Ross McGarva is a seasoned rancher with deep roots in the agricultural world. His family has been involved in ranching since 1918, and Ross himself has embarked on a remarkable journey across the United States, managing various livestock species such as cattle, meat goats, and hair sheep. Having transitioned from California to Texas, with stops in Oregon, Ross has accumulated a wealth of experience in livestock management and sustainable farming practices. His story is filled with captivating anecdotes and valuable lessons drawn from his family's rich ranching history and his own innovative ventures, such as revitalizing a meat processing business and adopting high-density grazing techniques.
Throughout the episode, listeners will explore a diverse range of topics related to livestock management and sustainable farming, including:
- The intricacies of managing goats and dealing with predators.
- The challenges of meat processing and direct-to-consumer sales.
- The innovative use of high-density grazing techniques to improve soil health and ecological balance. -
- Practical insights into the use of electric fencing.
- The importance of generational transition in farming.
- Tools and resources that can enhance farming efficiency.
- Economic and logistical challenges faced in the meat processing industry.
- The impact of environmental factors on agricultural planning.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in agriculture, whether you are a seasoned farmer or someone just beginning to explore the field. Ross McGarva's wealth of knowledge and experience provides invaluable insights into successful livestock management and sustainable farming practices. His journey offers inspiration and practical advice for adapting to the ever-evolving agricultural landscape. With a mix of humor, personal anecdotes, and expert guidance, this episode will not only educate but also motivate listeners to pursue innovative solutions and strategies for achieving success and sustainability in agriculture.
Links Mentioned in the Episode
McGarva Ranch Pasture Division
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Original Music by Louis Palfrey
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction to Ross McGarva's Journey
- (00:29) - Fast Five with Ross McGarva
- (00:57) - Ross's Early Life and Family Ranch
- (01:44) - Livestock and Grazing Practices
- (04:40) - Challenges and Epiphanies in Ranching
- (06:58) - Transition to Intensive Grazing
- (22:04) - Meat Processing Business Insights
- (29:25) - Lessons from Meat Processing
- (43:59) - Current Endeavors in Texas
- (44:33) - Unpredictable Rainfall Patterns
- (45:07) - Flooding and Its Impact
- (47:53) - Transition to Sheep Farming
- (53:17) - High-Density Grazing Techniques
- (01:00:53) - Challenges and Innovations in Electric Fencing
- (01:06:43) - Favorite Resources and Tools
- (01:13:35) - Final Thoughts and Famous Four Questions
NOTE This file was generated by Descript
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Speaker: On today's episode, we have Ross McGarva.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 We follow his journey from California, to Oregon, to California, and then to Texas.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 We follow it along with different classes of beef cattle,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 meat goats, and hair sheep.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 Along the way, we talk about processing and what you should look for in a
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 processor, and then dive into electric fencing and some tips for that.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:27 I think you'll enjoy.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 Let's get started.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: So Ross, we'll get started with the Fast five.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 Our first question, what's your
00:00:34 --> 00:00:35 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Ross McGarva,
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: And Ross, where are you located?
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Now we're in central Texas, Yvan, Texas.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:45 So the about 60 miles west of Waco.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:48 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, okay.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:48 West of
00:00:48 --> 00:00:49 Waco.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 And what's your farm's name?
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: We just call it McGarva Ranch
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: what year did you start grazing animals?
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: oh, man.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:05 I grew up on a large thousand cow mother cow operation in the extreme
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 northeastern corner of California.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Family's been on that ranch since I.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 1918, I think it was, that they bought that ranch,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 but they'd been in that area.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:22 The first of eight brothers came from Scotland and they came to Likely,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 California in 1908 I think it was.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:31 And then herded sheep and did whatever needed to be done and,
00:01:31 --> 00:01:35 and sent money back to Scotland to bring the rest of the brothers over.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 So, and so family's been there in that little Valley, south
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 Fork Valley for a long time.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:41 So,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:42 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:01:42 --> 00:01:43 yeah.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 And what livestock species have you grazed?
00:01:46 --> 00:01:50 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Cattle mostly we've had a large
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 herd of goats, meat goats and here in Texas for grazing Dorper sheep
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 Dorper-Katahdin cross for the most part.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:58 So,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 so that, that's quite a, a most brought, actually, we've got some chickens even so.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:05 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:06 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Fast
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Well, those chickens.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 may be making the most money with the egg
00:02:11 --> 00:02:11 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:12 Yeah.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 We probably could change our prices, but we, we've just held steady.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 'cause we, we don't, we're not selling direct to retail on this.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh Yeah.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: We're just wholesaling it to those people
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 that, some folks that want to interact more and more closely with customers.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 So,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:28 Yeah.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 Cal: Welcome to the grazing grass podcast.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 The podcast dedicated to sharing the stories of grass-based
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 livestock producers, exploring regenerative practices that improve
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 the land animals and our lives.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:47 I'm your host, Cal Hardage and each week we'll dive into the journeys,
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 challenges, and successes of producers like you, learning from
00:02:51 --> 00:02:57 their experiences, and inspiring each other to grow, and graze better.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 Whether you're a seasoned grazier or just getting started.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 This is the place for you.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 Speaker 3: Calling all livestock producers.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 Are you looking to improve your soil health and maximize forage use?
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 Register for the Noble Grazing Essentials in Huntsville, Texas
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 from March 25th through 27th.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 Noble Research Institute's three day course provides classroom
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 and field training, led by knowledgeable facilitators
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 with real ranching experience.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 Learn to assess carrying capacity, implement adaptive grazing
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 strategies, and develop effective pasture recovery techniques.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 You'll gain proven methods to maximize productivity while building soil
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 health and resilience, and leave with a customized grazing plan.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:47 and tools to immediately transform your ranch.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 Space is limited.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Visit noble.org
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 today to learn more and enroll.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 Invest in your operation's future with Noble Grazing Essentials.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:04 Speaker 2: For 10 seconds about the farm and the podcast today, I'm in Oklahoma
00:04:04 --> 00:04:08 where the wind's been blowing like crazy and we've been having some fires.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:14 Nothing around me, but I know Wyatt and Sam from episode 151.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 They had to move their sheep in the land they're, they're grazing.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:25 I've seen some photos, some aerial photos, drones and um, airplanes that,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 just crazy destruction in some areas.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 There's lots of other areas I haven't seen much out of yet.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 But um, just keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 And with that, let's get back to talking to Ross.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Ross, when you think back to California and
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 growing up, did you plan for this life or did you have other plans?
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: You know, it just seemed like the
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 path that was expected to walk down.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 You know, went off to college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and,
00:04:56 --> 00:05:00 and then went through the ranch management program at TCU in 82, 83.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:05 But, this might be kinda getting ahead of, but it's part of the story as well.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 So, yeah, I came back from the ranch management program, you know, on fire,
00:05:09 --> 00:05:15 ready to go change the world and, and it really wasn't a a place for me there.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:21 My dad and my brother were partners and yeah, welcome to work alongside.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 But the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:31 I dunno, I had an epiphany when I turned 45 and I realized that was the same age
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 dad was when I came back from college.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 And it's like, no, I wouldn't have wanted to step aside either.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:42 So, so went and did a lot of other things, which gave a really well balanced,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 you know, got a lot of experiences so.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: You know, I, I came home from college,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 worked here with dad on the dairy.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:53 We sold out dairy.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 I continue to live here and work on the farm with him while I worked
00:05:58 --> 00:06:03 off the farm with the goal, at least in my head, that I would buy the
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 farm and take over at some point.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 It was my late forties.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:11 I finally had the epiphany, even though dad had said he's not ready
00:06:11 --> 00:06:15 to, to sell it, well, he'll let us figure that out after he passes away.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 I always thought I'd have that opportunity.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 I finally had the epiphany in my late forties that, you know what,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 maybe I need to go do something.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:23 So.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 that I have a greater opportunity because Right.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 now I just helped dad.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 So that's when I got in gear and got land to lease and
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 started running my own animals.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:36 I often think back to that and think, why was I so slow to figure
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 that out?
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 Did on my part.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 Dad was very blunt with what he said, and I knew he said it, but I always had
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 It in the back of my head, Hey, this is going to go a little bit different.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:51 And finally when, when I figured that out, I mean, I still help dad, but
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 now I've got my other stuff going on.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 So sometimes it takes us a
00:06:55 --> 00:06:55 while.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: a long time.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 Yeah.
00:06:58 --> 00:06:58 Yeah.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:03 We we wound up, my grandfather helped, helped us purchase a, you
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 know, small by a lot of standards.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 We had a half section of ground in, in southern Oregon,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 Lakeview, Oregon High Desert,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:11 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, yes.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: 300 and so 320 acres and
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 215 of it had water on it.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 About half of that was not reliable water.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 It was first flow out of creek with older raw water rights
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 downstream all snow back related.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:30 But that's really where where I kind of started into practicing
00:07:30 --> 00:07:34 intensive grazing and, and falling in love with electric fence.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:38 Because we weren't living on the property initially.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 There was a year transition and, and so, it had historically just been
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 stockers, you know, somebody else
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 on there.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 And so, my cousin's husband lived right nearby.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:56 And so they, they took care of irrigating and moving the cattle that were there
00:07:56 --> 00:08:04 on gain and the irrigated ground and was, well the property was split in, in
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 two pieces kind of north of the south.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 And the uh, anyway, we had the cattle.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 When it came time to ship the cattle were on the north side of
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 the creek that ran through it.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 Then a bridged across 'em because they, anyway, they wouldn't across the creek.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 And it took five cowboys, about two hours to get those cattle out of
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 the field and then walk 'em a half mile down the road to the scale
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 they were there on gain.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 And I said, mm-hmm.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 Never again, I'm not, I'm not doing this.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:34 So the next year they followed me to the scale and, you know, no stress because
00:08:34 --> 00:08:38 I'd been moving 'em twice a day the whole season, you know, and, and that
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 wasn't possible for us the first year.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:44 But anyway, I spent that summer building single stranded, hot
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 wire fences ahead of these cattle
00:08:47 --> 00:08:47 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and it served us well for 20 plus years.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:54 You know, that little bit in poly pipe on top of the ground, out to feed
00:08:54 --> 00:08:58 water trough and learned quite a few lessons through, through all of that.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:58 But.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 Yeah.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: So, so you came to it.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 From you need, you had these stockers on
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 gain, so they gotta gain weight.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 And that stress of that day, obviously they didn't gain any
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 weight that day and they lost too
00:09:14 --> 00:09:14 much.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 So that spurred you into looking at intensive rotation and
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 doing more of that practice.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 Was there some other factors in there?
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Not, not really the driving factor.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:33 You know, if you at 30 cents gain a turd on the downside of the scale
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 versus the upright side of the scale is worth about three bucks.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:36 You know, so,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so in, you know, you spend a lot of
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 that, there's a lot of money lost in the wrong side of the scale.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:47 And, and that, that was really, for me, kind of the driving factor.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 And it, you know, was my own place.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 I could do whatever I wanted with it.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 That was, that was really a key thing, and it was.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 I didn't have to ask anybody if I could,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 if I could do this.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:04 And, and we saw tremendous, uh, improvements in soil health.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 Actually grew soil.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 It was all flood irrigated, laser plane in, or probably not
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 laser plane, but land plane in.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:18 And over the course of 20 years, the water, we, we increased the soil
00:10:19 --> 00:10:23 height in the pastures that we couldn't get water across the fields anymore.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:25 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 And I mean, it's a real, it's a real thing, you know?
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 No change the quality and the, and the depth of the soil just by
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 walking down, you know, organic pattern and increasing the soils.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 And so it was well, yeah, let's, let's go back to your questions
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 'cause I'll get to rambling on here.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 You'll lose.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: No, no, that's great.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:50 A, as you think about those years, ro rotating animals and, and
00:10:50 --> 00:10:56 building that soil, what do you, what practices contributed the most to it?
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Really just high, high stock density, although
00:11:00 --> 00:11:07 not as high at that time as I did later on in another, we'll get to that as well.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:12 But high stock density and also, uh, twice a day moves.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 And so I would set up some moves ahead.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 And I had a town job, you know, little couple, couple hundred acres in a a
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 hundred and a hundred day growing season.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:26 The 75 to a hundred day growing season, you're not gonna make a living off of it.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 You, you know, you hope to pay for it.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:29 And, and
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 I had a town job, which is kind of interesting because I.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:37 My job to, to, to start with, the first couple years we had it was I, I worked at
00:11:37 --> 00:11:44 the assessor's office as an appraiser, and the one of my jobs was to establish farm
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 land values for the special assessment.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:52 And, and so I, I know every state's different, but there's, there's typically
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 a farm assessment, I think in most states.
00:11:55 --> 00:12:00 But we would do a survey and it was based on leased leased values, you know, so
00:12:01 --> 00:12:08 $50 an acre a month for prime irrigated ground or Yeah, a month per acre.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 And was typical.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 And then you asked the questions, you know, are you
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 taking, doing any of the care?
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 Are you doing any of mineral?
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 How much time you spend doing that?
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 You know, is it on the gain?
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 Is it per head per month?
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 You know, and, and we had 30 or so leases that we would.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:28 Survey in order to establish these values for different soil classes, as they were,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:34 they're not in our CS classes, but they were just in-house appraisal classes.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 So I would throw my deal in there.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 'cause essentially it was the lease ground.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:44 I was the operator and I, so I'd get paid myself time and you know,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 worked everything through it.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:52 And, and, and I, and every year that I did that, I had to throw mine out because
00:12:52 --> 00:12:57 if that class one was at 50 dollars per acre, I was getting a hundred.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:58 And it would just,
00:12:59 --> 00:12:59 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and I was the only one that was getting that.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 So it just confirmed it, it was like, oh man, if I could do this at scale, then,
00:13:06 --> 00:13:14 then, you know, and, but I, I, I never really pursued, mostly because, well,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 the security of the town job, you know.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 Kept, kept the bills paid and everything.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 And, and so it was always kind of hard to imagine just jumping out
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27 into the deep end or stepping outta the boat onto the water and not
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 knowing if you're gonna sink or swim.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 So, kept a town job for a long time, but
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: There's lots to be said for that
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 security, that safety net there
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 for you.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:42 During your time in, in southern Oregon, did you focus only on
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 stockers through that time?
00:13:45 --> 00:13:45 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yes.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 Although we did we did start our go enterprise while while
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 we were in that as well.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:55 'cause we had some rabbit brush and, and some invasive juniper
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 plants coming in on our dryer, on our dry ground that we wanted to
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 try to you know, control a bit too.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:00 So
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: What challenges did the goats bring in to you when
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 you brought them to the stalker
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: our netting fence wasn't good enough.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and they didn't respect the electric fence.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:18 And yeah, it, it was kind of, my wife laughs at this lot because it was kind
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 of a we, we were doing some out of town consulting and, and I thought, you
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 know, I, okay, I've got 'em locked in.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 I've got 'em around, gone around this, and it's a hundred acres of
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 dry ground, you know, they've got water, they've got feed in here.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 There should be good.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 The neighbors would call and say, Hey, your goats are over here again, and
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 brush back up and gather the goats.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:41 And, and it seemed like, you know, through the years as we would, we
00:14:41 --> 00:14:46 would put a known number of goats in, in this space, you know, and
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 to winter 'em there later on.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:52 And, and they'd get out occasionally, but I'll tell you what, every, every
00:14:52 --> 00:14:56 year that we came off of that same parcel of ground, I was short about 50
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 head of goats, no idea where they went.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 It
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: just gone, whether it was coyotes or
00:15:01 --> 00:15:05 they leaked through a hole and we, but I don't know where they went.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 You know, nobody ever said, Hey, your goats are over here.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 So I don't,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:12 I think ultimately it was, if they leaked out, were away from the herd and the dogs,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:17 then it was predation that ultimately got 'em, but it just always came up short.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:22 But yeah, the goats so, so we had a, a mixed up bunch of goats, and this
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 is a little nugget that we learned.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:29 If you buy goats, buy all your goats from one place, don't put 20 from
00:15:29 --> 00:15:34 here and 50 from there, because you'll have a herd of 20 and a herd of 50 and
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 a herd of whatever else you've got.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 So at one point, you know, we had like five or six little
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 herds floating around out here in
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 the field and nothing, there were no co cohesion.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:48 And so some of, some of them would, you know, they were the ones that were always
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 breaching, leaving the country honest.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:54 So I got tired of it and I, I just loaded 'em all up one
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 day and took them to the sale.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:55 Yeah.
00:15:56 --> 00:16:00 And when I got the check back I told Kelly, I, I think we're gonna build
00:16:00 --> 00:16:04 some fence we, the, the value of goats.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 And then, and then I started paying a lot more attention to the market
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and took the lessons that we'd learned like that.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14 And we went and bought, found a guy that was doing a huge grazing operation
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 with 9 head of goats from San Diego.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Clear to the Canadian border.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: And how's he count those ever?
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I, on the truck?
00:16:23 --> 00:16:23 Yeah.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 On the truck.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 Going every, I mean, he had going everywhere.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:30 We had, I think 20-25 Peruvians working for him.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: He, and he, he truly bought bought his
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 dog food by the truckload, you know,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 border Collie.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:45 But anyway, we went and we bought 400 head a like 60 pound um, just females
00:16:45 --> 00:16:50 and, and a few rams and a couple of couple Pyrenees dogs with 'em.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 And but this time they stayed together because they'd been raised together.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 So it it, it helped a lot.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 So anyway, yes, we both, we, we did go so,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: I know with, with my goats, I, I've
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 had, I've had as many as about 50
00:17:09 --> 00:17:13 head, but they, I never had a problem with the cohesion of the herd.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 They, they've just stayed together.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:19 Of course, I built it slowly and I raised a lot of them.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 Well, I sold those out.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 I can't even remember.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 I think in 19, I sold all my goats, but I bought some a couple
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 years ago, just a half, half
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 dozen.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 So I've just got a handful.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:35 Well, I went and bought another half dozen, I say half dozen,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 I think it's eight and eight.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:41 I bought another eight last fall, and I, and they, they do not
00:17:41 --> 00:17:45 hang out together and I thought this winter I'm gonna solve that.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:50 I penned them up some, I've got 'em actually here at the house in a smaller
00:17:50 --> 00:17:54 pasture rather than where I usually graze them because I'm trying to build that bond
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 and they still don't hang out together.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: So, so I've got an interesting story.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:07 So I drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming from Oregon with our trailer.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 I built a double deck in it and I went and bought had a friend that had a milking
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 parlor, was making cheese and stuff with.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 Goats and sheep.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:20 She knew this lady and, and or knew of her anyway and, and she wanted a
00:18:20 --> 00:18:23 whole bunch of these milking goats from her, but she said she's got
00:18:23 --> 00:18:28 these three burrows that are guard burrows and some other meat goats.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:32 Do you want, you know, if I put this deal together, I'll pay for everything
00:18:32 --> 00:18:37 and you can have the, the boroughs in those half a dozen saunas or whatever.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 I can't remember what brand breed they were.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 So I said, okay.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:49 So I drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and, and then long trip back, but about, I
00:18:49 --> 00:18:55 dunno, shoot, a couple months later I was, I was looking at this disjointed
00:18:55 --> 00:19:00 bunch of goats out there in the front pasture and there was a truck went
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 by on the county road, which was just at the edge of this pasture.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 And I don't know if it backfired or anyway, sudden noise, whether he
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 revved up and took off, you know.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:12 But anyway, I watched those donkeys, sift through that bunch
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 of goats, get the six that they knew, and brought 'em to the barn
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 yes.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: out there to the coyotes or
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 whatever that loud noise was.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:24 And that was, for me, was just truly a, a lesson as well, you know.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:29 So what kind of helped that problem by We got rid of those
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 goats that, that they knew
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: then they had to re Well, we kept, we kept
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 the donkeys and, and they were there.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 The donkeys didn't work well for us.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:42 A couple of things, like they would hang up on a barbed wire fence when the sheep
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 went through, or the goats went through.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 Yeah.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 Had a llama at one point.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 That same, same thing.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:52 I lost a bunch of, of stock to coyote pressure and the llamas
00:19:52 --> 00:19:55 standing there looking over the fence, can't get there to help.
00:19:56 --> 00:20:03 But the boroughs did not recognize newborns as part of the herd.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:09 And we kept finding these flat, I mean, just about the thickness of the, you
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 know, a padded envelope, you know,
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 and just smashed flat.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 And then with one day we saw 'em do it, you know, the first time that
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 little baby would make a noise or move when it was getting born, they'd
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 go over there just smashing it.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 So we had to keep the burrows out of the, out of the mix when
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 they were, when we were kidding.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 So, I don't know, they were so,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: my, my donkey is not that bad, but I
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 don't want him around when they're
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 lambing.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:42 'cause he, he'll, he'll grab a lamb and, and toss it and
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 throw it and shake it.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 It's like,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 yeah.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: We watched 'em do it one
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 time with the, with a coyote.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: oh
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:54 So they're, they're effective, but you've just gotta, yeah.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 So,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: But, but you bring up a couple of excellent
00:20:58 --> 00:21:02 points or a couple or excellent point about llamas and, and donkeys.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 We str struggle with the same issue.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:08 I've got one of each and they get hung up on a fence if sheep go
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 through the fence for whatever reason.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 Now I do have dogs that stay with the sheep, but yeah.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 so I do find the donkey and llama in a different pasture,
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 not a different pasture.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21 The pasture where the sheep were supposed to be when I
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 find the sheep somewhere else.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yes.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 Yeah.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 Yeah.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:30 So we we've had some sad lessons here in central Texas that we'd lost a
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 couple of dogs to hog snares because
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 Yeah, and that's that's a sad day when that happened.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 So
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 that, that wasn't an issue back ho, you know, in Oregon.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 'cause there weren't any feral hogs.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 But,
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: here it's, it's been pretty tough.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 So.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: So.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 you, you were running meat, goats and stockers in
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 Oregon.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 How'd you end up in Texas?
00:21:55 --> 00:21:58 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: So we family lease transition thing
00:21:58 --> 00:22:04 that kind of fell apart and couldn't make a living on what was left of it.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:08 And we had sold our, our, we had a meat processing business.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 We had sold that at the same time.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:15 And, and we were offered a job in central Texas and we came down here.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 So,
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Well, Ross, I wanna jump back.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 You said you had a meat processing
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yes.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 Yeah,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: How, how did you get started in the meat
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: well, well, I worked for the county
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 first as an appraiser and then as a building official because of
00:22:31 --> 00:22:36 construction experience that I'd had, you know, when I left the home ranch.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 And that was a pretty high stress job.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 And
00:22:40 --> 00:22:45 yeah, I stress I was the only guy in a county of 8 square miles.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 Lake Oregon.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 Yeah.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:52 And, and a lot of BLM and Forest Service, but there were little private pieces
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 out there too, you know, so anyway, people came to Lake County 'cause they
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 didn't wanna follow the rules, but I was the guy that was a regulator in that.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:03 And so, anyway, I, my blood pressure was high, but I'm gonna, and, and
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 I, and it ceased to bring any joy.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:10 So, so I I was got to looking and I'm, you know, I'm gonna get back.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 I've got a ranch management degree, I've got years of experience.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 And so I started to apply for some jobs and was looking
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 really hard at one in Florida.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:25 And my wife and daughter, my daughter was in seventh grade, I think at that time.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 They said, go ahead, but we're staying here.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 I was like, well, I can't keep doing this job.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:35 And, and so the local established in 1940.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:40 Lakeview Lockers Mobile Slaughter, custom Meat Crossing
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 Assessing Plant was for sale.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:50 And so we, we bought that and, and we had had experience in the meat trade.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:57 Gosh, in first year in 84, 85, when my wife and I got married we were actually
00:23:57 --> 00:24:01 starting a, my college roommate and I were starting a natural beef, natural
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 labeled beef business in California.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:09 We were putting frozen product in health food stores in the Bay Area, and we were
00:24:09 --> 00:24:14 just a little ways ahead of the curve, you know, it was, uh, and distances
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 and, you know, a lot of factors.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:20 But anyway, we put together a cooperative effort of ranchers and the meat processing
00:24:20 --> 00:24:24 plant in Modoc County, California.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 And, and then, I mean, we, we spent.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 Lots of miles on the road up and down.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: How I
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: And after about three years, we'd
00:24:33 --> 00:24:37 sold 50 beef and finally decided the vegetarians just don't eat enough
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 meat to support this business.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:46 And, and so it, it wasn't, it wasn't a far stretch force to buy this
00:24:46 --> 00:24:49 deal this meat processing plant.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 It was a needed business in town.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:55 The young couple that had bought it didn't like it.
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 They wanted out of it.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 And and so we
00:24:58 --> 00:25:04 we, we took a, an, an old established business.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:11 I mean, it stood alone and, and, but it was, it was dingy.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 It was dark, it stunk, it smelled bad.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 It was off.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 All was stored on site.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:21 The render came, once a week in the busy season, once every two
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 to three weeks in the off season.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:27 And so all the, all the off all was stored in a cooler outside.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 Lots of flies.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:32 You know, the hides were salted in a van beside the building, you know,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 just la more flies, more stink.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 And it was in a residential area.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:40 And so, we, we didn't want to be in that environment.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 So we, we,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 made, we made, some changes.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:50 We remodeled the front space and, and put in a high end deli, full service
00:25:50 --> 00:25:55 meat counter cutting, you know, breaking carcasses USDA carcasses that we'd
00:25:55 --> 00:26:00 buy local beef that we'd get processed as, you know, as we could box beef
00:26:00 --> 00:26:05 from country natural beef and, you know, and, and, and beers and wines
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 and cheeses from all over the world.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 It was, it was fun.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 I mean, our, our culinary.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 Bar got way raised really high and,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and and we had a lot of fun doing it, but we
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 just pretty worked ourselves to death.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:23 But one of the things that, that happened as a, as a side deal to this
00:26:23 --> 00:26:29 was that we, the renderer started to get a lot of pressure from the
00:26:29 --> 00:26:35 State Department of Environmental Quality and, and they just shut down.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:39 There were two local renders, kind of the same family.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 I wouldn't say local One was in Central Oregon, and Band
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 one was in Medford, Oregon.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:48 And they were, the one out of Bend area was the one was servicing us.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51 And, and they just, they just shut down.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:55 So, so I called the DEQ and I said, we've got a problem.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 What do we do?
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 And they suggested we compost.
00:26:57 --> 00:27:01 And through a long, long process, we began composting this.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04 There was a, a lumber mill there.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:10 That had huge, huge sawdust and chip piles that were also a DEQ issue.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:14 And so we hauled some of that out onto our place, set aside a couple acres
00:27:14 --> 00:27:20 to, to put the compost on, and we started composting butcher waste and
00:27:20 --> 00:27:25 which made a great soil amendment, but mostly it was a waste disposal for us.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 And, and it was kind of unique.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 It was kind of a pilot project for the state.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 California still doesn't recognize that it's viable.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:38 Well, still at that 15 years ago, they didn't recognize that was a viable
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 deal way to get rid of butcher waste.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:45 Cornell University's done a tremendous amount of study on butcher waste compost.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:50 And it was, it was, it was a win all the way around.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 But one of the main things that we did was it got all that stink
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 away from the locker plant.
00:27:55 --> 00:28:00 And so the, uh, the upside of that was the quality of the.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:06 Beef because beef picks up odors so fast in, in a cooler.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:13 And if you've got one tainted beef or a locker or a cooler full of off all,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 I mean, your beef's gonna taste funky.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 And, and so we got rid of all of that.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:22 And, and everything, the el you know, again, the bar got raised way high and
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 so that was a bonus for us to do that.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 But
00:28:26 --> 00:28:30 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: I didn't realize beef would take on smells like that,
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 or their taste would be affected by
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: it, it really is so most
00:28:35 --> 00:28:43 a, a lot of time and I grew up having, having this experience like all the beef
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 that we ate just had the funny flavor.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 It didn't taste like store-bought beef.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:51 You know, it just, well after, after having run one of these.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:55 But it is, it's just a, a bad bones, you know.
00:28:56 --> 00:29:00 Bones get sour and that transfers into that beef and it's in every
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 piece of meat that's in the hamburger.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 And,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:11 and so when I have, when I have stuff processed now, I go inspect the plant
00:29:11 --> 00:29:15 and I walk through their coer before I'll let them put a hand on it.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:18 If it, if it smells bad, I don't want my meat tasting like that.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:21 'cause it's gonna smell just and taste just like that.
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 Cooler smells so,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Okay.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 Let, let's dive into that just a little bit more because I
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 know a lot of our listeners.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:32 They go and they have meat processed.
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 They're selling direct to
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 consumer in some fashion.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:41 You mentioned going there and inspecting it or getting a tour.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:44 Tell us what you're looking for and how you approach it.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:47 Are, are most operators open to it?
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: If they're USDA, they kind of
00:29:49 --> 00:29:53 don't want somebody who's walking through, but you can, you can tell.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:59 Pretty quickly from the outside, even if there's, if there's bad odors.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:04 So if, if they're, if, if they have a good rendering system or a good
00:30:04 --> 00:30:09 waste disposal system, those that offal isn't on site, it's away.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:13 Even if it's a couple hundred yards you know, it's gonna be fine, you know, but,
00:30:14 --> 00:30:18 but, but if you just use your nose, use your eyes.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:22 If it's, if it's neat and clean if their cut tables are clean, you
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 know, USDA has their standards.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:29 Local processors, of course, you know, everybody knows about selling wholes,
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 halves, and quarters and bundles.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:34 But the, uh, yeah, just use your senses.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:39 If it, if it doesn't feel good, there's a reason it doesn't smell good.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 And, and it can, it can happen.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 We, we we hung wild game.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 We hung it in a separate cooler.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 But I, but that.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:50 Like my meat cutter said, if we're cutting game, I quit today.
00:30:50 --> 00:30:54 He said he wouldn't do it because most of the, most of the game is poorly handled.
00:30:55 --> 00:31:02 You know, and, and so if that's commingled my understanding for regulations that we
00:31:02 --> 00:31:07 were under with the Oregon State being just a custom processor, not USDA, we, we
00:31:07 --> 00:31:11 could hang while game in the same cooler.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:15 They just couldn't be on the same rail, so there couldn't be
00:31:15 --> 00:31:18 contact, you know, and they had to be, had to be socked or covered.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:21 And so there couldn't be contact even with our custom processing.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:31 But what, what we found in hanging or allowing people to hang their own product,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:34 we didn't have anything to do with the, with the slaughter or the, or the
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 skinning or gutting any of that stuff.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 We just didn't do it.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 We wouldn't do it.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 But they could bring it in.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:43 Hang it in our cooler to chill it until they were done hunting and take it home,
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 you know, or take it to another processor.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:48 But we had funky odors in there, and a lot of time it was
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 bone sour and the hips on elk.
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 And, and, and,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:57 you know, you get, you get an antelope, antelope smells like a Billy goat.
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 You know that stuff.
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 Yeah.
00:31:59 --> 00:32:01 So anyway, that's just a separate deal.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:06 And I think the same, same things apply to your game processor.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:10 You know, if it smells bad, your meat's gonna come bad, smelling bad.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:14 Yeah, we, we, we learned a lot and I've got actually a few things
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 I'll just throw out there for free.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:22 So for the, for, for somebody that, that's doing direct to consumer and
00:32:22 --> 00:32:25 I, and I've seen this and done this with, you know, in our experience.
00:32:25 --> 00:32:31 So, we did, you know, it was all custom, but some of the stuff we, we would do
00:32:31 --> 00:32:38 as a w was, we would facilitate locker beef, you know, so like I'd, I'd get
00:32:38 --> 00:32:43 animals off of ranchers that I knew and, and then I could resell them as
00:32:44 --> 00:32:46 hamburger bundles, you know, 20 pounds.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:48 And you set, you, you got the whole animal sold before you
00:32:48 --> 00:32:50 kill it, then, then you're legal.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:52 So a bundle is not defined.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:54 You can have a 10 pound bundle if you want.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:58 But you just have to have that whole carcass sold or oversold before
00:32:58 --> 00:33:01 you, before you harvest the animal.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:07 And that's, that's legal by, it's arguable anyway, if your inspector says it.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 But it's, it's very arguable.
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 'cause what is a bundle?
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 And then
00:33:11 --> 00:33:18 the we've got some friends that here in Texas that do farm to plate,
00:33:18 --> 00:33:22 whether it's a CSA or they're going to farmer's markets and standing there,
00:33:22 --> 00:33:26 they're going to sale yard and they're buying cattle and maybe feeding them
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 a little bit at home, raising them up.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:35 But I have seen this many times, often and, and eaten a lot of 'em myself
00:33:35 --> 00:33:40 because a rancher will always sell his best to pay his bills and his
00:33:40 --> 00:33:42 family eats the one that broke a leg.
00:33:43 --> 00:33:47 You know, I, I am speaking to the choir here and, and that
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 beef is almost always tough.
00:33:49 --> 00:33:52 So I heard a guy from, I think he was from Chile, anyway, south
00:33:52 --> 00:33:56 America that or Argentina that does a lot of grass fed beef.
00:33:56 --> 00:34:02 And, and in, in their studies, if, if an animal does not gain, if a beef
00:34:02 --> 00:34:07 does not gain at least three quarters of a pound every single day of its
00:34:07 --> 00:34:15 life, so calf had calf would scours sore foot bad eye, they go off feed.
00:34:15 --> 00:34:20 And, and I have killed animals that I know or was able to find the
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22 history on that were on the game.
00:34:22 --> 00:34:26 2-year-old heifers, absolutely beautiful carcasses.
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 So tough you couldn't eat 'em.
00:34:28 --> 00:34:32 And you know, they looked, I mean, they, they degraded high choice on the rib
00:34:32 --> 00:34:34 eye, you know, just gorgeous, gorgeous.
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: But, but then you find out, oh yeah,
00:34:37 --> 00:34:43 that calf, when that was a calf, you know, it, you know, had foot rot.
00:34:43 --> 00:34:45 And we doctored and doctored and doctored it.
00:34:45 --> 00:34:53 So you can't judge the quality of the beef by what you see today.
00:34:53 --> 00:34:58 And so if you're selling direct to consumer, make dang sure you know what
00:34:58 --> 00:35:02 you're buying or the ones that you know.
00:35:02 --> 00:35:06 And so we, we handled country natural beef in our, in our meat case.
00:35:06 --> 00:35:11 And in the five years that we had their beef in there, we had no complaints.
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 And it was beautiful.
00:35:13 --> 00:35:19 But here's the thing, any, any animal, and this was, this was an agreement of it.
00:35:19 --> 00:35:22 So any animal that had ever had to be doctored did not go through their program.
00:35:23 --> 00:35:25 They went to the auction yard or sold differently.
00:35:25 --> 00:35:31 So they had a self sorting of the quality of beef for that early time
00:35:32 --> 00:35:35 in, its in its life all the way up to slaughter if it ever got sick.
00:35:36 --> 00:35:39 I mean, ear toss are announced and they're out of the program.
00:35:39 --> 00:35:44 And I believe that's why that beef was always high quality.
00:35:44 --> 00:35:49 So the make great, great hamburger, grind them, but don't,
00:35:49 --> 00:35:51 don't try to do steaks at 'em.
00:35:51 --> 00:35:55 And the other thing I would do is anytime we had a locker beef that I
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59 bought from somebody like one time I bought a bunch of roping steers.
00:35:59 --> 00:36:04 I mean, they were so, so cheap that exactly half of 'em, I, I went ahead
00:36:04 --> 00:36:09 and I kept 'em a year, year and a half, you know, and got 'em up to a
00:36:09 --> 00:36:11 decent harvest weight and exactly.
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 Half of them were so tough you couldn't eat it.
00:36:13 --> 00:36:15 And I think those were the ones that had been starved down to
00:36:15 --> 00:36:17 hold over to another season.
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 And the other ones,
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 these were all Corey and.
00:36:20 --> 00:36:24 You know, with shorthorn roping steers, but the other half
00:36:24 --> 00:36:26 were beautiful beef and fine.
00:36:26 --> 00:36:32 So, you know, it's, it's an, it's an example how you can do it.
00:36:32 --> 00:36:36 But what I, what we would do when we, when we sold these carcasses
00:36:36 --> 00:36:40 is I would always go in there and cut, even if it's just a thin steak
00:36:40 --> 00:36:42 off of that split on the quarter.
00:36:42 --> 00:36:46 And, and we had a stove in the deal and we'd, I'd fry it up and
00:36:46 --> 00:36:48 we'd fry it if it tasted good.
00:36:48 --> 00:36:52 If it was tender, then it went ahead and got packaged and steaks
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 and roast and the standard cut.
00:36:53 --> 00:36:56 But if it was tough, you know, all went to the grinder.
00:36:56 --> 00:36:59 So that's how we maintain the quality on what we sold to our
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:37:01 --> 00:37:06 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: So that's the, that's the my advice.
00:37:06 --> 00:37:09 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: That, that's wonderful advice.
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 Advice.
00:37:09 --> 00:37:13 I, I mean, you brought a couple things to the point I didn't realize.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 I.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:20 I'm, I'm thinking, could you go to, so where we take it, if I go ask them, Hey,
00:37:20 --> 00:37:26 I wanna try a, a, a stake off there before we make a decision how this is processed.
00:37:27 --> 00:37:31 Are they open to that or, I know you can't speak for them, but
00:37:31 --> 00:37:33 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I would, I would certainly ask and I would
00:37:33 --> 00:37:38 find somebody that is open to it and, you know, sometimes, I mean, there's,
00:37:38 --> 00:37:40 there may be some hardships with timing.
00:37:41 --> 00:37:45 So it worked well for us because we, my cooler was short, so it, and my slaughter
00:37:45 --> 00:37:47 rig was short, so I quartered everything.
00:37:47 --> 00:37:49 So it was al already cut there.
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 If they're
00:37:50 --> 00:37:54 hanging in full halves, you might go, you know, you're gonna
00:37:54 --> 00:37:57 hang two weeks or three weeks or however long you're gonna hang it.
00:37:57 --> 00:37:59 But if you're hanging it, let's say two weeks.
00:37:59 --> 00:38:05 Go in there at, you know, 12 days and say, Hey, can we cut this?
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 You know, it's not there.
00:38:06 --> 00:38:10 You're not gonna lose much from a dry out on that where you break the quarter
00:38:10 --> 00:38:13 and then just take your own knife and cut a little bit of it out of it.
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 It's your meat,
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 it's your meat.
00:38:14 --> 00:38:16 You're gonna lose a little bit.
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 When they do the trim.
00:38:16 --> 00:38:22 You might lose one steak out of the thing, but you just, just get some and
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 go ahead.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:27 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: I just gonna ask, how long do you think they need aged?
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: There's
00:38:31 --> 00:38:35 after 10 days some studies show that that tenderness doesn't change.
00:38:36 --> 00:38:39 So 10 days is long enough, 10 days to two weeks.
00:38:39 --> 00:38:42 If you hang it longer than that, the flavor can change.
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 And again,
00:38:43 --> 00:38:47 if your cooler's good, that's you're on the positive slope.
00:38:47 --> 00:38:49 If the cooler smells bad, you're just getting worse.
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 So
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yes.
00:38:52 --> 00:38:52 yeah.
00:38:52 --> 00:38:54 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Now in a dry cooler.
00:38:55 --> 00:38:57 I believe it's five days.
00:38:59 --> 00:39:00 I think it's five days.
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 It's been a little while since I did this.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:07 You can actually have a mitigation plan on the USDA plant that,
00:39:07 --> 00:39:09 that can be your e coli control.
00:39:10 --> 00:39:12 It, I believe it's five days into dry cooler.
00:39:12 --> 00:39:15 All that bacteria that's on the, on an animal will die
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, okay.
00:39:17 --> 00:39:20 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: if the cooler's wet and damp.
00:39:20 --> 00:39:23 Which, if it's not draining right, or either evaporators aren't
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 working in the cooler Right.
00:39:25 --> 00:39:27 I think it can actually get worse on you.
00:39:27 --> 00:39:31 But, but that's, that's five days in a dry cooler.
00:39:31 --> 00:39:36 So I would hang everything at least five days because even A-U-S-D-A
00:39:36 --> 00:39:40 inspected plant has bacteria in there and molds and stuff that
00:39:41 --> 00:39:43 they, they, had that's there.
00:39:44 --> 00:39:47 So that's, yeah.
00:39:49 --> 00:39:51 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: E excellent information on all that,
00:39:51 --> 00:39:52 Ross.
00:39:52 --> 00:39:54 And that's, that's a turn I didn't anticipate when we
00:39:55 --> 00:39:55 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Right.
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Talking.
00:39:56 --> 00:39:57 I was like, whoa, wait.
00:39:57 --> 00:39:57 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
00:39:58 --> 00:40:01 This isn't just grazing grass, but No, I,
00:40:01 --> 00:40:03 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: It, it's good information.
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: well, everybody, I mean, I run
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06 into it over and over again.
00:40:07 --> 00:40:11 And, and anybody that's raising cattle looks at it and you see the commissions
00:40:11 --> 00:40:15 at the sale yard, you see, you know, you, you're getting beat up here.
00:40:15 --> 00:40:16 You feel like you're getting cheated there.
00:40:17 --> 00:40:18 I'm just gonna sell it direct.
00:40:18 --> 00:40:20 And you have friends that are going, Hey, can I buy some beef from you?
00:40:20 --> 00:40:26 You know, and it's, and it, and for us in in the Pacific Northwest, there were
00:40:26 --> 00:40:32 very few USDA plants that you could get, you know, to farmer's market thing.
00:40:33 --> 00:40:36 So we had Reno, Nevada at the, at the college there, they
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37 ran a, they ran a kill plant.
00:40:37 --> 00:40:41 And the next closest, or they were both about the same distance service.
00:40:41 --> 00:40:42 One in Prineville.
00:40:42 --> 00:40:46 Which is east of Bend by 40 miles or something.
00:40:46 --> 00:40:52 So that, that was, that was a hardship for us to get, you know, local beef,
00:40:52 --> 00:40:55 which we love to do because it's so much fun to break a carcass, to
00:40:55 --> 00:40:58 fill your meat case with, I mean, you've got so much options to do it.
00:40:58 --> 00:41:00 It's way better than box beef.
00:41:00 --> 00:41:01 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:41:01 --> 00:41:06 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: but, but here in Texas, I'm sitting within 50
00:41:06 --> 00:41:10 miles that I know of three USDA plants,
00:41:11 --> 00:41:12 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:41:12 --> 00:41:13 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: know, and then there's a mobile,
00:41:13 --> 00:41:17 you know, there's a processor, you know, there's a lot of 'em here.
00:41:17 --> 00:41:21 So we were the only one I would, we would travel a hundred
00:41:21 --> 00:41:22 miles one way to kill beef.
00:41:23 --> 00:41:26 You know, we'd, yeah, I put in 300 mile days and killed five
00:41:26 --> 00:41:29 beef, you know, makes a long day.
00:41:29 --> 00:41:31 And we didn't do it every day.
00:41:31 --> 00:41:31 We didn't
00:41:32 --> 00:41:36 week, you know, we'd, we'd sort local stuff so you'd get home for dinner.
00:41:37 --> 00:41:37 But, but
00:41:39 --> 00:41:41 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Just a recent episode, we were talking
00:41:41 --> 00:41:46 about that there's A-U-S-D-A processor little over an hour from
00:41:46 --> 00:41:52 me, but they just recently put, or a recently a, there's a new
00:41:52 --> 00:41:55 one that's about 30 minutes from me, so it's gonna be really nice.
00:41:56 --> 00:41:58 We haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking forward
00:41:58 --> 00:42:02 to it because I know the lady who's running it and I think it, they're gonna
00:42:02 --> 00:42:02 do a great
00:42:02 --> 00:42:03 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: that's great.
00:42:03 --> 00:42:08 A lot of people want the vision, but it really, it's, it's a lot of
00:42:08 --> 00:42:10 hard work and finding skilled help.
00:42:11 --> 00:42:16 I mean, our, our meat cutter had been a meat cutter his whole life, and he
00:42:16 --> 00:42:22 was 62 years old, I think, when we bought the plant, or 65 maybe even.
00:42:22 --> 00:42:27 And, and he'd already retired from a grocery store career, you know,
00:42:28 --> 00:42:30 but he, but he didn't, didn't wanna be home.
00:42:30 --> 00:42:32 He was bored, you know, so he'd come in there and he'd cut two
00:42:32 --> 00:42:33 beef a day for us, which was.
00:42:33 --> 00:42:36 The capacity our cooler would hold, you know?
00:42:36 --> 00:42:43 And, and, uh, and, and we tried to get him help for 10 years that we
00:42:43 --> 00:42:49 operated the thing and never, I mean, you, everybody, we had many, I should
00:42:49 --> 00:42:50 say it that way, not everybody.
00:42:50 --> 00:42:56 I had, I had two or three young men that came alongside that time
00:42:56 --> 00:42:59 that, that actually panned out and could have become butchers.
00:42:59 --> 00:43:00 One of 'em did.
00:43:00 --> 00:43:01 The other one
00:43:01 --> 00:43:05 went on to other things, but they you know, yeah, I, I'm a hunter.
00:43:05 --> 00:43:08 I kill my own stuff, but, well, I tell you, find, find somebody
00:43:08 --> 00:43:15 that's skilled with a, with a knife that can, that can, can learn.
00:43:16 --> 00:43:22 And I, and I, I mean, like I said, we had so, so many and it was hard.
00:43:22 --> 00:43:26 And part of it is, you know, we, we held our standards really high.
00:43:26 --> 00:43:27 This is somebody's meat.
00:43:27 --> 00:43:31 And supper we're working on, and it's gonna be clean when it goes in our
00:43:31 --> 00:43:36 cooler, and it's gonna be clean when it goes out the freezer door, you know?
00:43:36 --> 00:43:40 And I could usually tell if they couldn't sharpen a knife or
00:43:40 --> 00:43:45 couldn't learn to sharpen, then they weren't gonna cut it, you know?
00:43:45 --> 00:43:48 And, and it's like, it, it proved out every time.
00:43:48 --> 00:43:51 If a, if a guy showed up and could sharpen a knife and keep it sharp throughout
00:43:51 --> 00:43:54 the day, then you're gonna work out.
00:43:55 --> 00:43:56 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yeah.
00:43:56 --> 00:43:57 Yeah.
00:43:58 --> 00:43:58 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so,
00:43:59 --> 00:44:02 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Ross, it is been really interesting to talk
00:44:02 --> 00:44:06 about the processing side of it, but I'd like to jump forward and talk
00:44:06 --> 00:44:07 about what you're doing in Texas
00:44:08 --> 00:44:08 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: okay.
00:44:08 --> 00:44:13 Well, Texas has been really a scaling back for us.
00:44:13 --> 00:44:17 It, we, we bought a piece of bare ground here it's Prime
00:44:17 --> 00:44:19 Farm ground on a floodplain and.
00:44:20 --> 00:44:24 Very deep soils, which is very rare in central Texas here.
00:44:24 --> 00:44:24 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:44:25 --> 00:44:27 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: And, um, but we've been into drought.
00:44:28 --> 00:44:33 We, we sent our, our flock to solar farm for a year.
00:44:33 --> 00:44:36 They came back in August and we've only had like four inches of rain.
00:44:37 --> 00:44:38 Five inches of rain since then.
00:44:38 --> 00:44:41 And so the cool season plantings,
00:44:41 --> 00:44:44 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: How, how much rain do you all usually get?
00:44:44 --> 00:44:47 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: well, what's, what's true anymore?
00:44:47 --> 00:44:48 You know,
00:44:48 --> 00:44:48 yeah.
00:44:49 --> 00:44:50 So we had
00:44:52 --> 00:44:56 the brochures for Central Texas say we get 32 inches.
00:44:56 --> 00:44:57 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:44:57 --> 00:44:57 okay.
00:44:57 --> 00:44:58 Yes,
00:44:58 --> 00:44:59 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I don't know when that happened.
00:44:59 --> 00:45:04 Last we had, I've seen it range seven inches overnight.
00:45:05 --> 00:45:05 Which,
00:45:05 --> 00:45:07 which can be devastating.
00:45:07 --> 00:45:13 We had last winter, we had, starting the 1st of September or the first, you know,
00:45:13 --> 00:45:16 that first week, last week, August, first week of September, we usually get a storm
00:45:16 --> 00:45:22 front comes through and you can get four or 5, 6, 7 inches or something like that.
00:45:22 --> 00:45:25 And I don't remember how much it was, but it was, it was significant.
00:45:25 --> 00:45:27 The timing was perfect.
00:45:27 --> 00:45:31 Got all the fall plantings up and then we had timely rains
00:45:31 --> 00:45:34 after that and the temperatures didn't get too high on us again.
00:45:35 --> 00:45:38 And then we had oh gosh, it was November.
00:45:40 --> 00:45:42 I was helping a friend unload a bunch of cattle that night,
00:45:42 --> 00:45:43 and oh my gosh, it rained.
00:45:44 --> 00:45:46 One guy said he got 19 inches of rain that night.
00:45:47 --> 00:45:47 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:45:48 --> 00:45:48 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
00:45:48 --> 00:45:51 Filled every, they call 'em tanks here in Texas, filled
00:45:51 --> 00:45:53 every water hole in the country.
00:45:54 --> 00:45:57 And, and, and then we got timely rains through, through the winter.
00:45:57 --> 00:46:00 And in April, you know, it rained some more.
00:46:00 --> 00:46:01 Everything saturated.
00:46:02 --> 00:46:06 And then I think it was the night of the 4th of May, we had another
00:46:06 --> 00:46:12 big front came through and yeah, it dumped over seven inches that night.
00:46:12 --> 00:46:14 We'd had like three inches two days before that.
00:46:15 --> 00:46:16 And then we, we flooded.
00:46:17 --> 00:46:17 I,
00:46:17 --> 00:46:18 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, I imagine
00:46:18 --> 00:46:21 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yeah we're on a creek here called Cow House
00:46:21 --> 00:46:24 Creek, which is a, just a huge watershed.
00:46:24 --> 00:46:28 And right here where it comes by our place, it narrows down and
00:46:28 --> 00:46:29 it's a pretty close estimate.
00:46:29 --> 00:46:32 The water in that creek was 25 foot deep, and it,
00:46:33 --> 00:46:36 it came across our oak crop down here.
00:46:36 --> 00:46:40 I have five foot brace posts that I, pipe posts that I pushed in the ground that I
00:46:40 --> 00:46:45 hadn't capped yet, and they were full of water that had come over the top of those.
00:46:45 --> 00:46:49 And so, I mean, it, it happened and then we were, we were actually in
00:46:49 --> 00:46:53 the first 10 days in May, we were.
00:46:53 --> 00:46:54 Flooded in here.
00:46:54 --> 00:46:57 'cause we couldn't go either direction outta here for five days.
00:46:57 --> 00:46:59 And it took that long for the water to go down.
00:46:59 --> 00:47:02 And then it was get down and we'd get another shower come through.
00:47:02 --> 00:47:02 And
00:47:02 --> 00:47:03 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:47:03 --> 00:47:03 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so, so
00:47:04 --> 00:47:04 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Did you,
00:47:05 --> 00:47:05 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: that,
00:47:06 --> 00:47:08 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: you have some place for your sheep to go or
00:47:08 --> 00:47:09 were they over on the solar
00:47:09 --> 00:47:10 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: fortunately they were on the
00:47:10 --> 00:47:12 solar farm and we didn't lose it.
00:47:12 --> 00:47:14 Had they been here, they'd have been washed away.
00:47:14 --> 00:47:14 I,
00:47:14 --> 00:47:15 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: oh
00:47:15 --> 00:47:19 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I met I've, I've met people that lost, well,
00:47:19 --> 00:47:24 one guy, his uncle over here on the land passes river, lost 145 stalkers gone.
00:47:25 --> 00:47:26 And I've heard stories since.
00:47:26 --> 00:47:28 Everybody's still talking about it, you know, we're just
00:47:28 --> 00:47:29 not even yet a year into it.
00:47:30 --> 00:47:35 And finding cattle, you know, 30, 40 miles away that, that somehow didn't
00:47:35 --> 00:47:37 drown, you know, got washed down,
00:47:37 --> 00:47:38 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yeah.
00:47:38 --> 00:47:39 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: down towards temple.
00:47:40 --> 00:47:42 So, but it was, it was devastating.
00:47:42 --> 00:47:43 I mean, it, it,
00:47:43 --> 00:47:43 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, yeah, it
00:47:43 --> 00:47:44 would
00:47:44 --> 00:47:45 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: was, it was actually pretty
00:47:45 --> 00:47:46 frightening to see that much water.
00:47:47 --> 00:47:49 So how much rain do we get?
00:47:49 --> 00:47:51 Depends on when, you know, I,
00:47:52 --> 00:47:52 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: right.
00:47:52 --> 00:47:52 Yeah.
00:47:53 --> 00:47:56 Now, when you went to Texas, you, you had experience with stalkers and meat
00:47:56 --> 00:47:58 goats, but you didn't go that path.
00:48:00 --> 00:48:01 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: no, I, I didn't a couple reasons
00:48:01 --> 00:48:03 here are, are resource base.
00:48:03 --> 00:48:03 We bought bare ground.
00:48:04 --> 00:48:09 So this, I found, you know, old fences, the perimeter fences, and
00:48:09 --> 00:48:13 then interior fences with little old cedar stick posts still left.
00:48:13 --> 00:48:14 And,
00:48:14 --> 00:48:20 and my best guess that those fences were built about 1865, you know, based on
00:48:20 --> 00:48:22 the wire type that I can find.
00:48:22 --> 00:48:24 You know, this is some pretty unique wire.
00:48:25 --> 00:48:25 And,
00:48:25 --> 00:48:26 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Right.
00:48:26 --> 00:48:29 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and so, and, and we're, and as we started
00:48:29 --> 00:48:33 clearing cedars and whatnot, the, the I mean, we're finding old horse
00:48:33 --> 00:48:35 drawn, you know, tongues still on it.
00:48:36 --> 00:48:37 I, I think it's cotton equipment.
00:48:37 --> 00:48:38 I don't know.
00:48:38 --> 00:48:39 I've never seen anything but,
00:48:39 --> 00:48:40 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:48:40 --> 00:48:41 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so this was cotton farmed.
00:48:41 --> 00:48:44 It was, who knows what was grown here, but this.
00:48:45 --> 00:48:51 This has been absentee owned and leased ground for many, many years.
00:48:51 --> 00:48:58 And so there was no stock water the fences were all gone, no power in here.
00:48:59 --> 00:49:06 And so we actually got ahead of the curve and went to a doper sale, and
00:49:06 --> 00:49:09 I found myself in my hand in the air, and we brought home about 85
00:49:09 --> 00:49:13 head of u lambs to, and it's like, okay, now how do we keep 'em here?
00:49:14 --> 00:49:18 I, you know, I can haul enough water to feed them and, you
00:49:18 --> 00:49:19 know, keep 'em in stock.
00:49:19 --> 00:49:26 So, and, and we worked for a direct to consumer, uh, cooperative effort called
00:49:26 --> 00:49:33 Capital Lamb for a year too, so we, I got, you know, to sort and working slaughter
00:49:33 --> 00:49:37 lamb's and, and that I just really fell in love with these little sheep.
00:49:37 --> 00:49:38 They're, they're very.
00:49:40 --> 00:49:45 They're not all docile, but at my age and physical abilities, they're
00:49:45 --> 00:49:48 not going to, they're not gonna mash me up against a fence, you
00:49:48 --> 00:49:49 know, I've been, I've been there.
00:49:50 --> 00:49:54 And so the cattle thing went, went, be, went behind us for that.
00:49:54 --> 00:49:58 And what we had done, I, there's another, another chapter of our life
00:49:58 --> 00:50:03 that, that we did you know, going back to talking about, you know, the
00:50:03 --> 00:50:08 generational transition and, and, and so at 55 years old or thereabouts,
00:50:08 --> 00:50:10 I, I finally got my opportunity.
00:50:10 --> 00:50:15 My dad decided to retire and sold all, sold all, well, sold his
00:50:15 --> 00:50:16 cows and gave some to the kids.
00:50:16 --> 00:50:23 And it was, and I guess if, if, if you've got a, a really bright young
00:50:24 --> 00:50:26 child that's headed to college,
00:50:28 --> 00:50:32 there is such a need for people to facilitate generational
00:50:32 --> 00:50:34 transition and get it done well.
00:50:35 --> 00:50:37 That's a, that's a huge hole.
00:50:37 --> 00:50:42 And what we're seeing nationwide, you know, is, is these ranches are
00:50:42 --> 00:50:48 getting bought up by investors who see the appreciation value in the
00:50:48 --> 00:50:51 land drive it beyond production value.
00:50:51 --> 00:50:57 And, and then they hire somebody, but they don't know, they don't trust 'em enough.
00:50:58 --> 00:51:01 Anyway, there's, there's, there's a whole realm of that.
00:51:01 --> 00:51:09 And in the meantime, the, you know, like, like, like you and I that our, our parents
00:51:09 --> 00:51:14 are, are at that retirement age, but yet we've got our own thing at this point.
00:51:14 --> 00:51:16 So what do, what do you do?
00:51:16 --> 00:51:17 So anyway, we,
00:51:17 --> 00:51:23 we, we, had kinda worn out you know, the concrete floors and the butchering in
00:51:23 --> 00:51:30 the middle of winter had, and, and so I was tired of processing meat and so.
00:51:31 --> 00:51:32 My brother called me one day.
00:51:32 --> 00:51:35 He had, he had actually gone back to the ranch and stayed.
00:51:35 --> 00:51:38 And but he said, he called me, he says, I can't do this anymore.
00:51:39 --> 00:51:40 He said, my back hurts.
00:51:40 --> 00:51:41 My shoulders are shot
00:51:41 --> 00:51:42 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:51:42 --> 00:51:43 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: feeding hay bales.
00:51:43 --> 00:51:46 And, and he says, I, I'm, I'm gonna leave.
00:51:46 --> 00:51:54 And so, so I, I talked to my dad and I said, we're I, I need, you know, can, can
00:51:54 --> 00:51:55 I lease the place, you know, essentially?
00:51:56 --> 00:51:58 And, and, and he said, man, I didn't know what I was gonna
00:51:58 --> 00:51:59 do with it when Shane left.
00:51:59 --> 00:52:07 And so, but a again, this communication and mixed, mixed goals or
00:52:07 --> 00:52:09 visions were never talked about.
00:52:09 --> 00:52:12 My family didn't talk about important things.
00:52:12 --> 00:52:15 You know, you talked about the weather, you talked about, you know,
00:52:15 --> 00:52:19 that cow out there and, and the beef price, you know, all these things.
00:52:19 --> 00:52:22 But nobody really talked about what, what's gonna happen here?
00:52:22 --> 00:52:23 So,
00:52:23 --> 00:52:29 so I got the opportunity to, to lease 2 acres irrigated ground
00:52:29 --> 00:52:32 and a 16 acre BLM permit.
00:52:33 --> 00:52:38 Had a three year lease on on part of it, which belonged to my uncle and five year
00:52:39 --> 00:52:43 renewable lease on, on the other parts that had most facilities and whatnot.
00:52:44 --> 00:52:50 And, but I'd run stalker cattle and I told dad, I don't want to do cows and calves.
00:52:51 --> 00:52:57 I, I, I don't like, the most anxiety producing thing in my life is moving
00:52:57 --> 00:53:01 a bunch of pairs down the county road, you know, driving all these young calves
00:53:01 --> 00:53:06 out, you know, 20 miles to the BLM permit or forest service permit, you know, and
00:53:06 --> 00:53:09 sitting out there at the end of the day trying to mother up cows and calves and
00:53:09 --> 00:53:13 all the cows wanna do is go drink and eat and the calves are looking back through
00:53:13 --> 00:53:15 the fence and yeah, that, that just.
00:53:17 --> 00:53:22 So, and, and I had the experience that I'd had on our place in Oregon of, you
00:53:22 --> 00:53:24 know, of high density stock grazing.
00:53:24 --> 00:53:31 So, so we, we spent a couple months putting in two wire, high tensile fence
00:53:31 --> 00:53:37 along all the ditch banks 'cause it's all flood irrigated ground and, um, polypipe
00:53:37 --> 00:53:39 on the water line, you know, water lines.
00:53:40 --> 00:53:44 And, and we did extremely high stock density grazing.
00:53:45 --> 00:53:49 We had 2 to 3000 head of, of yearlings.
00:53:49 --> 00:53:55 Everything from organic dairy heifers had every label that exists represented
00:53:56 --> 00:54:00 to to just commercial industrial cattle that were gonna go to a feed lot.
00:54:01 --> 00:54:06 And, and we ran mobs as big as 1100 moving them twice a day.
00:54:06 --> 00:54:08 Between electric mine, electric fence.
00:54:08 --> 00:54:10 We saw phenomenal things happen in the.
00:54:11 --> 00:54:18 In the soil, the ecosystem learned a lot about where my, my, I had
00:54:18 --> 00:54:21 gone with inch and a half pipe, I should have had two inch pipe,
00:54:21 --> 00:54:27 Things like that, you know, but, but we got to see I dunno, that could go
00:54:27 --> 00:54:30 on to a couple more hours, you know, talking about the things we saw.
00:54:31 --> 00:54:36 But you, cattle will learn to handle if you show up and every
00:54:36 --> 00:54:37 time you show up, it's, it's good.
00:54:38 --> 00:54:39 You know, you're moving 'em to fresh feed.
00:54:39 --> 00:54:42 They'll, they'll follow you through hell if,
00:54:42 --> 00:54:48 you know, and, and, and we had we had videos that we took of this, you
00:54:48 --> 00:54:52 know, the big mob, 1 hundred head of them moving down a ditch bank.
00:54:53 --> 00:54:57 And the lead is, you know, the whole string might be a quarter mile long.
00:54:57 --> 00:54:58 The leads out there.
00:54:58 --> 00:55:03 Just, just following the, the electric fence trail that you've set up, going down
00:55:03 --> 00:55:05 the ditch banks to get to the next one.
00:55:05 --> 00:55:08 And you might be making a one mile, two mile move.
00:55:08 --> 00:55:13 And, and the, the one guy that's with them is pulling the water trough in the
00:55:13 --> 00:55:18 middle of the herd and the water trough, mineral, trough are all tied together.
00:55:18 --> 00:55:21 And, and the, and he's got, you know, he's truly in the middle of
00:55:21 --> 00:55:24 the string of deals and they're all going and everybody gets there fine.
00:55:24 --> 00:55:27 You know, so we did that over and over again.
00:55:27 --> 00:55:31 And, and the high stock density we would try to leave four to six
00:55:31 --> 00:55:33 inches of residual feed behind us.
00:55:33 --> 00:55:40 And it was all red clover, white clover fescue Italian rye grass a
00:55:40 --> 00:55:44 variety of other lesser, you know, types of plants, but it was all
00:55:44 --> 00:55:45 irrigated metals.
00:55:46 --> 00:55:50 We saw through the process of this, you know, 'cause it, well,
00:55:50 --> 00:55:53 we wouldn't come back until things were fully recovered, which, you
00:55:53 --> 00:55:56 know, and, and had adequate feed to make it worth the time to come back.
00:55:57 --> 00:56:02 But we saw tremendous increase in the clover density and the clover size,
00:56:02 --> 00:56:03 like the red clover leaves the size of
00:56:04 --> 00:56:04 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh,
00:56:04 --> 00:56:05 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: palming or hand.
00:56:06 --> 00:56:12 And then, uh, we saw when you went behind standing out in the field
00:56:12 --> 00:56:19 behind that mob of cattle at, at the proper stock density, were no turds.
00:56:20 --> 00:56:22 They had already been incorporated down to the soil level.
00:56:23 --> 00:56:23 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:56:23 --> 00:56:26 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: And then when you went later in the year, and of
00:56:26 --> 00:56:33 course the, the protein carbohydrate con concentration or contents change in the
00:56:33 --> 00:56:37 feed and your, you know, your gains drop off, your turds get harder and stuff.
00:56:37 --> 00:56:40 But you'll, but the other thing that we would do is we would,
00:56:40 --> 00:56:42 we would spread the animals out.
00:56:42 --> 00:56:46 We didn't have the high stalk density later on in the, in the grazing season.
00:56:46 --> 00:56:52 And, and so we but you start to see those turds start to stay on top of the ground.
00:56:53 --> 00:56:54 And so that was just one of the things.
00:56:54 --> 00:56:59 And the other thing that we saw with, which kind of surprised all of us,
00:56:59 --> 00:57:02 that that valley a lot of water.
00:57:02 --> 00:57:06 It was an old swamp that was drained and mosquitoes were absolutely horrible.
00:57:06 --> 00:57:07 And,
00:57:07 --> 00:57:11 and so I had several people say, you can't, you won't be able to do this.
00:57:11 --> 00:57:12 Those cattle will run all the time.
00:57:12 --> 00:57:13 You won't be able to
00:57:14 --> 00:57:14 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
00:57:14 --> 00:57:15 yeah.
00:57:15 --> 00:57:15 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: in this.
00:57:16 --> 00:57:19 And, but we'd already committed to do this.
00:57:19 --> 00:57:22 And it's like, we're, we're doing this.
00:57:22 --> 00:57:27 And, and so what we saw happen, because these were hay meadows
00:57:27 --> 00:57:32 that had traditionally, you know, been the cattle moved off of April,
00:57:32 --> 00:57:36 may middle May at the latest, and, and gone out to the mountains.
00:57:36 --> 00:57:39 And then you let that grow up, you irrigate it a couple times, cut a hay crop
00:57:39 --> 00:57:43 off of it, bring cattle back, and throw all the hay back out on the ground again,
00:57:44 --> 00:57:45 and all through the winter, you know?
00:57:46 --> 00:57:51 And, and so, we interrupted that mosquito cycle by doing this.
00:57:51 --> 00:57:59 And for the first two years that we were there, uh, mosquito population
00:57:59 --> 00:58:00 almost disappeared in the valley.
00:58:01 --> 00:58:03 We disrupted their, their egg cycle.
00:58:04 --> 00:58:10 The other thing that we saw that happened and we didn't notice it right away, but
00:58:10 --> 00:58:12 the barn swallow population increased.
00:58:13 --> 00:58:18 And we had, we would have like 2000 barn swallows sitting there at
00:58:18 --> 00:58:22 camp waiting for us to jump in the scooters to go out to move cattle.
00:58:22 --> 00:58:24 And they'd go, they'd up and go with us.
00:58:25 --> 00:58:28 And as you move those cattle forward into the tall grass and those mosquitoes
00:58:29 --> 00:58:30 in the tall grass would come up.
00:58:30 --> 00:58:33 No, it was so much fun to watch, sit there and watch those birds.
00:58:33 --> 00:58:36 They just, by the thousands they,
00:58:36 --> 00:58:37 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yes.
00:58:37 --> 00:58:39 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so that, it was, it was pretty
00:58:39 --> 00:58:42 cool to see, to see all of that.
00:58:42 --> 00:58:44 So anyway, I had rambled on,
00:58:46 --> 00:58:46 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah.
00:58:46 --> 00:58:48 Very interesting.
00:58:48 --> 00:58:48 Yeah.
00:58:48 --> 00:58:52 So how many years did you, you graze that large number out
00:58:52 --> 00:58:52 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: No.
00:58:52 --> 00:59:00 We, we had a four year, a three year lease that was renewed for one year on,
00:59:00 --> 00:59:04 on the larger portion of the irrigated ground, and then it was put on the market
00:59:04 --> 00:59:06 for sale and they didn't renew our lease.
00:59:06 --> 00:59:06 And,
00:59:06 --> 00:59:07 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, yes.
00:59:07 --> 00:59:10 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and, and the other one well, it became
00:59:11 --> 00:59:14 economically, you know, it's like I can't keep a full crew on here.
00:59:14 --> 00:59:16 We can't run enough cattle.
00:59:16 --> 00:59:19 We still ran the higher stock density, but we weren't contiguous anymore.
00:59:20 --> 00:59:21 And, and so
00:59:21 --> 00:59:26 it, it became more challenging and, and so it cut the crew back.
00:59:26 --> 00:59:28 My son-in-law managed it for us.
00:59:28 --> 00:59:33 And, and he and the irrigator, I'd go, I'd go help him, you know, when
00:59:33 --> 00:59:36 we made big moves or whenever help was needed, shipping and whatnot.
00:59:36 --> 00:59:42 But, but so we did it for another, I guess total of five years that we, a
00:59:42 --> 00:59:47 pretty high stock density, long enough to know that it, it works and I've,
00:59:47 --> 00:59:51 I've wanted to replicate it and do it again, but, and I, and I've tried to
00:59:51 --> 00:59:56 do it here with the sheep somewhat, but I just don't have, well, this
00:59:56 --> 01:00:00 was bare ground and, and we, we quit.
01:00:00 --> 01:00:02 Fertilizing and spraying on it.
01:00:02 --> 01:00:04 So it's been a regenerative cycle.
01:00:05 --> 01:00:08 And, and then of course you get the droughts, you know, last year looked
01:00:08 --> 01:00:12 really good and we, and we thought, man, we, we've crossed that hump.
01:00:12 --> 01:00:17 And then we just, after, after May 3rd, I'll bet we haven't had six
01:00:17 --> 01:00:19 inches of rain since May last year.
01:00:19 --> 01:00:20 Haven't added it up.
01:00:20 --> 01:00:24 It, it's probably more than that, but it's not, it's not been timely,
01:00:24 --> 01:00:25 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: not enough.
01:00:25 --> 01:00:25 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: enough.
01:00:25 --> 01:00:31 We had four inch rain like Labor Day, and then it got back up over a hundred
01:00:31 --> 01:00:35 degrees again, so it sprouted all the oats and stuff that were there, and
01:00:35 --> 01:00:36 then just burned 'em up and killed.
01:00:36 --> 01:00:37 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yeah.
01:00:37 --> 01:00:38 Yeah.
01:00:38 --> 01:00:39 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so it's like, oh my gosh.
01:00:40 --> 01:00:41 It's yeah.
01:00:43 --> 01:00:45 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: So, so you mentioned a little bit there that you're
01:00:45 --> 01:00:49 trying to do, or you tried to do a little bit of high density with the sheep, but
01:00:49 --> 01:00:52 it's, the land's not quite there and
01:00:52 --> 01:00:52 everything.
01:00:53 --> 01:00:56 What practices have you brought to the sheep that's really helping you there?
01:00:57 --> 01:00:58 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I've trained him to stay
01:00:58 --> 01:01:00 behind one wire electric.
01:01:00 --> 01:01:01 Yeah.
01:01:01 --> 01:01:06 And, and that took a little bit of, little bit of training when I worked
01:01:06 --> 01:01:11 for the lamb company, the caper lamb, we were, we were doing some grazing and
01:01:11 --> 01:01:13 whatnot and setting up nets and all that.
01:01:13 --> 01:01:17 And there was a company called Razor Grazier that outta Canada
01:01:18 --> 01:01:19 that I became a dealer for.
01:01:19 --> 01:01:23 And they were just coming out with their shepherd model,
01:01:23 --> 01:01:25 which was a four wire model.
01:01:25 --> 01:01:29 And so I, I used, I got one of those and I used it.
01:01:29 --> 01:01:30 It's helped a lot.
01:01:31 --> 01:01:37 And, you know, it's, it's, it's not unique in its concept in that it's,
01:01:37 --> 01:01:41 it, it's just a handy tool because it's all contained in one, one deal.
01:01:41 --> 01:01:46 But, but setting up and taking down four wires in one fence is quite a pain.
01:01:47 --> 01:01:51 So I, so I just really quickly went to two and found that they stayed.
01:01:52 --> 01:01:56 Fine, you know, but I could run two over here and two wires over here and, and have
01:01:56 --> 01:02:00 a couple pastures set up and, and the nice thing about that unit is it, it's
01:02:00 --> 01:02:02 a push button to roll it back in again.
01:02:02 --> 01:02:05 So it, it's, it's pretty handy.
01:02:05 --> 01:02:08 But but then I thought, well, let's try one.
01:02:08 --> 01:02:14 And, and you, you get the occasional one and then the by by mistake gets out.
01:02:15 --> 01:02:19 But if she becomes a habit, she goes away before he teaches everybody else.
01:02:20 --> 01:02:20 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:02:20 --> 01:02:21 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: But the guy that had 'em on the
01:02:21 --> 01:02:24 solar farm, he, he kept all these sheep contained with one wire.
01:02:24 --> 01:02:28 And I was actually surprised he was able to do it because the wire he had, there
01:02:28 --> 01:02:30 was a lot of traffic going in and out.
01:02:30 --> 01:02:35 And so he had he kept the wire was only about six inches off the ground.
01:02:35 --> 01:02:36 It's like how in the world,
01:02:36 --> 01:02:37 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:02:37 --> 01:02:37 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: at that.
01:02:37 --> 01:02:39 But yeah, they stayed where he put 'em, so,
01:02:40 --> 01:02:40 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: yeah.
01:02:40 --> 01:02:41 of course.
01:02:41 --> 01:02:42 Sheep want to go under rather than
01:02:42 --> 01:02:43 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yeah.
01:02:43 --> 01:02:44 Yeah, they don't like to go over.
01:02:44 --> 01:02:45 That's true.
01:02:45 --> 01:02:46 So,
01:02:47 --> 01:02:47 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah.
01:02:47 --> 01:02:48 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: so.
01:02:48 --> 01:02:50 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Now, now one thing on that, you went with Dopers.
01:02:51 --> 01:02:55 Why did you go with Dopers versus any of the other hair breeds?
01:02:55 --> 01:02:57 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Well, I saw 'em with the, with the butcher
01:02:58 --> 01:03:03 deal that we were involved in and, and they just, they hang a beautiful carpets.
01:03:03 --> 01:03:04 They got a
01:03:04 --> 01:03:06 tremendous, tremendous flavor.
01:03:07 --> 01:03:11 And I was also impressed with, with a true doper.
01:03:12 --> 01:03:17 They're like a, they're, they're, they're, they're like a pig in that they weigh way
01:03:17 --> 01:03:18 more than they look like they're going to,
01:03:19 --> 01:03:21 you know, and, and they grow really fast.
01:03:21 --> 01:03:25 And, and so I've got some kadin mix out here, some white, you know,
01:03:25 --> 01:03:30 Leger ones and I don't know, they just don't seem to produce the, the
01:03:30 --> 01:03:32 weight that the, that the doers do.
01:03:33 --> 01:03:33 So.
01:03:35 --> 01:03:38 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: we were, we were talking the other day and I
01:03:38 --> 01:03:40 told you I'd got a door for Ram and
01:03:40 --> 01:03:42 I used on Mike Todd and news.
01:03:44 --> 01:03:47 But it's not a doper ram that I've seen some photos of.
01:03:47 --> 01:03:51 I'd like to get one of those really muscular rams that, that I've seen
01:03:51 --> 01:03:52 pictures of, but I haven't seen them
01:03:52 --> 01:03:53 around here.
01:03:53 --> 01:03:54 Surely someone around
01:03:54 --> 01:03:56 here's got some, but I haven't found
01:03:56 --> 01:03:57 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: they're out there.
01:03:57 --> 01:04:02 I there's a, there's a gal over near San Saba here that's got some
01:04:02 --> 01:04:06 tremendous powerful Rams like that that
01:04:06 --> 01:04:08 bought some of her, some of her used.
01:04:09 --> 01:04:09 Yeah.
01:04:09 --> 01:04:15 She was, I, I went, I to pick up her, her lamb crop or some of 'em that she
01:04:15 --> 01:04:17 was selling into this cooperative deal.
01:04:17 --> 01:04:22 And they were five months old and they weighed over a hundred pounds and
01:04:22 --> 01:04:23 they were beautiful.
01:04:23 --> 01:04:26 So I thought, okay, I'm gonna go buy my rams from her.
01:04:27 --> 01:04:29 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, yes, yes.
01:04:29 --> 01:04:29 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: So,
01:04:31 --> 01:04:31 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: yeah.
01:04:31 --> 01:04:34 I, I, I need some growth on my lambs like
01:04:34 --> 01:04:34 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
01:04:35 --> 01:04:35 Yeah.
01:04:36 --> 01:04:41 They, they, they push the scales down pretty fast, so, yeah.
01:04:42 --> 01:04:44 And the other thing that I like about these hair sheep, and I don't know
01:04:44 --> 01:04:47 if it's true with all of 'em, but they, they will actually do a lot more
01:04:47 --> 01:04:50 browsing than, than wool sheep for sure.
01:04:51 --> 01:04:56 You know, they'll, they'll do a, they're a good cross between the goat and the
01:04:56 --> 01:04:59 wool sheep and that they'll, they'll eat a lot of stuff like the goat.
01:04:59 --> 01:04:59 So
01:05:00 --> 01:05:01 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: but with a single wire, they're a lot
01:05:01 --> 01:05:03 easier to keep in than a goat.
01:05:03 --> 01:05:04 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yes.
01:05:04 --> 01:05:05 Impossible on the goat.
01:05:05 --> 01:05:05 Yeah.
01:05:07 --> 01:05:07 Yeah.
01:05:07 --> 01:05:11 No, we looked at this, you know, knowing, be faced with and thought
01:05:11 --> 01:05:12 goats aren't an option for us.
01:05:12 --> 01:05:18 So, you know, and in, in the desert in you know, where, where we were in
01:05:18 --> 01:05:22 Oregon, Northern California, there, we, if they got away, you could find them.
01:05:23 --> 01:05:25 You know, even if it took an airplane, you're gonna find
01:05:25 --> 01:05:27 here, here in Texas, you wouldn't find them.
01:05:27 --> 01:05:32 There's so much brush and, you know, Cedar tickets and stuff, and you,
01:05:32 --> 01:05:33 you'll probably never see 'em again.
01:05:34 --> 01:05:34 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yeah.
01:05:35 --> 01:05:35 Yeah.
01:05:36 --> 01:05:40 Well, Ross, I've really enjoyed the conversation and I know we've just
01:05:40 --> 01:05:45 skimmed the top of it, but it's time today for our famous four questions.
01:05:45 --> 01:05:48 Speaker 2: At Redmond, we know that you thrive when your animals do.
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01:06:11 --> 01:06:13 to help that your animals prefer.
01:06:14 --> 01:06:17 This gives your herd the ability to naturally regulate their
01:06:17 --> 01:06:20 mineral consumption as they graze.
01:06:21 --> 01:06:25 Our minerals won't just help you improve the health of your animals,
01:06:25 --> 01:06:30 but will also help you naturally build soil fertility so you can grow more
01:06:30 --> 01:06:33 nutrient dense pasture year after year.
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01:06:38 --> 01:06:40 Learn more at redmondagriculture.
01:06:41 --> 01:06:42 com
01:06:43 --> 01:06:45 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Same four questions we ask of All of our
01:06:45 --> 01:06:46 guests.
01:06:46 --> 01:06:51 Our first question, what's your favorite grazing grass related book or resource?
01:06:53 --> 01:06:54 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: You know, I've got a friend that
01:06:54 --> 01:06:57 just wrote one that I've listened to a couple times, name's Tomberg.
01:06:57 --> 01:07:01 He's with Savory Institute and it's called Green Grass in the Spring.
01:07:02 --> 01:07:02 Love that.
01:07:02 --> 01:07:04 It's available on Audible too.
01:07:04 --> 01:07:10 He reads it himself and it's his story Walking, you know, just his life story.
01:07:11 --> 01:07:13 Another book that I've read, I.
01:07:14 --> 01:07:20 A couple times and have, have found it very encouraging is called
01:07:20 --> 01:07:25 the Gardeners of Eden, subtitled, restoring Our Relationship to
01:07:25 --> 01:07:27 Nature by Daniel or Dan Daggett.
01:07:28 --> 01:07:28 Yeah.
01:07:28 --> 01:07:34 And that's, that's one that's just, he, he just cites some examples of,
01:07:35 --> 01:07:39 you know, good grazing practices in the environmental changes that occur.
01:07:40 --> 01:07:41 And it is just really encouraging.
01:07:42 --> 01:07:44 So I've read it a couple times.
01:07:44 --> 01:07:47 Typically I only read a book once, or I might not even finish a book, you know?
01:07:48 --> 01:07:53 But, but those, I've, I've done a couple times, I've tried to get through Alan
01:07:53 --> 01:07:57 Savory's book, but I always, I'll, I'll read a paragraph and then I start thinking
01:07:57 --> 01:07:59 and it's like, I gotta read that again.
01:07:59 --> 01:08:02 And, and I never have got more than the first or second chapter through it.
01:08:02 --> 01:08:02 So.
01:08:03 --> 01:08:04 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: I'm guilty as charged as well.
01:08:04 --> 01:08:07 I've, I've started reading it a few times.
01:08:07 --> 01:08:11 I've not got through it and, and I used to be hard on myself
01:08:11 --> 01:08:12 about starting to read a book.
01:08:12 --> 01:08:13 I had to
01:08:13 --> 01:08:13 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
01:08:14 --> 01:08:16 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: And with a little a DD it's kind of hard at
01:08:16 --> 01:08:19 times, but I, I've let go of that.
01:08:19 --> 01:08:21 If a book's not serving its purpose for
01:08:21 --> 01:08:24 me, and that doesn't mean the book's not good.
01:08:24 --> 01:08:26 It means I'm not getting what I need out of it.
01:08:27 --> 01:08:31 I have no problem putting it up and not reading it, and that's taken
01:08:31 --> 01:08:33 me a long time to get to that spot.
01:08:33 --> 01:08:37 But now if it's not serving my purpose, I just
01:08:37 --> 01:08:37 move on.
01:08:37 --> 01:08:40 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Another one that I, that I read that I got quite
01:08:40 --> 01:08:42 a lot out of was breaking the Hay habit.
01:08:42 --> 01:08:43 I think Jim,
01:08:43 --> 01:08:43 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:08:44 --> 01:08:45 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Jim Barry wrote, which, which
01:08:45 --> 01:08:49 actually challenges your, just your challenges, your thinking, you know,
01:08:50 --> 01:08:52 like, why, why am I doing this?
01:08:53 --> 01:08:54 Why have we always done this?
01:08:54 --> 01:08:58 Why can't we change, you know, so.
01:08:58 --> 01:08:59 Yeah,
01:09:00 --> 01:09:00 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah,
01:09:00 --> 01:09:02 Excellent suggestions there.
01:09:02 --> 01:09:06 And I didn't realize the greener pasture's on no.
01:09:06 --> 01:09:06 What was
01:09:06 --> 01:09:07 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: the first one,
01:09:08 --> 01:09:11 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: The first one, I, I didn't realize that was on audio Audible
01:09:11 --> 01:09:12 or there was audio book.
01:09:12 --> 01:09:13 I'll have to look
01:09:13 --> 01:09:13 that up.
01:09:14 --> 01:09:15 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: may be, no, the first one was Green
01:09:15 --> 01:09:17 grass in the spring by Tony Walberg.
01:09:17 --> 01:09:19 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Green Grass in the spring.
01:09:19 --> 01:09:19 Yeah,
01:09:19 --> 01:09:24 because I am pretty sure that's another book I have that I haven't read
01:09:24 --> 01:09:24 yet.
01:09:25 --> 01:09:28 You know, I'm gonna start making a book list of the books I've read because
01:09:28 --> 01:09:30 I've got like every book I haven't read,
01:09:30 --> 01:09:30 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yeah,
01:09:32 --> 01:09:32 yeah,
01:09:32 --> 01:09:36 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: But I, I love having an audio book because I can
01:09:36 --> 01:09:38 listen to it in my ear when I'm out doing
01:09:38 --> 01:09:38 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: exactly.
01:09:38 --> 01:09:39 Yeah.
01:09:39 --> 01:09:40 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah.
01:09:41 --> 01:09:42 Ross, our second question.
01:09:43 --> 01:09:44 What's your favorite tool for the farm?
01:09:46 --> 01:09:47 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Electric fence.
01:09:47 --> 01:09:49 In general sense.
01:09:49 --> 01:09:51 We couldn't have done our high density stock grazing without
01:09:51 --> 01:09:53 Gallagher's tumble wheels.
01:09:54 --> 01:09:54 I think.
01:09:55 --> 01:09:59 I would have to say that that is my single most favorite tool.
01:10:00 --> 01:10:04 It just made, it, made it possible for both front fences and for back fences.
01:10:04 --> 01:10:09 'cause we were grazing lanes and they a lot of people never seen
01:10:09 --> 01:10:11 them, but my gosh, they are.
01:10:12 --> 01:10:17 And, and they, they don't work well if you have obstacles in the field.
01:10:17 --> 01:10:23 But if you have like irrigated runs or you know, and, and fairly
01:10:23 --> 01:10:29 parallel fences to work in then, then they're, man, they're the, the ticket.
01:10:29 --> 01:10:30 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Now.
01:10:31 --> 01:10:32 Go ahead
01:10:32 --> 01:10:32 Ross.
01:10:32 --> 01:10:33 I was just going to
01:10:33 --> 01:10:33 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I know.
01:10:34 --> 01:10:34 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: him to the
01:10:34 --> 01:10:36 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah, so you can, you can find some
01:10:36 --> 01:10:40 stuff on YouTube about, they're, they're called Gallagher Tumble wheels.
01:10:40 --> 01:10:41 Yeah.
01:10:41 --> 01:10:44 And, and probably the best thing to do is to look and see how they work
01:10:44 --> 01:10:47 because describing how they work is a, but they're, they're clever.
01:10:47 --> 01:10:50 They've got a little cam in the hub in the middle of them that, that drops
01:10:50 --> 01:10:55 away from the two legs that are on the ground so that they don't conduct.
01:10:55 --> 01:10:58 And then whatever two legs are on or non-conductive and
01:10:58 --> 01:10:59 all the rest of it's hot.
01:10:59 --> 01:11:03 The other thing I would say as far as favorite I've tried a lot
01:11:03 --> 01:11:08 of different reels and I always go back to the Gallagher reels.
01:11:08 --> 01:11:10 They're the three, three in one.
01:11:10 --> 01:11:15 They are ergonomically correct for me.
01:11:15 --> 01:11:17 I, they last a long time.
01:11:18 --> 01:11:19 And they yeah.
01:11:19 --> 01:11:23 And then the other thing that's made, so I, I've done some stock stock
01:11:23 --> 01:11:27 grazing on some large landscapes through last winter with cattle.
01:11:28 --> 01:11:31 On, you know, helping a young guy, family friend.
01:11:32 --> 01:11:35 And I couldn't have done it without that range board tool that I mentioned too.
01:11:35 --> 01:11:39 'cause it it, they, they do a cattle option, so it's just a
01:11:39 --> 01:11:41 single strand run out there.
01:11:42 --> 01:11:45 But you can pull that thing, I think there's a half mile wire
01:11:46 --> 01:11:51 on a spool on it, and, and in big spaces it, it's, it's great.
01:11:52 --> 01:11:57 So I, I think those three, three things are a eight step in posts
01:11:58 --> 01:12:02 always use three, three eights, fiberglass rods with long leg,
01:12:02 --> 01:12:04 long spring, long leg clip on 'em.
01:12:04 --> 01:12:06 Again, personal preference.
01:12:06 --> 01:12:08 Everybody gets used to something different, but, but those are my,
01:12:09 --> 01:12:09 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Right.
01:12:09 --> 01:12:12 Well, whatever works for you works for you, but it's always interesting
01:12:12 --> 01:12:14 to find out what works for other
01:12:14 --> 01:12:17 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yeah, and there's, and there's reasons, you
01:12:17 --> 01:12:21 know, I think for everybody and, and sometimes it's what you start with, you
01:12:21 --> 01:12:28 know, don't waste your money on, on, on lightweight wire for temporary fencing.
01:12:28 --> 01:12:33 You know, you either go high tensile, you know, the the 12 and a half gauge
01:12:33 --> 01:12:39 stuff for a permanent set or, or use poly poly strand of some kind.
01:12:39 --> 01:12:42 'cause the, you can roll it up and you can take it down.
01:12:42 --> 01:12:43 You roll it up and take it down,
01:12:43 --> 01:12:43 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:12:43 --> 01:12:44 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: you know,
01:12:44 --> 01:12:47 the step in posts, and I don't care whether they're plastic or
01:12:47 --> 01:12:53 the better steel ones, if your ground isn't soft, they suck.
01:12:53 --> 01:12:57 And you, and you can't, you can't drive them in with a hammer either.
01:12:57 --> 01:12:57 So
01:12:58 --> 01:13:01 that's why I went with the, with the three eights.
01:13:01 --> 01:13:06 You can sit on your scooter or in your side by side and reach out there with
01:13:06 --> 01:13:09 a dead blow hammer and push those in the ground, you know, and just keep
01:13:09 --> 01:13:11 going and never have to get out.
01:13:11 --> 01:13:11 Stomp on.
01:13:13 --> 01:13:13 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:13:13 --> 01:13:14 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: my preference.
01:13:14 --> 01:13:17 They fit they, you, you can take a, a pipe.
01:13:17 --> 01:13:21 I used to use like a six inch aluminum pipe and built a quiver
01:13:21 --> 01:13:24 fit on the front of my four wheeler, and you just throw those in there.
01:13:25 --> 01:13:25 And yeah.
01:13:26 --> 01:13:27 That, that's what's worked for me.
01:13:30 --> 01:13:32 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Very good, excellent resources there
01:13:33 --> 01:13:35 or tools to use on the farm.
01:13:35 --> 01:13:37 Our third question, what would you tell someone?
01:13:37 --> 01:13:38 Just getting started?
01:13:40 --> 01:13:40 I,
01:13:40 --> 01:13:44 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Spend good money way more than you anticipate.
01:13:45 --> 01:13:47 If you're doing electric fence on your charger, don't,
01:13:48 --> 01:13:48 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: yes,
01:13:48 --> 01:13:50 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: don't go cheap on the charger.
01:13:51 --> 01:13:55 And, and if you can't afford it and, and you're building a whole
01:13:55 --> 01:13:59 system, get get the one that you can have a remote shut off on.
01:14:00 --> 01:14:00 On.
01:14:00 --> 01:14:03 And so like I, it, it's old amount of.
01:14:05 --> 01:14:08 You know, it's kind of obsolete now, but the one I use for our big grazing
01:14:08 --> 01:14:12 operation is a stay fix 30 32 Juul.
01:14:13 --> 01:14:16 And that's the other thing is, you know, high JUULs you there's some
01:14:16 --> 01:14:19 companies that have longer warranties.
01:14:19 --> 01:14:23 Like there's Patriot makes a good charger trying to think what the other one is.
01:14:23 --> 01:14:24 There's, there's one here made in the United States.
01:14:24 --> 01:14:30 It's actually about half the cost of most of the foreign, you know, like
01:14:30 --> 01:14:35 Gallagher or Stay Fix or some of those power Wizard, I believe it is.
01:14:35 --> 01:14:37 And I had pretty good luck with him.
01:14:37 --> 01:14:39 Their warranty's good.
01:14:39 --> 01:14:44 I had some lightning strikes and stuff in Oregon and they, they fixed it.
01:14:44 --> 01:14:50 And, and their 18 jewel at that time, it's been quite a week back, was.
01:14:51 --> 01:14:54 Like 200 bucks or something like that.
01:14:54 --> 01:14:55 I, I was happy with it.
01:14:55 --> 01:15:00 And the other thing is with, with your, so this's just getting started with your make
01:15:00 --> 01:15:02 sure you have an excellent ground field
01:15:03 --> 01:15:03 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yes.
01:15:03 --> 01:15:05 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: if your fence charger, you know,
01:15:05 --> 01:15:06 your fence wattage starts to drop.
01:15:06 --> 01:15:09 The first thing to do if it's in the middle of summer is go water your
01:15:09 --> 01:15:11 ground field, put a sprinkler out there.
01:15:12 --> 01:15:15 And I even went so far I got so frustrated with it in Oregon.
01:15:15 --> 01:15:17 We were in a very dry climate.
01:15:17 --> 01:15:24 I did a a buried encased in, in concrete rebar field, just like you do for a
01:15:24 --> 01:15:26 foundation on a house and brought it out.
01:15:26 --> 01:15:32 And then it was sitting there next to the, where my main's charger was, and
01:15:32 --> 01:15:33 I could put a sprinkler on that thing.
01:15:34 --> 01:15:36 And my ground rod issues went away.
01:15:37 --> 01:15:37 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:15:37 --> 01:15:40 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: So, any other suggestions?
01:15:41 --> 01:15:42 I think that that's, that's the big one.
01:15:42 --> 01:15:47 You're gonna and, and don't give up too quick on, on electric fence.
01:15:47 --> 01:15:48 Have a good tester.
01:15:48 --> 01:15:51 Always have a good tester so that you know what you've got.
01:15:52 --> 01:15:55 And and with YouTube now, I mean, there's no reason not to,
01:15:56 --> 01:15:58 not to learn how to do it right.
01:15:58 --> 01:16:02 It's, it's, it, it's inexpensive to build.
01:16:02 --> 01:16:04 It's, it's flexible.
01:16:04 --> 01:16:07 It can be temporary if you're leasing ground.
01:16:07 --> 01:16:10 Get that piece of ground that doesn't have a fence along the creek because
01:16:11 --> 01:16:14 you know, nobody, you, you can probably pick it up cheap 'cause people can't
01:16:14 --> 01:16:18 run cattle on it or something, you know, and, but hey, electric fence along there.
01:16:19 --> 01:16:24 And always train your cattle or livestock, whether they're sheep or cattle with a
01:16:24 --> 01:16:27 super hot fence hot as you can make it.
01:16:27 --> 01:16:28 And.
01:16:29 --> 01:16:30 I can, I can keep going.
01:16:31 --> 01:16:34 One other, one other thing though, if you're in, when you're introducing
01:16:34 --> 01:16:39 cattle to an electric fence, especially if they've never seen one, do not
01:16:39 --> 01:16:42 try to contain them initially.
01:16:43 --> 01:16:47 Introduce them, put 'em inside a barbed wire field.
01:16:47 --> 01:16:51 Doesn't matter whether it's 2020 acres or 200 acres.
01:16:51 --> 01:16:57 But then, then what I did and did it very successfully was I would run a very
01:16:57 --> 01:17:01 hot wire just out into the middle of the field and give 'em plenty of room to walk
01:17:01 --> 01:17:04 around it and hang tin foil on that thing.
01:17:04 --> 01:17:07 And they'll come up there to smell that thing one time.
01:17:08 --> 01:17:11 And, and don't let anybody ever tell you the cattle don't communicate.
01:17:11 --> 01:17:13 They don't all have to touch that fence.
01:17:14 --> 01:17:14 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah.
01:17:14 --> 01:17:15 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: They'll, they'll learn pretty fast.
01:17:16 --> 01:17:17 So those are just some tricks.
01:17:17 --> 01:17:25 That was, that was our, kind of our fun, you Billy fun was to, to watch a new bunch
01:17:25 --> 01:17:26 of cattle, get trained of hot wire from.
01:17:27 --> 01:17:27 Fence.
01:17:28 --> 01:17:31 We'd go out there and sit and watch him touch it the first time.
01:17:31 --> 01:17:33 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: You know, I'm, I'm not sure that's something
01:17:33 --> 01:17:38 we should admit to, but there's a certain amount of SAT satisfaction
01:17:38 --> 01:17:40 satis, I can't even say it correctly.
01:17:41 --> 01:17:43 You know, when you see those cows get shocked and you know,
01:17:43 --> 01:17:45 yeah, you're Not gonna bother
01:17:45 --> 01:17:45 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: do it again.
01:17:46 --> 01:17:47 Not gonna do it again.
01:17:47 --> 01:17:47 Yeah.
01:17:48 --> 01:17:48 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah.
01:17:48 --> 01:17:51 that's great advice all the way through there.
01:17:51 --> 01:17:56 You know, I, I think back to my journey with Electric Fence and the first
01:17:56 --> 01:18:01 part of the journey with Electric Fence was why, why is this not working
01:18:01 --> 01:18:03 When I've read that it'll work.
01:18:03 --> 01:18:05 Well, we were using cheap energizers.
01:18:05 --> 01:18:07 We didn't have it grounded.
01:18:07 --> 01:18:07 Good.
01:18:08 --> 01:18:12 When I made that change and decide to spend money on an energizer and put in
01:18:12 --> 01:18:15 a ground rod field like I needed to,
01:18:15 --> 01:18:15 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
01:18:16 --> 01:18:16 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: things
01:18:16 --> 01:18:17 changed.
01:18:17 --> 01:18:19 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: they'll last you for a very long time, you know?
01:18:19 --> 01:18:19 So.
01:18:20 --> 01:18:20 Yeah.
01:18:20 --> 01:18:21 Yeah.
01:18:21 --> 01:18:21 They are.
01:18:21 --> 01:18:23 And the solar components.
01:18:23 --> 01:18:26 Now, you know that technology's picked things up a lot.
01:18:26 --> 01:18:27 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:18:27 --> 01:18:29 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: you know, yeah, yeah.
01:18:29 --> 01:18:33 I started off with some cheap equipment and it, it, it doesn't work.
01:18:34 --> 01:18:35 I still have it.
01:18:37 --> 01:18:39 I don't know why I should throw it away.
01:18:39 --> 01:18:41 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: You know, excellent point.
01:18:42 --> 01:18:48 I've got, I've got a couple little cheap Gallagher solar ones that I, I have mainly
01:18:48 --> 01:18:51 because that's what my dad, if he's gonna go pick one up, he's gonna pick that up.
01:18:51 --> 01:18:57 I have a nice, I have two nice solar deals, but occasionally,
01:18:58 --> 01:18:59 like, I'll need one of those.
01:18:59 --> 01:19:04 I'll go put it up and it, it'll keep 'em in for a day or two, and then
01:19:04 --> 01:19:08 I'm mad at it and, and I bring it back to the house and, and just as
01:19:08 --> 01:19:10 you mentioned it, I still got 'em.
01:19:10 --> 01:19:14 Why I just need to get rid of them because I'll get in a bind
01:19:14 --> 01:19:16 and I'll go use it in two days.
01:19:16 --> 01:19:17 I'll be mad at it again.
01:19:17 --> 01:19:20 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah, yeah, we did the car battery one, you
01:19:20 --> 01:19:23 know, without a solar to supported them.
01:19:23 --> 01:19:23 It's,
01:19:24 --> 01:19:24 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, yes.
01:19:25 --> 01:19:26 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and it's, they worked for a little
01:19:26 --> 01:19:29 while, but it's just a maintenance, you're always having to do it.
01:19:29 --> 01:19:33 So, but everybody's context is different as far as what
01:19:33 --> 01:19:34 they're, what they're meant,
01:19:34 --> 01:19:36 where where and how they need to do it.
01:19:37 --> 01:19:40 And so that's actually where for me, I found this, this
01:19:40 --> 01:19:42 razor grazier unit is complete.
01:19:42 --> 01:19:46 It was designed by a guy that's grazing a lot of cattle in Canada, and
01:19:46 --> 01:19:52 so it's, it's farmer, you know, farmer designed or rancher designed, and
01:19:52 --> 01:19:57 it's got good battery, good solar charger, good solar panel, and it,
01:19:57 --> 01:19:59 it's been pretty foolproof proof.
01:19:59 --> 01:20:02 I've, and I'm, you know, I don't care whether you buy one from
01:20:02 --> 01:20:05 me or the any, it doesn't, I'm not, that's not what I'm doing.
01:20:05 --> 01:20:07 It's just been a very useful tool
01:20:08 --> 01:20:08 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh yeah.
01:20:08 --> 01:20:12 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and so I've, I'd recommend them.
01:20:12 --> 01:20:15 I've, I've recommended them to several people and they've bought
01:20:15 --> 01:20:17 'em and been happy with them and
01:20:17 --> 01:20:17 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, very
01:20:18 --> 01:20:18 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yeah.
01:20:18 --> 01:20:19 So,
01:20:19 --> 01:20:22 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: And lastly, Ross, where can others find out more about you?
01:20:23 --> 01:20:25 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: I've got a link LinkedIn page,
01:20:25 --> 01:20:27 but that's, that's kind of it.
01:20:28 --> 01:20:29 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: That's about it.
01:20:29 --> 01:20:30 There you go.
01:20:30 --> 01:20:30 That
01:20:30 --> 01:20:32 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: yes, on, we've been on Facebook.
01:20:32 --> 01:20:33 My wife keeps it up.
01:20:34 --> 01:20:36 Mcg, Garver Ranch Pasture Division.
01:20:36 --> 01:20:37 We do some stuff on there too.
01:20:37 --> 01:20:38 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, okay.
01:20:39 --> 01:20:39 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
01:20:40 --> 01:20:40 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Very good.
01:20:41 --> 01:20:44 And I said lastly, but actually we have our new segment.
01:20:44 --> 01:20:45 Ask the host.
01:20:46 --> 01:20:48 So do you have a question for me?
01:20:48 --> 01:20:49 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Why in the world did you call me?
01:20:51 --> 01:20:52 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: You can blame
01:20:52 --> 01:20:53 Lynn.
01:20:53 --> 01:20:55 Lynn contacted me.
01:20:55 --> 01:20:58 He says, Hey, you gotta get Ross on your podcast.
01:20:58 --> 01:20:59 So blame
01:21:00 --> 01:21:00 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: Yeah.
01:21:00 --> 01:21:01 I've spent,
01:21:01 --> 01:21:03 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: in fact, as soon as I get off here, I'm on text
01:21:03 --> 01:21:06 Lynn and I'm tell him I just recorded a
01:21:06 --> 01:21:07 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: You should do that.
01:21:07 --> 01:21:08 He might be in bed by now.
01:21:10 --> 01:21:10 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah,
01:21:11 --> 01:21:13 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: No, he, he's been fun to work with.
01:21:13 --> 01:21:17 They yeah, Lynn they're, they're stretching their, their boundaries and
01:21:17 --> 01:21:21 their context up there, and they're doing a, a great job with, with it
01:21:21 --> 01:21:23 putting sheep on organic cotton farm to.
01:21:24 --> 01:21:27 To for some weed control and just for some soil health stuff.
01:21:27 --> 01:21:32 And man, they found a chicken farm that was going out of business,
01:21:33 --> 01:21:37 pastured poultry deal, and they got all their Pyrenees dogs, four of them
01:21:38 --> 01:21:38 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh
01:21:38 --> 01:21:40 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: and those dogs walked right into
01:21:40 --> 01:21:41 the sheep and just were at home.
01:21:42 --> 01:21:43 I was so jealous.
01:21:44 --> 01:21:44 They didn't have to
01:21:44 --> 01:21:46 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, well, yes.
01:21:46 --> 01:21:48 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: But yeah, just big old hairy
01:21:48 --> 01:21:51 troop Pyrenees dogs, so yeah.
01:21:53 --> 01:21:54 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, that, that is wonderful.
01:21:54 --> 01:21:56 I'm excited to see how it goes for
01:21:56 --> 01:21:56 him.
01:21:56 --> 01:21:59 He's, he's texted me a number of times about hair, sheep and
01:22:00 --> 01:22:02 what he's getting into over
01:22:02 --> 01:22:04 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: He is he's an avid learner.
01:22:04 --> 01:22:08 He listens all the time and asks lots of questions, so yeah.
01:22:08 --> 01:22:11 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Yeah, he texts me podcast episodes all the time.
01:22:11 --> 01:22:16 Now the thing is, he doesn't share my episodes with me, so I don't
01:22:16 --> 01:22:19 know if he's not finding them useful or, or if he thinks I already Know,
01:22:19 --> 01:22:20 about 'em.
01:22:20 --> 01:22:20 I don't Know,
01:22:21 --> 01:22:23 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: he, he shared yours with, with me, so
01:22:24 --> 01:22:24 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Oh, well, good,
01:22:25 --> 01:22:25 good.
01:22:25 --> 01:22:28 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: shares 'em around, so it's good.
01:22:28 --> 01:22:30 cal_1_03-14-2025_191743: Well, Ross, we really appreciate you
01:22:30 --> 01:22:32 coming on and sharing with us
01:22:32 --> 01:22:32 today.
01:22:32 --> 01:22:32 ross-mcgarva_1_03-14-2025_191713: it.
01:22:33 --> 01:22:33 So.
01:22:36 --> 01:22:39 Cal: Thank you for listening to this episode of the grazing grass podcast,
01:22:39 --> 01:22:44 where we bring you stories and insights into grass-based livestock production.
01:22:44 --> 01:22:47 If you're new here, we've got something just for you.
01:22:47 --> 01:22:49 Our new listener resource guide.
01:22:49 --> 01:22:53 Is packed with everything you need to get started on your listening
01:22:53 --> 01:22:55 journey with a grazing grass podcast.
01:22:56 --> 01:22:59 It gives you more information about the podcast about myself.
01:23:00 --> 01:23:01 And next steps.
01:23:02 --> 01:23:04 You can grab your free copy at grazinggrass.com
01:23:05 --> 01:23:06 slash guide.
01:23:07 --> 01:23:07 Don't miss out.
01:23:09 --> 01:23:11 And Hey, do you have a grazing story to share?
01:23:12 --> 01:23:16 We're always looking for passionate producers to feature on the show,
01:23:16 --> 01:23:21 whether you're just starting out or have years of experience your story matters.
01:23:21 --> 01:23:23 Head over to grazing grass.
01:23:23 --> 01:23:25 Dot com slash guest.
01:23:25 --> 01:23:27 To learn more and apply to be a guest.
01:23:28 --> 01:23:31 We'd love to share your journey with our growing community of grazers.
01:23:33 --> 01:23:34 Until next time.
01:23:34 --> 01:23:36 Keep on grazing grass.
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