Cattle Conversations

This week, Shaye is joined by Jonathon Haralson of Your Ag Empire about building resilient, multi-generation agricultural operations. Haralson defines an “Ag Empire” as the dreams rural families pursue across cattle, row crops, and related businesses, then shares his background in Texas production agriculture and commodity risk management.  

He explains Empire Ag’s work as business strategy support, improving recordkeeping, restructuring debt to match cash flow, and helping producers identify hidden business “holes” and emphasizes that sustainable success rests on strengthening body, mind, and spirit through preparation, nutrition, activity, gratitude, and belief in something bigger.  

He outlines Empire Ag’s strategy, accounting, branding (including direct-to-consumer), and lending arm (EA Capital). They discuss growth versus optimization, opportunities from transitions, and the importance of family communication in succession planning, ending with Jonathon’s key takeaway on dropping the ego and aligning on your vision and mission. 

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/       

01:25 What Does Building an Ag Empire Look Like 

02:43 Jonathon’s Ag Journey 

05:19 How Empire Ag Helps 

07:28 Body Mind Spirit Framework 

11:05 Busy Season Body Tips 

15:08 Mindset Under Pressure 

18:14 Spirituality and Purpose 

19:44 Financial Levers and Lending 

25:01 Growth vs Optimization 

26:56 Opportunities for Young Producers 

32:21 Succession and Family Communication 

Today, Shaye Wanner interviews Donovan Wagner of Wagner Financial Services about why ranchers should invest during strong cattle markets instead of putting all equity back into land, equipment, and cattle. Wagner emphasizes planning for retirement, health events, and farm/ranch transition challenges, especially balancing inheritances among on-farm and off-farm children and avoiding family conflict.  

He discusses tools including life insurance (including second-to-die and riders that can provide funds for long-term care needs), SEPs for larger deductible contributions (noting complications with employees), traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs for lower tax brackets, and HSAs for deductible medical expenses. Wagner stresses asking advisors about experience, fees, and coordination with CPAs and attorneys, keeping wills updated, using goal-based planning, and starting systematic contributions, even a small monthly amount, to benefit from compounding. 

Learn more about the Noble Research Institute here: https://www.noble.org/find-a-course/ 

Learn more about Elanco here: https://farmanimal.elanco.com/us/beef 

Learn more about Vence here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG   

Learn more about AtTheYards here: https://bit.ly/400T7mF 

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/     

Today on the Cattle Convos Podcast, Shaye Wanner interviews Shannon Emley, from Ambrook, about managerial accounting for ranchers. Shannon contrasts technical accounting for taxes and lenders with managerial accounting focused on clarity for business decision-making, emphasizing that clean, up-to-date books and properly categorized transactions are the foundation.  

He explains how producers can analyze profitability by enterprise (cow-calf, stockers, custom grazing, hay), reduce emotion in decisions, and evaluate choices like grow-versus-buy feed, raise-versus-buy calves, or own-versus-hire equipment by capturing full costs including labor, fuel, and repairs.  

Something he notes that makes Ambrook unique is that it can track sub-enterprises, locations, and metrics like profit per acre or per head, even down to individual cows using projects, plus inventory and timing of feed use. Emley recommends starting small, spending about 10 minutes weekly, and using the last 12 months’ P&L to forecast cash, including loan and equipment payments. 

Learn more and try Ambrook at: ambrook.com/casualcattle 

More links and resources from this episode:

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/       

00:00 Big Decisions Made Easier 

00:59 Meet Shannon Emley 

02:22 Managerial Accounting Basics 

03:29 Clean Books First 

04:27 Enterprise Profitability 

06:12 Grow Versus Buy 

09:03 Start With Key Questions 

10:17 Going Deeper With Tracking 

13:30 Forecasting Cash Flow 

15:10 Simple Weekly Habit 

17:35 How to Try Ambrook 

This week on the Cattle Conversations Podcast, Shaye Wanner interviews fifth-generation North Central Montana rancher, Tyrel Obrecht, about using Vence’s virtual fence system on their replacement yearling heifers (mid-May to mid-September) for the past three years.  

Tyrel explains choosing heifers over the main cow herd due to cost and better water development on deeded ground, and securing initial cost share through World Wildlife Fund’s RSVP program to install towers and trial the collars. He demonstrates the software for drawing fences, training cattle near barbed wire before moving to invisible lines, and using heat maps to evaluate grazing patterns around water and minerals.  

Benefits include tighter grazing control in prairie potholes and creek pastures, freeing BLM pastures, supporting conception rates, and better rest distribution; challenges included early collar retention issues fixed by improved attachments and occasional updates/weather-related breaches. 

Learn more about Vence here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG   

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/ 

01:11 Meet Tyrel Obrecht 

01:27 Ranch Background Setup 

03:05 Why Try Vence 

04:09 Starting With Heifers 

05:44 Cost Share Funding 

07:50 Benefits In Grazing 

09:06 Software Fence Drawing 

11:22 Training The Cattle 

14:01 Moves Updates Reality 

17:25 Heat Maps Insights 

19:02 Nutrition Planning Data 

20:45 Challenges Collar Retention 

22:27 Is Vence Worth It? 

Today on the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, Shaye Wanner talks with Connor and Jacob of Dakota Prairie Beef in southwestern North Dakota about building a custom feeding operation focused on serving local producers, especially through replacement heifer development and backgrounding. They describe their backgrounds, two-location setup, and how they support breeding prep while producers provide AI technicians.  

Key challenges they talk about include sourcing affordable, quality feed, especially in dry years, and managing cash flow during seasonal slow periods. They explain how equipment upgrades and the Performance Beef software improve feeding efficiency, remote management, billing transparency, and employee usability.  

Performance Beef also enables individual-animal traceability via EID scanning, treatment records, and weight/ADG tracking so producers can receive detailed data on their cattle. They emphasize consistent service, communication, facility improvements to reduce stress, and being a stable, long-term partner rather than maximizing short-term profit. 

Learn more about Performance Livestock Analytics here: https://bit.ly/47PxY3W  

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/     

This week, Shaye welcomes back Jacob Sebade, founder of AtTheYards and part of a 6,000-head family feedyard in Emerson, Nebraska, and Jim Akers, COO of the Bluegrass Livestock Marketing Network in Kentucky, about maximizing cattle exposure through better pre-sale information. They explain how the AtTheYards app helps sale barns collect standardized consignment details, videos, documents, and health/genetic info and publish upcoming lots so buyers can find cattle, filter by criteria, contact the right barn representative, and connect with order buyers.  

Jim uses the app across seven barns to enter cattle in the field via smartphones, generate clean standardized sale sheets, and notify buyers earlier, including Sunday arrivals. The app offers buyer accounts, watchlists, and email alerts. They discuss value-driving questions such as weaning length (often 60+ days), open heifer guarantees, specific vaccine protocols, implants, and nutrition. 

This conversation shows that AtTheYards isn’t just for marketing feeder cattle. It also serves seedstock producers and the Cattleman’s Corner feature provides easy to analyze graphs about market prices, packer leverage and the market wire.   

This new business model is exciting for sectors of the beef industry. It is available today at app.AtTheYards.com or in the App Store and Google Play. 

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/     

This week, Shaye Wanner interviews Shane Maddock of Mattock Ranches about holistic/regenerative management, shaped by his father’s practices since 1992. Shane describes their North Dakota commercial cow-calf operation with backgrounding, yearlings, heifer development, and some row crops and small grains near Maddock. He explains rebuilding degraded soils by reducing reliance on outside inputs through frequent moves, adequate rest and full grass recovery, and adaptive grazing based on pasture conditions.  

Shane shares unconventional infrastructure like permanent fencing and water tanks placed in the middle of cropland to enable winter grazing, bale grazing, and flexible feeding. After initially seeding diverse cover crops, he shifted to perennials and now plans a sod-based crop rotation with renewed cover cropping. He is composting feedlot manure and experimenting with compost tea to boost soil biology. Key challenges include labor, infrastructure setup, and profitability, and he urges ranchers to question tradition and find mentors.   

Learn more about Performance Livestock Analytics here: https://bit.ly/47PxY3W  

Learn more about Ambrook here: ambrook.com/casualcattle    

Learn more about Elanco here: https://farmanimal.elanco.com/us/beef   

Learn more about Corteva here: RangeAndPasture.com/CattleConversations 

00:47 Meet Shane Maddock 

01:22 Why Regenerative Matters 

02:28 Operation Overview 

04:10 Growing Up Holistic 

05:21 Grazing Principles Basics 

06:25 Cover Crops to Perennials 

08:02 Neighbors Think You're Crazy 

09:05 Adaptive Grazing Decisions 

10:30 Rest and Recovery Cues 

11:07 Water Tanks in Cropland 

13:58 Winter Grazing Setup 

15:04 Virtual Fencing Curiosity 

16:18 Compost and Tea Trials 

19:00 Learning Resources and Soil 

21:06 Challenges and Profitability 

This week, Shaye welcomes back Chris Sherman, CEO of Tech Support Farm, to discuss fall cybersecurity and fraud threats facing farms and ranches. Sherman highlights RFID tag swapping in cattle sales, emphasizing vigilance and real-time verification to prevent animals being sold at incorrect values.  

He also warns that busy seasons increase bank fraud and vendor-payment scams, advising producers to verify payment changes and urgent requests by phone, watch for spoofed emails, and use simple email folder rules to flag fake invoices. If a bad link is clicked or money is sent, he recommends contacting a cybersecurity provider, reporting significant losses via the FBI’s IC3, and carrying cyber insurance.  

He notes commercial accounts often have only 24 hours to dispute fraudulent transactions and suggests tools like Positive Pay, along with MFA/2FA, strong passwords, and paid domain email for better protection. 

You can learn more about what Chris offers at https://techsupport.farm/.  

Learn more about Performance Livestock Analytics here: https://bit.ly/47PxY3W 

Learn more about Ambrook here: ambrook.com/casualcattle  

Learn more about Elanco here: https://farmanimal.elanco.com/us/beef  

Learn more about Corteva here: RangeAndPasture.com/CattleConversations 

00:00 Risk Meets Cybersecurity 

01:14 Meet Chris Sherman 

02:37 Fall Threats Overview 

04:03 RFID Tag Swapping 

06:00 Busy Season Bank Fraud 

08:22 If You Clicked Or Paid 

12:27 Ponzi Schemes Due Diligence 

14:15 Harvest Season Digital Hygiene 

15:52 Passwords And Paid Email 

16:25 Year End Vigilance Wrap Up 

Today on the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, Shaye interviews Corteva pasture specialist, Rachel Walker, about prioritizing fall weed control to maximize usable forage and extend grazing days. Walker explains that winter-emerging weeds like plantain, thistles, and poison hemlock should be treated in fall when young, using options such as DuraCor and UltiGraze.  

She describes DuraCor’s two-actives approach and notes grazing is allowed, with hay sales restrictions depending on state. They discuss why weed control matters in drought and for preventing livestock losses to toxic plants, and how improved control can reduce hay feeding and enable adding diverse grasses and clover. Walker recommends frequent soil testing and taking advantage of free forage testing, and adds fall brush control timing guidance. 

Learn more about Corteva solutions here: RangeAndPasture.com/CattleConversations   

Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/    

00:00 Fall Weed Control Urgency 

01:10 Meet Rachel Walker 

02:43 Drought and Hay Outlook 

04:07 Grazing Longer Into Winter 

06:19 Targeting Winter Weeds 

10:21 Why Weed Control Matters 

14:09 UltiGraze and Soil Testing 

16:39 Forage Testing and Nutrition 

18:23 Clover Integration With NovaGraze 

20:16 Brush Control Timing