In this episode, we are joined by Trevor and Cheryl Brannvold, the passionate owners of GBT Angus in Southeast Saskatchewan. Their journey into cattle farming began in Trevor's high school years and has since blossomed into a successful family business that also includes a budding sheep enterprise managed by their son. With a focus on regenerative agriculture, Trevor and Cheryl share their experiences and insights on modern livestock practices, sustainability, and resilience, providing listeners with a comprehensive look at their innovative approach to farming.
Topics covered include:
- The Brannvold family's journey with Angus cattle
- The benefits of calving at two years of age versus three years of age
- Insights into regenerative grazing practices
- The impact of the BSE crisis on their operations
- The transformative role of continuous education and conferences in enhancing their farming practices
- The logistics of hosting an online bull sale
- The genetic selection criteria for fertility and practicality
- The use of stockpiled grazing to support cattle during harsh winters
Listeners should tune in to this episode to discover practical insights into sustainable livestock production and the evolving landscape of cattle farming. Trevor and Cheryl's firsthand experiences and strategic decisions offer valuable lessons for both seasoned farmers and those new to the field. With a focus on profitability and sustainability, this episode provides inspiration and guidance for anyone interested in embracing change and innovation in agriculture.
Links Mentioned in the Episode
GBT Angus
Online Bull Auction
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Noble Research Institute
Grazing Grass Links
New Listener Resource Guide
Provide feedback for the podcast
Website
Insiders
Resources (Coming Soon)
Community (on Facebook)
Check out the Apiary Chronicles Podcast
Original Music by Louis Palfrey
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction to Trevor and Cheryl Branvold
- (00:26) - Fast Five Questions
- (02:33) - Welcome to the Grazing Grass Podcast
- (03:07) - Noble Grazing Essentials Course
- (04:01) - Current Farm Season Update
- (05:21) - New Podcast Segments
- (06:56) - Early Life and Farming Background
- (16:37) - Introduction to Regenerative Practices
- (23:41) - Holistic Management and Grass Fed Exchange
- (30:21) - Transition to Spring Calving
- (41:26) - Breeding and Genetics Focus
- (48:44) - Management Practices for First Calvers
- (50:13) - Challenges in Breeding and Production
- (51:09) - Debating Breeding Ages for Livestock
- (52:55) - Financial Implications of Breeding Practices
- (55:09) - Stockpile Grazing: A Game Changer
- (01:02:52) - Upcoming Bull Sale Details
- (01:10:31) - Famous Four Questions
- (01:23:51) - Host's Journey and Final Thoughts
NOTE This file was generated by Descript
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Speaker: On today's episode, we have Trevor and Cheryl Branvold.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 They are on to share their journey.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:13 We also discuss grass genetics, their upcoming bull sale, forage developed
00:00:13 --> 00:00:18 bulls, and then we dive into calving for the first time at two years
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 of age versus three years of age.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 And then we introduce a new segment after the famous four.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 So stay tuned.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: So we will get started with our Fast five questions.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 First question, what's your name?
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: I'm Trevor Branvold
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 and , I'm Cheryl Branvold.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: All right, and what's your farm's name
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: We use, we go in under
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 the umbrella of GBT Angus.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:45 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: and where's your farm located?
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 And I say farm.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:47 I'm in Oklahoma.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 Maybe I should say say ranch.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:49 Better for your country.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Sometimes we go by ranch,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 sometimes we go go by farm.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:54 So yeah, it doesn't really matter to us.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 We're in Wawota, Saskatchewan, so that's Southeast Saskatchewan.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:03 And we are about 80 miles from the North Dakota border.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:04 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, okay.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 Okay.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:06 So not too far up there?
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, straight north of Minot.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:12 If anybody knows where Minot, North Dakota is, that's, we're about
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 two hours straight north of there.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:14 So,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:15 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, very good.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 And when did you all start grazing animals?
00:01:18 --> 00:01:22 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: We've, I guess right from when I was
00:01:22 --> 00:01:26 in junior high or high school that we kind of, I was 14 or 15 years old, I
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 guess is when I've kind of first bought my first bunch of cows or a few cows.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:30 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, yes.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, so I kinda came along with that.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 I was raised on a mixed grain and cattle farm.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:42 And and then we, once we got together when I was about 18,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:46 then yeah, we kind of started into the cattle together at that time.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 So
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 it's been, it's been a few years.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Not very long at all
00:01:53 --> 00:01:53 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: And what livestock species
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 do you graze on your farm?
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: So, it's cow-calf operation.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 And we do have, our son does have, he picked up some sheep.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 I guess that would be considered a grazing enterprise.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 But yeah, it's pretty small scale and just enough to kind of.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 Keep 'em busy and give 'em something to do.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:12 Yeah.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:17 And then we've done custom, custom graziers of yearlings before.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 So we have done the yearling yearling thing and, you know, groups of
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 anywhere between three and 500 head, depending on their weight range.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 We kind of would bring those in as custom graziers, and then we background
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 our own yearlings usually as well.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:31 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh, very good.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 Cal: Welcome to the grazing grass podcast.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 The podcast dedicated to sharing the stories of grass-based
00:02:38 --> 00:02:42 livestock producers, exploring regenerative practices that improve
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 the land animals and our lives.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:49 I'm your host, Cal Hardage and each week we'll dive into the journeys,
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 challenges, and successes of producers like you, learning from
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 their experiences, and inspiring each other to grow, and graze better.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 Whether you're a seasoned grazier or just getting started.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 This is the place for you.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 Speaker 3: Calling all livestock producers.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 Are you looking to improve your soil health and maximize forage use?
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 Register for the Noble Grazing Essentials in Huntsville, Texas
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 from March 25th through 27th.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 Noble Research Institute's three day course provides classroom
00:03:23 --> 00:03:27 and field training, led by knowledgeable facilitators
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 with real ranching experience.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 Learn to assess carrying capacity, implement adaptive grazing
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 strategies, and develop effective pasture recovery techniques.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 You'll gain proven methods to maximize productivity while building soil
00:03:41 --> 00:03:47 health and resilience, and leave with a customized grazing plan and tools
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 to immediately transform your ranch.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 Space is limited.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 Visit noble.org
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 today to learn more and enroll.
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 Invest in your operation's future with Noble Grazing Essentials.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:08 Speaker 2: For 10 seconds about the farm, this season, and, and I'm
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 not using the season as winter or spring, but this season that's mud
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 season may be a better term for it.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:20 We're getting some nice rain today, the pastures are muddy, uh, we still
00:04:20 --> 00:04:24 bale graze, we're having bales out there, but we don't do in a, We put
00:04:24 --> 00:04:28 a few bales per paddock, per pasture, and then move our cows through it,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 so they have a much bigger area.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 So they're plugging certain areas, but not everything.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 And by moving them like that, we try to decrease how much
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 of that mud we get developed.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:45 If it gets really bad, I've got one small pasture that has a feeder in it
00:04:45 --> 00:04:51 and stuff that I can put them in there and, you know, as a sacrifice paddock.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 Now granted, if I'd stockpiled more forage last fall?
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 And my grass wasn't short right now, I'd be in much better shape.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 Um, that did not happen.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 It'll be a goal for next year.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 But, on the other hand, I am seeing a green tint out
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 there on some of the pasture.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:12 So I'm pretty excited to see a little bit of green out there.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 I don't know if it's just me being hopeful, as I look that way.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:17 Or if it's really out there.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 For 10 seconds about the podcast.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 Two new things today.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:26 First new thing, after the Famous Four, stay tuned because we
00:05:26 --> 00:05:27 have a new segment after that.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 It's called Ask the Host.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 So the guests get to ask me something.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 Now I did that at the very end, so after you've listened, if you've heard all that
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 the guest says, you can go ahead and leave and you're not going to miss anything.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 But if you want to hear a little bit more about me or what the guests may
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 ask me, hang out to the very end.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 It's on there.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:48 We're starting it.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 We're going to try it out for a couple weeks.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:52 We'll see how it goes.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 If you like it, drop me a message, let me know.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 If you don't like it, that's okay too.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:04 The second thing is, we are going to start posting who our guests are going
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 to be for the Grazing Grass Insiders.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 So we'll do that on the website.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:12 I haven't really figured out the exact mechanism.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 Right now it'll be a blog post.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 Oh, let me try that one again.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:21 It'll be a blog post that the Grazing Grass Insiders have access to and it'll
00:06:21 --> 00:06:27 list our upcoming guests and that way if an insider has a question they would like
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 to ask one of our upcoming guests or They want to ask a question of every guest.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 They can.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 Uh, just another perk for being a grazing grass insider.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 And we will start getting that implemented over the week.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 Um, getting that set up so insiders can do it.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 So that'll be something to listen for in future episodes.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Our insiders asking questions of our guests.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 With all that, let's get back to Cheryl and Trevor.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Now, the question I like to ask at this point,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 when y'all were growing up, did you think you would be where you are now?
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: I think we're probably pretty,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 or for myself anyways, I think it's probably pretty close to I.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 What I was imagining I used to tell my parents that I was gonna build a house in
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 the backyard where my mom's garden was.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 I'm not quite that close, but we're about 10 miles from my
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 parents' home farm, and I.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:27 On some land that was in my family and, and that my dad
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 had farmed at, at one point.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 It was part of his operation at one time.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 So yeah, I guess I'm probably relatively close to what I
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 thought I was gonna be doing.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:36 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:37 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 For myself, it's, yeah, definitely.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 I guess you have different aspirations as you're growing
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 up and quite young, but I think.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:49 I guess basically in those early years when we got into red, like seed
00:07:49 --> 00:07:55 stock it was kind of early nineties and that's definitely from there on.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 I knew for sure that this is what I wanted to do.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 It's, you know, cattle was all I could think about from there on in.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I, I understand that.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 In fact, my wife gets on to me once in a while that I don't
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 think about other things enough.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, I'm the same way.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:13 Yeah, it's kind of a bad, I dunno if it's a good or a bad addiction, but
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 I guess it sometimes pays the bills.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 So that's, I guess a positive could be worse than
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Were you all active in four H and FFA growing up?
00:08:21 --> 00:08:21 I.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:22 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: I was.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:26 I was and I guess that's probably what really kicked it off for me was I.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:31 We joined four H up here and I don't know, I guess it was late
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 eighties maybe that I started that.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 And so, that's where we started with I.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:41 Our cow herd, I guess is, or started being introduced to other seed stock
00:08:41 --> 00:08:46 breeders 'cause you wanted a purebred female or that was kind of the, generally
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 that's what people did was use seeds stock for their heifer projects.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 And so that's how it all began and, yep.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 Yeah, and I didn't really do much as far as that avenue.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:01 I was involved in a four H light horse club when I was younger in my, you know.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:07 Kind of elementary school days or early early teens or that and I never
00:09:07 --> 00:09:12 actually had anything to do with cattle before h or anything like that.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:18 But trevor and I started dating when I was 17 and he was, they were showing cattle
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 at that time with their purebred herd.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Things have changed a lot on the operation since then, but
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 at that time they're showing.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:30 And so I kind of jumped in with that because my interest was veterinary.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:35 So I'm a veterinary technologist and, and so that was my interest
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 as a teenager was vet medicine.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 So that's kind of my background.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:39 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Okay.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:45 When did you all get your first cattle, I assume Trevor, you
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 got it with that four H program?
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:55 More so actually like it, it was a 19 90, 19 91 model.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:59 Cows that or bread heifers is where we kind of really made the
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 start into actual production.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:06 Like it, you know, the, the female that we used for four H, she was.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:12 Kind of almost, I guess, I guess it was a start, but more so it was a year
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 or two after that where we actually kind of really decided that that's
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 the, the avenue we wanted to take.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:23 Yeah, and I, in our family production, we all got to choose a bread heifer
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 outta the herd when we were 12.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:31 So that was kind of when I got to be able to have some ownership in the herd.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 So that's kind of how I started into a little bit of,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 of the cattle side of things.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:37 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 And has it always been Angus?
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: It has, well, for us, I guess we
00:10:42 --> 00:10:46 were, our parents had and family had commercial cattle, so they were
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 kind of a mixed cattle operation
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: But ever since the early nineties,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 it's been straight Angus.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 Yeah.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Why did you, sorry, go ahead, Cheryl.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: No, I was just gonna say my cattle my
00:11:00 --> 00:11:06 family had mixed, mixed breed, kinda more leaning towards continental breed,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 sort of a Charla simmental cross herd.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:16 But yeah, I, I really liked the Angus cattle when we, when I got
00:11:16 --> 00:11:21 together with Trevor and, and kind of took to them quite easily so.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Why Angus of all the choices
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 Out there.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, that's kind of an interesting
00:11:26 --> 00:11:31 question 'cause we did, I do remember when we were kind of venturing out and trying
00:11:31 --> 00:11:36 to decide what breed to go with, and I remember specifically we toured I dunno if
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 it was a herd or a couple herds of Tartes.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:43 There was a few herds up in this area and for whatever reason it's, I don't
00:11:43 --> 00:11:49 know why we landed on Angus specifically, I would assume it was probably just.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:55 A matter of maybe connecting with those breeders or you know, the, maybe just
00:11:55 --> 00:12:00 they just fit or just the right people come along that we're we bumped into.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 And that's, I would assume that's kind of what, why the decision
00:12:03 --> 00:12:08 was made to go with Angus was probably just the people and, yeah.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 Yeah, I was just along for the ride on that part.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 It was already decided by that point.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:17 Yeah.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 I don't think there was anything, you know, we I don't know if it was a matter
00:12:20 --> 00:12:26 of knowing that it was Angus were known for calving and, and that because they
00:12:26 --> 00:12:31 weren't, there was a bit of popularity coming and Angus at that time, but
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 they weren't, they sure weren't as.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:38 As dominant in Canada anyways, at that point they were, you know, we could still
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 buy them for a pretty reasonable dollar.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 They weren't any inflated price compared to any other breeds.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:49 So, yeah, I would say around that time in this area, because we're from
00:12:49 --> 00:12:54 relatively the same area here, but it definitely was a, a bit more of a.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:59 There was a lot of continental cattle that was a main, you know, the cow herd
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 bases a lot of times were continental cattle and, and people would just
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 use Angus bulls for heifer bulls.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 That was kinda the,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 that was, you know, like Trevor said, maybe the CESE thing.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:15 But yeah, so they were just starting to really kind of gain in, in popularity for
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 a commercial herd more up in our area.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 Anyways.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah, when, when I think back to that time, you know,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27 I could still drive down the road and different people's herds looked different.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:32 You know, we, I had a neighbor that was big into OLS and he had spotted
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 yellow and white cattle out there.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 And, now you won't find too many yellow and white OLS here.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, for
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: then we, we used Angus Bull for
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 years on our hosting heifers.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:48 Then towards the end, before we sold out, we were always concerned, is
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 it a old style Angus or a new style?
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 But yeah.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:57 Yeah, I remember once we decided on the Angus and then started touring
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 around to try and populate a herd more.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:03 Different genetics or learn, trying to learn genetics more in the Angus breed.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 It was kind of, you know, we go south is where we went,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 was into Montana specifically.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12 'cause it's fairly reasonably close to get to Montana here.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 And, and so of course that's all you see down there was just
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 black herds after black herds.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 So it was kind of, you know, when you decided that that was your
00:14:19 --> 00:14:23 avenue that you wanted to go was Angus, it was kind of neat to see.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 That's all you could see in, in those big countries.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: O on getting your initial cows, what was your
00:14:30 --> 00:14:35 thought pattern on, on picking out your cows or bread heifers at the time?
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, I, it was like anything, it was
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 a learning process as we went along.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:45 You know, you kind of, we bought, we didn't go in and buy just from one herd.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 We bought from multiple herds that were kind of.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:53 Mostly local breeders at that time in the early years, and I don't know for,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:58 I just keep thinking back, I was always interested in really moderate frame cattle
00:14:58 --> 00:15:03 and in the early nineties there was still pretty frame cattle up here and it was
00:15:03 --> 00:15:10 just starting to go slide down in in frame or less frame was getting promoted more
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 and people were kind of going that way.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:17 And so I guess, I don't know, it just, it's kind of funny how, I don't know why.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:23 I preferred there were still people that liked high performance and bigger
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 frame cattle and it, they just didn't appeal to me and I don't know why.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 But you know, as time went on that we're quite thankful that that's
00:15:30 --> 00:15:35 the route we went because it just seems like they've been more feasible
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 and especially in today's times, I.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:44 I, I think it's interesting when we think back to, to those pivotal moments when
00:15:44 --> 00:15:48 we make decisions, and a lot of times looking back, we're not quite sure why
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 we ended up going that direction, but
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 going that direction made all the difference.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, yeah.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:58 No, I think there's kind of a, a plan for you whether you know it or not.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 Right.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 Rather or not, you listen, there's
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, that's right.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:09 I, I think back to, to my career in education and I didn't
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 wanna do technology very bad.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:15 I wanted to be in the classroom, except I get, I kept ending up in
00:16:15 --> 00:16:19 technology and I was thinking, and I viewed that as the Lord was rerouting
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 my plan, because he's like, Nope, that's not where you're supposed to be.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 You're supposed to be back over here.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, you weren't taking the hints.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I, I know, I know.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 And, and I think back and it, it cracks me up.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:34 And I actually see more of a path there now, but years ago I was like, why?
00:16:35 --> 00:16:35 But
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: on your, let's jump back to grazing because
00:16:39 --> 00:16:43 technology is not really grazing too much when were you introduced into
00:16:43 --> 00:16:48 more reti practices and rotating animals and, and managing your soil?
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: So, I always go back to the year
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 that we went out on our own.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:57 We kind of went away from, you know, we, we picked up our cows and we
00:16:57 --> 00:17:01 rented a place in the fall of 2002.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:08 And so that was kind of our venture out on our own and kind of thrown to the wolves
00:17:08 --> 00:17:12 and, you know, our, our parents definitely had our back and give us guidance and
00:17:12 --> 00:17:17 whenever we asked and but they stayed out of our, out of our way and let us,
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 allowed us to do what we wanted to do.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:25 So, BSE happened the spring of 2003, so basically like 6, 5, 6
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 months after we went out on our own.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:32 And thankfully we weren't out on our own long enough to collect a bunch of debt
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 and so that probably saved our bacon.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:40 It was it was tough times and definitely, but that's, that was
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 our stepping stone to regenerative.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:46 I guess we didn't know at the time that, I don't think really regenerative or
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 I didn't know about regenerative term
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: but basically it was, okay,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 we gotta find a way to.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 Make this work.
00:17:55 --> 00:18:00 We don't wanna be you know, we did work off farm a little bit to kind of make
00:18:00 --> 00:18:04 ends meet for those first number of years, but we wanted to ranch and we
00:18:04 --> 00:18:09 wanted to be solely ranching and look after, you know, that was gonna be our
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 sole business or that was our dream.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:16 And so we just knew that we gotta cut costs and right away and run these things,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:21 lean and you know, did a lot of research for as much as we could at that time.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:26 And we were lucky enough that we had a neighbor or someone we knew
00:18:26 --> 00:18:31 that wasn't too far away, that was practicing and he was actually a, or
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 he is a holistic management educator.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:40 And so we visited his place and seen bale grazing and, and the
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 positive effects of bale grazing.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 And so then we.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48 The fir that first winter, we didn't use bale grazing, but we did harvest
00:18:48 --> 00:18:53 a small portion of oats that we'd put in that year, the spring of BSE.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:57 And so we left those swaths out there.
00:18:57 --> 00:19:01 Instead of bailing 'em up, we left 'em out in the field and swath graze that
00:19:01 --> 00:19:07 just to try and reduce, tractor use and diesel use and, and that, so that was,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 that was kind of our kickoff, I guess.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 Yeah, I think, yeah.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:16 And I guess for like here, I don't know if your other listeners in
00:19:16 --> 00:19:22 the states will understand the connotation of BSE, how devastating
00:19:22 --> 00:19:26 it was on, on Canadian producers because we entirely lost our market.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 Right.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:31 There was, most of our cattle, especially at that time, were
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 all being exported to the US and,
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: and the border was closed.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:41 So it was, you know, it went from, actually the markets had been
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 pretty good going into that time.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 And then it really, really like.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 It was really devastating.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:54 So yeah, that was really what forced our hand and made us really have to
00:19:54 --> 00:19:58 change everything because we couldn't afford to do anything different.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:03 So we had to, had to find a way to, to make it work and,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 and what was most economical.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:09 And that's where the particularly wintering costs.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 You know, that's, that's what really changed our, our point of view.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 And, and so wintering costs led us into, like Trevor said,
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 the regenerative kinda aspects.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 So we just built off of that.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:25 We just, you know, we went from swath grazing those that straw,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:30 oat straw that winter to bale grazing probably the next year.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 And then mm-hmm.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:35 You know, just kind of snowballed to learning better grazing practices and.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 And rest and recovery and all that kind of business.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:43 So it's, yeah, it was, it was a stepping, it was painful at the time, but I think,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:47 like, say it, it was, it was a plan for us, you know, that we didn't know
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 and, and didn't realize at the time.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:53 And, but it, yeah, I, I'm almost thankful for it.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 I think now, looking back, 'cause I don't know where we'd be at,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 if we'd be still on the farm.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 If things were softer and easier back then.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 Yeah.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 Very good
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:08 I think it really like forced us to, to change and for the better.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 And then we did end up taking a holistic management course,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 down the road a little bit.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 Yeah.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 A handful of years after that.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:19 But yeah, our, our neighbor, Ralph Corcoran that Trevor was mentioning,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:24 he, he really helped us out and, and did a course for us and some other
00:21:24 --> 00:21:29 young people in the area and that, that's kind of what got us then onto
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 the grazing side of things more so.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 So we are already looking at the wintering aspects.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:40 Of different alternatives because that is, you know, especially in
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 our area, that's huge costs, right?
00:21:42 --> 00:21:47 So if you can adjust those costs and so yeah, then that led us into the grazing.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 Once we took the holistic management course.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52 I think that's really what, you know, when we started realizing
00:21:52 --> 00:21:57 more about rest periods before we were kind of rotationally grazing,
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 but we didn't really understand.
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 What we're doing.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:03 If the grass was growing again, we're like, turn the cattle back on it.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:10 So what that reminds me of, well first off, yeah, coming to it from lowering
00:22:10 --> 00:22:15 those costs and I, I would like to think that's probably where I came from.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:19 It in a lot of ways too, except I was seeing a lot for rotational grazing
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 for dairy cattle in New Zealand style.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 So I was trying to mimic some of that years and years ago.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 But for the beef cows, yeah, lowering those costs,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 extending that grazing season.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:32 Um, trying to squeak a little bit more profit out of it and.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:39 When, when I think about that rotational grazing, my dad has always believed in it.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:45 Even as a kid, we subdivided pastures and in the place where dad has his cows, we
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 have it subdivided with permanent fences.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:52 Actually, the paradigm shift for him is those fences don't have to be permanent.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 He doesn't understand that yet.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 He's, we were talking other day about something else, he's like, well, I
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59 gotta put up a mile offense to do that.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 We don't have to do it that way, but that's where he was.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:07 He was rotating cattle because he knew they needed rotated, but there
00:23:07 --> 00:23:11 wasn't, there wasn't anything, any time period or anything.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14 It was just like, okay, we got 'em here so this other can grow.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 Well, it's growing, so let's go back there.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, exactly.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 That's exactly
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: it's a start.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, yeah.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 That's right.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 I like to encourage people, if you're not moving cows, just put
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 up one fence, move them once.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 Just just get started moving them some way.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 Not so daunting if you just start small and and slow.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Right.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 It
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 gives you time to learn
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 and, and develop and get a feel for it.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:46 So when you all went to that holistic thing, your big takeaway was grazing
00:23:46 --> 00:23:50 management, and when you got home, how did that change your practice?
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: You know, again, looking back, I don't
00:23:54 --> 00:23:58 think it, you know, I don't, we didn't make big drastic changes after that.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:02 I don't think it really hit home actually as much.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 'cause we were kind of in that mindset a little bit.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 But I.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:08 I don't think holistic management really forced us to
00:24:08 --> 00:24:12 really uptake those practices.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 You know,
00:24:13 --> 00:24:18 we were doing the bale grazing and moving the cattle a bit, but I think what, for
00:24:18 --> 00:24:24 me, what really built off of that was just researching for myself and just.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 Taking my own pace.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:29 And I don't know if it, I just didn't understand maybe the, some of
00:24:29 --> 00:24:33 the, or didn't take my uptake maybe wasn't as good as what it should
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 have been maybe during the course.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:38 But there was definitely lots of good things, but I think it was just kind of
00:24:38 --> 00:24:42 a stepping stone to create more curiosity for me to go and start YouTubing things
00:24:42 --> 00:24:47 and, and Googling things so that I could learn on my own pace and, and yeah.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 Yeah, I think so I was working.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:54 At a vet clinic at that time for, for most of the time.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:58 And the kids were, we had two young boys at that time, and so I
00:24:58 --> 00:25:02 wasn't nearly as involved in the day-to-day management of things.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:07 But I think a big swing happened, or I know when Trevor came back and
00:25:07 --> 00:25:11 he was so, like, he'd been, like you say, kind of YouTubing and.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:15 Following a few things, but he'd gone to the Grass Fed Exchange
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: in Missouri.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 Missouri.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:24 So when he came home from that, of course, if anybody listening has gone
00:25:24 --> 00:25:29 to conferences when you go, when you're with like-minded people and you hear,
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 you know, you're just revved up, right?
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 Like.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 you are?
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: You feel, even for us now, we've
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 gone to, like, we usually go to at least one conference a year.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 Mm-hmm.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:40 And it just, it refills your cup.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 Right.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:46 And so he came from the grass fed exchange and, and he hadn't been
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 to anything like that before.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:51 We hadn't been to any regenerative or grazing conferences or anything.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:54 And when he came home from that, he was just like.
00:25:55 --> 00:26:00 His mind was blown and he was just trying to tell me all about what he'd
00:26:00 --> 00:26:04 learned and, and all the different things that he'd taken away from that.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:09 And I was, I'm usually, I really resist change, we'll put it that way.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:13 So I was pretty skeptical about a lot of the stuff.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:16 'cause of course, you know, a lot of it involved doing
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 some fencing, doing some water
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: you know, so we, we needed to start
00:26:21 --> 00:26:27 looking at adjusting some infrastructure and and we did, we went ahead at that
00:26:27 --> 00:26:31 point and started, but that was a real, I think, something that really
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 kickstarted things for us here.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I, I think those conferences are, are so important to
00:26:38 --> 00:26:42 get you to take that next step because like you said, it just energizes you and
00:26:42 --> 00:26:47 you come back with these ideas, these things you can do, and even as we're,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51 we know more what we should be doing.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:55 Going, those inter going to those conferences are important.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 Standard practice.
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 I'm, I'm going this weekend to a BEE conference.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 I'm, I'm excited because I know every time I come back from
00:27:02 --> 00:27:06 that my beekeeping improves and I want more hives than I have.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 But it's the same with grazing conferences.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:13 People need to go to 'em, and I know sometimes they're expensive,
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 but just figure out a way to go.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: yeah, for sure.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 Yeah.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 Yeah.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:21 I've actually started in, I do our bookkeeping for the for the farm,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:26 and I have a column now in our bookkeeping just for education.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: And because I, I like to have thats
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 separated out and I can look back over the year and, and some years it's
00:27:34 --> 00:27:38 almost nothing that we maybe spent on education, but I like to have that there.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:42 And it's something that you can refer to and say, like, if there's nothing
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 in that column, maybe you better look at putting something in that
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yeah.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: it's it's important.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:51 And I think, you know, sometimes you go to some conferences and,
00:27:51 --> 00:27:53 and maybe it's set up more for.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:59 People that are just coming into you know, a regenerative process or, or maybe
00:27:59 --> 00:28:03 just starting to move cattle and it's maybe things that we've already heard
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 or speakers that we've already seen.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:09 And like you say, you still take something away from it.
00:28:09 --> 00:28:14 And a lot of it is just speaking with your peers and that networking
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 that you get out of that.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: I, I agree so much about that.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 And, and the bad part for me, I go to these beginner grazing
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 deals and I'm like, oh, yeah, I sh I'm supposed to be doing that.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 I, I may try that.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, I feel really bad for people
00:28:28 --> 00:28:32 that are not fortunate enough to be able to get off the farm or the
00:28:32 --> 00:28:37 ranch to go to these things because a lot of those people, I feel are.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 The ones that really need to go.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:43 'cause they have so much to learn or, you know, they could adopt a few practices
00:28:43 --> 00:28:47 that would, you know, totally change their ranching business, I believe.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:51 But yeah, unfortunately there's some that, you know, we've had that
00:28:51 --> 00:28:54 comment before where, well, how do you find time to go to these things?
00:28:54 --> 00:28:57 But I don't know, we just can't afford to not go, or at least
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 in those early years for sure.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 It's, you know, looking back it was so invaluable.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: It reminds me of, you know, we're all busy, but what do we
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 prioritize?
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 You're, you gotta make that a priority.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Now.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:13 Now one thing as we move forward and what we're gonna talk about in the
00:29:13 --> 00:29:16 overgrazing section is grass genetics.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:21 But let's talk a little bit about coming back from your grass
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 fed exchange and your holistic.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:28 Did that ever change your breeding or have you always been kind of focused
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 on that moderate cow and doing the
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 same path as you own?
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah, I don't know if
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 it really changed our.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 Our, the way we looked at our genetics or I guess, you know,
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 probably small tweaks for sure.
00:29:42 --> 00:29:47 I think the biggest thing is we've always just been chasing just whatever's
00:29:47 --> 00:29:52 gonna make more, more profit or be, you know, just more sustainable for us.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:55 And so we just adopted different.
00:29:56 --> 00:30:01 Whether it was genetics or we just try and tried to source the right kind of
00:30:01 --> 00:30:08 genetics or what we felt were the genetics that that would do better fertility wise
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 or flushing ease wise or you know, yeah.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:15 The biggest thing that happened outta that, and it wasn't necessarily
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 a genetic tweak or change.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 Like, there's been lots of, you know, tweaks like Trevor said, but.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:27 I guess would be when we had to, we had to change to a spring calving program.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 Or we felt like we had to anyways, and
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: certainly saw the, the benefit to it.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:38 And of course most purebred producers are calving for that yearling bull sale.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:43 And so you gotta have them born in January or early February so that
00:30:43 --> 00:30:48 they're ready to see a test and be sold for, for March or April sale or
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 even as early as February some places.
00:30:50 --> 00:30:56 And for us being pure bred breeders and switching to regenerative and
00:30:56 --> 00:31:01 like Trevor said, the cost impact of things we needed to switch.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 It was number one.
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 We didn't have.
00:31:04 --> 00:31:08 Enough space inside to Cal our herd of cows, we were gonna have
00:31:08 --> 00:31:10 to build a new calving facility.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 And that wasn't in the cards.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:18 So, between that and knowing that we needed to change to a more, you know.
00:31:19 --> 00:31:25 Mimicking nature type of system that we had to switch to we switched to
00:31:25 --> 00:31:29 May, may having we're, we're May, June, basically May 15th to the
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 end of June is what we have now.
00:31:31 --> 00:31:35 So that's kind of, I guess, one major change that happened to our breeding.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh yes.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 How did that affect you all in selling bulls?
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: A big positive for sure.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:49 There's, I, there was a little bit of a hurdle because it seemed like, there
00:31:49 --> 00:31:54 was offerings of 2-year-old bulls in yearling bull sales in other places.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:57 And basically for the most part, they would be just left over bulls that
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 didn't get sold to previous year.
00:31:59 --> 00:32:02 So they'd kind of have that that.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:06 Kind of, I don't know what kind of a connotation of a failure.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 Yeah,
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Yeah.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 Kind of a stigma with
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: yeah, yeah.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:15 So that, you know, we kind of had to get through that hurdle and to our customers
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 that this is exactly what we're doing.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:20 We're not doing a yearling program, it's just strictly a 2-year-old program.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 We're calving on grass.
00:32:21 --> 00:32:25 And there's, you know, there's no leftovers, there's no, no
00:32:25 --> 00:32:28 nothing sold before our sale or before our offering is up.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:33 And, so, but yeah, as far as selling them now, it just seems like it,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:39 that's probably a real big easy sell for us, is just that added age is
00:32:39 --> 00:32:42 because you can get more coverage, the customer gets more value.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:46 'cause they're not in our experience anyways, we don't typically get
00:32:46 --> 00:32:49 really any dollars per animal.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:53 Selling them as two year olds versus many of the guys that are selling yearlings.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:57 But I think it comes a lot easier.
00:32:57 --> 00:33:02 There's less less input to try and get 'em sold because guys know
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 that they, they do have value.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:07 They just maybe, I don't know if it's just not enough people know the value and
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 so then the price doesn't reflect that.
00:33:09 --> 00:33:11 But we're, we're really happy with.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:15 Selling the two year olds and, and because we've got our cost structures
00:33:15 --> 00:33:19 and the inputs suppressed enough that we can make it make sense.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 Yeah.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:24 I think one of the biggest hurdles, and I think if you talk to any, especially
00:33:24 --> 00:33:30 a young pure bred breeder, and they say, I can't make that work because number
00:33:30 --> 00:33:37 one, you have the, you know, there's, there's a chance that you're gonna go
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 out an entire year without any income.
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: Oh
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: 'cause you're, you're switching
00:33:40 --> 00:33:42 your whole production system over.
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 Right?
00:33:43 --> 00:33:48 So, the way we did it to make it work for us, we were in an annual bull sale
00:33:48 --> 00:33:52 at that time with other breeders that were selling yearling Angus bulls.
00:33:53 --> 00:33:56 And so we switched half the cow herds.
00:33:56 --> 00:34:01 So we had a cutoff date that if the cows calved April 1st.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 Yeah.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:03 I believe if they calved.
00:34:03 --> 00:34:08 Anything caved after April 1st was sold as a 2-year-old bull, and then anything
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 before that was sold as a yearling.
00:34:10 --> 00:34:15 And so the first year we, we just split the, the calf crop in half kind
00:34:15 --> 00:34:19 of, and sold half of them as yearlings and then we held the other ones over.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:25 So we were without a chunk of income for that year, but it's how
00:34:25 --> 00:34:28 we transit 50%, hundred percent loss of income for that year.
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 cal_1_02-28-2025_103640: R Right.
00:34:30 --> 00:34:33 You, you still had some income and that's a big discussion whenever you think
00:34:33 --> 00:34:39 about moving a ke season, depending on how long, like, so I have in May with my
00:34:39 --> 00:34:44 cattle and my dad calves in September and we've talked about moving them to spring,
00:34:45 --> 00:34:47 moving them backwards is really difficult.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:53 Going to take a number of years unless we just move them forward, that big jump.
00:34:53 --> 00:34:56 But then we have a, a income problem during part of the time.
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 trevor--cheryl-branvold_1_02-28-2025_103639: Yeah.
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 Yeah.
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 Yeah.
00:34:59 --> 00:35:05 So that's how we, we made that work for our, our operation was we, we split it
00:35:05 --> 00:35:10 halfway and then slowly moved the cow herd to, to the timeframe that we're
00:35:10 --> 00:35:17 at now, where we felt like it was the optimum time for us to be calving here.
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 And yeah.
00:35:18 --> 00:35:20 And like Trevor said, you know, we just need to.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:26 Going from a yearling bull production to a 2-year-old there is some
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 people that produce two year olds.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:32 Almost in the same manner as some guys produce a conventional yearling bull.
00:35:32 --> 00:35:38 And I'm not sure how, you know, that's definitely a scary cost system and they
00:35:38 --> 00:35:40 gotta get a lot more outta those bulls.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:45 But for our bulls, they're definitely green coming through as a yearling.
00:35:45 --> 00:35:48 They just have, you know, growth support.
00:35:48 --> 00:35:52 Basically is sort of what, how we want them to develop.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:57 And then you know, the same as once they're 2-year-old then, or once they're
00:35:57 --> 00:36:02 coming to that, that fall and that winter it's, you know, same thing.
00:36:02 --> 00:36:04 You're just supporting their growth basically.
00:36:04 --> 00:36:08 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: On the switch to two year olds and, and,
00:36:08 --> 00:36:11 the way we were raising them, you know, bringing them through pretty green and
00:36:12 --> 00:36:14 and our customer acceptance to that.
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 And overall
00:36:15 --> 00:36:17 it was very, very good.
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 But I remember there was a customer too that.
00:36:20 --> 00:36:23 You could tell they didn't say, but they, you know, come and viewed the
00:36:23 --> 00:36:27 bulls and they didn't look like they did before and, and they didn't look
00:36:27 --> 00:36:33 like, you know, other breeders in the area's, cattle as far as condition goes.
00:36:33 --> 00:36:38 And so I don't know that it just, I guess, maybe just didn't fit their system or what
00:36:38 --> 00:36:40 they felt they wanted in their system.
00:36:40 --> 00:36:44 But overall that's been, that's been a, a great change.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:46 And today it's been awesome.
00:36:46 --> 00:36:52 It's, you know, people come to us now for those specific parameters that we
00:36:52 --> 00:36:54 kind of abide by or try to abide by.
00:36:54 --> 00:36:58 Yeah, I think the biggest thing is that if people are used to
00:36:58 --> 00:37:03 looking at a yearling bowl, and I, we always talk about hair like.
00:37:04 --> 00:37:10 Yearling bulls have beautiful, fine, fluffy hair, and typically most guys
00:37:10 --> 00:37:14 around here are clipping the bulls as well are, they're getting torched and
00:37:14 --> 00:37:19 their, their heads clipped and, and we're not doing that on 2-year-old bulls
00:37:19 --> 00:37:21 and we're not gonna touch 'em or that.
00:37:21 --> 00:37:26 So, that's just, we like to present our bulls as they are and not have to.
00:37:27 --> 00:37:29 Outline a picture for our customer.
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 Our customers,
00:37:30 --> 00:37:34 you know, our customers can look at them and, and choose themselves.
00:37:34 --> 00:37:37 But yeah, a 2-year-old bull is a lot different to look at.
00:37:37 --> 00:37:41 He is not, not quite as fancy as some of these fluffed up yearlings and
00:37:41 --> 00:37:48 definitely the condition on what most people are doing with yearling bowls.
00:37:49 --> 00:37:53 At least what our customers would be seeing would be, you know,
00:37:53 --> 00:37:55 something that's been fed quite a bit.
00:37:56 --> 00:37:59 And it's definitely fluffy and fancy looking.
00:37:59 --> 00:38:04 And a 2-year-old bull is, you know, got sometimes a little flatter hair.
00:38:04 --> 00:38:06 And we're not, like I say, we're not touching them.
00:38:06 --> 00:38:09 We're, we're presenting the cattle as they are.
00:38:09 --> 00:38:12 And so that takes some getting used to, if, if you're used to looking
00:38:12 --> 00:38:16 at yearling bulls that have been clipped all the time and, and,
00:38:16 --> 00:38:19 your eyes have to adjust a little bit to, a yearling bull that's been
00:38:19 --> 00:38:23 fed pretty good and and clipped up versus a two row bull that's been
00:38:23 --> 00:38:25 out and rough through the winter.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:25 So.
00:38:26 --> 00:38:29 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: And what, what kind of diet are these bulls developed on?
00:38:30 --> 00:38:32 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: So we in the past we were kind of
00:38:32 --> 00:38:37 doing the similar to anybody else you'd feed a pellet ration or a rolled
00:38:37 --> 00:38:40 grain ration alongside their, we.
00:38:40 --> 00:38:42 So we've never really gotten into silage.
00:38:43 --> 00:38:47 We just don't feel that we're to the scale where it would make sense to be starting
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 tractors and feed wagons and whatnot.
00:38:48 --> 00:38:50 So we.
00:38:50 --> 00:38:53 Still lean on dry hay for their roughage source.
00:38:54 --> 00:38:58 And then they're just, they had been pale fed before, you know, in
00:38:58 --> 00:39:01 previous years, every morning their, their pellet ration or whatever.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:06 But now, you know, the last couple years we've backed that off and, and
00:39:06 --> 00:39:10 this year specifically, we totally did away with any grain in their ration.
00:39:11 --> 00:39:16 So they've just had a protein supplement and all they want to eat for dry hay,
00:39:17 --> 00:39:20 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: How does your bulls, in your opinion,
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 compare to those past ones?
00:39:22 --> 00:39:23 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well they, they definitely have a
00:39:23 --> 00:39:26 little bit different look for sure.
00:39:26 --> 00:39:32 But I, we've really tried to work on fleshing ease because we knew we wanted
00:39:32 --> 00:39:36 to be a strictly a grass-based operation, and so we really focused
00:39:36 --> 00:39:41 on easy fleshing cattle and cattle that can look good in their natural.
00:39:42 --> 00:39:44 State without a lot of influence.
00:39:44 --> 00:39:48 And so, today, you know, without these cattle, these bulls having any grain
00:39:48 --> 00:39:51 at all we're very pleased and we've had
00:39:51 --> 00:39:55 some customers come in and go through the bulls and they're very happy with how they
00:39:55 --> 00:39:58 look and, and happy with what we're doing.
00:39:58 --> 00:40:00 And they're really interested in the no grain route.
00:40:01 --> 00:40:03 Yeah, we just, yeah.
00:40:03 --> 00:40:07 I don't think, I think they're as good or better than, you know, I think
00:40:07 --> 00:40:10 they're better than genetically for sure.
00:40:10 --> 00:40:13 Than they were in years past, just because we've
00:40:13 --> 00:40:15 kind of worked so hard on those traits.
00:40:16 --> 00:40:16 Yeah.
00:40:16 --> 00:40:21 And I think like in the past when we haven't, or when we have fed a, a
00:40:21 --> 00:40:27 grain to them, we've always tried to do it as minimal as possible.
00:40:27 --> 00:40:32 So it's always been just enough to have enough condition on the bull
00:40:32 --> 00:40:36 that he can go out and work as soon as he's delivered to his operation.
00:40:37 --> 00:40:44 And so really the idea of cutting it out was almost more of a mental hurdle then
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46 anything else?
00:40:46 --> 00:40:48 So there and, and we weren't sure right, because.
00:40:49 --> 00:40:54 We've, we've raised these cattle to perform well with very little inputs,
00:40:54 --> 00:40:58 but at the same time, we didn't know what the outcome was gonna be.
00:40:58 --> 00:41:03 So it was a bit of a, a leap to say, okay, we're just gonna, you know, give
00:41:03 --> 00:41:05 them this protein supplement and I.
00:41:06 --> 00:41:08 And yeah, like Trevor said, I think we're really happy.
00:41:08 --> 00:41:13 We've had some customers come through and, and they seem to be happy with
00:41:13 --> 00:41:18 bulls and really, I think if you looked at videos or pictures of our previous
00:41:18 --> 00:41:21 sale bulls, you probably wouldn't really see any difference in conditions.
00:41:21 --> 00:41:24 So we're really happy with how they're, how they're doing.
00:41:25 --> 00:41:26 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.
00:41:26 --> 00:41:30 When you, when you think about genetics aspect of it, what are you
00:41:30 --> 00:41:36 selecting for, for your cows and for the bulls you're deciding to use?
00:41:37 --> 00:41:40 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Fertility is our number one deal, and
00:41:40 --> 00:41:45 it's kind of a we've went to a lot of multi sire breeding pastures and so we
00:41:45 --> 00:41:49 have to lean on DNA to, to figure out what those calves are sied by.
00:41:50 --> 00:41:51 And so for.
00:41:52 --> 00:41:55 Quite a few years, we actually would never have those results when we were selecting.
00:41:55 --> 00:41:59 We always use some yearling bowls just back into our herd
00:41:59 --> 00:42:00 and in a multi sire fashion.
00:42:01 --> 00:42:04 And so we would know, other than the, their, their mothers, we
00:42:04 --> 00:42:06 wouldn't know who they're sied by.
00:42:06 --> 00:42:07 So we basically just.
00:42:08 --> 00:42:12 Go through the cows, the, the mothers to the bulls, and we utter score
00:42:12 --> 00:42:14 all of our cows at calving time.
00:42:14 --> 00:42:19 And we don't put up with any bad feet or, or that, or TERs or, so if
00:42:19 --> 00:42:24 they score really high on, on otters and, and their feet are really good
00:42:24 --> 00:42:27 and their fertility, they're calving in the first and second cycle.
00:42:28 --> 00:42:29 That's kind of the biggest.
00:42:30 --> 00:42:34 Hurdle for us to say we're gonna use a bowl or not.
00:42:34 --> 00:42:39 We really don't, I don't, we don't post EPDs on our bowls for sale, and we don't
00:42:39 --> 00:42:43 use them for selection criteria, and we really don't even use weaning weights.
00:42:43 --> 00:42:47 It's, it's mostly just by eye and who the mother is.
00:42:49 --> 00:42:54 So, yeah, just the selection tool of fertility and, and longevity I
00:42:54 --> 00:42:56 think has really come into it for us.
00:42:56 --> 00:43:01 We look at the age of the dam too, and, and if she's holding up in
00:43:01 --> 00:43:02 the parameters that we've built for
00:43:02 --> 00:43:09 her you know, 45 day breed, no misses and no assists.
00:43:09 --> 00:43:10 No assists.
00:43:10 --> 00:43:10 Yeah.
00:43:10 --> 00:43:14 So anything that's ever been assisted won't stay.
00:43:14 --> 00:43:15 Whether it was.
00:43:16 --> 00:43:19 Maybe not, you know, if there was some sort of issue with the calf
00:43:19 --> 00:43:24 that it was, or it was backwards or that it's still we don't allow that.
00:43:24 --> 00:43:28 So they all calve out on pasture about usually within I.
00:43:28 --> 00:43:32 A mile, but this year we're three miles from the yard, so,
00:43:33 --> 00:43:33 And we don't rope.
00:43:34 --> 00:43:40 So it's if, if they need assistance, it's probably gonna be a big ordeal.
00:43:40 --> 00:43:40 So yeah,
00:43:40 --> 00:43:43 they're, they're on their own and heifers are calving with cows.
00:43:43 --> 00:43:47 They're all calving together within the same timeframe as well.
00:43:47 --> 00:43:51 So, yeah, that's kind of how we, you know, have selection tools.
00:43:52 --> 00:43:53 Yeah, just, I don't know.
00:43:53 --> 00:43:56 I just keep on going back to p practicality.
00:43:57 --> 00:44:01 If it's practical for the, the commercial beef producer, then that's
00:44:01 --> 00:44:04 kind of what the things we adopt and the genetics that we try and
00:44:04 --> 00:44:05 push through to the next generation.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:08 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I, agree with all that.
00:44:08 --> 00:44:14 I, I love the aspect that if you assist a animal, you know you're not gonna use
00:44:14 --> 00:44:16 those genetics for further your herd.
00:44:17 --> 00:44:17 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: yeah.
00:44:17 --> 00:44:22 Well, we just, we, we actually went away from even taking birth weights anymore.
00:44:23 --> 00:44:25 It's been a lot of years that we've ever taken a birth weight.
00:44:25 --> 00:44:27 And so we just lean on that.
00:44:28 --> 00:44:31 Calling criteria is if we gotta touch 'em, whether it's
00:44:31 --> 00:44:35 calf or if it's trying to get a calf to nurse, she's marked down and.
00:44:35 --> 00:44:35 And
00:44:36 --> 00:44:37 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.
00:44:37 --> 00:44:37 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: It
00:44:37 --> 00:44:41 just simplifies things and I think that's what where our calving
00:44:41 --> 00:44:43 ease comes from and why we don't really need to be worried about.
00:44:43 --> 00:44:46 We run nine years outta 10.
00:44:46 --> 00:44:49 We'll run our heifers, our yielding heifers with our cow herds.
00:44:49 --> 00:44:51 They're all bred the same, to the same bulls,
00:44:51 --> 00:44:51 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
00:44:51 --> 00:44:53 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: and they're expected to calve,
00:44:53 --> 00:44:54 you know, calving season.
00:44:54 --> 00:44:57 The heifers are run with the cows, and so they're expected
00:44:57 --> 00:44:59 to calve just like the cows are.
00:45:00 --> 00:45:03 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: And are you, Kevin, your heifers at 24 months?
00:45:04 --> 00:45:04 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes we are.
00:45:04 --> 00:45:05 Yep.
00:45:05 --> 00:45:08 We're actually kind of did a little bit of a, a trial here.
00:45:08 --> 00:45:14 Our 2022 born females, we actually held them back for a year and we tried the
00:45:14 --> 00:45:16 breeding 'em at two to Cabot three route.
00:45:17 --> 00:45:17 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.
00:45:18 --> 00:45:19 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: And then this, this past year
00:45:19 --> 00:45:23 we went back to breeding 'em as that group as yearlings.
00:45:23 --> 00:45:27 But you know, we've heard lots of positive things with the Calvin at three
00:45:27 --> 00:45:29 and especially in a grass-based system
00:45:30 --> 00:45:30 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh
00:45:30 --> 00:45:31 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: the way inputs are.
00:45:31 --> 00:45:36 So we, we, I don't, there's no data where we, I could never find any data
00:45:36 --> 00:45:41 to say one way or the other, which is better, but we just were curious enough
00:45:41 --> 00:45:42 that we thought, well, we better.
00:45:42 --> 00:45:45 Do our own trial and see how it fits in our system.
00:45:45 --> 00:45:50 So we'll see this, this spring will be those, those staffers will be,
00:45:50 --> 00:45:55 those three year olds will be calving this spring, so it'll be kind of
00:45:55 --> 00:45:56 interesting to see what happens.
00:45:56 --> 00:45:58 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Okay, so this spring you'll have some three
00:45:58 --> 00:46:00 year olds, Kevin, for the first time
00:46:00 --> 00:46:02 alongside some two year olds.
00:46:02 --> 00:46:02 Kevin, for the
00:46:02 --> 00:46:03 first
00:46:03 --> 00:46:04 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: yeah, that's right.
00:46:04 --> 00:46:07 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: That, that'll be really interesting to see.
00:46:07 --> 00:46:11 You know, I've always, my dad's always, always said, you know, we
00:46:11 --> 00:46:13 gotta get that cow in production.
00:46:13 --> 00:46:18 But then when you think about low input, grass fed, grow, growing them out,
00:46:18 --> 00:46:23 sometimes that's difficult when you really lean heavily and, and totally
00:46:23 --> 00:46:26 grass fed to get that heifer to the weight she needs to be to ke too.
00:46:27 --> 00:46:29 So it'll be interesting to see how that works out.
00:46:29 --> 00:46:31 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, well, like I say it, like it just
00:46:31 --> 00:46:35 the way inputs have gone over the years I think it needs to be revisited 'cause it
00:46:35 --> 00:46:40 was a practice that, you know, they didn't breed yearling heifers 50 years ago or so.
00:46:40 --> 00:46:43 It was standard practice to cabinet at at three.
00:46:43 --> 00:46:48 So, I think we're kind of back into those times maybe where you
00:46:48 --> 00:46:49 gotta repre pencil it and, and
00:46:49 --> 00:46:53 'cause there's, I dunno, I've, I've made a list of different.
00:46:53 --> 00:46:57 Pros and cons, and it seems like there's a lot of pros on the calving
00:46:57 --> 00:46:59 at three side side of things.
00:46:59 --> 00:47:05 It's, well, it's something that's so hard to calculate because, so if you take that
00:47:06 --> 00:47:13 heifer, calving as a two, like having a calf at two years of age, how do you
00:47:13 --> 00:47:17 figure out at what point if she falls out of the herd and doesn't breed back?
00:47:19 --> 00:47:22 Because she's managed the same way as the entire rest of the cow herd.
00:47:23 --> 00:47:26 What, what, at what point was that her fault?
00:47:26 --> 00:47:28 Or at what point was that our fault?
00:47:28 --> 00:47:31 That we weren't supporting her because she couldn't keep up?
00:47:31 --> 00:47:31 So yes,
00:47:31 --> 00:47:36 we want to, you know, make sure that they're doing as best that
00:47:36 --> 00:47:38 they can in a low input system, but.
00:47:39 --> 00:47:46 Are we losing that halfer as a 4-year-old because we pushed her so hard to
00:47:46 --> 00:47:50 try to keep up with the rest of the cow herd without any extra supports.
00:47:50 --> 00:47:54 And so, you know, where is the balance with that?
00:47:54 --> 00:47:57 But it's something, it's really interesting to look at anyways, we're
00:47:57 --> 00:48:01 not committed obviously one way or the other right now, but it's certainly
00:48:01 --> 00:48:05 something that we were curious enough about that we, like Trevor
00:48:05 --> 00:48:07 said, we, we did this trial year.
00:48:07 --> 00:48:08 So I guess we'll see.
00:48:08 --> 00:48:11 Well, and I just, you know, there's a lot of talking to other producers a lot.
00:48:11 --> 00:48:13 There's a lot of pushback to the idea,
00:48:14 --> 00:48:15 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
00:48:15 --> 00:48:16 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: I just kind of wonder if it's
00:48:16 --> 00:48:18 more so because it's, it's.
00:48:19 --> 00:48:22 Like the rest of this grazing system and low input deal.
00:48:22 --> 00:48:26 It's just a foreign concept to people that, you know, they're,
00:48:26 --> 00:48:31 they're our ourselves and our parents never did that practice.
00:48:31 --> 00:48:31 Right?
00:48:32 --> 00:48:32 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Right.
00:48:32 --> 00:48:34 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: such a foreign concept
00:48:34 --> 00:48:35 to even think of that.
00:48:35 --> 00:48:40 And so the, the biggest pushback we've seen with the idea is,
00:48:40 --> 00:48:44 well, how are you, you're kind of letting them be freeloaders.
00:48:44 --> 00:48:47 You're not gonna identify the fer, the real fertile ones.
00:48:48 --> 00:48:53 But at the same time there's all these different management practices that we
00:48:53 --> 00:48:55 see people doing to try and keep those.
00:48:56 --> 00:49:02 That system, that two year Calvin two going, whether it's like, a
00:49:02 --> 00:49:06 few points that I've kind of come up with was a reduced weaning
00:49:06 --> 00:49:08 weight weight on those first caver.
00:49:08 --> 00:49:09 Like there's definitely gonna
00:49:09 --> 00:49:13 be, for the most part, on an average, if you take a mature cows versus
00:49:13 --> 00:49:17 your first caver, there's gonna be a, a real lag in weaning weight.
00:49:17 --> 00:49:18 So you're losing there.
00:49:18 --> 00:49:22 And then most people we see, they'll sort those first caver
00:49:22 --> 00:49:23 and even the second caver.
00:49:24 --> 00:49:27 Off come wintertime and give them special treatment.
00:49:28 --> 00:49:33 So what, what system is actually being lenient or you know, it's it you're kind
00:49:33 --> 00:49:38 of, and so they're feeding them those animals more for those year or two.
00:49:39 --> 00:49:41 And even before, like when you're developing them as
00:49:41 --> 00:49:44 yearlings, you're having to put a lot more inputs in to try and
00:49:44 --> 00:49:45 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh
00:49:45 --> 00:49:45 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: get as
00:49:45 --> 00:49:48 much of them bred as possible.
00:49:48 --> 00:49:50 So, I dunno, our stance is kind of.
00:49:51 --> 00:49:56 There, it's either a four system, which is kind of the yearling way, or the
00:49:56 --> 00:50:01 two you're breeding at two is kind of a more natural u utilizing time, and
00:50:01 --> 00:50:03 it's the same as our 2-year-old bulls.
00:50:03 --> 00:50:07 You're utilizing time versus inputs to grow them out.
00:50:07 --> 00:50:09 So I.
00:50:10 --> 00:50:13 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I think this is a interesting discussion.
00:50:13 --> 00:50:16 Like I said, you know, growing up always they gotta have it too.
00:50:16 --> 00:50:18 We gotta get 'em in production.
00:50:19 --> 00:50:22 Of course I grew up on dairy, so dairy and beef are a little
00:50:22 --> 00:50:24 bit different in that aspect.
00:50:24 --> 00:50:28 But with our beef, her, that's one thing we struggle with and we've changed
00:50:28 --> 00:50:33 up some breeding or breeds we've used and stuff because we're struggling
00:50:33 --> 00:50:35 to get 'em to breed at 24 months.
00:50:36 --> 00:50:37 Or not breed at 24 months.
00:50:37 --> 00:50:41 I apologize to Kev at 24 months and breed back because that's
00:50:41 --> 00:50:43 such a huge job at that time.
00:50:44 --> 00:50:50 And we don't treat our heifers with any favoritism, and now we have to try and
00:50:50 --> 00:50:52 get 'em so they'll breed in that time.
00:50:52 --> 00:50:54 But if we gave them an extra year.
00:50:54 --> 00:50:56 We probably would, we wouldn't do that.
00:50:56 --> 00:50:57 We wouldn't have to do that.
00:50:57 --> 00:51:00 So it's interesting, actually, we need to go ahead and schedule you all's
00:51:01 --> 00:51:06 episode for early in 26 so we can discuss how this has gone for you.
00:51:06 --> 00:51:07 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, that'd be good.
00:51:07 --> 00:51:07 Revisit it.
00:51:07 --> 00:51:07 Yeah.
00:51:08 --> 00:51:09 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, yeah.
00:51:09 --> 00:51:13 It, it reminds me of goats, you know, with goats and sheep.
00:51:13 --> 00:51:14 Do you.
00:51:15 --> 00:51:18 Lamb, 'em, kid 'em at a yearling of age or two years.
00:51:18 --> 00:51:22 And that's a huge debate that happens, especially with goats.
00:51:23 --> 00:51:25 I think lamb or sheep, it's not quite so much.
00:51:25 --> 00:51:28 But with goats, a lot of people hold 'em for two years.
00:51:28 --> 00:51:33 A lot of people think they ought to be kidding as a, as a yearling.
00:51:33 --> 00:51:35 And I have the debate in my head.
00:51:35 --> 00:51:38 I have a lot of debates in my head, but that's one I have, which is the best way.
00:51:38 --> 00:51:39 I don't know.
00:51:40 --> 00:51:41 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well, I think the good thing about it
00:51:41 --> 00:51:46 in discussions like this, and the same with us, is it's having an open mindset
00:51:46 --> 00:51:46 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.
00:51:47 --> 00:51:49 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: to have that debate, even
00:51:49 --> 00:51:50 if it's just with yourself.
00:51:50 --> 00:51:55 But yeah, and I think like there's so many unmeasurable things, like how do you
00:51:55 --> 00:52:02 know if, if pushing that animal to calve as a 2-year-old, and she ends up falling
00:52:02 --> 00:52:06 out earlier than she would've, you know, you lose her, lose production out of her.
00:52:06 --> 00:52:08 She doesn't breed back as
00:52:08 --> 00:52:10 a, you know, 4-year-old, 3-year-old.
00:52:10 --> 00:52:13 You could kind of understand that that's probably what the issue
00:52:13 --> 00:52:19 was, but you don't know what you're losing on the end of longevity.
00:52:20 --> 00:52:24 So that goes to the cost of losing that first year production.
00:52:24 --> 00:52:28 And like Trevor said, that first calf isn't gonna be a
00:52:28 --> 00:52:29 real whopper usually anyways.
00:52:30 --> 00:52:30 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
00:52:30 --> 00:52:33 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: So it's, you're getting production
00:52:33 --> 00:52:37 out of her, but it's, it's not a great calf probably.
00:52:37 --> 00:52:41 And then at what cost, you know, in the long run or in the short term.
00:52:41 --> 00:52:44 So yeah, it's definitely something that's interesting to look into.
00:52:45 --> 00:52:46 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
00:52:46 --> 00:52:51 What if Kevin, him a year early causes you to lose three years on the back end?
00:52:51 --> 00:52:51 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Mm-hmm.
00:52:52 --> 00:52:52 Right.
00:52:52 --> 00:52:52 Yeah.
00:52:53 --> 00:52:53 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: it, yeah.
00:52:54 --> 00:52:54 Interesting.
00:52:55 --> 00:52:55 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well, and the other,
00:52:55 --> 00:52:59 and the, you know, the financial thing for us that, that was really blatant
00:53:00 --> 00:53:04 in this scenario is when you're low input and you're trying to use all
00:53:04 --> 00:53:09 these practices that are making them graze longer and, and doing with less,
00:53:09 --> 00:53:13 and, so those first caver, when the calve is two year olds, and if they,
00:53:13 --> 00:53:17 any of the ones that come in open, like we, our policy is to get rid of 'em.
00:53:17 --> 00:53:18 Like every
00:53:18 --> 00:53:20 cow has to, every cow has to pay her way every year.
00:53:20 --> 00:53:21 So whether it's
00:53:21 --> 00:53:24 her calf or herself, she's, she that's the way it goes.
00:53:24 --> 00:53:29 So we were say losing if you're losing 20 or 30% of those females
00:53:29 --> 00:53:31 because they can't breed back.
00:53:31 --> 00:53:37 Is that, financially viable because though they're at a reduced value because
00:53:37 --> 00:53:41 they're thinner and you know, they, they brought in a smaller calf 'cause
00:53:41 --> 00:53:43 it was their first calf most likely.
00:53:43 --> 00:53:44 And then they come in thinner.
00:53:44 --> 00:53:45 So then that salvage value is.
00:53:47 --> 00:53:52 Is incredibly low on those skinnier females versus if they were caved at
00:53:53 --> 00:53:57 three years old and if they did still come in open at that point, they're
00:53:57 --> 00:53:59 gonna be so fleshy and, and valuable.
00:54:00 --> 00:54:00 There.
00:54:00 --> 00:54:00 Yeah.
00:54:01 --> 00:54:03 So it's, there's a lot of, a lot of value to capture there.
00:54:03 --> 00:54:07 I think too, actually, just because of probably the way our
00:54:07 --> 00:54:11 program is and our genetics, the ones that we did this trial on.
00:54:13 --> 00:54:15 A couple of 'em that came open.
00:54:15 --> 00:54:17 They were great freezer beef right off
00:54:17 --> 00:54:18 the ready to eat right away.
00:54:18 --> 00:54:22 As soon as the vet said that they were open, we could book 'em in at the
00:54:22 --> 00:54:24 abattoir because they were ready to eat.
00:54:25 --> 00:54:25 Yeah.
00:54:25 --> 00:54:25 And we just,
00:54:25 --> 00:54:29 we see like we'd never adopted the practice, but you always hear when,
00:54:29 --> 00:54:34 when you kind of listen to people talk about their practices and a lot of
00:54:34 --> 00:54:38 those people, those, they will give those heifers the a second chance.
00:54:38 --> 00:54:38 So.
00:54:39 --> 00:54:39 If
00:54:39 --> 00:54:43 that's your policy, why not just pull back and, and let them develop
00:54:43 --> 00:54:47 naturally and and be actual cows before the cab for the first time?
00:54:48 --> 00:54:48 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
00:54:49 --> 00:54:49 Yeah.
00:54:49 --> 00:54:53 Very interesting discussion that I don't have the answers on.
00:54:53 --> 00:54:54 I know what we've been doing.
00:54:54 --> 00:54:55 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well, we
00:54:55 --> 00:54:55 don't.
00:54:56 --> 00:54:59 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: before we get to the famous four, we wanna talk
00:54:59 --> 00:55:01 about your bull cell just a little bit.
00:55:01 --> 00:55:04 But before we talk about your bull cell, is there anything about.
00:55:05 --> 00:55:08 Your all's journey, your operation you'd like to share that I didn't ask?
00:55:09 --> 00:55:11 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: I guess one thing that we really,
00:55:11 --> 00:55:15 lean on heavily here and that we utilize that we haven't touched
00:55:15 --> 00:55:18 on here was our stockpile grazing
00:55:18 --> 00:55:19 that we do.
00:55:19 --> 00:55:23 That's been a really major game changer for us.
00:55:23 --> 00:55:28 So I mean, I, I know a lot of the listeners will, will be familiar
00:55:28 --> 00:55:32 with Northern climates and, and winters and grazing, but.
00:55:32 --> 00:55:37 If we can get, so right now we're in a lovely warmup phase.
00:55:37 --> 00:55:40 We had about three weeks of really miserable, cold close to minus
00:55:40 --> 00:55:43 40 every day and, and wind chills.
00:55:43 --> 00:55:47 And, and we've had quite a bit of snow this year, which can be good if you're
00:55:47 --> 00:55:49 in a, a droughty time or you need
00:55:49 --> 00:55:51 some dugouts to fill with runoff.
00:55:51 --> 00:55:55 But it, it was getting to be a real pain and we were having some troubles.
00:55:55 --> 00:56:00 Getting cattle out to bale grazing because we were getting a lot of snow
00:56:00 --> 00:56:05 in our regrowth, but right now it's melting and we're hopefully looking at,
00:56:05 --> 00:56:10 you know, turning cattle out on some stockpile grass that we left last year.
00:56:10 --> 00:56:17 So we maybe would've grazed it in April or May last year and let it grow
00:56:17 --> 00:56:19 and recover for the rest of the year.
00:56:19 --> 00:56:23 Maybe not as late as, you know, it could have been as late as June, but,
00:56:23 --> 00:56:27 We let it grow and recover, and then we can turn cattle out on it, you know,
00:56:27 --> 00:56:31 in, in March sometimes and into April.
00:56:31 --> 00:56:35 And those cattle have, it's, it's such a great system because you've
00:56:35 --> 00:56:41 got so much regrowth and everybody thinks it's old, dead, oxidized grass.
00:56:41 --> 00:56:46 But when that creates such a blanket of insulation, it catches a lot of snow.
00:56:47 --> 00:56:50 And the amount of green regrowth we get early, early.
00:56:51 --> 00:56:54 Earlier than any other grasses would be ready to graze.
00:56:54 --> 00:56:58 Those cattle are getting that fresh regrowth and it's just like rocket fuel.
00:56:59 --> 00:56:59 And
00:56:59 --> 00:57:03 then you mix that with that old dead standing, and it's
00:57:03 --> 00:57:05 a, we call it our, our TMR.
00:57:06 --> 00:57:08 You know, it's a perfect ration for them.
00:57:09 --> 00:57:09 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
00:57:09 --> 00:57:11 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: you know, most graziers on here
00:57:11 --> 00:57:16 will be familiar with watching your cattle's manure and knowing, you know.
00:57:17 --> 00:57:21 Are they getting too much lignin or, you know, not enough and, and
00:57:21 --> 00:57:24 are they, you know, what their manure sack looks like, their pat.
00:57:25 --> 00:57:27 And so that's how we monitor our stockpile.
00:57:27 --> 00:57:31 But yeah, I've kind of dubbed it our, our grazing gold.
00:57:31 --> 00:57:32 It's incredible.
00:57:32 --> 00:57:36 It's probably our favorite, favorite grazing just because the cow, you
00:57:36 --> 00:57:38 know, it's the time of year when cows want to get out anyways.
00:57:38 --> 00:57:39 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, they do?
00:57:39 --> 00:57:41 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: But, and I've had people say, well, of
00:57:41 --> 00:57:46 course they want to go out and graze, but it, I just find that it's a, it's not
00:57:46 --> 00:57:50 just a novelty thing, it's a 'cause they, I'm sure they'd come back to the ba the
00:57:50 --> 00:57:55 bales are good quality bales that they'd be bale grazing on or swath grazing and
00:57:55 --> 00:58:01 I'm sure they'd get tired of the, the dried dead forage that is stockpile and
00:58:01 --> 00:58:03 go back to the bales after a few days.
00:58:03 --> 00:58:06 But they don't, they just, they're really content out there and I don't
00:58:06 --> 00:58:09 know what happens over the winter, but that stockpile, if you're to put
00:58:09 --> 00:58:11 them in there in the fall, they're.
00:58:11 --> 00:58:13 mostly mostly discontent.
00:58:13 --> 00:58:17 They just, I don't know if there's some kind of change that happens over winter,
00:58:17 --> 00:58:18 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
00:58:18 --> 00:58:19 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: they just love it come spring.
00:58:20 --> 00:58:25 Well, and our grass here, like we're in a fairly high rainfall area,
00:58:25 --> 00:58:27 our grass here gets quite washy.
00:58:27 --> 00:58:30 Like it doesn't have a lot to it, especially in the spring.
00:58:31 --> 00:58:33 So you turn cows out on a fresh, like a.
00:58:34 --> 00:58:38 Conventionally grazed pasture that's been grazed right down and hardly had
00:58:38 --> 00:58:40 any chance to recover in the fall.
00:58:40 --> 00:58:44 Those cows are just shooting that out out the back, right?
00:58:44 --> 00:58:45 It's very watery.
00:58:45 --> 00:58:49 The cows will look really hollow and they're not getting a lot outta that.
00:58:49 --> 00:58:55 And just having that stockpile dead grass on top adds, you know, to that.
00:58:56 --> 00:58:57 That ration.
00:58:57 --> 00:59:00 And then they're grazing that really fresh new green shoots.
00:59:00 --> 00:59:04 And like I say, normally that would just go right through them and, you know,
00:59:04 --> 00:59:08 you can look at those cattle pats and they're just exactly what you wanna see.
00:59:08 --> 00:59:12 Like Trevor said, the cows are so content out there and, and that's
00:59:12 --> 00:59:14 actually when they're out there.
00:59:14 --> 00:59:18 Our cattle are right into their third trimester.
00:59:18 --> 00:59:22 So they're actually at, you know, their highest need.
00:59:23 --> 00:59:29 For nutritional input and they're doing well and they start just going,
00:59:29 --> 00:59:33 you can see them start from that point on, they just start blooming.
00:59:33 --> 00:59:36 Yeah, well there's definitely, there's been winters where we've been pretty tough
00:59:36 --> 00:59:42 on the cows and they come through in a body condition less than ideal, and it's
00:59:42 --> 00:59:45 just, I can't get over how well they do.
00:59:45 --> 00:59:46 You tick kick 'em out on that
00:59:46 --> 00:59:47 stockpile.
00:59:48 --> 00:59:51 They just, especially when that little bit of green shoots start coming, it just
00:59:51 --> 00:59:57 seems like, there's so much nutrition to it, or they do well on it for some reason.
00:59:57 --> 01:00:03 And they can go from being under conditioned and to almost obese in a,
01:00:03 --> 01:00:05 you know, three or four weeks time.
01:00:05 --> 01:00:05 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:00:07 --> 01:00:10 Do, do you all have enough stockpile that you can keep 'em out on pasture
01:00:10 --> 01:00:12 all winter, or do you bring 'em in some.
01:00:13 --> 01:00:15 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Not really because we do try
01:00:15 --> 01:00:18 and push 'em to graze late into as we can into the fall.
01:00:18 --> 01:00:22 Our limiting factor, of course, is cold the wind chill, and then
01:00:22 --> 01:00:24 the, and then the depth of snow.
01:00:24 --> 01:00:25 So it.
01:00:26 --> 01:00:30 And it's not even the, the snow depth more as it is, we get the,
01:00:30 --> 01:00:34 a little bit of warmup or just the sunny days where it, it'll make
01:00:34 --> 01:00:36 a crust on that snow and it'll do
01:00:36 --> 01:00:37 that several times.
01:00:37 --> 01:00:42 So it'll kind of warm up just enough to soften the snow a little bit, and then
01:00:42 --> 01:00:44 it'll get down to 2030 below again.
01:00:45 --> 01:00:50 And so then it, so we've just, we just know that there's probably.
01:00:50 --> 01:00:55 Three months of time during the winter that there's no way
01:00:55 --> 01:00:56 we're gonna be able to graze,
01:00:56 --> 01:00:58 perennials standing.
01:00:58 --> 01:01:02 We've toyed with the idea of trying to swath some of that stockpile so that we
01:01:02 --> 01:01:06 could graze it through the winter and just, it would be better than bailing
01:01:06 --> 01:01:08 it and a little bit cheaper way to go.
01:01:08 --> 01:01:13 But I just feel there's so much value to save that stuff for the spring.
01:01:14 --> 01:01:14 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh
01:01:14 --> 01:01:16 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: And utilize it at that time.
01:01:16 --> 01:01:18 And the cows just seemed to be that much more content at
01:01:18 --> 01:01:20 that time, eating that stuff.
01:01:20 --> 01:01:22 So we've just focused on that.
01:01:22 --> 01:01:26 So we actually we had a neighbor offer a, a piece of land for us.
01:01:26 --> 01:01:27 He didn't get his cows.
01:01:27 --> 01:01:30 He's at quite a distance from where this pasture is.
01:01:31 --> 01:01:32 And so he offered us.
01:01:33 --> 01:01:38 The grazing rights to it, and he kind of wanted us to graze it last fall.
01:01:38 --> 01:01:39 But we were good.
01:01:39 --> 01:01:44 We had enough feed for until what we were gonna, until we were gonna hit the winter.
01:01:44 --> 01:01:49 And so we just asked him if we could buy it and utilize it in the spring.
01:01:49 --> 01:01:50 And so that'll be
01:01:50 --> 01:01:52 a big portion of our stockpile.
01:01:52 --> 01:01:56 And then of course, we did save quite a bit of our own acres to intentionally.
01:01:56 --> 01:02:00 Stockpile and graze come spring too, but that's a little bit closer to home.
01:02:00 --> 01:02:05 So we'll graze his field early on as early as we can get out there, and then we'll
01:02:05 --> 01:02:09 kind of shift the cows closer to home when they're getting closer to calving
01:02:09 --> 01:02:10 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.
01:02:10 --> 01:02:10 Yeah.
01:02:12 --> 01:02:14 I think stockpile is wonderful.
01:02:14 --> 01:02:16 I never have as much as I want, so
01:02:17 --> 01:02:17 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:02:17 --> 01:02:18 And we're I,
01:02:18 --> 01:02:19 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I'll have more.
01:02:19 --> 01:02:21 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: yeah, we're, I know we're trying to make
01:02:21 --> 01:02:26 a concerted effort every year to try and save more acres just because, and
01:02:26 --> 01:02:31 even, you know, I'd like to have, ideally, if I could use stockpile
01:02:31 --> 01:02:34 ground up until even July.
01:02:35 --> 01:02:37 Just to get away from that spring flush of that
01:02:37 --> 01:02:39 really rich grass that
01:02:39 --> 01:02:43 they really, they like it, but they just, I don't think they do as well on
01:02:43 --> 01:02:46 it because they don't have the ability to slow it down in the room and when
01:02:46 --> 01:02:48 they don't have any dead product there.
01:02:49 --> 01:02:49 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Right.
01:02:49 --> 01:02:49 Yeah.
01:02:52 --> 01:02:53 You all have a bull cell coming up.
01:02:55 --> 01:02:56 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, we do.
01:02:56 --> 01:02:59 It seems like it comes around every year and rarely ever ready for it.
01:02:59 --> 01:03:04 But catalogs in the mail and yeah, videos, pictures are all done, so it's kind of,
01:03:04 --> 01:03:09 kind of behind us other than getting people through the bullpen and trying
01:03:09 --> 01:03:11 to fit 'em up with a, a new herd bowl.
01:03:12 --> 01:03:13 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: And when is your cell?
01:03:14 --> 01:03:16 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: So, so it's it opens up
01:03:17 --> 01:03:19 on, the 20th, March 20th.
01:03:19 --> 01:03:23 So we usually do a two day, 'cause it's, it's only online.
01:03:23 --> 01:03:25 We don't do a live auction at all.
01:03:25 --> 01:03:28 So it's online bidding over a two day period.
01:03:29 --> 01:03:33 So it opens on March 20th and then it closes the evening of March 21st.
01:03:34 --> 01:03:34 Yeah.
01:03:35 --> 01:03:35 Yeah.
01:03:35 --> 01:03:36 And so we, we actually changed venues.
01:03:36 --> 01:03:40 We, when we started out, this is the 13th year of doing
01:03:40 --> 01:03:42 strictly online bidding format.
01:03:42 --> 01:03:44 And at that time there wasn't a.
01:03:45 --> 01:03:49 A venue in Canada that would do that.
01:03:49 --> 01:03:53 They would, they would do it if it was in conjunction with a live sale.
01:03:53 --> 01:03:55 And we didn't wanna do that.
01:03:55 --> 01:03:59 We didn't want to bring the bulls to town and, and fuss with having a live sale.
01:03:59 --> 01:04:03 We just wanted to keep it kind of low key and, and but.
01:04:04 --> 01:04:07 So we utilized a, a place in, I can't remember what state they're
01:04:07 --> 01:04:10 out of actually, but it was in the states that we utilized.
01:04:10 --> 01:04:15 It was a really cheap way of offering our bowls and online bidding.
01:04:15 --> 01:04:17 And it worked fantastic.
01:04:17 --> 01:04:20 A little bit of growing pains in the first couple years to try and, you
01:04:20 --> 01:04:23 know, it was early enough where a lot of these ranchers, they weren't real
01:04:23 --> 01:04:25 comfortable with computers and definitely
01:04:25 --> 01:04:28 not online, and definitely not online bidding.
01:04:28 --> 01:04:30 So it was a bit of a hurdle and.
01:04:31 --> 01:04:34 But it was good way to, to move our bulls.
01:04:34 --> 01:04:39 And so this year we actually changed venues to a Canadian site that's really
01:04:39 --> 01:04:45 known Canada wide with commercial bull buyers or even commercial stock.
01:04:45 --> 01:04:49 And it's called DLMS, and it's a timed auction system.
01:04:49 --> 01:04:52 It's basically the same, same thing that we were doing
01:04:52 --> 01:04:54 before, just a different venue.
01:04:55 --> 01:04:55 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.
01:04:56 --> 01:05:00 Do you have days where buyers or potential buyers can come look
01:05:00 --> 01:05:05 at the bulls, or is it through videos that's posted on the site?
01:05:05 --> 01:05:07 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, we're, we're wide open.
01:05:07 --> 01:05:10 I'd say, you know, 365 days of the years.
01:05:10 --> 01:05:14 If guys wanna see, come see the cows when they're calving, that's awesome.
01:05:14 --> 01:05:17 If they wanna come and see the bulls when they're put out on grass or out
01:05:17 --> 01:05:19 grazing during the summer, that's awesome.
01:05:19 --> 01:05:23 Yeah, we don't, we don't have a set day where we have an
01:05:23 --> 01:05:24 open house per se.
01:05:24 --> 01:05:28 Yeah, we just say, just come whenever it's works for you guys.
01:05:28 --> 01:05:32 'cause I know everybody's busy and so we just try and, you know, there's
01:05:32 --> 01:05:35 days where you have to kind of give up your plans that you had made, but
01:05:35 --> 01:05:38 that's kind of what we're, that's our, that's our gravy for the year.
01:05:38 --> 01:05:41 So we kind of try and look after that and make it work for our
01:05:41 --> 01:05:44 customers as best as possible.
01:05:45 --> 01:05:48 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I am, I'm not sure what the laws are.
01:05:49 --> 01:05:53 Are your bulls available to come into the states or are they mainly
01:05:53 --> 01:05:53 for
01:05:53 --> 01:05:53 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: that.
01:05:53 --> 01:05:54 Yeah.
01:05:54 --> 01:05:57 So we have sold into the states before.
01:05:57 --> 01:06:00 It's pretty seamless to bring a bull in.
01:06:00 --> 01:06:03 We have to do some blood tests to get them across.
01:06:03 --> 01:06:08 But, we sold some bulls into North Dakota last year, and so we kind
01:06:08 --> 01:06:09 of take care of that for the buyer.
01:06:10 --> 01:06:13 It's, it's pretty, pretty painless.
01:06:13 --> 01:06:15 We've, we've dealt with bringing.
01:06:15 --> 01:06:17 Bulls from the states.
01:06:17 --> 01:06:20 Lots in our own, I shouldn't say lots, but we've definitely brought
01:06:20 --> 01:06:24 bulls up from the states before, so we were pretty familiar with it.
01:06:24 --> 01:06:28 And we've sold into the states you know, different times and, and we're willing
01:06:28 --> 01:06:30 to do the background work on that.
01:06:30 --> 01:06:34 And the great thing for any of our American friends is right
01:06:34 --> 01:06:36 now our dollar is not very good.
01:06:36 --> 01:06:36 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:06:37 --> 01:06:40 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: And so an American dollar is, got a lot
01:06:40 --> 01:06:45 of buying power up here, so, yeah, it's pretty, we like to make it pretty seamless
01:06:45 --> 01:06:47 for our American friends to come and buy.
01:06:47 --> 01:06:52 And like I say, right now, you guys have have the upper hand on us by quite a bit.
01:06:52 --> 01:06:55 It's we're only at about we 70 cent.
01:06:56 --> 01:06:56 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh,
01:06:56 --> 01:06:57 yes.
01:06:57 --> 01:06:57 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: now.
01:06:57 --> 01:06:57 So below, yeah.
01:06:58 --> 01:06:59 Or even a little bit below that.
01:06:59 --> 01:07:00 Yeah.
01:07:00 --> 01:07:00 69.
01:07:01 --> 01:07:05 So yeah, it's definitely gives, gives some buying power to,
01:07:05 --> 01:07:07 to those south of the line,
01:07:07 --> 01:07:08 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, it does?
01:07:08 --> 01:07:08 Yeah.
01:07:09 --> 01:07:10 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: which is nice.
01:07:10 --> 01:07:13 it's it's kind of, it's, we've had some interest, especially
01:07:13 --> 01:07:16 this year, some new interests from down in the States and actually
01:07:16 --> 01:07:21 quite south and yeah, and it's, they're basically chasing.
01:07:21 --> 01:07:25 Or have been following what we've been doing and kind of like our
01:07:25 --> 01:07:28 2-year-old system and how we're not pushing them and stuff.
01:07:28 --> 01:07:33 So it's, you know, it's kind of, I don't know how they hear about us if it's social
01:07:33 --> 01:07:39 media or whatnot, but it's, it's kind of interesting and, and just another big
01:07:39 --> 01:07:41 market that if we can supply or help.
01:07:42 --> 01:07:47 Guys that are in that low input system mindset, then if if we can supply them
01:07:47 --> 01:07:53 with some seed stock that way, that's kind of, kind of neat and interesting to
01:07:53 --> 01:07:56 get 'em into different environments too, to really put the test to them and see
01:07:56 --> 01:07:57 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
01:07:57 --> 01:07:57 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: actually do it.
01:07:58 --> 01:08:02 Yeah, and we've, I think the other thing that, you know, kind of, I
01:08:02 --> 01:08:06 guess, brings us to some of people, people's minds is because we have
01:08:06 --> 01:08:08 bought genetics from the states before.
01:08:08 --> 01:08:14 So, you know, we've used Sinclair Cattle Company and Y Angus and, and things like
01:08:14 --> 01:08:18 that, and our breeding program and, and just bought some cattle from Nebraska
01:08:18 --> 01:08:22 and over the last two years, some cows from Nebraska and brought them up here.
01:08:22 --> 01:08:26 So we kind of have some connections down in the states as well.
01:08:27 --> 01:08:27 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.
01:08:29 --> 01:08:32 I think mentioned earlier you'll have a cell catalog.
01:08:32 --> 01:08:35 If someone is interested in that, what would they need to do?
01:08:35 --> 01:08:38 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, so we're on social media, so
01:08:38 --> 01:08:41 you can contact us through there and or you know, give us a call.
01:08:41 --> 01:08:45 But we do actually still print a catalog like we did when
01:08:45 --> 01:08:46 we had a live sale years ago.
01:08:47 --> 01:08:50 And, you know, there's a, there's a fair bit of cost to it, but I think
01:08:51 --> 01:08:52 we just kind of consider it as.
01:08:53 --> 01:08:57 Part of our advertising, I guess it seems like people still like to get
01:08:57 --> 01:09:00 something in their hands, especially a Bull Sail catalog, so that they can
01:09:00 --> 01:09:04 flip back and forth a little easier and, and it gives 'em something more
01:09:04 --> 01:09:07 to look at or make notes on when they're going through the bulls.
01:09:07 --> 01:09:10 And rather than just a piece of paper with a list of.
01:09:10 --> 01:09:11 Tattoos or
01:09:11 --> 01:09:12 whatever.
01:09:12 --> 01:09:13 So, yeah.
01:09:13 --> 01:09:16 and it, it kind of gives us a, it's a bit of an avenue to tell
01:09:16 --> 01:09:18 our story a little bit more too.
01:09:18 --> 01:09:18 And
01:09:19 --> 01:09:23 so, yeah, so we just actually this morning we've packaged up some catalogs
01:09:23 --> 01:09:28 for people that have contacted us through either text or messaging us.
01:09:29 --> 01:09:30 And requesting catalogs.
01:09:30 --> 01:09:32 So yeah, we just drop 'em in the mail.
01:09:32 --> 01:09:36 We've got a SA pretty limited mailing list, so we don't mail
01:09:36 --> 01:09:38 out thousands of catalogs.
01:09:38 --> 01:09:41 We kind of just stick with the guys that have really expressed
01:09:41 --> 01:09:42 interest or bought in past
01:09:42 --> 01:09:43 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
01:09:43 --> 01:09:45 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: And so then we just add to
01:09:45 --> 01:09:46 it a little bit at a time.
01:09:46 --> 01:09:50 If people actually reach out to us, we're not really looking to, you
01:09:50 --> 01:09:53 know, we'd like to sell a lot of bulls and we'd like to have a lot
01:09:53 --> 01:09:55 of, a lot of customer base, but.
01:09:55 --> 01:10:01 We wanna really be specific and, and allow, you know, let people come to us if
01:10:01 --> 01:10:02 they're actually interested in what we're
01:10:02 --> 01:10:03 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yeah.
01:10:04 --> 01:10:04 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: And
01:10:04 --> 01:10:08 the nice thing is too, if we get too late that a sale catalog isn't gonna
01:10:09 --> 01:10:11 make it physically into someone's hands.
01:10:11 --> 01:10:17 It is available and all the bowls, videos, and pictures are all available online.
01:10:17 --> 01:10:23 Through our sales site DLMS or off of our own GBT Angus website as well, so
01:10:24 --> 01:10:25 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, very good.
01:10:25 --> 01:10:29 And we'll make, we'll make sure we have that link in our show notes for
01:10:29 --> 01:10:30 people if they want to access that.
01:10:31 --> 01:10:34 Trevor and Cheryl, it is time for our famous four questions.
01:10:34 --> 01:10:37 Same four questions we ask of all of our guests.
01:10:37 --> 01:10:39 And yes, you both have to answer.
01:10:40 --> 01:10:41 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: We're debating about whether
01:10:41 --> 01:10:42 we could get away with one.
01:10:44 --> 01:10:48 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I, I, I, I love the discomfort and the fear in people's
01:10:48 --> 01:10:49 eyes when I say you both have to answer.
01:10:50 --> 01:10:50 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: I.
01:10:52 --> 01:10:54 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: The first question, what is your favorite
01:10:54 --> 01:10:58 grazing grass related book or resource?
01:10:58 --> 01:11:00 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Now can I, can I throw
01:11:00 --> 01:11:01 like a dozen at you then?
01:11:01 --> 01:11:02 I'll
01:11:02 --> 01:11:02 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Uh oh.
01:11:02 --> 01:11:06 You can, you can, I love resources, so you can just start making your
01:11:06 --> 01:11:10 list and Cheryl can be hoping that Cal says it's long enough.
01:11:12 --> 01:11:13 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well, I think she probably has some
01:11:13 --> 01:11:17 ideas, but I, I just want, I guess a few books that I'm not a big reader.
01:11:17 --> 01:11:20 I, I do read magazines, I like kind of brief articles, but.
01:11:21 --> 01:11:25 Some more longer books that I have went through and I think are,
01:11:25 --> 01:11:28 have been pretty important for us.
01:11:28 --> 01:11:33 And kind of building on what we do is man Cattle and VE by Johan Zeman.
01:11:33 --> 01:11:34 I think he's
01:11:34 --> 01:11:38 been on your pod, you know, or been mentioned on your podcast quite a bit.
01:11:38 --> 01:11:41 And actually probably a new one maybe would be Cover Cropping
01:11:41 --> 01:11:43 in Western Canada by Kevin Elmi.
01:11:44 --> 01:11:44 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, okay.
01:11:44 --> 01:11:46 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: it's, it's kind of a, you know, just
01:11:46 --> 01:11:51 a pretty thorough but easy read on if you're wanting to get into cover crops.
01:11:51 --> 01:11:55 We, we dabble in cover crops just because we need a, a winter feed source or
01:11:55 --> 01:11:57 sometimes we plant it for summer grazing.
01:11:57 --> 01:12:01 But yeah, it covers a lot of the basics, but kind of gets a little
01:12:01 --> 01:12:05 bit in depth too, and selecting your species and what they do for you.
01:12:06 --> 01:12:06 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh
01:12:06 --> 01:12:08 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: and I guess one more would be the
01:12:08 --> 01:12:10 Basis of Line Breeding by Jim Lents.
01:12:10 --> 01:12:14 And that's, I kind of picked that one up because you know, my genetic
01:12:14 --> 01:12:16 interest and, and line breeding.
01:12:16 --> 01:12:19 We do quite a bit of line breeding here just to try and
01:12:19 --> 01:12:22 solidify some consistency in our herd and
01:12:22 --> 01:12:23 predictability.
01:12:23 --> 01:12:25 And so that kind of was of interest.
01:12:25 --> 01:12:29 It's a little tougher read for sure, but if that's your, if that's your
01:12:29 --> 01:12:32 interest, it's I think there's the odd person that would like that.
01:12:33 --> 01:12:35 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: well, I'm an odd person because I'm
01:12:35 --> 01:12:36 like, I gotta go get that book.
01:12:37 --> 01:12:39 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: I guess I'm gonna call mine a resource
01:12:39 --> 01:12:42 because I don't typically read books.
01:12:42 --> 01:12:45 I read books a lot, but novels not usually,
01:12:45 --> 01:12:46 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, yes.
01:12:46 --> 01:12:49 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: not usually things I can actually utilize.
01:12:49 --> 01:12:54 But we have and I know that there's people from the states that listen to it as well,
01:12:54 --> 01:12:57 but our Canadian friends up here will.
01:12:57 --> 01:12:58 No.
01:12:58 --> 01:12:59 Wednesday night networking.
01:12:59 --> 01:13:00 Steve Kenyon
01:13:00 --> 01:13:04 has a, a thing that he does called Wednesday Night Networking.
01:13:05 --> 01:13:06 And so in the.
01:13:07 --> 01:13:11 You know, terrible days of winter in Saskatchewan.
01:13:11 --> 01:13:16 Here it is a Wednesday night that we can sit down in front of the fireplace
01:13:16 --> 01:13:19 and, and listen to networking.
01:13:19 --> 01:13:22 And it's kind of like we talked about before a conference or that I.
01:13:22 --> 01:13:24 Gives you a little bit more enthusiasm for
01:13:24 --> 01:13:27 what you're doing, especially in the miserable part of winter.
01:13:27 --> 01:13:31 And opens your mind up to some new and different ideas.
01:13:31 --> 01:13:35 Yeah, and I gotta give you a plug, cow at the podcasts have been big for me.
01:13:35 --> 01:13:37 Like, it's so versatile.
01:13:37 --> 01:13:41 I can take it in the truck, in the track doing chores, or I've
01:13:41 --> 01:13:44 even, you know, just walking across the yard or working in the shop.
01:13:44 --> 01:13:47 I'll have a podcast on most of the time 'cause I'm just.
01:13:48 --> 01:13:49 So curious of what every everybody else is
01:13:49 --> 01:13:50 doing.
01:13:50 --> 01:13:54 So I, we, we'd spend, we probably, I dunno if I've listened to all your episodes,
01:13:54 --> 01:13:55 but probably most of them and, and
01:13:55 --> 01:13:57 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh, some of the early ones are rough.
01:13:58 --> 01:13:59 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: learning curves.
01:13:59 --> 01:13:59 Hey.
01:14:00 --> 01:14:00 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:14:00 --> 01:14:00 Yeah.
01:14:00 --> 01:14:01 The guests were great.
01:14:01 --> 01:14:03 The host is kind of questionable.
01:14:04 --> 01:14:06 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: No, it's, it's, it's awesome and
01:14:06 --> 01:14:09 I really encourage people to pick that up if they aren't a podcaster,
01:14:09 --> 01:14:11 it's, or listening to podcasts.
01:14:11 --> 01:14:13 'cause there's a lot of good information.
01:14:13 --> 01:14:14 It's, yeah.
01:14:14 --> 01:14:18 And for myself too, like I say, I don't necessarily, most books
01:14:18 --> 01:14:23 on, on topics of grazing or, or cattle breeding, I find too dry.
01:14:23 --> 01:14:25 But I really like listening to podcasts.
01:14:25 --> 01:14:26 So yeah.
01:14:26 --> 01:14:27 it's a great resource.
01:14:29 --> 01:14:31 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Obviously I love podcasts as well, and you
01:14:31 --> 01:14:33 all listed some great resources
01:14:34 --> 01:14:34 also.
01:14:35 --> 01:14:38 Our second question, what's your favorite tool for the farm?
01:14:39 --> 01:14:40 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: We're gonna have to fight over this one.
01:14:40 --> 01:14:41 No.
01:14:41 --> 01:14:41 Well, you can go ahead.
01:14:41 --> 01:14:43 I'll take my second choice.
01:14:43 --> 01:14:44 I'll Oh, okay.
01:14:44 --> 01:14:44 Yeah, right.
01:14:44 --> 01:14:45 You can go ahead on it.
01:14:45 --> 01:14:50 Yeah, so probably like most of your guests, a quad four wheeler
01:14:50 --> 01:14:54 is really, I don't know if we could do what we do if we didn't have it.
01:14:54 --> 01:14:57 I remember the early years when we couldn't afford a quad and we were
01:14:57 --> 01:15:03 using a pickup truck or walking and, so we actually have two quads and
01:15:03 --> 01:15:08 we've got 'em outfitted with a toolbox on the back, like a, and then on the
01:15:08 --> 01:15:12 front I've devised a system where it holds the step in posts and our,
01:15:12 --> 01:15:14 our poly reels.
01:15:14 --> 01:15:17 And so we can actually string out poly wire.
01:15:17 --> 01:15:21 We, our system's pretty simple, we just use one wire.
01:15:21 --> 01:15:23 So we just, I'm able to.
01:15:23 --> 01:15:27 Actually not even get off the quad and put our posts in and string
01:15:27 --> 01:15:29 our reel and make our paddocks.
01:15:29 --> 01:15:33 So that's been a game changer for sure, just making life a lot
01:15:33 --> 01:15:40 easier and making the, the grazing system work without a big headache.
01:15:41 --> 01:15:45 Y Yeah, I'm just on, like, we, we were discussing this earlier and we both
01:15:45 --> 01:15:47 said immediately quad, like our quads.
01:15:47 --> 01:15:48 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh
01:15:48 --> 01:15:50 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: we're both on them all
01:15:50 --> 01:15:51 day long, every day.
01:15:51 --> 01:15:55 Going and checking pastures and moving cattle and I think for
01:15:55 --> 01:16:00 people that find the idea of moving cattle and setting up new fences
01:16:00 --> 01:16:02 too daunting, you have to have a.
01:16:03 --> 01:16:07 It, it's pretty integral to have a good setup if you've got step-in posts that
01:16:07 --> 01:16:10 are all tangled and jumbled together.
01:16:10 --> 01:16:13 And you know, like Trevor's pretty good at fabricating things.
01:16:13 --> 01:16:18 So he's got racks on the front of the quad that hold all the step-in posts so that
01:16:18 --> 01:16:19 they're never getting tangled together.
01:16:19 --> 01:16:20 And
01:16:20 --> 01:16:25 we can hold up to, actually, if I use on the back hookups too,
01:16:25 --> 01:16:26 we can hold like four reels.
01:16:27 --> 01:16:28 On the quad at any time.
01:16:28 --> 01:16:32 And our drills and everything else that we use are in the toolbox.
01:16:32 --> 01:16:36 Or anything that we need to fix a fence is all in the toolbox.
01:16:36 --> 01:16:40 But because I need to have a different answer our other secondary thing
01:16:40 --> 01:16:44 that is pretty useful, especially when we used to run a lot of custom
01:16:44 --> 01:16:47 yearlings is a, we use a new dart gun.
01:16:48 --> 01:16:48 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Oh yes.
01:16:48 --> 01:16:50 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: the treatment system for, for
01:16:50 --> 01:16:52 treating for foot rod or pink eye.
01:16:52 --> 01:16:54 Our cow herd is usually pretty good.
01:16:54 --> 01:16:59 We do occasionally have or have had in the past where we get pink eye foot wrought.
01:16:59 --> 01:17:05 We have a lot of low lying land here and slews and wet areas, and so foot
01:17:05 --> 01:17:07 wrought can definitely be an issue.
01:17:08 --> 01:17:12 And pink eye seems to be a problem sometimes too, depending on the year.
01:17:12 --> 01:17:18 So, yeah, new dark gun, making things easy to treat and keeping our, our
01:17:18 --> 01:17:22 custom graziers happy when they get their cattle back at the end of the
01:17:22 --> 01:17:25 year and they say, I can't believe you don't have any club foot or
01:17:25 --> 01:17:27 bad eyes left over in a group.
01:17:27 --> 01:17:31 Out of 500 head is, is good in our area of the world.
01:17:31 --> 01:17:32 So it makes
01:17:32 --> 01:17:33 a big difference.
01:17:33 --> 01:17:34 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:17:34 --> 01:17:36 Excellent tools there.
01:17:36 --> 01:17:37 With your quad setup.
01:17:38 --> 01:17:40 I, I'm sure you posted pictures.
01:17:40 --> 01:17:44 I know the listeners will wanna see it, so especially if you go to a
01:17:44 --> 01:17:48 Grazing Grass community on Facebook, you could post a picture in there
01:17:48 --> 01:17:48 so
01:17:48 --> 01:17:48 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: sure.
01:17:48 --> 01:17:49 Yeah, you be.
01:17:49 --> 01:17:50 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:17:50 --> 01:17:51 Appreciate it.
01:17:51 --> 01:17:54 Our third question, what would you tell someone just getting started.
01:17:55 --> 01:17:55 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:17:55 --> 01:17:57 It's kind of interesting 'cause we.
01:17:57 --> 01:18:02 You know, we're not the first people to be, I don't know like
01:18:02 --> 01:18:06 low input or regenerative type system, but kind of one of them.
01:18:07 --> 01:18:12 And so we've had younger producers actually contact us quite regularly.
01:18:12 --> 01:18:16 You know, they're dipping their toe where they wanna dip their toe into what
01:18:16 --> 01:18:21 we're doing and, and so I guess just, you know, try and find that community
01:18:21 --> 01:18:24 that you can bounce ideas off of and.
01:18:25 --> 01:18:30 You know, I think the biggest misconception in, in beef production and
01:18:30 --> 01:18:35 probably lots of ruminant production, is you have to have equipment and
01:18:35 --> 01:18:39 barns and, and all kinds of fancy facilities, which is not true at all.
01:18:40 --> 01:18:43 If you kind of match your system with the environment and play
01:18:43 --> 01:18:45 by mother nature's rules, it's.
01:18:46 --> 01:18:49 You basically need a piece of ground with grass and a little
01:18:49 --> 01:18:52 bit of electric fence and a, and a water source, and away you go.
01:18:52 --> 01:18:55 It's, it doesn't have to be as daunting or as expensive as what
01:18:55 --> 01:18:58 some people make it out to be or what tradition or conventional
01:18:58 --> 01:19:01 thought wisdom makes it out to be.
01:19:01 --> 01:19:01 So I
01:19:01 --> 01:19:06 think, you know, that those two things is just try and get in with a group
01:19:06 --> 01:19:11 of producers that are outside of the box thinking and, and trying things
01:19:11 --> 01:19:13 different and being open-minded and.
01:19:13 --> 01:19:14 Broaden your horizons.
01:19:16 --> 01:19:18 Yeah, obviously I agree with all of that.
01:19:18 --> 01:19:23 And just I guess to add to it is that it is good to have a social group
01:19:23 --> 01:19:27 that you can have peers, you can ask questions, and you don't feel
01:19:27 --> 01:19:31 so isolated that you're doing things differently than conventional producers.
01:19:32 --> 01:19:36 And you don't have to go to coffee row and hear, what everybody's weaning,
01:19:36 --> 01:19:42 weight brags are, and and, and, you know, think that you're missing out
01:19:42 --> 01:19:45 on something or that you're doing something that's not gonna be successful.
01:19:45 --> 01:19:48 Try to find a group, but we're very lucky in today's day and age with
01:19:48 --> 01:19:52 social media and things like this, resources, like podcasts, and that,
01:19:52 --> 01:19:56 that you can, you can bounce ideas off of other people and learn from them.
01:19:57 --> 01:20:00 And then I think start moving your cattle like we'd mentioned
01:20:00 --> 01:20:04 before, you know, cross fencing and that any, and, and even for
01:20:04 --> 01:20:09 ourselves, we have some pieces of land that are solid bush and we can't
01:20:09 --> 01:20:13 move the cattle as often as we would like to, to utilize that grass as a.
01:20:14 --> 01:20:15 To the best of our ability that
01:20:15 --> 01:20:16 we know we could.
01:20:17 --> 01:20:21 But the more you move them, the better, you know, to a
01:20:21 --> 01:20:21 certain extent.
01:20:22 --> 01:20:22 Right?
01:20:22 --> 01:20:22 You don't want
01:20:22 --> 01:20:25 to have to get moving any more than four times.
01:20:25 --> 01:20:28 You know, more than four times a day is probably gonna be too much.
01:20:28 --> 01:20:32 But you know, certainly any more that you're moving is, is better for your grass
01:20:32 --> 01:20:38 and, and I think people would be shocked at how fast you see the results of that.
01:20:38 --> 01:20:38 Mm-hmm.
01:20:40 --> 01:20:43 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, excellent advice there, both of you.
01:20:43 --> 01:20:47 You know, that community aspect is so important.
01:20:47 --> 01:20:49 And then the other thing, just move your cows.
01:20:50 --> 01:20:53 If, if all you can do is move them once this month, that's better.
01:20:54 --> 01:20:57 If, if you can move them once this week, even better.
01:20:57 --> 01:20:59 If you can move 'em once each day.
01:21:00 --> 01:21:01 Wonderful.
01:21:01 --> 01:21:04 Just whatever you can do, just do a little bit more
01:21:05 --> 01:21:09 and, and like you said, the results are very quick.
01:21:09 --> 01:21:11 You can see a difference.
01:21:11 --> 01:21:12 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah, and I, and I'd kind of maybe
01:21:12 --> 01:21:17 add to that too, is just, you know, use good common sense and, and
01:21:17 --> 01:21:21 good livestock management practices and, and keep an eye on your cows.
01:21:21 --> 01:21:21 Like there
01:21:21 --> 01:21:22 you gotta look after 'em.
01:21:22 --> 01:21:26 And, and that's, I think some of the flaws with some of this low
01:21:26 --> 01:21:30 input system is there's been some.
01:21:30 --> 01:21:35 Guys that, you know, they really dive in head first and take big bites of it
01:21:36 --> 01:21:40 and it kind of can burn 'em 'cause they don't fully understand the whole system
01:21:40 --> 01:21:45 and how to, you know, it was there's, there's a lot of, a lot to it, I guess.
01:21:45 --> 01:21:52 And so to understand from front to back and, and don't just say you're gonna be
01:21:52 --> 01:21:54 tough on your cows and, and leave 'em out.
01:21:55 --> 01:21:59 And you know, to fend for themselves, you kind of, you still gotta look
01:21:59 --> 01:22:04 after the factory and just tweak a little bit at a time both your genetics
01:22:04 --> 01:22:06 and, and your management style.
01:22:06 --> 01:22:08 And I think you'd, there'd be a lot, lot more success that way
01:22:08 --> 01:22:10 than just jumping whole hog in.
01:22:11 --> 01:22:15 Yeah, because I think people think that I could just take my herd
01:22:15 --> 01:22:18 of, you know, continental bread.
01:22:18 --> 01:22:22 You know, I don't wanna bang on any breeds or that, but obviously you
01:22:22 --> 01:22:27 want to, you know, you can't just take any herd of cows and put them full
01:22:27 --> 01:22:32 hog into, you know, maybe a system like how we're managing our cow herd.
01:22:32 --> 01:22:37 It's, it's been developed and, and tweaked to get to this point, but.
01:22:38 --> 01:22:41 Start small and start.
01:22:42 --> 01:22:42 Mm-hmm.
01:22:42 --> 01:22:43 Just start.
01:22:43 --> 01:22:44 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Get started.
01:22:44 --> 01:22:44 Yeah.
01:22:46 --> 01:22:48 Lastly, where can others find out more about you?
01:22:50 --> 01:22:51 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Well, we're pretty, I don't know.
01:22:51 --> 01:22:56 I, I don't, I'm kind of pretty focused on Facebook, I guess as far as social
01:22:56 --> 01:22:59 media, and I'm on Twitter as well.
01:22:59 --> 01:23:02 And so we try and post on there fairly regularly and.
01:23:03 --> 01:23:06 And then of course, phone and email.
01:23:06 --> 01:23:09 We've, we've got those options in our website as well.
01:23:09 --> 01:23:14 So, and most of everything is if you search GBT Angus, that's our
01:23:14 --> 01:23:17 Twitter handle and our Facebook handle and, and our website.
01:23:19 --> 01:23:19 Yep.
01:23:19 --> 01:23:22 So any of those Trevor's pretty good at staying active on the
01:23:22 --> 01:23:24 social media end of things.
01:23:24 --> 01:23:26 I occasionally post on.
01:23:26 --> 01:23:28 Our farm Facebook page.
01:23:28 --> 01:23:31 Lots on my own, but I'm not usually on it too much.
01:23:31 --> 01:23:35 But Trevor's pretty good on some of the other sites that there are on
01:23:35 --> 01:23:40 various discussion groups or that, and, and, yeah, so it's G as in Jerry,
01:23:41 --> 01:23:43 B as in Betty, T as in Trevor, Angus.
01:23:45 --> 01:23:48 If people are wondering, those are the names that make up GBT.
01:23:49 --> 01:23:50 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Very good.
01:23:51 --> 01:23:53 I really appreciate you all coming on today.
01:23:53 --> 01:23:56 But before we stop, we have a new segment.
01:23:56 --> 01:23:58 We're gonna try out and see how it goes.
01:23:59 --> 01:24:04 It's ask the host, so do you all have a question for me that I can answer?
01:24:06 --> 01:24:07 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: You have something brewed up yet?
01:24:07 --> 01:24:09 I was thinking about that.
01:24:09 --> 01:24:12 Like I say earlier, it kind of crossed my mind wondering what Cal Hardage
01:24:12 --> 01:24:17 does, but I guess as gen in general I've probably heard in the past a few
01:24:18 --> 01:24:22 tidbits of what you do in your, your system or where you're at and, but
01:24:22 --> 01:24:24 I guess where did you get started?
01:24:27 --> 01:24:30 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: I am located in northeast Oklahoma dairy, and I grew up on
01:24:30 --> 01:24:37 dairy and I discovered the stockman grass farmer in, I wanna say the late eighties,
01:24:37 --> 01:24:39 it could have been the early nineties.
01:24:39 --> 01:24:43 I was in college in the early nineties and I know we didn't discuss it and I
01:24:43 --> 01:24:49 know when I came back home to the farm in 94, I was trying to do some of it.
01:24:49 --> 01:24:50 I don't recall.
01:24:52 --> 01:24:55 Part of me feels like I was discovered a grassing stock farmer
01:24:55 --> 01:24:59 in the late eighties, and I didn't get to try anything in there.
01:24:59 --> 01:25:00 Actually, I take it back.
01:25:00 --> 01:25:03 I am a hundred percent sure I discovered it in the late eighties.
01:25:04 --> 01:25:07 'cause when I went to OSU for dairying, I'd asked people about
01:25:07 --> 01:25:11 seasonal dairying and trying to figure out this New Zealand style.
01:25:11 --> 01:25:12 And they all thought I was crazy.
01:25:12 --> 01:25:18 And then we, then I came back home to the dairy and so we started rotational grazing
01:25:18 --> 01:25:20 then, and I did a very terrible job at it.
01:25:21 --> 01:25:22 It was, it was awful.
01:25:23 --> 01:25:27 And, and with dairy cows, it's really nice because you get immediate results.
01:25:27 --> 01:25:30 Oh, I didn't give them enough grass today.
01:25:30 --> 01:25:31 And dad's not happy.
01:25:32 --> 01:25:34 Bulk tank's not as full as it should be.
01:25:34 --> 01:25:36 Some immediate feedback there.
01:25:36 --> 01:25:38 But then we had some problems.
01:25:38 --> 01:25:41 My electric fence, if I didn't give them a big enough area, and
01:25:41 --> 01:25:44 I'm trying to figure this out, they'd go through electric fence.
01:25:45 --> 01:25:45 Well,
01:25:47 --> 01:25:50 and so that really stymied my growth there.
01:25:50 --> 01:25:52 And then we sold out the dairy in 99.
01:25:53 --> 01:25:53 Yeah.
01:25:53 --> 01:25:57 But after that, you know, it led me to the point that I knew how to
01:25:57 --> 01:25:59 put an electric fence system in.
01:25:59 --> 01:26:01 You gotta have it grounded good,
01:26:01 --> 01:26:03 and you can make that fence hold animals.
01:26:04 --> 01:26:06 If you don't, if you don't ground it, they're not gonna hold very good.
01:26:06 --> 01:26:08 And that's kind of what we dealt with.
01:26:08 --> 01:26:10 And we bought cheap energizers.
01:26:10 --> 01:26:11 The energizers.
01:26:11 --> 01:26:16 Now dad still screams a little bit when I tell him the price,
01:26:16 --> 01:26:19 but it's so much better than those cheap ones we were buying.
01:26:19 --> 01:26:20 It makes all the difference.
01:26:20 --> 01:26:21 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: for sure.
01:26:21 --> 01:26:24 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: so, so so that's really where I got started with the,
01:26:25 --> 01:26:29 you know, coming into it, rotational grazing, trying to reduce costs.
01:26:30 --> 01:26:30 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Okay.
01:26:30 --> 01:26:30 Yeah.
01:26:31 --> 01:26:34 And you said that you, you, you taught as well.
01:26:34 --> 01:26:35 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yes.
01:26:35 --> 01:26:37 I, I taught in education for 23 years.
01:26:37 --> 01:26:43 I started, when we sold out the dairy in 99, I, I was like, what do I do now?
01:26:43 --> 01:26:45 We didn't have a big enough land base.
01:26:45 --> 01:26:49 We, we started running beef cows and we had chicken houses, but I needed a
01:26:49 --> 01:26:54 job and I had a bachelor's in animal science, which does you a whole lot of
01:26:54 --> 01:26:56 good if you don't wanna be a salesman and.
01:26:57 --> 01:26:58 I didn't want to be.
01:26:58 --> 01:27:00 And so my kids were gonna school.
01:27:00 --> 01:27:04 So I went back to school and got an early childhood degree, which is
01:27:04 --> 01:27:07 crazy because I'm not short or small.
01:27:07 --> 01:27:08 I'm six four.
01:27:09 --> 01:27:10 I am the runt in my family,
01:27:11 --> 01:27:14 but I'm six four and I taught my first year teaching.
01:27:14 --> 01:27:15 I taught four year olds.
01:27:15 --> 01:27:18 So the giant was with the little kids.
01:27:18 --> 01:27:22 And then I have an administrative degree and I've, I've taught from.
01:27:22 --> 01:27:24 pre-K through fifth grade.
01:27:25 --> 01:27:27 I've taught computers to all those grades.
01:27:27 --> 01:27:29 I've been tech support for a district.
01:27:29 --> 01:27:31 I've been the tech director for a district.
01:27:32 --> 01:27:39 And and then I left education at the start of 24 to try and make this farming podcast
01:27:40 --> 01:27:43 deal make a run of it and see how it goes.
01:27:44 --> 01:27:48 And I don't know how good it's going, but we're surviving and here I am.
01:27:48 --> 01:27:50 What, 15 months later, 14 months later.
01:27:51 --> 01:27:51 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Right.
01:27:51 --> 01:27:53 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: and I'm enjoying it greatly.
01:27:53 --> 01:27:54 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: That's great.
01:27:54 --> 01:27:55 Yeah, that's good.
01:27:56 --> 01:27:56 Yeah.
01:27:56 --> 01:27:58 I'll be able to talk to people that you're interested in.
01:27:58 --> 01:28:02 Hey, I'd like to see their different systems and, and
01:28:02 --> 01:28:03 bounce ideas off of people.
01:28:04 --> 01:28:05 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: oh, I, I love it.
01:28:05 --> 01:28:08 I like to tell people I started the podcast for very selfish reasons,
01:28:09 --> 01:28:13 so I can talk to everyone about grazing, and I just happened to
01:28:13 --> 01:28:14 record it and share it with the world.
01:28:15 --> 01:28:15 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:28:15 --> 01:28:18 Well, if you're taking the initiative to do this that's pretty
01:28:18 --> 01:28:21 dedicated, so you're, you're allowed to have some value out of it,
01:28:21 --> 01:28:25 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: It, it, it has improved my practice so much getting
01:28:25 --> 01:28:29 to talk to everyone, and I hope it has that effect on our listeners.
01:28:31 --> 01:28:34 Well, Cheryl and Trevor, I appreciate the questions.
01:28:35 --> 01:28:37 I appreciate you all coming on and sharing today.
01:28:37 --> 01:28:38 Thank you.
01:28:38 --> 01:28:39 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:28:39 --> 01:28:41 Well, thanks for having us Cal and reaching out to us.
01:28:41 --> 01:28:42 I sorry it took so long.
01:28:42 --> 01:28:46 I think it was maybe last year at this time when you actually contacted us,
01:28:46 --> 01:28:46 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: It.
01:28:47 --> 01:28:48 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: the way life goes we're
01:28:48 --> 01:28:51 yeah, we we got here anyways, so I guess that's
01:28:51 --> 01:28:51 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: right.
01:28:51 --> 01:28:52 that's
01:28:52 --> 01:28:52 the important part.
01:28:53 --> 01:28:55 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: But no, thanks for, like I say, I'm
01:28:56 --> 01:29:00 big at listening on podcasts and gathering information from podcasts,
01:29:00 --> 01:29:04 so I really appreciate what you guys do on your end and, and creating
01:29:04 --> 01:29:09 this venue to, for other producers, everybody else in our, in our industry.
01:29:10 --> 01:29:10 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yeah.
01:29:11 --> 01:29:11 trevor--cheryl-branvold_2_02-28-2025_111738: Yep.
01:29:11 --> 01:29:12 Thanks very much, Cal.
01:29:12 --> 01:29:13 cal_2_02-28-2025_111738: Thank you.
01:29:15 --> 01:29:18 Cal: Thank you for listening to this episode of the grazing grass podcast,
01:29:18 --> 01:29:23 where we bring you stories and insights into grass-based livestock production.
01:29:23 --> 01:29:26 If you're new here, we've got something just for you.
01:29:26 --> 01:29:28 Our new listener resource guide.
01:29:28 --> 01:29:32 Is packed with everything you need to get started on your listening
01:29:32 --> 01:29:34 journey with a grazing grass podcast.
01:29:35 --> 01:29:38 It gives you more information about the podcast about myself.
01:29:39 --> 01:29:40 And next steps.
01:29:40 --> 01:29:43 You can grab your free copy at grazinggrass.com
01:29:43 --> 01:29:45 slash guide.
01:29:46 --> 01:29:46 Don't miss out.
01:29:48 --> 01:29:50 And Hey, do you have a grazing story to share?
01:29:50 --> 01:29:55 We're always looking for passionate producers to feature on the show,
01:29:55 --> 01:30:00 whether you're just starting out or have years of experience your story matters.
01:30:00 --> 01:30:02 Head over to grazing grass.
01:30:02 --> 01:30:04 Dot com slash guest.
01:30:04 --> 01:30:06 To learn more and apply to be a guest.
01:30:06 --> 01:30:10 We'd love to share your journey with our growing community of grazers.
01:30:11 --> 01:30:13 Until next time.
01:30:13 --> 01:30:15 Keep on grazing grass.
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