Harlan Gunderson

Fifth-generation rancher with roots in western Colorado. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and now studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is passionate about ranching and bridging the divide between 21st century tech and everyday people. When not on the ranch or in the classroom, he enjoys reading (usually fantasy or sci-fi), downhill skiing, and hiking/camping.

The Cow Is the Collateral

Cattle have never been worth more, and credit has never been harder to pull against them. A deal in Brazil and a trial in Oklahoma both ran through the same piece of hardware this week.

Jul 28, 2026

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9 min read

When It's This Dry, Every Decision Costs More

Remote water monitoring that works today, in off-grid country. A cattle genome that upgrades every selection decision for the next decade. Same drought summer. Different clocks.

Jul 20, 2026

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8 min read

The Marbling Outran the Ruler

USDA is reopening beef grade standards for the first time in a generation. The comment window closes September 8, and what's on the table could move real money on your grid.

Jul 13, 2026

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8 min read

Where He's Been, and What It Cost Her

The individual animal is becoming a data record. One producer cooperative is turning it into an 80/20 paycheck. A South Dakota research station is turning it into a fuel gauge for the pasture.

Jul 6, 2026

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9 min read

Change the Cow, or Change the Crew

Heat tolerance genetics are finally getting real numbers. The chute is starting to run itself. Two answers to the same squeeze. The best operations will use both.

Jun 29, 2026

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8 min read

The Lab Came for Your Hormones and Your Methane

Two university breakthroughs, aimed at the two places the export market is squeezing hardest. Both were built to survive the chute.

Jun 22, 2026

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8 min read

Your Grass and Your Collar Both Have a Price Now

Drought is forcing destocking decisions across the Plains. Two technologies are quietly changing who makes those calls with good information — and who owns the data when they do.

Jun 15, 2026

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9 min read

It's Here. Now Open the Kit.

Screwworm just crossed into Texas for the first time since 1996. Here's every product cleared, how to choose between them, and what no drug can do.

Jun 8, 2026

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9 min read

Catching It Before You Can See It

A microphone over the pen, and a breathalyzer for your herd. Two research teams are closing the gap between when BRD starts and when you find out.

Jun 1, 2026

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6 min read

She's Put Together Right. Now We Can Prove It.

University of Illinois researchers just made structural soundness countable. Here's why that changes forty years of beef genetic selection.

May 25, 2026

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10 min read

Getting More From What We Have

A Norwegian soil treatment and a Cargill 3D camera walk into Beef Month. Both are solving the same problem: with the herd this tight, every layer of the operation has to work harder.

May 20, 2026

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11 min read

Ranchers Are the Original Generalists

A federal job taxonomy built for another era says agriculture isn't using AI. The operation running Claude for lease drafts, satellite imagery, and marketing copy disagrees.

May 11, 2026

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9 min read

The Third Option

A software fix just gave ranchers a new seat at the solar negotiation table. Starlink just gave virtual fencing to the country where it never worked. Both change the conversation.

May 4, 2026

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10 min read

The Ranch That Runs on Data It Actually Owns

Fifty issues of BeefTech.News. For Issue 50, one concept worth holding onto: the digital twin, what it is, what it does, and why the ownership question matters more than the technology.

Apr 27, 2026

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10 min read

Flies and Algorithms

The most consequential beef biosecurity investment in a generation happened at a Texas air base. The most useful profitability finding of the quarter came from a Brisbane conference. Both beat the LinkedIn news cycle.

Apr 20, 2026

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11 min read

China's Vaccines Don't Work on This One

A new FMD serotype is moving across continents. Russia's cattle crisis doesn't add up. And two companies just put a billion dollars behind fencing your herd without wire.

Apr 13, 2026

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19 min read

The Rules Are the Technology

A DEF sensor fix that should have happened a decade ago. A court ruling that's quietly reshaping where agtech investment goes next. Both are about the same thing.

Apr 7, 2026

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18 min read

A Billionaire and a Grad Student Both Bet on AI This Week

One raised $220 million. The other used a cell phone and 7,200 photographs. The one that might change your bottom line this year isn’t the one that made the headlines.

Mar 30, 2026

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18 min read

Built to Burn, Built to Last

What 800,000 acres of ash and an AI barn robot have in common — and what it means for how you build your operation

Mar 23, 2026

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16 min read

The Fragile Chain

A strike at the nation's biggest beef plant. A Pentagon deal nobody noticed. Both are telling you the same thing about your operation's infrastructure.

Mar 16, 2026

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15 min read

When the Company Testing Your Cattle Also Sells You Their Medicine

What the Zoetis–GeneSeek deal means for your herd's data — and who controls it

Mar 9, 2026

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12 min read

The Profit Infrastructure of Modern Beef

Portable steel, AI valuation, embryo analytics, and carbon markets are redefining how cattle create profit

Mar 3, 2026

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11 min read

The Nervous System of the Modern Ranch

How always-on sensors, GPS tags, and remote water monitoring are reshaping cattle operations

Feb 23, 2026

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10 min read

Turning Cows Into Data (and Data Into Dollars)

The platforms redefining feedyards, genetics, tracking, and carcass value

Feb 16, 2026

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10 min read

The Software Era of Beef Has Begun

Inside the cattle-tech wave that dominated CattleCon 2026—and what it means for producers

Feb 9, 2026

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11 min read

Harlan Gunderson

The Cow Is the Collateral

When It's This Dry, Every Decision Costs More

The Marbling Outran the Ruler

Where He's Been, and What It Cost Her

Change the Cow, or Change the Crew

The Lab Came for Your Hormones and Your Methane

Your Grass and Your Collar Both Have a Price Now

It's Here. Now Open the Kit.

Catching It Before You Can See It

She's Put Together Right. Now We Can Prove It.

Getting More From What We Have

Ranchers Are the Original Generalists

The Third Option

The Ranch That Runs on Data It Actually Owns

Flies and Algorithms

China's Vaccines Don't Work on This One

The Rules Are the Technology

A Billionaire and a Grad Student Both Bet on AI This Week

Built to Burn, Built to Last

The Fragile Chain

When the Company Testing Your Cattle Also Sells You Their Medicine

The Profit Infrastructure of Modern Beef

The Nervous System of the Modern Ranch

Turning Cows Into Data (and Data Into Dollars)

The Software Era of Beef Has Begun

BeefTech.News

Artificial Intelligence

Drones

Genetics

GPS

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