Farm director KC Shepered visited with Devlon Ford from the Noble Research Institute at the “Growing Together” event in Norman. The discussion focused on regenerative ranching and the educational opportunities Noble provides for producers. Ford explained that “most people come to regenerative ranching for one of three reasons.” He outlined those as: “they want to leave the land better than when they got it- they want safe food – and they want to profit.”
Ford connected these motivations to Noble’s broader mission, saying, “We want to use regenerative principles to guide farmers and ranchers in applying those principles. That way, they can grow better grazing lands, have more productive soils, and become more successful as a business.”
He highlighted several of Noble’s training programs, noting upcoming Noble Land Essentials courses in “Bluffton, Georgia. Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and a class coming up in February in Ardmore, Oklahoma.” Ford encouraged producers to visit noble.org, where “there’s a spot called ‘Find a course’ and it’ll tell you the ones we have planned for the rest of this year and into 2026.”
Ford went on to describe the hands-on approach of Grazing Essentials, explaining, “We do a lot of hands-on work with producers out in the field. talking to them about how to better set up their grazing paddocks, determine how much their animals are eating. We talk about carrying capacity and stocking rate, which, in my opinion, are two absolutely different things.” He added, “Every decision we make in our grazing plan is a business decision.”
He also discussed Profitability Essentials and Market Smart, newer courses that help ranchers make financially sound choices. “Profitability Essentials goes into looking at the markets, livestock evaluation cash flows and ratios,” Ford said, adding that “Market Smart uses market-driven data to help producers make better decisions when it comes to buying and selling their animals.”
For producers new to regenerative agriculture, Ford advised, “If you’re very new to regenerative ranching… maybe start with the Noble Land Essentials course, and then follow up with a Noble Grazing Essentials course.” He concluded by encouraging participation: “There are grants you can apply for to come to our courses… just make certain you’re accepted before you attend.”
