The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 870: Chimp Wars, Cocaine Hippos, and Steve Destroys Animal Rights People
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Apr 30, 2026 Katie Lane, a Montana rancher who runs Lane Legacy Beef, shares her work producing and selling grass-fed, direct-to-consumer beef. They cover ranch economics, processing and delivery logistics. Conversation touches on virtual fencing and practical strategies for keeping a cow-calf operation profitable.
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High Beef Prices Push Ranchers Toward Diversification
- Rising beef prices can benefit cow‑calf ranchers selling calves now, but high input and equipment costs offset gains and encourage diversification.
- Katie keeps cattle longer for finished beef, uses on‑ranch hay infrastructure, and views direct sales as a hedge against volatile markets.
How A Colorado Fur Sale Petition Reached Rulemaking
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife advanced a petition to ban commercial sale of wild furbearer parts to rulemaking despite agency objections about enforceability.
- Steven and crew trace the petition’s origins to activist influence on commissions and note the director’s concerns over data and legal conflicts.
Narrow Petition Still Faces Big Enforcement Holes
- The petition targets sales of pelts and parts from Colorado wild fur bears, not retail fur broadly, but agency staff warn exemptions and verification make enforcement impractical.
- Wolves like raccoons, skunks, bobcats are listed as fur‑bearers; distinguishing nuisance kills from commercial pelts lacks tagging systems.