Daniel Rose of Grassroots Ranch shares his path from having no farming background to building a diversified, direct-to-consumer livestock operation through leased land near Tulsa. Inspired by reading You Can Farm and learning directly from experience, Daniel walks through the realities of raising grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry, and forest-raised pork while managing forage, fencing, water, and labor. This conversation offers an honest look at learning curves, early missteps, and the long-term mindset required to make grass-based farming work.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- Getting started in farming without an agricultural background
- Leasing land as a practical entry point into livestock production
- Early lessons from raising sheep and understanding market demand
- Transitioning into grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry, and pork
- Learning rotational grazing through trial, error, and observation
- Managing forage challenges like broom sedge and giant ragweed
- Using chickens and pigs to improve soil fertility and pasture health
- Mobile infrastructure for broilers, layers, and hogs
- Watering livestock without permanent water systems
- Viewing farming as both land stewardship and a business
Why This Episode Matters
This episode matters because it shows what starting from zero actually looks like. Daniel’s journey is not built on inherited land or generational knowledge, but on curiosity, experimentation, and steady refinement. For anyone questioning whether they have the right background, resources, or experience to begin, this conversation reinforces that progress comes from taking action, learning from mistakes, and improving systems over time.
Resources Mentioned
- You Can Farm — Joel Salatin
- Stockman Grass Farmer magazine
- Asana (project management software)
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