Wendy Millet is the Ranch Director at TomKat Ranch, a 1,800-acre grass-fed cattle ranch located on the California Coast. Wendy has devoted her entire career to conservation and land stewardship, serving in various capacities at well-known conservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. And for the past 10+ years, she’s been helping the team at TomKat achieve its mission “to provide healthy food on working lands in a way that regenerates the planet and inspires others to action.”
In this discussion, we covered a range of topics including the history of TomKat ranch and its current agricultural initiatives, the ranch’s commitment to science-based data collection and analysis, what Wendy looks for in potential team members, and a few exciting projects that are in the ranch’s near future. We also talked about Wendy’s personal connection to the land and her career trajectory, including how she fell in love with western landscapes, her love of transcendentalist authors, her professional experiences with both non-profit and for-profit organizations, and much more.
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Topics covered:
00:54 - What is TomKat Ranch?
3:45 - What does regenerative agriculture mean to TomKat?
6:40 - Is there a blueprint TomKat followed for starting a ranch?
9:30 - The partnership between Point Blue and TomKat
15:45 - How much of Wendy’s daily work is influenced by data collected by Point Blue?
18:00 - Keeping everything on the rails at TomKat
19:00 - What does Wendy look for in potential team members?
21:00 - How have California’s recent rains affected TomKat?
23:00 - How Kat Taylor has influenced Wendy
27:00 - How does Wendy focus her conservation efforts on the ranch?
29:00 - Acting as a network for learning
30:45 - Projects that can become a larger movement in the future
33:15 - Wendy’s upbringing and background
35:00 - Ranch vacation in Jackson and Wendy’s return to the West
36:25 - How Wendy’s formal education helped to guide her career
39:00 - Florence Williams and The Nature Fix
40:00 - What has Wendy learned from TNC and The Conservation Fund
43:00 - Wendy’s work in the financial side of the timber industry
44:50 - Wendy’s work with Western Landowners Alliance
47:45 - Young people in agriculture
51:50 - Heroes and mentors of Wendy’s
55:35 - Why should a lifelong city dweller care about the land?
56:15 - Common misconceptions about agriculture and ranching
57:00 - Books and podcasts Wendy recommends
58:26 - What music have you been listening to?
59:30 - What gives Wendy hope for the future
