Real Wealth Ranching

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hello there, my friends.
Welcome back to the Fat Wallet Podcast. I’m your host, Jim Elizondo, and I’m coming to you today not from a studio, but from the same place many of you are at this very moment: out here in the pastures, surrounded by the cattle, the grass, and the never-ending to-do list of running a ranch.

But today, I want to set all that aside for just a few minutes and have an honest conversation with you, rancher to rancher.
Because something big is about to happen.

Something that I’ve been working on for over a decade with ranchers across the world—from the dry ranches of Texas, to the rolling plains of South America, to the humid pastures of Africa, and the Mediterranean in Europe.
Something that has taken all the trial-and-error, sweat, and frustration and turned it into a system that actually works.
Not in theory, not in a textbook, but right where it matters most: out in real pastures, with real cows, under real conditions, a...

 (Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hello there, my friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Fat Wallet Podcast. I’m Jim Elizondo from Real Wealth Ranching. Today, we will have a real, heart-to-heart chat about something that’s been on my mind for a long time, and I bet has crossed yours too: What are the top 5% of ranchers doing differently?

Have you ever stood out in your pasture, boots muddy, sun beating down, and wondered why some ranchers always seem to be thriving while others—good folks, hard workers—keep struggling just to stay afloat? Why do some ranchers profit year after year, even in dry years or when markets dip, while others cross their fingers waiting for that “good year” to cover last year’s losses?

I’ve been there myself. I used to scratch my head and think: “Is it luck? Is it land? Is it just having better cows?” From decades of working with ranchers across many environments and countries, I can tell you it’s not any of those things alone.

I’ll tel...

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hello, I am Jim Elizondo of Real Wealth Ranching. Welcome to my podcast.

I will start by saying this: the number of productive animals you can maintain at a low cost determines your profits. This is a fact. Nothing is more critical to a farm's profitability than stocking rate.

Is your grazing style or program giving you the promised results? Are you happy with your profits and the speed at which your land regenerates?

Most graziers I meet and talk to in my travels teaching total grazing, I see the same problems: a lack of strong and deep roots in forages, a hard pan 3 to 5 inches deep, clump grasses dying in the center, best species dying in drought or freeze, low stocking rate and struggling to maintain good body condition in their livestock in the dry season.

Now, you may think that is not a problem I have, so let me ask you:

How do you really know if your grazing is working?

How can you compare to the potential your land has?

Do you kn...

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Welcome back to Fat Cows Fat Wallet, the podcast for ranchers who are ready to grow more grass, raise better cattle, and make more money doing it. I’m your host, Jaime Elizondo.

Today, I want to talk to you about the grazing method that didn’t just tweak my ranching results — it completely turned my operation around. This is something I wish I’d learned earlier, and if you’re listening right now and feeling stuck, frustrated, or tired of not seeing results despite working hard, this might be precisely what you need to hear.
Let me take you back a few years.

Back then, things looked great on the outside. I was running 700 to 800 head of stockers on just 300 acres. I had people traveling to see how I was doing it. I was known for having a very high stocking rate compared to my neighbors. And I’ll be honest — it felt good to have that attention. It felt like I was doing something special. I thought I had it figured out.

But here’s the part most f...

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hey there, friends, this is Jim Elizondo from Total Grazing Academy and Real Wealth Ranching.

Today I want to ask you something important: Are you ready to grow more grass, double your herd, and finally break free from the trap that's been holding you back?

Because in June, I’m opening the doors to something that could change your ranch and your life forever.

It's called the Total Grazing Academy.

You know, back in 1991, I was stuck. I was doing what everyone said was the right thing: rotational grazing, feeding hay, trying to juggle everything. And I knew that the stocking rate determined profits.

However, no matter how hard I worked, I wasn’t making progress.
My grass would run out, I'd be hauling hay, and the costs just kept piling up.

Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about. But what I finally realized — and what changed everything — Was it that nature already had the answer?

It was hidden in how grasslands evolved thousands of ...

Why do 95% of regenerative graziers struggle?

Why do they reach a ceiling where soil and grass production stops improving after the first few years of improving their productivity?

Has this happened to you? Do you know why this happens? Or do you blindly believe that, somehow, sometime, your soil and grass productivity will improve?

I will tell you a well-kept secret in the grazing guru’s circle: Most grazing theories are flawed. Most grazing systems and programs are based on flawed experiments and observations!

Take the Cridder experiment, for example. It was done in 1953, and he cut potted young plants of cool-season grass with scissors often. Then, by cutting this young grass at different heights, he concluded that frequent cutting stops roots on young plants from growing, demonstrating overgrazing effects under continuous grazing, which was the norm in the fifties.

He also concluded that moving the cattle out of a certain range under continuous grazing was best when they consu...

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hello, greetings from Real Wealth Ranching by your  host Jim Elizondo

For a long time, grazing management has focused on maintaining grasses in the vegetative state. We have been taught that our livestock will perform better if we keep our grasses vegetative and prevent them from going to seed. Do you relate to this? 

We were told to move our livestock quickly when the grass was growing rapidly and slowly when the grass was growing slowly, and that somehow, this would increase our profits by improving livestock performance. Sadly, that is not what we observe out on the land.

So, what are the consequences of trying to maintain a whole farm vegetative by moving your livestock quickly in the Spring? 

For starters, if you have primarily cool-season forages, your livestock will be scouring in early spring due to a lack of fiber in the forage. Ruminants need FIBER to chew their cud, something many people forget.  And, very importantly, the new reg...

Hello, fellow cattlemen! If you're like me, you take pride in raising quality cattle while ensuring your land stays healthy and productive. But let me ask: Are your cattle genuinely getting the most from your pastures?

When grazing, we should focus first on cattle health, then on animal performance, and lastly on conversión efficiency.

Conversión efficiency is essential, even though most people grazing cattle do not consider it. Conversión efficiency means how many pounds of beef or weaned calves we get per ton of grass we produce. Many times, this is the weak link that keeps us in the red.

Did you know that cows can overconsume up to 60% more grass daily than they need? Without extra production, this extra grass is wasted and can be caused by not grazing correctly.

Many of us have been conditioned to believe that supplements, expensive feed, and constant monitoring are the only ways to ensure our cattle get the nutrition they need. But what if I told you there’s a smarter way t...

Hello, friends! Let me ask you something: Would you like to double the number of cows in your herd without buying more land or spending more on hay? If your answer is yes, then you're in the right place.

For decades, we’ve been told that expanding our cattle numbers requires more acres, feed, and work. But what if I told you there’s a smarter way—one that helps you increase your herd size while improving your land’s fertility and productivity without more work?

And this is the best part? It doesn’t require breaking your back or your bank account. It’s all about understanding how nature really works and managing your grazing the right way.

In this blog, I’ll break down why conventional practices have held ranchers back, what actually works, and how you can start doubling your herd today.

And at the end of this post, I have an invitation for you—a free Q&A session where you can ask me anything about grazing smarter and increasing your profits. Stick with me, and I’ll show you exac...

(Versión en Español a continuación) 

Hello, I hope you feel proud of yourself and know the importance of your work to our environment, land, and country. Your work and cattle are valuable, and this should be recognized.

If it weren’t for cattle, our land would be a huge fire hazard; we can use cattle to minimize fires, and we should tell our story to the public.

Have you noticed brush encroachment on your land? While this is noticeable to everyone, it is not always easy to spot the reduced stocking rate and daily gains it causes. Why? Because it takes time for the brush to take over a pasture completely.

For generations, we’ve been told that brush encroachment is just a natural process—that pastures naturally turn into woodlands over time. But if you look closer, you’ll see that this isn’t just nature running its course. It’s a direct result of overgrazing.

Now, when I say overgrazing, I don’t mean that we’re grazing too many cattle—I mean that we’re grazing at the wrong times ...