Tyler Flynn runs a small beef cow-calf operation in Northern California at Farmer Tyler Ranch, where he also grows hay and raises a few pigs and chickens for family use while documenting the work and lessons learned through his YouTube channel.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Coming back to a family ranch and building a cow-calf business on small acreage
• Northern California conditions, including irrigated pasture, rice country, and seasonal rainfall patterns
• How and why Tyler uses irrigated pasture rotation, including short rest periods in his context
• The shift from small square bales to round bales and what changed his mind
• Using hay equipment as a pasture improvement tool, including baling pastures after grazing
• Tackling smut grass by cutting, baling, and managing where those bales are fed
• Breed composition over time, including Hereford roots and adding SimAngus genetics for heterosis
• How YouTube influenced management decisions and helped drive experimentation
• Practical YouTube lessons for farmers, including audio, camera stability, and consistent posting

Why This Episode Matters
This conversation is a good reminder that management has to fit the place and the people running it. Tyler shares what works on irrigated pasture in Northern California, how he thinks through rotation length, equipment decisions, and weed pressure, and why consistency and realism matter when you are balancing time, labor, and livestock.

Resources Mentioned
- GoPro cameras
- Tripod (video stability)
- Microphone (audio quality)

Find Out More

• Farmer Tyler Ranch on YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@farmertylerranch4399

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Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
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Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Kasie Harriet is the milkmaid at Shepherd Farms, where she and her husband Jacob are building a direct-to-consumer farm business that includes raw milk, sourdough, tallow skincare, and more, while managing cows in a rotational grazing setup and learning what it really takes to run a small dairy at the family scale.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Kasie’s path from FFA and wildlife work into farm life and dairy cows
• Why they pursued raw milk and how that led to buying their first family milk cow
• Lessons learned from a first cow that tested positive for bacteria and how they handled it
• Setting up a movable, low-cost milking stanchion and why “you don’t need a lot to do a lot”
• Hand milking vs machine milking and the real-world importance of equipment that is easy to clean
• Calf sharing, grafting a calf, and how that can add flexibility to dairy cow ownership
• Selling excess milk, managing weekly customers, and handling jars and deposits
• What to look for when buying a milk cow: testing, temperament, training, feeding history, and more
• Using Facebook to educate customers, build trust, and grow a local direct-to-consumer community

Why This Episode Matters
If you are considering a family milk cow or selling raw milk direct-to-consumer, this episode walks through the practical realities that often get skipped, including cow selection, sanitation concerns, equipment choices, customer management, and the setbacks that can happen even when you do things carefully. Kasie’s story is a grounded reminder to learn, adjust, and keep moving forward.

Resources Mentioned

• Keeping a Family Cow by Joann S. Grohman
• Keeping a Family Milk Cow, holistic and organic (Facebook group)

Find Out More

• Shepherd Farms | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087351095567

Looking for grass-based breeders?
Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
Noble Research Institute

Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Jacob Harriet of Shepherd Farms shares how his background in wildlife management in central Oklahoma shaped the way he uses livestock, prescribed fire, and land restoration to build better habitat and a workable farm business. From starting on a small homestead to managing over 1,240 acres through creative lease agreements, Jacob walks through what has worked, what he learned the hard way, and how grazing fits into a broader land stewardship plan.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Jacob’s path from wildlife law enforcement to using livestock as a habitat tool
• Turning an over-timbered 80 acres into productive grazing and wildlife habitat
• Using rotational grazing to improve land function, manure distribution, and plant recovery
• Tree and timber management decisions focused on getting sunlight to the ground
• Prescribed fire vs mechanical clearing for controlling woody encroachment, especially cedar
• How burn associations, burn plans, and local support make prescribed fire safer and more practical
• Managing land for wildlife needs alongside grazing goals, including turkey and quail habitat
• Finding and using grants for infrastructure, water, timber work, and prescribed fire
• Building a mixed-species orchard and using chickens to manage pests and understory
• A lease model that trades professional habitat management for grazing access across multiple properties
• Tracking grazing and land work with mapping tools and documentation

Why This Episode Matters

This conversation is a practical look at connecting grazing, habitat, and land access in a way that works in the real world. If you are trying to improve a neglected property, reduce cedar pressure, learn why prescribed fire matters, or find a creative path to more grazing acres without buying land, Jacob’s approach offers clear ideas you can adapt to your own place.

Resources Mentioned

• Natural Resource University (podcast network)
• OnX Hunt Maps (phone app)
• NRCS (local office support for conservation programs and grants)
• National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF)
• Quail Forever
• Ty Ty Nursery (trees for the orchard)

Find Out More

• Shepherd Farms | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087351095567

Looking for grass-based breeders?
Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
Noble Research Institute

Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey