Ranchonomics

What does it take to build a successful ranch from scratch when you start with borrowed money and a pickup truck as collateral? In this episode of Ranchonomics Stories, John Haskell and Wally Olson sit down with Monty Nail to trace his journey from buying his first load of cattle as a high school senior in 1979 to building a diversified cattle operation and acquiring his own ...

Why is it so hard to change, even when we know our current approach isn't working? In this episode, John Haskell explores why individuals and businesses struggle to adopt new behaviors and practices, even when those changes could lead to better results. He explains how we become comfortable with familiar ways of doing things, and why learning a new process often means tempora...

What does it take to build a farm and ranch business when you don't have much money to start with? In this Ranchonomics Stories episode, John Haskell and Wally Olson sit down with Greg and Ann Christiansen to look back at more than 40 years of marriage, ranching, farming, raising a family, and figuring things out along the way. From low-paying cowboy jobs and a growing family...

What can four generations of ranching teach you about selecting cattle that actually work? In this episode, John Haskell talks with Steve Teichert of Mackay, Idaho, about the lessons he has learned over more than 80 years of working with cattle. Steve challenges some common assumptions about EPDs, phenotype, and cattle performance, arguing that genetics can't be evaluated sep...

What does it take to build a ranch that lasts for five generations? In this episode of Ranchonomics Stories, John Haskell sits down with Ryan Noble to trace the history of his family ranch in eastern Colorado, beginning with his great-grandfather William A. Noble driving a stake into the ground in 1910 and filing a homestead claim. Ryan shares the stories of the generations t...