Stewarding What Comes Next

Friends,

I'm a long way from Arkansas right now, watching grass bend in the wind, and I've got that feeling in my gut again.

The same feeling I had when Andrea and I leased 20 acres of pasture and MacGyvered our first mobile chicken coops back in 2007.  No land of our own. No money. No guarantee. Just a stubborn belief that the food system was broken and we couldn't wait for someone else to fix it.

So we jumped.

I've got that feeling again right now.

Andrea and I are exploring something new. Something that scares me, if I'm honest. It would stretch us thin. It's pushing us way outside our comfort zone. But here's why we can't walk away:

We've met a couple who spent decades doing things right. They developed a herd of cattle with genetics selected specifically for grass-finishing. They built soil on mineral-rich land perfectly suited for raising beef: cool summer nights, diverse forages, the kind of place that can't be replicated. And now they're looking for someone to carry it forward.

They're not alone. Over 40% of America's farmland is owned by people over 65. We're staring down the largest agricultural land transfer in our nation's history. And if something doesn't change, most of that land won't go to young farmers. It'll go to investors, corporations, or get swallowed by development.

We want to help shepherd what they've built and turn it into an opportunity for young ranchers who want to do this work but can't afford the price of entry. Andrea and I have been to the edge and back, more than once. Your orders, your trust, your willingness to bet on a different food system: that's what kept us alive. We see this as an opportunity to back the next generation with the Grass Roots community you've helped us build.

I want to be clear: this is a journey, not a quick fix. These transitions are complicated. They happen on biological time. Seasons and years, not weeks and months. Andrea and I may find out we aren't the right people for this. But connecting farmers and ranchers to people who believe in them? That's what Grass Roots has always been about. We're going to try, because what's at stake is too important not to.

If we can make it work, it means more regenerative beef from a dedicated herd. Genetics refined over decades, selected to thrive on grass, building soil with every rotation. The kind of beef we can’t wait to share with you. 

This is how we change the food system. Together. One herd, one ranch, one young farmer at a time.

Your farmer (with butterflies in his stomach),
Cody