Episode 22: What Dairy Can Teach Beef with Ben Gotschall

What happens when a poet comes home to rebuild a family dairy with grass, genetics, and a bison herd as his calendar? Ben Gotschall invites us inside Holt Creek Jerseys, a ranch dairy in the Nebraska Sandhills that treats milk like a seasonal food and manages cows by the rhythm of the prairie, not the demands of a spreadsheet.

We dig into what true seasonal milking does for flavor, nutrition, and quality of life. Calving is timed to the spring flush. Cows are dried off in winter. Once-a-day milking gives families their evenings back. And suddenly June milk tastes like a different food than January milk. It is the kind of system that forces decisions to be proven in pasture, not on paper, and rewards the stockman who pays attention.

Ben breaks down the genetics that actually matter in a grass-only dairy. His milking herd is entirely A2A2. He selects for Kappa casein BB to boost cheese yield and beta-lactoglobulin BB to raise butter output. Jerseys bring efficiency and butterfat, while beef-on-dairy crosses shorten finishing time and bridge the gap between dairy and grass-fed beef markets. Roles within the herd are clear. Milk cows produce nutrient-dense food and breed back within a tight spring window. Nurse cows raise two calves to weaning and must wean 100 percent of their body weight. It is selection pressure that rewards fertility, calm disposition, graze-full minds, and cows that work with the landscape instead of against it.

We also take an honest look at genomic numbers. Ben uses testing when it serves a purpose but warns against chasing indexes that inflate production at the cost of fertility and longevity. He leans on linebreeding to anchor functional traits and raises bulls out of his best cows to prove them on grass. Along the way he explains why dairy grazing is the master class for beef graziers, why low-stress design is worth every minute of planning, and why the milk itself becomes a reflection of the land.

If you care about nutrient-dense food, resilient cattle, and building a life with more margin and fewer inputs, this conversation offers a grounded blueprint for doing dairy differently.

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who is ready to rethink how milk, meat, and grass can work together. The principles matter anywhere. The land responds to those who listen.

Connect with Ben Gotschall and Holt Creek Jerseys:

Website: https://holtcreekjerseys.com/

Clover Cove Ranch: https://clovercoveranch.com/

Bos Sires Page: https://www.bossires.com/bengotschall

Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship: https://www.dga-national.org/

Midwest Graziers Instructional Course: https://www.mgic-professional.org/

Check out Bos Sires:

Website: https://www.bossires.com/

Bos Sires Catalog: International New Bos Sires Catalog (English)

Support the Podcast:

If these conversations help you see cattle and land differently, follow or subscribe so you do not miss the next one.

Join us on Patreon for Shooting the Bull — real producers, real talk.
https://www.patreon.com/bossirestalk