ASHLEY, ebbdi|var|u0026u|referrer|fnfse||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
N.D. (AP) – An Ashley couple says a shift to holistic beef ranching has helped them reduce their debt and operating costs and improved the quality of life for them and their cattle.

Cody and Deanna Sand shared their story this week at the North Dakota Grazing Lands Winter Conference in Minot, where they first heard about the simplified approach to raising livestock. The couple said with their debt increasing and profit decreasing, they needed to make a change.

The Sands sold equipment they didn’t need to reduce debt. And they reduced the amount of hay and supplements fed to their cattle by changing winter grazing and calving patterns, which made the land more productive.