Six Months of Stillness: How Stockpiled Grass Feeds Fungi and Builds Long-Lived Carbon

Hey friends — welcome back to your Fat Wallets podcast. I’m happy you’re here.

Today I want to take you on a walk. Not a fancy walk. Not a conference-hotel-carpet walk. I mean a slow walk through a pasture that’s been stockpiled for six or seven months. The stems are tall. The color’s gone caramel. The cattle are quiet. You can hear your own footsteps.

And if you dig down — just a little — something feels different.

Softer. Spongier. Alive.

That feeling right there — that’s what we’re talking about today.

Because there’s a story under that pasture — one involving fungi, microbial necromass, glomalin, and long-lived soil carbon — and I want to tell it in plain language. No lab coats required: just curiosity, some healthy respect for biology, and a willingness to look under the hood.

Let’s start with something you may have already noticed

Here’s the pattern ranchers and graziers keep repo...

(Versión en Español a continuación)

5 Grazing Adjustments to Make Before the New Year for a More Profitable 2026

 Welcome to your fat wallets podcast. I am your host, Jim Elizondo of Real Wealth Ranching, where we help you maximize your profits while improving your land the fastest.

This time of year always creates a strange mix of emotions for ranchers.

There’s relief that another season is behind us.
There’s fatigue from everything that didn’t go according to plan.
And there’s that quiet pressure to “do better next year” — even if we’re not quite sure what that means yet.

Most people use this week to reflect on their goals.
I’d rather you think about adjustments.

Big changes don’t usually stick.
Small, well-chosen adjustments do.

So instead of resolutions, here are five grazing adjustments you can make before the New Year that will quietly — but powerfully — change your land, your cattle, and your bottom line in 2026.

These aren’t trendy ideas.
They’re the kinds of decisions ...

Hello, I am Jim Elizondo from Real Wealth Ranching. Today I will talk about a reflective, seasonal topic. Nature’s winter lessons: what wildlife can teach us about recovery and soil health.

There’s something about late December that invites stillness. The way the cold settles across the land, the way the sun hangs lower every afternoon, the way frost decorates every blade of grass—it all seems to whisper, “Slow down. Pay attention. Everything is teaching you something.”

Most ranchers think winter is the season when nothing happens.
But winter is actually the season when everything is revealed.

Grass growth slows, or stops, but the land’s communication speeds up.
Wildlife moves differently, leaving messages in snow and mud.
Fungi keep working quietly under the surface.
Livestock behavior becomes clearer.
Soil tells the truth about last summer’s management.
And manure—yes, even manure—disappears or accumulates in ways that tell you more than any soil test can.

This time of year, n...

Welcome to our podcast, Fat Wallets

I am Jim Elizondo, your host for Real Wealth Ranching. I hope you are well and prepared for the coming Holidays!

There’s a special kind of quiet that settles over a ranch in December.
Not the empty quiet of nothing happening—because something is always happening on the land—but a deep, reflective quiet. A pause between the seasons. A pause between decisions. A pause between who we were as ranchers this year… and who we want to become in the next.

And this year, that quiet carries something extra for me.

Because today, I’m welcoming 49 new students into the Total Grazing Academy—our Fall 2025 cohort.
Forty-nine ranchers, farmers, graziers, and land stewards who raised their hands and said:

“I’m ready.
I want to better understand my land.
I want more life, more production, more profits, more health—without more stress.”

If you’re one of them, welcome.
If you’re a long-time listener, welcome back.
If you’re still grazing with questions, curiosi...

 Hello there, my friends,

We’ve reached the end. Tonight at midnight, enrollment for the Total Grazing Academy closes. After that, the doors won’t open again until next year.

I know that deciding to join isn’t a small decision. It’s not just about money — it’s about time, commitment, and trust. You’re asking yourself, “Is this the right step for me? Is this really going to work on my land?”

That’s exactly why I want to spend this time with you today. Not just to tell you that the Academy is closing tonight — but to lay out clearly what’s waiting for you inside, and why so many ranchers are glad they didn’t wait.

Because at the end of the day, the real difference between ranchers who stay stuck and ranchers who move forward comes down to one thing: guessing versus growing.

Guessing vs. Growing

Let’s be honest. Most of us start ranching with a lot of guessing. We guess when to move the herd. We guess how much forage is left. We guess whether the cows need hay this week or next. We ...

Hello there, my friends,

I hope this message finds you well and making steady progress toward your goals — whether that’s more time, better cattle, or a thriving landscape.

Today, I’m excited to share something special with you. Enrollment for the Total Grazing Academy is officially open. And because it’s Black Friday, you can get an additional discount if you enroll today.

That’s right — today only, you get the best deal we’ve ever offered. Enrollment will remain open for just a few more days, but this extra Black Friday savings disappears after tonight.

So if you’ve been following along, nodding your head at the stories I’ve shared, and thinking, “This is what I’ve been looking for,” then I strongly encourage you to take action today.

A Story from Missouri

Last year, I taught a course in Missouri where producers from all kinds of environments — fescue, Bermuda, Bahia — gathered to learn.

One of them, Wes, shared his story. Wes had been ranching for years, trying out every g...

(Versión en Español a continuación)

Hello there, my friends,

I’m Jim Elizondo from Real Wealth Ranching, and today I want to share some news that’s been a long time coming. You’ve probably heard me talk about it before, and you’ve probably seen me hint at it in podcasts and posts—but now it’s finally here.

📅 On Sunday, November 23rd, we open the doors to the Total Grazing Academy for our waitlist members. Then, on Tuesday, November 25th, enrollment opens to everyone else.

If you’ve been following along, nodding your head when I talk about high hay bills, tired grass, and ranching that just doesn’t quite add up to the life you want… this is your chance to take the next step.

A Step-by-Step System That Works in Real Ranching Conditions

Let me be explain with you. There are a lot of grazing systems out there. You’ve probably heard the slogans:

• “Take half, leave half.”
  
  
• “Graze one-third, leave two-thirds.”
  
  
• “Just rotate more and the land will fix itself.”
  
  

I’ve heard them too...

(Versión en Español a continuación)

Hello there, my friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Fat Wallets Podcast. I’m Jim Elizondo from Real Wealth Ranching, and today I want to share something that’s been on my heart for a long time.

It’s a question I get asked again and again, in different ways:

Why is it that two ranchers, in the same county, with the same rainfall, the same climate, the same weeds, even the same market prices… end up with such different results?

One rancher is thriving—his cattle are fat, his pastures are green and recovering quickly, and his wallet is growing. He has time to enjoy his family, to plan for the future, and to keep improving his land year after year.

Meanwhile, just down the road, another rancher with nearly identical resources is barely holding on. He’s feeding hay half the year, his pastures are thin and weedy, his costs are eating him alive, and he’s exhausted—because he never gets ahead.

So what’s the difference?

That’s exactl...

(Versión en Español a continuación)

Is Your Grazing Helping… or Holding Your Land Back?

Hello there, my friends,

It’s Jim Elizondo from Real Wealth Ranching. Today I want to ask you a simple but important question: 

Is your grazing helping your land… or quietly holding it back?

That might sound like a strange thing to ask. After all, most of us assume that if our cattle look okay, and our pastures are green enough, then our grazing must be working. But over the years, I’ve learned that what you see on the surface isn’t always the truth.

How Do You Really Know If Your Grazing Is Working?

I want you to picture your pastures right now. Think about the way they look today compared to five years ago. Be honest with yourself as you answer this:

• Are you feeding hay more than you’d like?
  
• Do you notice weeds creeping in and spreading a little more each year?
  
• Are bare patches showing up where grass used to grow?
  
• Are your best grasses — the ones you wish you had more of — slowly d...

(Versión en Español a continuación)

Hello there, my friends,

It’s Jim Elizondo here from Real Wealth Ranching. I'd like to share something a little vulnerable with you today, as I believe it’s a story that many ranchers can relate to. It’s about the time I thought I was doing everything right… only to realize I was actually headed in the wrong direction.

Doing Everything “Right”
When I started down the regenerative path years ago, I was convinced I was on the right track.

I rotated pastures like they told me.
I built more fences than I care to count.
I cut back on fertilizers and chemicals because they were costly, and that seemed like the progressive thing to do.

I was following the advice that seemed responsible, sustainable, and modern. And I’ll be honest — it looked good on paper. I thought I was checking all the boxes.

But the pain is that after all that effort, my soil was still tired. My grass wasn’t getting any better. In fact, it looked like it was getting worse. And the...