207 | Mason Lautenschlager, North Dakota | Losing the Family Farm at 12 and Building It Back From Nothing

207 | Mason Lautenschlager, North Dakota | Losing the Family Farm at 12 and Building It Back From Nothing

Author: Grazing Grass January 21, 2026 Duration: 1:19:44

Mason Lautenschlager and his wife Hannah run Arrow L Ranch near Berthold in northwest North Dakota, where they focus on grass-based enterprises including a cow-calf herd, some direct grass-finished beef, and selling multi-bred composite coming 2-year-old bulls developed on forage. 
 
In This Episode, We Explore:  

  • Building a ranch back after his family sold out of farming and ranching  
  • Buying cows at the top of the market and navigating the crash afterward  
  • Shifting the whole operation toward lower labor and lower equipment intensity  
  • Winter grazing decision-making around snow cover, forage quality, and flexibility  
  • Bale grazing setup, timing, and what it changed on poorer soil areas  
  • Water limitations, fencing lanes, and building a system for easier moves  
  • Stockpiling forage and planning grazing around winter and spring needs  
  • Increasing plant diversity through grazing management rather than seeding  
  • Using forage clippings to estimate available dry matter per acre  
  • Developing bulls on forage and selecting for longevity and fertility over max production  

Why This Episode Matters  
If winter feed, labor, and equipment costs are squeezing your operation, Mason’s story is a practical look at how constraints can force better systems. This conversation gets into the real tradeoffs of stockpile grazing versus bale grazing, how water and fencing design affect what is possible, and why selection for fertility and longevity can matter more than pushing production.  

Resources Mentioned  

  • Agriculture Alberta video series: Managing Risk in Winter Grazing  
  • Principled Land Managers grazing school (Bart Carmichael and Pat Guptill)  
  • North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition  
  • DV Auction  
  • Movie: Moneyball  
  • Book: Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising (Tom Lasater)  


Find Out More  



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Original Music by Louis Palfrey


There’s a quiet revolution happening in the fields and pastures, one that ties the health of the soil directly to the health of a farm’s bottom line. Grazing Grass Podcast | Rotational Grazing, Soil Health & Profitable Livestock Farming is a part of that conversation, sitting down with the men and women who are putting regenerative principles into daily practice. Hosted by Grazing Grass, each episode feels like a candid chat across a fence line, moving beyond theory into the tangible details of managing livestock on grass. You’ll hear farmers recount their own journeys-what prompted their shift in thinking, the logistical hurdles of changing their operation, and the outcomes they’ve witnessed in their land and ledger books. A recurring segment called "Over Grazing" digs into the specific problems and hard-won lessons that come with this way of farming. This isn’t just a science or nature podcast; it’s a practical resource built on shared experience, aiming to strengthen a community where knowledge about profitable, grass-based systems is passed along openly. Tune in for honest stories that get to the root of what it means to work with the land.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Grazing Grass Podcast | Rotational Grazing, Soil Health & Profitable Livestock Farming
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