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Fifteen years ago, a New Orleans restaurateur asked a simple question: where's my beef coming from? That question became a friendship between two families - the Brennans and the Gonsoulins - and a picnic that's grown into a Louisiana tradition. In this episode of Second Cutting, we sit down with Dickie Brennan and the Gonsoulin family to trace the story of the annual Dickie Brennan's Summer Steakhouse Picnic - from its accidental beginnings to a night where three competing kitchens turn Louisiana beef into everything from beef Wellington to bone marrow candles. We talk about what it took to build local processing and supply chains from scratch, why competition between chefs makes the food better, and what it means for two legacy families - one that raises the cattle, one that cooks it - to sit down at the same table year after year. It's a conversation about beef, but really it's about something else: the parents who met at that first picnic and held court together for years afterward, the daughters who've stepped into the business, and a partnership built on a simple idea - leave it better than you found it. From pasture to plate, from Loreauville to New Orleans, this is what it looks like when the people who raise the food and the people who cook it sit down at the same table. This is Second Cutting. Full Episode video is available here: https://youtu.be/sSflceZvmF8

By late summer, Dallisgrass, bermuda grass, and bahiagrass have shifted from vegetative growth into their reproductive stage, sending up seed heads. Once a plant sets seed, it stops growing, so this episode explains the seasonal rhythm behind strip grazing: clipping seed heads, moving cattle through resting pastures instead of grazing them outright, and choosing pasture shapes for symmetry so electric fencing can be shifted efficiently. A 150 ft by 300 ft strip can carry 50 cows for a day, sometimes two, while cattle work through their own particular favorites among the grasses available. This pattern holds through October and November, the same window when ryegrass gets planted for next cycle's grazing. In the meantime, the herd eats baled peanut hay, including a batch that happens to be its own second cutting. Also featured: Dickie Brennan's Summer Steakhouse Picnic, spotlighting local beef alongside Three Fires Farms, and a look ahead to pregnancy checks and winter preparation as the season turns.

What determines a calf’s future on a working ranch? In this episode of Second Cutting, Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin explains how calves move through the herd, why some females are selected as replacements, why bull calves are castrated early, and how genetics, fertility, herd size, and cattle prices all shape those decisions. The conversation also looks at the financial reality behind reproduction: why a cow needs to produce a calf each year, how replacement costs affect the herd, and why the value of an animal is not always limited to what it is worth today. The Economics of a Calf is a practical look at how biology, management, and market forces come together on the ranch.

A cow gets bred in May. By June, one scan tells you everything - or nothing. In this episode of Second Cutting, Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin walks us through what actually happens on ultrasound day: how early you can detect pregnancy, why timing breeding season around ryegrass matters more than the calendar, and the hard economic line every cow has to cross to stay in the herd. We get into the rare stuff too - twins, birth defects, the ones that "slip" after they've already been confirmed bred - and the management calls that look cold on paper but keep a working ranch alive. Shannon also opens up about the one thing that never stops surprising him, no matter how many years he's been doing this. Part diagnostic deep-dive, part meditation on what it means to manage a herd on nature's terms instead of your own.

In this episode of Second Cutting, we get back to basics with Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin for a grounded conversation about what the land, the weather, and the cattle are telling us this season. From changing field conditions to the everyday decisions behind grass-fed ranching, Shannon walks through how observation, timing, and stewardship shape the work at Gonsoulin Land & Cattle. The conversation opens into a broader reflection on regenerative agriculture — not as a buzzword, but as a practical way of thinking about soil, animals, people, and responsibility. At its heart, this episode is about paying attention: to the pasture, to the season, and to the living system beneath our feet. Second Cutting is a story about land, animals, people, and how they all work together.

What does rodeo cost a person? In Episode 10 of Second Cutting, Amelia Cronan continues the conversation with Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin about his years riding bulls while also preparing for a future in veterinary medicine. Shannon reflects on the difference between loving rodeo and building a life around it, the physical risks riders accept, and the reality that every eight-second ride comes with consequences. This episode moves from the bucking chutes into the deeper questions behind the sport: commitment, injury, pride, discipline, and knowing when a calling is real enough to shape the rest of your life. Hosted by Amelia Cronan
Featuring Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin of Gonsoulin Land & Cattle Watch, listen, and follow Second Cutting for more stories about land, animals, people, and how they all work together.

In Episode 9 of Second Cutting, Shannon reflects on the world of rodeo from the inside out. What begins with a trip to a major rodeo in New Orleans opens into something deeper: memory, discipline, and the strange experience of being completely alone while surrounded by thousands of people. Shannon looks back on his first rodeo, explains the culture of rough stock, and shares what the arena taught him about independence, confidence, and character. This episode is about more than competition. It is about what happens when there is nowhere to hide and all eyes are on you. Second Cutting is a podcast about land, animals, people, and how they all work together.

What does it actually take to run cattle today? In Episode 8 of Second Cutting, we’re talking about what it looks like when you’re in it every day with Boots on the Ground. Food doesn’t start at the store. It starts with people living close to the land. Recorded in Loreauville, Louisiana. Join the conversation.

What does it mean to be responsible for a life you intend to end? In this continuation, the conversation moves from biology into ethics. From soil and forage to the harder questions of care, suffering, and timing. Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin reflects on the role of a veterinarian across two worlds: companion animals and food animals. Where emotion, responsibility, and reality don’t always align. We talk about quality of life, the data points that guide difficult decisions, and the danger of holding on for the wrong reasons. This is a grounded look at life, death, and the systems that connect them.

What if the real story of food begins in the pasture? In this episode of Second Cutting, Amelia Cronin speaks with veterinarian and rancher Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin about the biological chain that connects soil, grass, cattle, and people. Grass-fed cattle grow more slowly than feedlot animals, but that extra time on pasture allows them to interact with a complex ecological system — one shaped by soil chemistry, plant diversity, sunlight, and microbial life. As cattle graze, compounds from the plants and soil move through the animal and ultimately into the food we eat. Dr. Gonsoulin explains how pasture-based systems influence the nutritional profile of beef, the role antioxidants play in cellular health, and why food choices can have long-term effects on inflammation, disease, and aging. The conversation also explores the realities of modern agriculture — including why feedlots exist, the pressures of feeding a growing population, and the challenges of balancing efficiency with ecological stewardship. For farmers, consumers, and anyone curious about where their food truly comes from, this episode asks a simple but profound question: If the biology of the pasture moves through the animal, what happens when that food moves into us?

If you want to understand the price of food, you have to understand time. In this episode, we follow one calf from birth to freezer and trace the economics at every stage of a grass-fed system. Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin breaks down what it actually costs to carry a cow-calf pair, how expenses compound over multiple years, and why regenerative beef operates on a dramatically longer timeline than conventional production. We discuss: Why grass-fed cattle can take nearly three years to reach market How $1.50–$2 per day becomes a multi-year investment What a sustainable margin really looks like Why small producers price differently than large-scale operations How rising input costs creep in quietly And what today’s cattle cycle signals for the future Markets correct. Growth rates fluctuate. Prices move. But time remains constant. And in food systems, longer timelines reshape risk, margin, and resilience. What looks similar on a shelf can carry very different math underneath. Second Cutting is recorded in Loreauville, Louisiana. Join the conversation. Send us your questions.

Before Loreauville had a name, people followed water. In this episode of Second Cutting, we explore the moment when land shifted from shared landscape to surveyed property — when lines were drawn, names recorded, and obligation formalized. Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin reflects on carrying forward one of the remaining direct male descendants of his family line and stewarding acreage tied to original land grants in South Louisiana. We talk about fragmentation, rooftops, greed, necessity, and the trade-offs that come with growth. Innovation in agriculture has allowed us to produce more food per acre than ever before. But every innovation carries cost. Drainage. Fencing. Roads. Machinery. Efficiency creates pressure. At what point does improvement become intervention? Loreauville’s reputation for stubbornness may be its greatest strength. Language, boucheries, Courir de Mardi Gras, craftsmanship, and outdoor life persist because people refused to let them disappear. In a place shaped by storms, coastlines, and loss, forgetting is expensive. Stewardship is not about preserving the past. It is about deciding which consequences you are willing to inherit — and which ones you will pass on.

In Episode 3 of Second Cutting, Amelia Cronin sits down with veterinarian and rancher Shannon Gonsoulin to talk about what responsibility actually means when life depends on you. Not just raising animals—but knowing when it’s time to stop intervening. The conversation moves through the quiet distinctions most people never have to name out loud: pet versus food animal, empathy versus sentiment, care versus prolonging suffering. Shannon explains how veterinarians make end-of-life decisions using observation, data points, and quality of life—rather than fear. This episode is about mercy without romance, compassion without denial, and the reality that not making a decision is still a decision. If you’ve ever loved an animal, worked the land, or had to choose when “enough” is enough—this one is for you.

Episode 2 is Back to Basics: how you read the season on the ranch and make decisions around what the land can actually produce. Amelia Cronan and Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin break down the fall-to-winter transition—why ryegrass is the winter plan, what the “45-day” timeline to grazing means, and why a long-awaited rain can create its own set of problems: mud, ruts, and costly hay bridges. This episode turns the ranch calendar into plain language: watch the ground, watch the grass, and plan around constraints.

Episode 1 starts at the root: land and legacy. Amelia Cronan sits down with Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin to talk about how cattle production stayed in the family, how land use is changing across South Louisiana, and why “rooftops vs pasture” is more than a development story—it’s a food story. This episode sets the season’s through-line: when you can’t control the weather, you build systems that can take hits—and those decisions ripple all the way to the dinner table.