Healthy Land, Livestock & People
We believe in mutual success of land, livestock and people who manage them. Our goal is to find the intersection where all three thrive—where the land is productive, resilient and improving, the livestock are thriving with thoughtful management, and our team is supported, happy and passionate about their work. A healthy operation isn’t just about the soil and cattle—it’s about the people, too.
Good grazing management improves soil health and forage production, which in turn leads to better cattle performance. Our management focus is on achieving the right balance between forage utilization, good livestock gains, herd health and a positive work environment that ensures both the ecosystem and business are supported.
Quality Cattle Care
All Redwing Ranch team members that work with livestock are Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified. This certification involves topics on: cattle health, stockmanship, marketing, emergency planning and meat quality.
We also apply low-stress stockmanship here at Redwing Ranch. The combination of classroom time and in-the-field practice has improved our ability to safely move animals in a variety of contexts (corrals, pastures, timbered areas). We are committed to safety for both our team and livestock!
We ride through the herd and check water daily no matter what time of year it is. Getting eyes on a majority of the herd every day helps us to identify sick animals as soon as possible, while also getting the cattle familiar with our team. Not only does this make moving cattle in the pasture easier and less stressful, but it directly translates to when we work cattle in the corrals. It also keeps us in tune with the forage utilization and the conditions on the ground.
Livestock Gains &
Grazing Success
Our sub-irrigated and irrigated (predominantly smooth brome with some alfalfa) pastures are the most productive, our upland pastures are mid-productivity, and our short grass prairie pastures are the least productive. For example, only 24% of total ranch pasture acreage is irrigated or sub-irrigated, but it makes up around 87 - 90% of our total stock days in both the growing and dormant seasons.
Our management has demonstrated the balance of appropriate forage utilization and high daily weight gain on stockers:
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2024 Steer Gains - 2.1 lbs/day
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2023 Steer Gains - 1.97 lbs/day
​To achieve these results we utilize a highly managed grazing system:
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The ranch has 40 pre-existing pastures, providing a robust framework for intensive grazing.
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We further subdivide these pastures using poly wire (electric fence), ensuring cattle move every 3-5 days or faster to meet our forage utilization goals.
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The ranch currently has 26 stock water sources (stock tanks, perennial ponds, river) and is actively looking to develop more stock water. Minimizing the distance that cattle have to walk to drink clean water contributes to more uniform grazing, which can be seen with increased gains.
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We position salt and mineral in the farthest corners of the pastures (away from their water source) or on targeted invasive species. This facilitates more thorough pasture utilization and discourages cattle from loafing in already high traffic zones that are immediately surrounding the water source.
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Data-Driven Grazing Management
We use Web Soil Survey data alongside anecdotal observations and the Snaplands clipping & monitoring to determine stocking rates for each pasture. This informs our entire grazing plan, ensuring that cattle move based on forage availability, livestock weight and class needs and overall pasture condition. ​​
Adjusting stocking density, timing and pasture size allow us to graze to appropriate utilization while also maintaining or increasing body condition. It's a balance!
