Kyle and Sheri Glazier

Meet Your Rancher:

What does a typical day look like on your farm?

We raise a variety of small grains including wheat and sesame as well as cattle, so a typical day depends on the season. If it’s sowing season, we are very busy, up early every morning getting the land ready. If it’s calving season, it’s very different making sure the calves and cows are cared for morning and night. When it’s harvest time, we have to focus on making sure grain gets harvested and all of our farmers and helpers are being fed, too. 

It’s a very active place around here, with peaks and valleys, as far as what season of life we’re in. 

How would you say technology has changed the way you operate than earlier generations of your family?

The first generation barely even had tractors, and now every piece of farm equipment we have has technology to auto steer, minimize overlap, help conserve fertilizer, save time and fuel. Our operations have been simplified a lot. Also, when I go out to check cows, I can send a group text message to Sheri and my brother with updates, and we can even check tag numbers, weights, or whatever the case may be. My dad still handwrites his notes and puts a copy in every vehicle. We use DropBox on our phones to share the same kind of information. - Kyle

How do you ensure you’re being good stewards of your resources, the land, and your livestock?

I maintain the ponds and terraces, so I can funnel water to where it needs to go. We don’t have irrigation, so we have to conserve what we can. I’m also converting to more of a “minimum till” or “no till” program to conserve what rainfall we get throughout the year. - Kyle 

We try to minimize the turnover of the soil, which helps you maintain moisture and get a crop to grow to support the cattle. - Sheri

Wheat pasture cattle is what make the world go around here. - Kyle

What does sustainability mean to you and your family?

Sustainability is our ability to continue to pass down land and what our families have grown, so that our kids are able to continue passing it down to their families for generations to come. It’s just about taking care of that land, because we are feeding people and that is our job. We also have to feed ourselves, too, so if we’re not taking care of the land, it’s not going to take care of us and our families either. - Sheri 

What aspect of agriculture do you wish you could share more of to the public?

I have the conversation about where food comes from a lot. I think a lot of people understand that it comes from the grocery store, but it came from somewhere else before that. I think putting it full circle and putting a face on the people that actually put the food in the grocery store is where I can connect with people. 

There’s nothing different about the beef we raise here than what’s in the grocery store—there’s nothing more glamorous about it, what we have raised out here is what they’re going to be able to purchase at the grocery store. - Sheri

What is your favorite cut of beef and how do you like it prepared?

Filet or tenderloin, and medium rare. - Sheri
Filet, medium. - Kyle