# How I Built Resilience: Loren and Lisa Poncia of Stemple Creek Ranch

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-01-28
- Length: 25m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch

## Summary

Loren and Lisa Poncia, owners of Stemple Creek Ranch in Marin County, California, explain how they transformed their 1,000-acre family farm into a carbon-positive, regenerative operation by mimicking bison grazing patterns to sequester soil carbon. They detail their pivot to direct-to-consumer sales during the pandemic, which required reprocessing large restaurant cuts into retail portions, and discuss their strategy of becoming price makers through high-quality, transparent branding. The couple also addresses the scalability of regenerative agriculture, their partnership dynamics, and their preference for nutrient-dense animal agriculture over plant-based meat alternatives.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=0) Introduction: Loren and Lisa Poncia of Stemple Creek Ranch
- [1:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=77) Regenerative Grazing and Carbon Sequestration Data
- [3:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=237) Soil Health: Chicory, Plantains, and Worms
- [5:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=334) Becoming Price Makers Instead of Price Takers
- [6:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=418) Pandemic Response: Shifting to Direct-to-Consumer
- [10:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=622) The True Cost of Conventional vs. Regenerative Meat
- [16:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=982) Husband-Wife Partnership and Business Systems
- [18:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=1109) Diversification: Meat, Events, and Education
- [21:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-01-28-how-i-built-resilience-loren-and-lisa-poncia-of-stemple-creek-ranch#t=1274) Regenerative Agriculture Growth and Plant-Based Alternatives

## Topics

- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Stemple Creek Ranch (company)
- U.S. Bank (other)
- Ugly Delicious (other)
- Impossible Foods (company)
- Beyond Meat (company)

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- [Founder Feature: Cassie and Chelsey Maschhoff, Lottie’s Meats](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-08-02-founder-feature-cassie-and-chelsey-maschhoff-lotties-meats) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Dina DiCenso of RIND](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-06-06-founder-feature-dina-dicenso-of-rind) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Turning Cow Burps into Clean Energy with Griffin Cherry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2026-07-02-turning-cow-burps-into-clean-energy-with-griffin-cherry) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [239 - Regenerative agriculture and the importance of packaging in food systems with Holly Arbuckle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-01-09-239-regenerative-agriculture-and-the-importance-of-packaging-in-food-systems-wit) (People of Packaging)

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