Episode Details

Alejandro Carrillo joins Lauren today on the podcast to share how his family transformed their cattle ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert from struggling with bare ground, woody plants and low rainfall into a more productive and profitable operation. After taking a holistic management class, Alejandro began changing the way they thought about grazing, soil health, biodiversity and cattle selection. Alejandro explains why healthy soil is the foundation of a successful ranch, how moving cattle daily and using multiple species can improve grazing, and why genetics and culling are critical to building cattle that thrive in a specific environment.

Links:

Connect with Alejandro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-carrillo-b3a7a7/

Alejandro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasdamascattleranch/

Alejandro on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alejandro.carrillo.50951

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Key Takeaways:

• Better grazing management can help struggling ranches work with nature instead of against it
• Healthy, living soil is the foundation for productive pastures and cattle
• Plant and animal diversity can make a ranch more resilient
• Cattle need to be selected for their ability to thrive in the environment they are actually working in
• Daily movement and adaptive grazing can improve how forage is utilized and recovered
• Multiple species can complement one another and create more even grazing
• Improving soil health can increase forage quality and reduce dependence on supplementation
• Ranch profitability has to come first if producers want to sustain their land and livestock
• In arid environments, managing how much rainfall is captured and infiltrated can be more important than simply measuring rainfall
• Continuous education and learning from other ranchers can change the way an operation is managed

Chapters:

01:19 From Computer Science to Ranching03:34 Changing the Way the Ranch Was Managed05:54 The Challenges of Ranching in the Desert07:59 Why Healthy Soil Matters11:00 Building Biodiversity on the Ranch14:59 Selecting Cattle for the Environment18:49 Grazing Multiple Spec