BlueStem — Know how much grass you have, before you open the gate

This is my place, from space.

Updated every few days. No data entry, no walking every paddock.

Satellite photo with the four grazing paddocks (CCW, CCE, Big, Frankie's) outlined and labeled, surrounded by woods and home place, in Cooke County near Gainesville, Texas — My four grazing paddocks, outlined. Everything around them is woods and home place — the satellite tells them apart.

NDVI grass map of the same four outlined paddocks — deep-green paddocks are ready to graze, the pale one (CCE) is recovering — The same four paddocks as a grass map. The deep-green ones were ready to graze — the pale one (CCE) was still recovering from its spring grazing.

How it works

We draw your paddocks together — once. At your kitchen table, on a map. That’s all the setup there is.
Satellite and weather watch your grass every day. Rainfall, heat, growth — matched against what the satellite actually sees on your place.
You get a straight answer. Which paddock, when to move, and how sure we are.

BlueStem dashboard showing the current paddock and the recommended next move with supplement and hay-day projections — The actual dashboard I use for my own herd — where the cattle are now, and the next move it recommends, with the hay and supplement days each path would cost.

What it won’t do

It won’t pretend to be certain. Every estimate comes with a confidence range, and when the satellite hasn’t had a clear look in a while, it says so instead of guessing.

It won’t replace your eyes. It’s a second opinion that watches every acre every day — you still know your land better than any computer.

On my own place, knowing when to move has meant feeding less hay. Founding ranchers will help us put honest numbers on that — we won’t print a savings claim we haven’t measured.

What hay costs — and what BlueStem costs

BlueStem is $29 a month. Put in your own numbers and see what hay runs next to that. We don’t guess your savings — you decide whether better timing can beat the line at the bottom.

Head of cattle Round bales per cow per month Price per round bale ($) Days a year you feed hay

Defaults to about one round bale per cow per month on full feed — the common rule of thumb. Nudge it to match your cows and bale size, and put in your own bale price, so every number here is yours.

You feed about 200 round bales a year.

That’s about $15,000 a year— roughly $3,750 a month while you’re feeding.

BlueStem is $29 a month — about a third of a bale, or $348 a year.

It pays for itself if better timing saves you just about 5 bales a year — around 2% of your hay.

These are your numbers and the bale price you entered — not a savings promise. Exactly how much better grazing trims your hay is what we’re measuring with founding ranchers.

The Founding Rancher Program

Free for the first season. A handful of ranches. That’s the whole pitch.

What you get

I set BlueStem up for your place personally — paddocks drawn, herd entered, working the same week.
Satellite grass readings and move guidance for your whole grazing season. No charge.
A straight answer on whether this thing earns a spot on your ranch.

What I ask

Tell me where it’s wrong. Your ground truth is what makes the tool right for this country.
A few minutes now and then to compare what it said with what you see.

Currently onboarding ranches in Grayson, Cooke, Collin, Fannin, Denton & Wise counties. Starting close to home on purpose — the model is tuned to North Texas grass, and we’d rather be right here than vague everywhere.

Who you’re dealing with

Matt Dickson at Pyrennial Farms — **Matt Dickson** — I raise Corriente cattle on 70 acres in Cooke County, about 30 in active rotation, and built BlueStem to run my own grazing. Rancher first, software builder second.

BlueStem summer outreach intern — **Our summer outreach intern** — you may meet our intern from a local FFA/4-H chapter at your gate or a county event this summer. They’ll show you this page and put you in touch with Matt directly.

No charge, no card, no spam. Matt reads every one of these himself.