Stewardship, Stockmanship & Changing How We've Always Done It with Rancher, Realtor, Musician Matthew Menke

What if doing things "by the book" still wasn't getting you where you wanted to go? Matthew Menke grew up in a multigenerational cattle operation where conservative stocking, low inputs and traditional management were simply the way things were done. But after a stockmanship clinic challenged nearly everything he thought he knew about moving cattle, one realization stuck with him: if they could be wrong about stockmanship, they could be wrong about anything. That willingness to question led Matthew down a much bigger road. In this episode of Fenceline Conversations, Matthew and Bret talk about rotational and adaptive grazing, rebuilding soil health, increasing carrying capacity, custom grazing, walking away from a profitable hay business, learning the hard way not to change too much too quickly and why good stewardship requires a lifelong willingness to learn. They also step outside the pasture to talk about Matthew's other life behind a fiddle, including years on the road with Gary P. Nunn and the unexpected phone call that landed him inside Nashville's historic RCA Studio A recording with Colter Wall. It's a conversation about cattle, soil, music, mistakes and what can happen when you stop assuming the old way is the only way. Tags: fenceline conversation, bret wright, fenceline conversations, podcast, motivational podcast, custom grazing, adaptive grazing, ranch, farm, hay, agriculture, agriculture podcast, farming, ranching, cattle, raising cattle, texas cattle, texas ranch, texas, cattle business, cattle herd, stockmanship, stockman   Timestamp 1:07 - Introducing Matthew Menke 2:42 - Background 4:37 - the lesson that changed the future 11:44 - How Business is Setup 13:44 - Diversification / Custom Grazing 17:41 - Stopping hay production 25:19 - Too Much Change Too Fast 26:05 - Parasite Issues / New Cows Coming In  29:43 - Worming Cattle  31:19 - Playing The Fiddle & Being a Professional Musician  35:56 - Up Ahead 37:51 - Brett & Kayla Recap    Links Matthew - [email protected] Ranching For Profit - https://ranchingforprofit.com/ Martin Black Horsemanship Clinic - Martin Black Horsemanship Resources   Key Topics Discussed Learning stockmanship from Martin Black Questioning long-held cattle management practices Moving from set stocking into rotational and adaptive grazing Managing larger groups of cattle Increasing carrying capacity Water and fencing infrastructure Leasing land within a family operation Ranching for Profit principles Custom grazing as a business tool Separating land and operating businesses Paying market rent and opportunity interest Matthew's hay business Why he ultimately stopped producing hay Soil health and plant root systems Microbial communities Fertilizer and herbicide dependence Exporting nutrients through hay Bale grazing and unrolling hay Animal impact Parasite management The dangers of changing too much too quickly Reducing dewormer use responsibly Dung beetles and soil biology Adaptive genetics Lifelong learning Playing fiddle while continuing to ranch Touring with Gary P. Nunn Recording with Colter Wall RCA Studio A Balancing agriculture and music