The Regenaissance Podcast

I chat with Mark Ellison of Grandad Farms in Emmett, Idaho, about how a health-driven search for better food eventually led him to start raising his own chickens, pigs and laying hens. Mark started with a borrowed patch of ground and a few hundred meat chickens. Today, Grandad Farms is raising animals on pasture, developing corn-and-soy-free feed, working toward organic certification and trying to build a farm to guide people to know exactly how their food was raised. We get into the economics behind his roughly $35 chickens and why comparing that directly with a $5 Costco rotisserie chicken misses a lot of what goes into each system. Mark explains his argument around subsidized corn and soy, labor costs and why he is willing to raise a slower-growing, more expensive bird. We also talk about why he moved away from Cornish Cross chickens toward Freedom Rangers, what organic certification does and doesn’t tell you about how an animal was raised, the surprising reality of pasture-raised pigs, and what he has seen happen to his land after repeatedly moving poultry across it. Towards the end, the conversation gets into broader topics around raising children in a family business, Mark’s Christian understanding of stewardship, and why producing food for his neighbors is tied closely to how he thinks about faith and responsibility. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Mark Ellison, Grandad Farms 00:17 – Why Mark started farming 04:18 – Processing chickens and animal stewardship 06:29 – Corn-free, soy-free chicken feed 10:35 – Why a pasture chicken costs $35 18:47 – Labor and immigration in agriculture 25:01 – Stewardship and regenerative farming 27:00 – How chickens improve pasture 29:08 – Cornish Cross vs. Freedom Rangers 32:26 – What organic certification actually means 36:15 – Pasture pigs and factory pork 44:42 – Growing Grandad Farms 45:35 – Raising a family on the farm 48:00 – Farming, faith and Christianity 53:08 – Why customers seek out their food Links Website X

I chat with Jesse Zimmerman, owner of Renick Valley Meats in Renick, West Virginia, to get into the butchering side of our food system - something I hadn't covered that deeply on the show yet. They have a fascinating story: Jesse and his wife bought a struggling custom butcher shop four years ago and have since transitioned it into a state-inspected facility. We get into the real differences between custom-exempt and inspected processing, the regulations that sound reasonable on paper but make no sense on the kill floor (the single-shot rule, a mandated 90-degree turn in holding pens), and why that complexity isn't accidental - it's a barrier that favors the big four packers over small shops like his. We also cover the current imported-beef controversy, country-of-origin labeling, what actually happens to the 40% of an animal that isn't meat, and the specific questions you should ask any butcher shop before you trust them with your meat. We debate whether policy alone can fix this system, and the importance of direct relationships built on trust in solving the matter. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Jesse Zimmerman, Renick Valley Meats 04:45 – Custom-exempt vs. inspected processing 07:53 – The single-shot rule and inhumane-handling write-ups 15:23 – The real reason for the 90-degree pen turn 19:15 – Big four packer control and regulatory barriers to entry 22:20 – The 300,000-metric-ton imported beef controversy 26:46 – Country-of-origin labeling and how easy it is to skirt 38:58 – What happens to the ~40% "waste" of an animal 49:37 – Questions to ask before trusting a butcher shop 1:00:21 – Grass-fed/grass-finished nuance and imported "grass-fed" beef Links Website Instagram TikTok YouTube Facebook

Who's Jason? Jason Hansen spent 14 years with the NRCS watching conservation rules bend for bigger, better-connected operators, and running cost-share programs structurally set up to fail the farmers they were meant to help. In 2018, he left USDA and founded Yield Unlimited. What is Yield Unlimited? Yield Unlimited is Jason Hansen's nonprofit that pays farmers directly, long-term, to run five core conservation practices - crop rotation, no-till/strip-till, cover crops, nutrient management, and (for a higher payout) prescribed grazing. The model: - Farmers apply for a land rental contract (30-second application, Jason's goal) - Up to $2,000/acre over 10-30 years, 50% paid upfront - Funded by donations, not federal money - pitch is $5/person/month covers the country - Treasury notes lock in and grow the later payouts (years 10 and 20) Why it matters: USDA cost-share caps at 5 years, right when farmers hit the yield dip during transition.Yield Unlimited's long-term contracts are built to carry them through this period. __________________________________________________________________________ Key Topics 14 years inside the NRCS, wetlands to DC headquarters Uneven enforcement of drainage rules for connected operators Why USDA's 5-year contracts fail farmers mid-transition The 2018 moment that led to founding Yield Unlimited The model: up to $2,000/acre, 10-30 year contracts Funding it outside the federal system Timestamps 00:00 — Intro 02:15 — Jason's background 08:40 — Certifying wetlands in ND 15:20 — Drainage enforcement issues 24:00 — Utah, then district conservationist 31:10 — The moment with his daughter 36:30 — Why the RCPP grant failed 44:15 — Hawaii, then DC headquarters 50:00 — Leaving USDA, founding Yield Unlimited 55:30 — How the model works 1:01:00 — Funding conservation nationwide 1:07:00 — Where to follow along Connect with Jason Website X Linkedin

In this episode we cover why beef and dairy prices are climbing for reasons that go far beyond inflation, and what three decades of farm policy have cost rural America. JR Burdick runs Nourishing Family Farm in north-central Missouri, milking dairy cows and raising hogs, and has sold direct-to-consumer since 2023 after leaving conventional commodity markets and USDA subsidy programs in 2022. This is his third appearance on the show. Key topics Why beef and dairy prices reflect a 30-year supply crisis, not inflation How the 1994 Freedom to Farm Act shifted risk from government to farmers How Smithfield-style integrators used farmer equity to consolidate the hog industry The 2009 Dairy Depression and 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting effect on cattle herd confidence Why cheap fuel, money, and labor are gone — and what that means for small farms Direct-to-consumer dairy: correcting consumer misconceptions and building trust JR's shift to organic farming and leaving USDA subsidy programs Timestamps 0:00 – Intro, reconnecting with JR 2:00 – Affordability crisis: inflation vs. supply 5:00 – 1994 Freedom to Farm Act and the shift to income-based policy 9:00 – Hog contracts and the Smithfield equity play 16:00 – Ethanol/biodiesel bankruptcies and the 2009 Dairy Depression 23:00 – BSE scare and the 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting impact on cattle herds 28:00 – Cheap fuel, cheap money, cheap labor — and why that era's over 33:00 – Selling direct to consumer: listening over convincing 37:00 – Consumer misconceptions: winter grass, family milk cows 45:00 – The dairy farm decline stat and JR's bullish case for small, local farms 58:00 – The lettuce recall, greenwashing, and knowing your farmer 62:00 – Leaving USDA payments, faith, and the calf-birth story that keeps it all grounded Connect with JR Burdick / Nourishing Farms Facebook X Website JR's Previous Episosdes #66 #93

Ep 120: Mike Callicrate Mike Callicrate runs Ranch Foods Direct and Callicrate Beef out of Colorado Springs and St. Francis, Kansas. He built a fully vertically integrated operation involving raising cattle, slaughtering on-site, cutting, and selling direct to consumers. Our conversation follows his life story from his childhood on a small Colorado farm, a rodeo scholarship that led him into an animal science degree, and years running large-scale feedlots before he became one of ten ranchers who sued major meatpacker IBP in 1996 over market manipulation, a case that ended in a $1.28 billion jury verdict the judge later overturned. We get into why that loss pushed him to stop selling livestock and start selling meat instead, how Ranch Foods Direct's on-site slaughter facility, composting system, and bone char/biochar production work together, and the economics that separate a small direct-to-consumer operation from an industrial one. Key topics - From rodeo and animal science to building and later rejecting industrial feedlots - The 1996 lawsuit against IBP, the overturned $1.28 billion verdict, and the Packers and Stockyards Act - How producers' share of the consumer dollar collapsed since 1970 - Fraud, political influence, and market consolidation What "pink slime" and lean finely textured beef actually are - The grass-fed/grass-finished labelling problem - Declining Ogallala Aquifer levels and what it means for ranching's future - Building local maker-owned marketplaces as an alternative to scaling up Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro + backstory: rodeo, animal science degree, early feedlots 6:00 – Building industrial feedlots, growing concerned with market concentration 12:00 – Decision to sue IBP, being blackballed by buyers 18:00 – The lawsuit's path to trial and the $1.28B verdict 30:00 – The judge's reversal + Packers and Stockyards Act explained 36:00 – Shifting from selling livestock to selling meat direct 44:00 – Building the on-site slaughter facility and circular waste model 52:00 – The "story of the steer" and producers' lost share of the consumer dollar 1:02:00 – Scaling down vs. scaling up: why direct/local beats commodity 1:10:00 – COVID, empty shelves, and the case for local food resilience 1:18:00 – Batista brothers, JBS, and meatpacking consolidation 1:28:00 – What pink slime is and how it's made 1:38:00 – Grass-fed/grass-finished labeling and imported beef 1:46:00 – Ogallala Aquifer decline and water scarcity 1:52:00 – Vision for maker-owned marketplaces and local food hubs Find out more: https://www.mikecallicrate.com/ The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Matthew runs Cottage Pastures on 26 acres in Switzerland County, Indiana, raising pigs, chickens, cattle, and sheep alongside garlic and herbs - everything sold under the name is raised on the farm itself. He and his wife bought the property in 2022 and built it up from a homesteading project into a full working farm. Our conversation centers on garlic: despite ideal growing conditions across the Midwest, most garlic sold in the U.S. is imported, and a soil-borne fungal disease can make land unable to grow garlic for 20 to 40 years once it takes hold. This is a risk Cottage Pastures is now soil-testing to get ahead of. We talk through how the farm accidentally ended up growing 20-plus garlic varieties, why the economics of commodity crops crowd out specialty ones like garlic, and what it costs to raise and ship chicken nationwide as a direct-to-consumer farm. Matthew also gets into why pre-orders rather than outside financing keep the farm's cash flow working, how he decides what to raise or cut as the operation grows, and what it looks like to raise kids alongside farm work without compelling them to help. Key topics: - Why most U.S. garlic and herbs are imported despite favorable growing conditions - A soil-borne fungal disease that can end garlic production on a piece of land for decades - How Cottage Pastures accidentally became a 20-plus variety garlic farm - The real cost of raising and processing chicken for direct-to-consumer sale - Grass-fed and grass-finished labeling: domestic vs. imported - Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut as the farm scales - Raising kids on the farm without compelling their help - Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share model in Cincinnati/Louisville Timestamps 0:00 – Intro + catch-up, farm rebrand to Cottage Pastures 2:30 – Why the family moved to Switzerland County, Indiana 15:00 – Daily schedule: full-time job plus farm work 19:00 – Garlic harvest race against incoming rain 27:00 – Cost of shipping meat nationwide 31:00 – Why most U.S. herbs and garlic are imported 44:00 – How the farm ended up with 20-plus garlic varieties 48:00 – Fungal disease risk and soil testing plans 58:00 – Real cost of raising and processing chicken 1:07:00 – Grass-fed and grass-finished: domestic vs. imported 1:12:00 – Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut 1:16:00 – Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share program 1:19:00 – Raising kids on the farm 1:26:00 – Closing thoughts on local food and staying hopeful Links: https://cottagepastures.com/about/ https://www.instagram.com/cottagepastures/ https://www.facebook.com/CottagePastures/?ref=PROFILE_EDIT_xav_ig_profile_page_web# https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-6-interview-with-carissa-a-year-in-review/id1700604702?i=1000628016269 The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Joel Hollinsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in Oklahoma, where he's built a herd-share community of about 40 families co-owning cattle together - a model that's taken his herd from 15 animals to 425 in four years. But, this could all be taken away, as he's fighting two subpoenas from the Oklahoma Department of Securities on claims his shares are unregistered financial securities. In this episode, Joel breaks down exactly how that herd-share structure works economically, and then walks through the legal fight he's currently in. He gets into why that claim doesn't hold up, who's helping him fight it (including USDA's Brooke Rollins' office and the American First Policy Institute), how they're fighting it, and what's at stake for other ranchers running similar models. Ultimately, this challenge threatens not only Joel's ranch, but the broader idea that people should be able to support and participate in local food systems without facing unnecessary regulatory burdens or government overreach. We also talk through the broader pattern of regulatory overreach in agriculture, and close with Joel's advice for young people looking to get into ranching - namely, don't try to do it alone. Key topics How the herd-share model works (co-ownership, calf splits, time horizons) The Oklahoma securities subpoenas and the case against them Legal support and path forward (Rollins' office, state legislation) Advice for young ranchers on doing this in community Timestamps 0:00 – Intro + catch-up 2:00 – Herd-share model origins 5:00 – Scaling to 425 head + genetics program 13:00 – First subpoena 17:30 – Second subpoena, securities claim explained 21:30 – Why it's not a security 26:00 – Comparisons to other ag regulatory fights 31:00 – Legal support and path forward 47:30 – Herd-share financials + time horizons 58:30 – Advice for young ranchers + close Connect with Joel Support Joel's Gofundme Smoke River Ranch Website Herdshares Apply for Herdshares X Last episode

Francine is a farmer, mom of four, and co-founder of the Mulberry Tree App - a farm-to-fork platform that lets consumers buy ingredients directly from local farms, with no listing fees, no middleman, and no data selling. She and her husband built it from scratch, self-funded, while navigating mold illness, alpha-gal syndrome in their family, and a bunch of scammers! They launched the app in January 2025. We talk through how the app works, why convenience is the real barrier between consumers and local farms, and what it actually takes to build something like this without outside funding or corporate backing. Enjoy :) What we talk about: - How the Mulberry Tree App works - farm-to-fork recipes, local farmer discovery, 24/7 farmers market - Why they don't charge farmers listing or marketing fees - Facebook censorship of farm products during COVID and why it pushed them to build their own platform - The grassroots marketing approach: vendor events, merchandise, one-on-one outreach - Alpha-gal syndrome - what it is, how misinformation is hurting people, and why the app has 300+ alpha-gal-safe recipes - Mold illness, raising four kids on a farm, and the tribulations behind building the business - The case for food sovereignty and why 77 farms closing per day is a national problem Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro 1:10 — What is the Mulberry Tree App? 6:45 — How it handles the convenience problem for consumers 12:00 — The origin story - a dream, a husband, and no coding experience 18:30 — Facebook censorship and why decentralization matters 26:00 — Grassroots marketing: vendor events, shirts, 400 downloads in two weeks 32:00 — Consumer patterns and what makes the app experience different 39:00 — The town square, courses, live animal listings, and cottage industry sellers 47:00 — Growing up on farms, moving to Arkansas, raising kids outside the system 54:00 — Mold illness, alpha-gal, and the year their son was on steroids 1:04:00 — Why most businesses fail and why they didn't 1:09:00 — Final thoughts: know your farmer, know your food How to Support Francine: Download the app via their website Connect with her via X

Ashley Armstrong is a first-generation regenerative farmer and co-founder of Strong Sistas, a health platform born out of her own autoimmune diagnosis. She built Angel Acres Farm in Southwest Michigan from the ground up, producing corn- and soy-free eggs, and went on to found Nourish Food Club - a cooperative network of small regenerative farms supplying clean, transparently raised food directly to families. What We Cover How Ashley went from graduate school to building a regenerative farm from scratch Why conventional chicken and pork now have a fatty acid profile closer to seed oils than real meat The 100-year shift in dietary fats and what it's doing to human metabolism How Nourish Food Club is reviving the farm cooperative model to support small farmers The bureaucratic bullying small farms face daily - and why the system is designed against them Timestamps 00:00 – Ashley's health crisis and path to farming 06:30 – Building Angel Acres from scratch 13:00 – Lessons from 12 years of competitive golf 18:45 – How Nourish Food Club works 26:00 – Why cheap and quality food can't coexist 33:30 – The 100-year shift away from saturated fat 42:00 – How corn and soy changed pork and chicken 49:30 – Phytonutrients in pasture-raised meat 56:00 – Why grocery labels are meaningless 01:03:00 – The problem with indoor farming 01:09:30 – Bureaucratic bullying and the jerky incident 01:17:00 – Why small farm costs are structurally higher 01:28:00 – Where consumers can start Links Website Instagram YouTube Regenaissance YouTube Channel About The Podcast: The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Baird Maple Syrup Farm in Vermont has been producing maple syrup for over a century. I visit with farm managers and sugar makers, Jacob and Jenna Baird. Jenna is the fifth generation of her family to work this land. What We Cover How maple syrup is made (and why most people have it wrong). The modern sugar bush (100+ miles of tubing, vacuum systems, and leak-chasing). Reading labels (how to spot fake or blended "maple" products at the grocery store). The full production season why it's a 6-week sprint, what starts it, and what ends it). Farm succession and conservation (how the Baird family is transitioning a 107-year-old farm to the next generation). Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome to Baird Farm: 107 years of maple and dairy history 02:00 — Why it's so hard to keep a farm across generations 08:00 — Sap vs. syrup: what you're actually pulling from the tree 09:00 — How to read a maple syrup label (and spot the fakes) 11:00 — How vacuum tubing works and why it doubles production 17:00 — How tapping actually works: drilling, spouts, and tree health 21:00 — The production season: a 6-week window from February to April 34:00 — Farm succession: leasing to own and navigating family transitions 43:00 — Reverse osmosis and the sugar house: how sap becomes syrup 47:00 — Sugar maple vs. red maple: how to tell them apart in the bush Connect with Jason & Baird Farm: Website Instagram Follow our Youtube Channel

Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Triple Oaks Farm is a family-run regenerative farm in Virginia, raising pastured pigs and other livestock with a focus on food sovereignty, stewardship, and community. Timestamps: 00:00 – Biblical dominion and why he left USDA butchers 06:00 – PSE meat explained: what stress does to pork quality 09:00 – Electro stunning abuse and burn wounds on the meat 16:00 – USDA butcher threatens to ice him out as a customer 19:00 – The final straw: filthy shop, wrong pig returned, going full PMA Connect With Bryson: Website Instagram Follow the tour on YouTube

Tony Eash runs Triple E Farms in West Virginia with his brother Phil - a raw dairy and pasture-raised operation built from bare land, rooted in regenerative principles and faith in community. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps: 0:00 — Why farmers not making money is everyone's problem 1:00 — What on-farm milk testing actually costs 2:00 — Building a farm from scratch while working full-time 5:00 — Quitting time: 10:30pm. Wake up: 3:30am 6:30 — Why they walked away from pigs and chickens 8:00 — How the Amish moving in changed everything Connect with Triple E Website Instagram Watch full episode Follow the tour on YouTube

Ørsted, a Danish renewable energy giant, is trying to lease 4,000 acres of Casey's state grazing land in Arizona to build an industrial solar array - land that he depends on for winter range, without which the ranch isn't viable. Casey believes productive grazing land shouldn't be touched when there's no shortage of barren desert, parking lots, and brownfields that could take solar instead - and the companies could do it if they wanted to, they just won't because it's cheaper and easier to go after open range. Casey Murph is a fifth-generation cattle rancher in northeastern Arizona. This episode covers that fight, and what's at stake for generational ranching in America. 5 Key Topics: How Ørsted is attempting to take Casey's winter range for industrial solar Why solar should go on parking lots and brownfields, not productive grazing land Ørsted's existing Arizona install powers a Meta data centre, not homes The collapse of independent beef operations and what it's done to supply and price Casey's strategy: state land pressure, political allies, and buying time Timestamps: 00:00 - Casey intro 02:00 - The Ørsted solar threat 05:00 - Foreign-owned conglomerates 09:00 - Urban disconnection from food 11:00 - Where solar should go instead 18:00 - Political strategy and allies 19:00 - Ørsted's Pinal County install: homes promised, Meta data centre delivered 28:00 - Beef supply consolidation 31:00 - Feedlots and grass-finishing 36:00 - Approval timeline and how to help Connect with Casey: X

Ben and Hannah Yoder run Savage Mountain Farm, a 150-acre diversified, full-diet CSA on the Pennsylvania–Maryland line, rooted in Amish–Mennonite heritage and natural methods, raising produce, mushrooms, and pastured livestock while blending regenerative farming with homeschooling, community engagement, and a family-centered lifestyle. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 00:00:00 Why they homeschool 00:01:30 School as fear, not learning 00:03:00 Preserving curiosity over teaching content 00:05:30 Disconnection from food as root cause 00:06:30 Age segregation & lost intergenerational culture 00:08:00 No screens - kids who can entertain themselves 00:10:00 Modeling self-sovereignty on the farm 00:11:30 Owning your day - the case for farming Connect with Savage Mountain: Website Instagram Follow the tour on YouTube

Patrick Samuels is the founder of Sunnyside Egg Co., a Kentucky-based regenerative egg operation built on mobile coops and Amish/Mennonite farming partnerships. A former US Army Special Forces officer with no agricultural background, Patrick stumbled into farming through pandemic-era homesteading, worked inside one of the largest pasture-raised egg brands, and launched Sunnyside in December 2024 to scale what he calls the only truly regenerative egg operation in the country. 5 Key Topics The pasture-raised label scam Mobile coops as the real standard Scaling regen without selling out The corn/soy-free feed debate Transparency over certification Timestamps [00:00] Intro & egg price controversy [01:30] Patrick's military-to-farming path [04:00] Inside a "pasture-raised" barn [07:00] Why certifiers are grifters [11:00] The Vital Farms breakdown [18:00] Retail vs. decentralisation debate [27:00] Corn & soy-free feed complexity [37:00] Regenerative certification loopholes [44:00] Sunnyside's growth timeline [01:01:00] On-farm operations & rotation Links Website Instagram

Brad Wiley's family has farmed the same land since 1790. In this episode on our Farmer Stories series, he share shis wonder at the invisible web beneath his fields - and what it means to carry 200 years of family memory on a single piece of ground. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 00:00 — The biological web that makes Tesla look simple 01:00 — Locust trees feeding cover crops across an entire field 03:30 — Cover crops and grazing replace the lime truck 05:30 — The moment Brad walked away from $30k in cash rent 07:30 — The manure spreader sinks into dead soybean soil 11:00 — 200 years of family memory on one piece of ground 22:30 — Life is designed to be a struggle Link to the full episode: Spotify Apple YouTube Connect with Brad: Otter Creek Farm Follow the tour on YouTube

Joel Hollingsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in northeast Oklahoma. This conversation from our Farmer Stories Series talks about why Joel believes we need to keep manufcaturing in America & why Oklahoma's culture of self-governance is a cultural model the country can build around. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 0:00 — Why build in America, not abroad 1:30 — The federalist structure and America's creation story 4:00 — Oklahoma's culture of self-governance 6:30 — Regen ag as a churn factory 7:30 — Triffin dilemma and hollowing out of domestic production 9:00 — How crop insurance locks out new farmers 11:00 — Foreign cattle and the 30% currency gap 12:30 — Land as money, not farmland 14:00 — Farm credit weaponized (Dustin Kittle story) 15:30 — Average rancher age 58.5 17:00 — What rural collapse looks like 18:30 — Sovereign debt and centralizing risk Links: Full podcast episode: - YouTube - Spotify - Apple Connect with Joel: - Smoke River Ranch Website - X

Gunthorp Farms is a 3rd generation pork and poultry operation in northern Indiana with on-farm USDA-inspected processing. This tour covers the full farm from farrowing paddocks to kill floor, smokehouse, and wastewater treatment. Watch alongside the full podcast episode for the full story. Key Topics Adaptive multi-paddock grazing in practice 50-paddock farrowing system and piglet management Building and running a USDA-inspected on-farm processing facility USDA enforcement: how small and large plants are treated differently Constructed wetland wastewater treatment What You'll Learn How paddock size and recovery time shift by season What to ask when you visit a pig farm What it costs to build on-farm processing and where permitting breaks down How HACCP regulation actually gives small plants flexibility if you understand it Why scale changes food safety risk in ways inspection policy doesn't reflect Connect w Greg & Gunthorp Farms Website X Instagram Linkedin Full podcast interview Follow the tour on YouTube Timestamps 00:00:00 Adaptive multi-paddock grazing explained 00:03:00 Pig health, thermoregulation, and antibiotic-free management 00:05:00 What consumers should ask when visiting a pig farm 00:15:00 Energy-free waterers and farrowing paddock design 00:27:00 Kill floor overview and processing plant history 00:36:00 Permitting, wastewater, and navigating USDA regulation 00:45:00 Food safety: small vs large plant accountability 00:51:00 USDA enforcement disparities and advocacy 01:02:00 Packaging equipment walkthrough 01:13:00 Smokehouse construction and constructed wetland wastewater system

Charles and Heather Maude are 5th generation ranchers in South Dakota running a direct-to-consumer beef and pork operation built on land their family has worked for over 115 years. This tour covers the full operation - cattle, hogs, grain storage, equipment, and the irrigated river bottom at the center of a federal land dispute that drew national attention. Watch this alongside the full-length podcast episode for the complete story behind what you're seeing on the ground. Key Topics Direct-to-consumer beef and pork - how it actually works Cattle finishing and feeder calf production Farrowing crates - the honest case for and against Why feed quality determines meat quality in hogs Grain storage, forage systems, and matching stocking rate to grass The disputed river bottom and the federal land dispute What You'll Learn How a small ranch runs multiple livestock enterprises on limited acres Why weaning date is a range management decision, not just an animal one What farrowing crates are actually for and why a skeptic changed her mind How monogastric and ruminant digestion produce fundamentally different meat What 115 years of private land management looks like - and what happens when it's challenged Why boundary disputes in the rural West are common, and criminal indictments are not Connect with Charles & Heather Website Instagram Facebook Timestamps 00:00:00 — Introduction and context 00:02:00 — Cattle paddock: finished beef and this year's steer calves 00:04:00 — Weaning early — a drought and range management decision 00:06:00 — Grain bins: what they store and how they work 00:08:00 — Farrowing facility: why the crates exist 00:13:00 — Hog nutrition: simple stomach vs. ruminant digestion 00:15:00 — Pasture-raised pork: why quality and finish time differ 00:18:00 — Legacy equipment: grandfather's tractors and the 1948 truck 00:24:00 — The fence line: terrain, flooding, and where fences actually go 00:25:00 — The Forest Service dispute begins 00:27:00 — No written violation, no due process, criminal charges 00:28:00 — Working toward resolution: the Small Tracks Act 00:30:00 — Secretary Rollins, the temporary use agreement, and what changed 00:33:00 — The survey stakes, the crop damage, and the escalation 00:37:00 — What the land trade proposal was and why it was rejected 00:39:00 — What this case means for ranchers and private landowners 00:41:00 — Final reflections

Joel Hollingsowrth has spent years doing something most people wouldn't dare try - building a regenerative cattle ranch from scratch, with no money, no inherited land, and no roadmap. And yet, it has become one of the pioneering regenerative farms in the nation. Joel is joined by David, who left an Ivy League PhD program to ranch in rural Mexico before landing here, and Daniel, the herd manager responsible for translating Joel's system into daily practice. Together they walk us through mob grazing at extreme stocking densities, a heritage genetics breeding program built for a world without antibiotics, virtual fencing technology, and a community ownership model designed to solve the financing problem that stops most regenerative farmers before they start. This is a conversation about what it really takes (the stubbornness, the financial creativity, the ecological thinking, and the human community) to build something lasting and that works. KEY TOPICS Ultra-high-density mob grazing and how it mimics bison impact to restore soil and seed banks Heritage breed genetics (Piney Woods, composite bulls) and building "zombie apocalypse" cattle Virtual fencing technology and its potential to transform daily ranch labour The herd share financial model and how community capital makes regenerative ranching viable Reviving rural community through food sovereignty, nutrient density, and local economic energy WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why stocking density, not just rotation, is the key lever in regenerative grazing How cows' hooves act as seed planters and why "weeds" like thistles are actually healing the soil What rumen fill and manure consistency tell a herd manager about animal health and forage quality Why cattle genetics matter as much as grazing method, and what "adapting to the system" looks like How Joel financed his ranch with no money down, and why the herd share model is a blueprint others could follow CONNECT WITH JOEL Smoke River Ranch Website X TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Welcome to Oklahoma: Joel, David & the Smoke River story 08:00 – What's broken in rural America and what Smoke River is rebuilding 12:00 – Fresh Rx Oklahoma: food as medicine and local supply chains 15:00 – How Joel got started: a $1/year lease, no capital, and a Twitter DM 19:00 – Virtual fencing: digital paddocks and 60 hours of saved labour per week 21:00 – Heritage breeds: Piney Woods cows, composite bulls, and the genetics program 25:00 – Mob grazing explained: why five moves a day and what stocking density actually means 31:00 – Herd management with Daniel: rumen fill, manure scoring, and daily cattle metrics 36:00 – Sick cow protocols and building a self-selecting genetics program 45:00 – Weeds as healers: thistles, pioneer species, and soil succession