Episode 138: Regenerative Grazing and Cattle Breeding with Del Ficke
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
AEA Marketing
4.7 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2024
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Del Ficke has revolutionized cattle breeding and soil regeneration practices during his decades of ranching. Del is the fourth generation to manage his family operation, Ficke Cattle Company, in Pleasant Hill, Nebraska, which was established in the late 1860s. He has carried on its legacy with a focus on sustainability and profitability. In 2015, he trademarked the Grazemaster breed, a composite of multiple breeds tailored for grazing efficiency and minimal reliance on external inputs. Del is also a founding member of the Graze Master Group which provides consulting services for farms and ranches, focusing on sustainable practices, optimizing resources, and fostering long-term profitability
Del's journey began in conventional farming, but his experiences led him to question traditional methods that heavily relied on chemical inputs and intensive machinery. Transitioning to regenerative practices, he eliminated silage chopping and chemical fertilization, opting instead for rotational grazing and natural herd health management.
In this episode, John and Del discuss:
- Developing the Grazemaster breed to thrive on specific forage types and grazing systems
- Why Del transitioned from conventional farming to regenerative practices
- Implementing rotational grazing and prairie rehabilitation to restore native grasses
- Prioritizing natural selection for cattle traits such as calving ease and resilience
- Advocating for a mindset shift in agriculture, urging producers to question traditional practices and embrace innovation
- The interconnectedness of livestock, soil health, and community
- The economic and environmental benefits of regenerative practices
Additional Resources
To learn more about Del Ficke and Ficke Cattle Company, please visit: https://www.fickecattle.com/
To learn more about the Graze Masters Group, please visit: https://www.grazemastergroup.com/
About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.
Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.
Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.
AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.
Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.
Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, friends, welcome to the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast. Here's where we have all kinds of fun |
| 0:05.1 | conversations related to soil health, animal health, human health, and the many ways that they |
| 0:10.3 | connect with each other. I'm here today with Del Fike, who has been a prominent voice in the space |
| 0:15.9 | of cattle breeding and soil regeneration for several decades, and I'm sure it will be a very entertaining conversation. |
| 0:23.6 | You know, there are, there's so much work that has been done and that still needs to be done. |
| 0:30.6 | When we think about genetics, genetic development, genetic improvement, |
| 0:35.6 | I'm really inspired by this concept of epigenetics, |
| 0:38.3 | that environment determines genetic expression. |
| 0:41.3 | But also, we, particularly in the livestock case, |
| 0:46.3 | it becomes very clear that genetic adaptability |
| 0:51.3 | or genetic adaptation to an environment, Actually the words that I'm looking |
| 0:56.0 | for genetic adaptation to performance are so important and so overlooked that what the |
| 1:00.6 | cattle that really perform well in a grazing system that are adapted to be outdoors |
| 1:08.0 | and to thrive in a natural environment are very different. It's a very different direction from the way cattle breeding has gone for the last 70 or 80 years. |
| 1:14.6 | And Dale, you have a front row perspective on that. |
| 1:19.6 | So thank you for being here. Thank you for all the work that you've done. |
| 1:22.6 | Can you tell us a bit about your history and story and the context, the scope of the work that you're working on today and how you got here. |
| 1:29.3 | Sure, well thanks for having me on, John, and we'll try not to cause too many problems and make too many people angry. |
| 1:37.3 | I love where you were going with, you know, the accountability side, and I'll get to my story but the accountability side of the |
| 1:44.2 | cattle industry is nearly non-existent or very rare most breeds of cattle most |
| 1:50.8 | operations are still very much on crutches you know they may talk to talk |
| 1:55.9 | these cattle do all this and they you know they're they're making all this |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from AEA Marketing, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of AEA Marketing and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.