Dos Lobos Ranch

It's been a while since we added any new recipes to our recipe collection. This is one of our favorites and helps answer the question, "What the heck can you do with ground pork anyways?"

Ground pork has become a staple in our kitchen, as much as ground beef. This is a quick, savory weeknight meal perfect for easy cooking!

Southwest Pork Patties with Butternut Squash Hash
https://doslobosranch.com/recipes/southwest-pork-patties-with-butternut-squash-hash

🐾 Kazi here.

Humans spent all week building things.

Web pages.
Slideshows.
Plans.
Systems.
Dashboards.

Meanwhile...
I built a perfectly respectable hole under the oak tree.

Everybody has their talents.

Truth is, a ranch isn't just built with tractors and fences.

It's built one small improvement at a time.

Some days that means moving cattle.
Some days it means teaching people where their food comes from.
Both matter.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have another quality-control inspection to perform on that hole.

Have a great weekend.

— Kazi The Chaos Engine 🐾
The Aussie Posse

Soil Series #12: How Soil Health Influences the Quality of the Meat We Raise

Throughout this series, we’ve talked about soil — how it works, how it improves, and the practices we use to rebuild it on our ranch.

But many people naturally ask an important question:

What does soil health have to do with the food we eat?

The answer is simple.

Everything starts with the soil.

The Chain That Connects Soil to Food
On a pasture-based farm like Dos Lobos Ranch, there is a direct chain that connects the soil to the food we produce.

That chain looks like this:

Soil → Grass → Livestock → Food

Healthy soil grows healthier plants.
Healthier plants feed healthier animals.
Healthier animals produce higher quality meat.

Each link in that chain depends on the strength of the one before it.

Soil Feeds the Grass
Pasture plants get their nutrients from the soil.

When soil contains a rich community of microbes, fungi, and organic matter, those organisms help release nutrients that plants need to grow.

This creates stronger grasses with:

>deeper root systems
>better nutrient uptake
>improved resilience to drought and stress

Healthy grass is the foundation of pasture-raised livestock systems.

Grass Feeds the Animals
Cattle and other grazing animals rely on pasture as their primary food source.

When pasture plants grow in biologically active soil, they tend to contain a more balanced range of nutrients.

That helps support animal health and natural growth.

Animals raised on healthy pasture generally spend more time grazing and less time relying on stored feed.

Healthy Animals Produce Better Food
When animals have consistent access to healthy forage, their bodies are able to grow and develop naturally.

Pasture-raised animals also benefit from:

>natural grazing behavior
>access to fresh forage
>a more diverse diet throughout the season

These factors can influence the flavor, texture, and nutritional profile of the meat they produce.

Soil Health and Nutrient Density
Researchers are increasingly exploring how soil health influences the nutrient density of food.

Healthy soil ecosystems tend to support more complex plant nutrition, which can influence the composition of the plants animals eat.

While many factors affect the final nutritional value of meat, soil health plays a role in supporting the entire system that produces it.

Why Regenerative Farming Focuses on Soil
Regenerative agriculture begins with the idea that healthy soil supports the entire farm ecosystem.

By rebuilding soil organic matter and encouraging biological diversity, farmers can improve the resilience and productivity of the land over time.

For livestock producers, this often means:

>more consistent pasture growth
>healthier grazing systems
>reduced dependence on external inputs

And ultimately, a more sustainable way to produce food.

The Work Beneath Our Feet
Much of the work of regenerative farming happens underground.

Microbes, insects, fungi, plant roots, and organic matter all interact to form the living system that supports pasture growth.

By caring for that system, we help create the conditions that allow our animals and our land to thrive.

A Continuing Journey
Rebuilding soil is not something that happens in a single season.

It takes patience, observation, and long-term management.

But every improvement in soil health strengthens the foundation of the farm.

And that foundation supports everything else we do.

Thank you for following along with this Soil Series and for supporting the work we’re doing at Dos Lobos Ranch.

— Dos Lobos Ranch

Our friend Tracy at Hopewell Heritage Farm in Florida who we bought our roller coaster pigs from thought I should share these photos of some of our pork chops.

We pay ourselves once or twice per year with meat that we've raised so we can stock our personal freezer. These pigs were culls from our breeding program. I don't know which pig these chops came from, but that LEA (loin eye area) is envious! Many pork programs are trying to breed for that bigger LEA for their chops. These were accidental discoveries. One sow was 3 years old, the other 20 months old. I have a feeling these chops were from the older sow. They had hang weights in the 150s.

Story time. And not a good one.

Farmer Richard and I were in a wreck last night in Fort Worth. We were coming back from Louisiana with 3 new breeding piglets in tow from Hopewell Heritage Farm in Florida. Through a series of unfortunate events with our originally hired transporter who suffered a stroke last week, we hired a new transporter to pick up our pigs. Then while driving into New Orleans, his entire front brake assembly collapsed. He had to be towed along with our 3 pigs and the 8 other dogs he was transporting. We were 6.5 hours from him, so we opted to meet him in Layfeyette. He's still stranded today, looking for parts. On the last hour home, we missed our turn twice in Fort Worth thanks to all the construction moving exit ramps to new locations. While we were trying to get back on I35, a driver blew through a red light and hit us around 11:30pm. We were both going around 30-40 mph.

I am officially a huge fan of all the advancements in safety features on the newer vehicles. Farmer Richard was driving when the dip s**t ran the red light. It was one of those moments that was like hitting a deer. Suddenly, its just there and you don't have time to react. Richard doesn't remember braking, so we are assuming the collision sensors worked and the truck slammed on the brakes for us. It was able to stop us before we ran into the telephone poles on the corner of the intersection.

One of the bystanders told me that the locals in that barrio tend to treat the red lights as suggestions. The Uber driver that took Richard home to get his truck while I rode with the tow truck told him the same thing. So for the expense of someone else's thrill, my truck that I've barely had a year is a total loss. The rest of us are lucky to be mostly unscathed.

Our poor pigs have had a rough trip. Somehow, they're OK. We finally got them transferred from my truck bed to Richard's at the impound sometime around 1:30am. They slept the whole time while I waited for Richard to pick us up. We got them unloaded and in the barn around 2:30, got them fed and watered. They hadn't eaten since they left Florida on Friday morning other than a few pieces of watermelon and tomatoes. They were all three eager for belly rubs and excited to explore their new home this morning.

No one was seriously injured, including the other driver and his passenger. Fort Worth police handled everything professionally and the EMTs that checked my seat belt shock and Richard's swollen wrist all did an excellent job. The tow truck driver was a gem and was very considerate and helpful.

10/10 highly recommend Chevrolet trucks advanced safety packages. -10000/10 don't recommend the wreck.

We're sore, stiff, aching, and coughing still from the air bags deployment, but we're home, the pigs are OK, and we're recovering. Richard's sweet parents are going to let us borrow one of their vehicles while we wait for settlement for my truck. Very happy I had full coverage.

All shipped beef orders still went out to the UPS store on time this morning, because that's how we roll. But I'm not rcoking hard enough to get good photos for our new pigs. I'll do an official introduction another day.