Casual Cattle Conversations

Today, Shaye welcomes back Nebraska rancher, Jaclyn Wilson to discuss how extensive international travel has shaped her ranch management and views of global agriculture. Wilson describes how travel began through the Nebraska LEAD program and expanded into regular international speaking and industry visits, leading to operational changes at home such as organized team planning with whiteboards and calendars and greater delegation. She contrasts U.S. open-pasture wintering with UK/Ireland winter confinement driven by mud and heavy clay soils, and shares a Netherlands example where turning cows out to grass becomes an agritourism event.   Wilson outlines Dutch regulations and subsidies tied to nitrates, water runoff, stocking limits, and methane, and questions measurement accuracy for emissions and carbon credits. From Kenya, she highlights corruption concerns, diverse agricultural tours, and a “My Tank” water project. She emphasizes U.S. beef efficiency and safety but notes persistent overseas perceptions about sanitation, traceability, confinement, and antibiotics, and encourages producers to stay aware of global concerns and opportunities, including genetics and investment abroad.  Learn more about what Vence could look like on your operation here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG  Learn more about Noble here: https://bit.ly/3DD7uG0  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/    01:24 Jaclyn’s Travel Bug Origins  03:29 Ranch Changes From Travel  05:35 Whiteboards And Planning  07:16 Winter Housing Culture Shock  10:16 Netherlands Dairy And Agritourism  12:00 EU Rules Subsidies And Nitrates  15:21 Methane Carbon And Measurement  17:52 Africa And Nuffield Journey  20:33 Kenya Corruption And Water  24:43 Water Links Every Country  25:48 Why Home Matters Most  28:08 US Beef Strengths And Perception  31:13 Genetics Trade And Open Minds 

On today's show, Shaye Wanner interviews Saskatchewan ranchers John and Deanne about using Vence virtual fencing on their 400 cow-calf commercial operation near the Bronson Forest. They explain how virtual fencing improves utilization on rough, boggy forest lease country where conventional fencing is difficult and expensive, while saving labor, supporting planned/rotational grazing, and helping soil health by controlling stock density and drift with back fences.  They describe added benefits like better monitoring for predation claims, reducing temporary electric fencing on rented land, and sorting groups (heifers, main herd, and open cows) using different virtual fences, achieving about a 95% success rate in a week. They discuss software tools like maps and heat maps, training protocols, cow-to-cow variation in responses, challenges with bull collar retention, collar loss rates improving with tighter fitting, and battery life lasting closer to six months than nine. Learn more about what Vence could look like on your operation here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/  01:01 Biggest Grazing Wins 02:42 Why Vence 03:30 Ranch and Region Overview 06:04 Secondary Benefits and Predators 08:24 Sorting Cows with Maps 13:31 Software Insights and Training 16:42 Heat Maps and Logging Changes 19:47 Bulls Learning Curve and Next Steps 24:10 Challenges Battery and Retention

On this episode of the Casual Cattle Conversations Podcast, Shaye interviews first-generation Texas rancher Kim Jungkind about staying curious to reduce cattle stress and improve performance. Kim shares how observing cattle led her to test music and color preferences: her herd moved away from rock music but gathered closely to Bach, especially Yo-Yo Ma’s cello, which she now plays during feeding and stressful events like trailering or difficult births to calm the herd; she connects stress reduction to better weight gain by preventing metabolic energy loss.   She also found cattle are drawn to yellow after placing art in a corral, and notes cattle see yellow best and blue well, inspiring practical changes like using yellow flags on sorting sticks. Kim recounts transitioning from nursing and academia to ranching after inheriting her father-in-law’s operation, receiving community support through a local church, and facing a major fire early on. She recommends helping new ranchers network and directs listeners to order her book, “Back to the Barn and Bach,” at www.insightskj.com.  Links and Resources   Learn more about Cargill here: https://bit.ly/4e1qygS    Learn more about Vence here: https://bit.ly/4kfWrCG  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/  00:48 Why Curiosity Matters  01:15 Yellow Flags Reduce Stress  02:14 Testing Music Preferences  04:00 Stress Economics Weight Gain  04:46 From Nurse To Rancher  07:14 Finding Help Through Church  09:32 Wildfire Wake Up Call  10:57 Learning Cow Personalities  12:45 Grandin And Behavior Research  14:08 Playing Cello For Cows  17:33 Art In The Corral Colors  19:25 Key Takeaways Curiosity Community  21:13 Where To Get The Book     

On this episode of Casual Cattle Conversations podcast, Shaye interviews Jaclyn Ketchum, who grew up on a registered Red Angus ranch using AI and embryo technologies, earned advanced degrees in reproductive physiology, and now runs her family’s custom AI business while expanding embryo work. Ketchum explains benefits of AI and fixed-time AI with synchronization, including access to superior genetics at lower cost than buying bulls, use of sexed semen, improved early conception linked to heavier calves, more uniform calf crops, and reduced bull-to-cow ratios with cleanup bulls.   She discusses why some producers still heat-detect, heifer protocol considerations, and how weather can reduce estrus expression and conception. Key success factors include communication, strict protocol timing, facility readiness, proper product handling and dosing, semen storage and shipping, skilled technicians, and managing expectations before and after AI.  Mentioned Episodes  Lacey Quail on Improving Preg Rates: https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/casual-cattle-conversations-podcast-shownotes/lacey-quail  Jennifer Koziol on Bull Fertility: https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/casual-cattle-conversations-podcast-shownotes/p4fffrydex27m1zkm1cj7bmrgpp56d   Links and Resources  Learn more about Cargill here: https://bit.ly/4e1qygS  Learn more about Corteva here: RangeAndPasture.com/CattleConversations  Learn more about CattleMax Here: https://bit.ly/4aG7K5q  Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/      00:00 Why AI Matters  00:18 Meet Jaclyn Ketchum  01:50 AI and Fixed Time Benefits  07:53 Why Skip Synchronization  11:17 Heifer Protocol Basics  13:20 Planning a Successful AI Day  22:07 Heat Detecting 21 Day AI  24:35 Weather and Conception  27:45 Resync and Backup Plans  30:18 Sync for Natural Service  32:37 Repro Efficiency Big Picture  34:45 Final Takeaways and Wrap   

On this episode of Casual Cattle Conversation, Shaye interviews Chris Sherman of Tech Support Farm about why farmers and ranchers are at risk for cybercrime and how to improve security. Sherman explains that cybercriminals target finance, information, and service disruption, and notes agriculture’s scale, liquidity, critical-infrastructure status, rapid tech adoption without “security by design,” a culture of trust, generational transition risks, and reliance on residential-grade hardware.   He cites examples, including a Minnesota cooperative ransomware attack during harvest and spoofed bank emails that led to lost money and a land deal, plus invoice fraud against ag businesses. Action steps include using a custom domain with commercial email and security tools, stronger 12+ character passwords and multifactor authentication, reviewing social media/device access, locking phones/computers, spotting phishing via headers, links, timestamps, and PDFs, segmenting farm Wi‑Fi, and using tools like antivirus, endpoint monitoring, and mobile device management. Wrapping up, Chris also recommends Tech Support Farm’s “Fence Check” assessment. Learn more about what Chris does at https://techsupport.farm/services/.    Links and Resources Learn more about Cargill here: https://bit.ly/4e1qygS Learn more about Corteva here: RangeAndPasture.com/CattleConversations Learn more about CattleScales Here: https://bit.ly/4dqqTtr Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/    00:00 Cyber Risk Warning 01:34 Why Ag Is Targeted 04:08 Five Ag Cyber Gaps 08:41 Spyware Routers Cameras 09:55 Chris Background Mission 13:07 Email Domains Encryption 16:37 Real World Attack Stories 20:31 Action Steps Passwords MFA 27:52 Phishing Emails Links 30:05 Security Tools MDM WiFi 35:48 Fence Check Takeaway