Balancing Herd Health, Pasture Performance & Soil Regeneration

What does it take to keep livestock thriving and pastures resilient through a long Western winter? In this episode, we sit down with a seasoned rangeland expert, Kelsey Miller, who has spent over two decades working with ranchers across Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado to fine-tune grazing management and regenerative practices.

From traditional feeding to innovative approaches like stockpile grazing and bale grazing, we explore the strategies ranchers use to maintain herd performance, protect soil health, and make the most of limited winter forage. She breaks down how feed quality changes with the seasons, why palatability matters, and how balancing nitrogen and carbon in the diet can boost animal health.

We also dig into how winter can actually be an opportunity to improve soil health from using bale grazing to build organic matter and microbial activity, to leveraging snow as a water source and managing grazing density when the ground is frozen solid. Plus, we touch on key watchouts like toxicity risks, unwanted seed spread, and overgrazing dormant forages.

Whether you're managing a ranch, consulting on grazing systems, or just fascinated by how regenerative livestock systems work year-round, this conversation offers practical insights and fresh perspective on the art and science of winter grazing.

About the our guests:

Kelsey Miller is currently based out of Billings Montana. She comes from a ranching background, and has spent much of the last 20 years working to improve Western pastures, rangelands, and the herds that graze them. She attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where she earned her B.S in animal science. Her professional focus includes grazing systems, plant community dynamics, mapping, monitoring, remote sensing, soil health, local food systems, animal health, wildlife ecology, and landscape level collaboration.

What does it take to ensure high-quality carbon credits start from the ground up, literally? In this episode, we dig into the science and strategy behind soil sampling and modeling for regenerative agriculture. Our Geospatial Analyst, Tommy, takes us behind the scenes of his day-to-day work using advanced software, high-resolution imagery, and land classification data to understand what's happening on the ground without setting foot in the field all the time. From analyzing vegetation to pinpointing the best areas for carbon sequestration, Tommy shares how technology and data are helping us verify impact and build better carbon projects.

About the our guests:

Tommy Pudil is originally from eastern Iowa, and attended school at Creighton University in Nebraska, as well as Georgia Southern University in Georgia. During his time at both schools, he used remote sensing to measure the health of vegetation and map land cover using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Growing up in Iowa, farming has always been something that is important to Tommy, and he enjoys using his skills to help the cause at Agoro Carbon Alliance. In his free time, Tommy likes to fish, hike, lift weights, and spend time with family and friends.

What does it really take to turn climate-smart farming practices into verified carbon credits? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the verification process behind agricultural carbon projects. Joined by three Agoro Carbon team members – Chris Daley from the Carbon team, John Pullis from the Data team, and Mark Worner from the Grower Success team – we break down the science, logistics, and integrity behind every carbon credit we generate.

We start with the basics: what verification is and why it matters. Then we dive into the field with Mark, who shares the real-life practices that sequester carbon, like cover cropping and no-till farming. John walks us through the rigorous soil sampling methods and explains how data drives credibility. Chris provides insight into how third-party auditors validate that our project meets the highest global standards.

You'll hear about the value verification brings – not just for carbon credit buyers -but for farmers, ranchers, and the planet. From improved soil health to greater transparency, this conversation uncovers the deeper benefits of getting it right.

Whether you're in ag, carbon markets, or just curious how climate solutions are verified on the ground, this episode is a deep and accessible dive into the process that keeps our carbon program honest, credible, and impactful.

About the our guests:

Chris Daley has broad experience in the carbon markets, ranging from program and methodology development to providing analysis on current and future trends. Chris has worked as a program officer at Verra and a senior associate at Ecosystem Marketplace, a Forest Trends Initiative.

Mark Worner is an and agronomist and first generation farmer with a background in seed and ag chemical sales he leads our Grower Success onboarding process. Mark's passion is to educate others about conservation agriculture

Michigan's diverse agriculture influenced John Pullis' lifelong love for farming—from specialty crops to commodity crops. As a Senior Agronomist that focuses on soil sampling John thrives on the constant evolution and development of the agriculture industry.

In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of carbon credit generation in Pacific Northwest agriculture. What sustainable practices are farmers and ranchers using to generate carbon credits? How does the rugged, diverse terrain of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho influence the opportunities in this market? Whether you're familiar with the region or new to it, we'll paint a vivid picture of the PNW's fields, valleys, and rolling hills — and why they may offer unique advantages for ag carbon projects.

"There are a lot of progressive minds in the PNW there is always producer wondering what can I do more to better my operation" -Mitch Wayment, PNW Ag Carbon Representative

Plus, we tackle some of the most common questions we hear from producers and stakeholders about getting involved in the ag carbon economy. Tune in for a practical, down-to-earth conversation about where opportunities are growing.

In this episode, we dive into the world of carbon ranching and agricultural carbon sequestration. What exactly is carbon ranching, and how does it work? Join us as we break down the process—from understanding the initial steps ranchers take to establish a carbon baseline to implementing conservation practices that generate high-quality carbon credits. We'll discuss how ranchers can customize their journey, what kinds of data are collected, and how the voluntary carbon market works. Whether you're a rancher curious about joining a program or simply intrigued by this innovative approach to climate action, this episode has something for everyone!

About the our guests:

Kelsey Miller is an agronomist with Agoro Carbon Alliance. She comes from a ranching family, and enjoys sharing that lifestyle with her children on their homestead in Montana. She began her agronomy career young, while also serving her local FFA chapter and later the Wyoming State FFA Association. Kelsey did undergraduate research as a McNair Scholar at Montana State University, where she earned her B.S in animal science, after she worked with the USFWS at the National Bison Range. Her agricultural career continued in work with local governments, nonprofits, and in her own enterprises. Her professional skills include grazing systems, noxious weed management, mapping, monitoring, remote sensing, soil health, local food systems, animal handling, conservation ecology and more.

Join agronomists Clay Craighton (IA-based) and Tanner Pribble (IN-based) for a high level conversation about carbon sequestration on farmland or also called "carbon farming." They discuss farm practices that capture carbon, how growers get involved, what onboarding looks like for farmers who join our carbon program, what happens after onboarding, and then the other side of carbon farming - the buyers (companies that are interested in purchasing ag-based carbon credits). Whether you are learning about agricultural carbon for the first time or wanting to brush up on the ag carbon topic or just curious about carbon programs, listen to this episode!

About the our guests:
Tanner Pribble lives on a farm in Northeastern Indiana with his wife Ali and sons Tatum and Tripp. Having worked in the agriculture industry for 11 years, he has enjoyed the opportunities to partner with producers every day.

Based in Clear Lake, Iowa, Clay Craighton is an experienced agronomist in the Corn Belt who has worked in several realms of agriculture. Clay has worked with DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto (Bayer) and Indigo Ag. His specialty lies in soil sampling, carbon cropping, manure management and sustainability.

What does it take to ensure sustainable projects truly make an impact? Find out in this episode with Christopher Daley, Agoro Carbon's Carbon Project Development Manager.

The sustainable development verified impact standard also know as "SD VISta" is the sustainability standard managed by Verra, the world's leading standard for climate action and sustainable development. SD VISta verifies and quantifies sustainable development benefits generated from voluntary carbon offset projects. This standard ensures that certified projects not only produce measurable, sustainable development benefits but also follows best practices to protect local communities and ecosystems. Agoro Carbon Alliance works with farmers and ranchers to implement sustainable practices, like rotational grazing, biodiversity, cover crops and reduced tillage, that sequester carbon in the soil and generate carbon credits. The SD VISta standard, managed by Verra, will verify and quantify the sustainable development benefits generated from practices implemented with farmers and ranchers that partner with Agoro Carbon once registered.

Join us as we sit down with Andre Rauch, a farmer out of Lexington, OR to chat about his perspective and experience so far with carbon farming. Andre and his family run a wheat, dryland cereal, and barely operation called Starvation Farms. We dive into how Andre selected a carbon program, what the process of creating a contract with regenerative ag practices is like, what payments look like, and yes, how the name Starvation Farms came to be!