Jed, his wife, Melissa, and three boys, Lane, Beau, and Garrett, operate a managed grazing system near Alexander. While most of their 6,000 acres of land is rented, their homestead is on a section of land that was purchased by Melissa’s grandfather in the 1950s.

As a family, they attended Joshua Dukart’s Holistic Management and Holistic Financial Planning classes and found it be extremely useful. The “WHOLE” goal for the Rider Ranch is health. To achieve healthy plants, animals, people and lifestyles requires healthy soils. The Riders use their 250 cow/calf operation as a soil regeneration tool, while striving to direct market beef dense in nutrients and flavor.  

​The Riders move their cattle through a planned grazing system consisting of tame and native pastures, upper river breaks rangeland, and bale grazing. Their planned grazing revolves around rest and recovery. The cattle are rotated as often as needed, depending on paddock size. The Riders believe cattle can’t just exist and must be applied as a soil regeneration tool whether it is July or January.