Well, I guess I would start by saying that I wear a lot of hats, kind of a jack of all trades, master of none, really. I own and operate a web development business called Milhoan Design, I day work for some local ranches near my home, and I started Simple Livestock because I have a huge database of ranches from previous failed attempts at ag-tech. I'm also a husband to an incredible wife and father to three amazing children. I have everything I ever wanted and more.

I would say that my experiences outside of agriculture have had the biggest influence on how I think about agriculture and ranching, with world travel being the most significant factor. In 2005, I lived in a one-man tent in Africa for an entire year along the banks of the Nile River. My friends and I kayaked the legendary whitewater by day and drank copious amounts of Nile Special beer at night. Living in a place so different from your homeland changes you and gives you a new perspective.

I've also spent my life pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I hang out with hippies, yuppies, conservatives, liberals, rednecks, dirtbags, and tons of other folks with different opinions and political views than my own. This gives me a much broader perspective on life and allows me to see ranching and agriculture from a unique point of view.

Ranching and agriculture are in a weird place right now. There's a lot of tradition stuck in the past, and lot’s of new ownership that wants to see significant changes. For example, many producers talk about getting more young people involved in ranching. But at the same time, those same people feel threatened and resentful when someone new shows up and tries. If we really want to improve, we need to be willing to let others get involved, and those people may be quite different from the 'traditional' rancher. We need to embrace diversity in all shapes and forms.

They have had a huge impact on my perspectives. I used to believe that the "take half, leave half" model was the best way to graze a pasture. That changed when I went to the Flying Diamond Ranch in Colorado and listened to Jaime Elizondo talk about pasture management. I realized this model leaves pastures overgrazed, even though they look great. At Ted Turner's Red Rocks Ranch, I listened to managers discuss thistle and how it can be transformed from a ranch enemy to a plant containing nearly 40% crude protein. Now, I almost never use chemicals. The weeds are here to stay, so we might as well manage with them.

I believe ranches and ranchers need to act as PR agents for the entire industry. We should involve local communities in local ranches, whether that's organizing field days, bringing kids out to learn, or having roadside plaques with graphics and information about what the ranch does for the land, soil, water, wildlife, and preserving open space. People can stop and read these signs to learn about the landscape next to the road. We all need to be on social media, talking every day about the good things that ranching does for the environment. We need to show people, not just tell them, why ruminant animals are critical for ecological health.

I think the general public is becoming more 'cow friendly.' However, I live in Montana, where most people are cow friendly, so I might have a naive sense of people's opinions. Last summer, I started posting Instagram videos of my daily ranch work, explaining various aspects of the ranch and our management philosophies. I've received very little negative feedback. Some of my top posts have over 700,000 views, which is a good sample size to judge from.

Aside from Simple Livestock, my goal is to start a custom grazing and management business for some of the large ranches near my home. All of these properties are absentee-owned and they all need a large-scale property manager to implement custom grazing solutions, timber management plans, and possibly fire regimes. In short, I’ll ranch during the day and continue running and posting about Simple Livestock at night. I love technology, but I love working with nature even more.