our, in our industry.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.

trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738:
Yep.

Thanks very much, Cal.

cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Thank you.

Cal: Thank you for listening to this
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