Introduction by John Stratman, Mason Morse Ranch Company
As a seasoned farm, ranch and land broker with over three decades of experience in agricultural real estate, and as a land and cattle owner myself, I’ve witnessed firsthand the evolving challenges facing ranchers across the West. From my years raising registered Red Angus seedstock and Quarter Horses on my own eastern Colorado ranch, to my extensive work buying, selling, and managing large agricultural properties throughout the western states, one thing has become clear: today’s agricultural economic and land stewardship environment demands creative, practical solutions.
The pressures we face, rising infrastructure costs, increasing land values, labor challenges, wildlife management requirements, and the critical need for ecological stewardship, require us to look beyond traditional approaches. We need grazing systems that are not only economically viable but also restore and regenerate the land for future generations.
Today, I’m pleased to introduce Stryker Anderson, Ranch Manager at Helvetia Ranches and Owner of Earth Pulse Solutions and 3B Outfitters. Stryker brings a unique perspective that combines hands-on ranch management with ecological restoration and practical stockmanship. His approach to land management represents a different way of thinking about how we graze our cattle and care for our rangelands—one that I believe deserves serious consideration from anyone committed to sustainable ranching.
The method Stryker will share with you today—in-herding—offers an alternative to the expensive, infrastructure-heavy systems many of us have implemented. It’s a return to human-centered management that our predecessors understood, but with modern regenerative principles applied. This isn’t just theory; it’s a working system being implemented across real landscapes with measurable results.
I invite you to read on with an open mind as Stryker shares his insights on managing cattle herds through presence rather than permanent fencing, and how this approach is bringing remarkable changes to rangeland health, wildlife habitat, and ranch economics.
In-Herding: Bringing Back the Land, One Herd at a Time
By Stryker Anderson Ranch Manager, Helvetia Ranches | Owner, Earth Pulse Solutions & 3B Outfitters
In-herding is re-emerging across rangelands in the West as a practical and regenerative alternative to permanent internal fencing. The method relies on riders, mobile camps, and planned herd movement rather than steel and wire. The result is a grazing system that responds to land conditions in real time, increases ecological health, and dramatically reduces infrastructure costs.
What Is In-Herding?
In-herding is the practice of managing cattle through human presence instead of fixed interior fence lines. Riders stay with or near the herd, moving animals to fresh grazing areas every few days. Camps relocate with the cattle, allowing the herd to access forage across large landscapes.
This approach allows grazing decisions to follow soil conditions, water availability, forage quality, wildlife needs, and proper rest periods, rather than being confined by permanent paddocks.
Why Fencing Falls Short
Many ranches attempt rotational or intensive grazing by installing permanent cross fencing. On large or rugged landscapes, this creates significant costs and limitations. Maximizing regenerative stock densities—around 250,000 pounds of livestock per acre—requires extremely small paddocks, water in every cell, and thousands of feet of fencing.
Across hills, timber, coulees, and rock, fencing becomes:
• Expensive to build
• Expensive to maintain
• Vulnerable to wildlife damage
• Impractical in steep or broken terrain
• Restrictive during drought or rapid forage change
In-herding removes nearly all internal fencing while still allowing short-duration, high-density grazing with long periods of pasture recovery. Those interested in real-world cost comparisons or scalable infrastructure models can reach out to request detailed examples.
Regenerative Impact on the Land
In-herding uses tight herd density for short periods, followed by long rest and recovery. Hoof action breaks capped soil, tramples plant material into mulch, and distributes manure and urine evenly. When the herd moves on, plants regrow with deeper roots and higher nutrient density.
This cycle stimulates dormant seeds in the latent seed bank. Native grasses and forbs that disappeared decades ago can return as soil biology and plant succession are restored.
Over time, landscapes see:
• Less bare ground
• Higher forage density
• Greater water retention
• Increased biodiversity
• Improved drought resilience
Wildlife Benefits
Healthy grasslands support healthy wildlife. As plant diversity increases, habitat improves for insects, ground-nesting birds, small mammals, and big game. Removal of interior fencing also reduces barriers, allowing wildlife to move freely across the range without entanglement or fragmented corridors.
Animal Health & Stock Behavior
Because riders are present daily, cattle receive immediate attention when health issues appear. Illness, lameness, poison plant exposure, or calving complications are discovered and treated quickly—an advantage that fenced pastures cannot provide.
Livestock managed through frequent human interaction tend to move calmly and cohesively, reducing stress and improving handling efficiency.
Why In-Herding Is Economically Advantageous
In-herding replaces steel and wire with human observation and mobility. Without internal fencing, ranches avoid:
• Construction and material costs
• Gate installation and upkeep
• Fence repair due to livestock, weather, or wildlife
• Habitat fragmentation and wildlife conflicts
Grazing decisions adjust immediately to environmental changes rainfall, drought, wildfire recovery, or new growth. Flexibility replaces rigidity.
A Landscape Without Fences
A ranch managed with in-herding contains open pasture without wire dissecting draws, meadows, and ridges. Riders guide cattle with movement and salt placement, not fixed boundaries. The land improves each season as grass grows deeper, wildlife returns, and soil systems heal.
This is not grazing harder, it is grazing smarter.
About the Author:
Stryker Anderson is a regenerative ranch manager and the founder of Earth Pulse Solutions, an organization focused on restoring soil health, rebuilding biodiversity, and applying practical, scalable land management strategies across large landscapes. His background combines ranch management, ecological restoration, wildlife-focused land planning, and hands-on stockmanship to create resilient agricultural systems that work with nature instead of against it. Website: www.earthpulsesolutions.com
About John Stratman:
Since 1959, John Stratman has lived and worked on ranches in Colorado, Montana and Arizona and has owned and operated a ranch in eastern Colorado raising registered Red Angus seedstock and Quarter Horses. Professionally, John spent 18 years with MetLife’s Agricultural Investment Department, where he held various positions from Field Representative to Regional Manager. In addition to making agriculture real estate loans, investment activities included purchasing, managing and marketing large agriculture properties in several western states. During his corporate career, John lived in various Western states where he became familiar with the agriculture and property. Working as a professional real estate broker since 2001, John has bought and sold farms and ranches in many western states and maintains an extensive contact list with real estate related professionals and landowners across the west’s vast and varied landscape. At Mason & Morse Ranch Company, John has been a top producer. John specializes in large farm and ranch properties in the central and western U.S., which is allowed by his in-depth knowledge of the laws and issues facing farmers and ranchers. Website: www.ranchland.com/johnstratman