Feeding the Community with Kelsey Scott
Kelsey Scott is a fourth generation rancher, artist, entrepreneur and leader in her community on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Like the open prairie she calls home, this conversation is an expansive look into Kelsey’s relationship with the land.
She shares her experience raising cattle, what it’s like caring for the land as a family and how she has been leveraging her business to address food insecurity in her community, an all too common occurrence, even before the pandemic hit. Kelsey and Amber also discuss what gives them hope, the definition of stewardship and what’s on the horizon for the DX Ranch.
Kelsey Scott (neé Ducheneaux) is the 4th generation of The DX Ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. She is the owner of DX Beef, which offers locally raised beef for direct sale, and serves Project H3LP!, a nonprofit organization which utilizes horses to practice their Lifemanship philosophies with youth. Kelsey also works as the Natural Resources Director and Youth Programs Coordinator for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, which presents her with a unique opportunity to support the improvement of Indian lands for Indian peoples across the nation.
Kelsey spoke with Western Landowners Alliance’s Women in Ranching program director Amber Smith live, at Art of the Cowgirl in Bozeman, Montana on June 27th, 2021.
Listen
Topics Discussed
2:20 – Kelsey’s connection to land and where it came from (Amber shouts out Nicole Masters)
4:00 – About the family ranch (The DX Ranch), and its operation and diversification
4:45 – She who feeds the people (Kelsey’s Aunt Lori)
5:30 – All of the family businesses
8:10 – Transitioning to a direct-to-consumer grass-fed business model
9:40 – Food insecurity in Kelsey’s agricultural community
10:45 – COVID-19 impact on food supply on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, and DX Beef
12:10 – Reaching the community with the option to buy local
14:00 – Matching the environment to the cattle numbers
16:00 – The humbling experience and privilege of feeding her community
17:00 – What gives Kelsey hope on the range
18:45 – Kelsey’s crazy COVID wedding story
20:00 – What “stewardship” means to Kelsey
22:00 – Kelsey takes us on a journey back to her home place
Links from this episode
Connect with Kelsey on Instagram and Facebook
WLA’s Women in Ranching Program
Big thanks to Art of the Cowgirl for hosting a wonderful event.
Thank you to Molly Manthei, whose art is featured in the opening of the video. Check her out on Instagram!
On Land is a production of Western Landowners Alliance, a non-profit that advances policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes and native species. Learn more about WLA’s Women in Ranching program here.
Hosted by Amber Smith
Produced by Zach Altman
Theme music by Jason Shaw
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