From Cattle Hides to Luxury Leather: Why Regenerative Supply Chains Are the Future with Cate Havstad-Casad

Cate Havstad-Casad, Founder and CEO of Range Revolution, is building the world's first luxury leather goods company rooted in regenerative agriculture and fully traceable American cattle hides. Cate shares her 12-year journey from a three-acre Oregon farm to managing 1,400 acres, why hides going to landfills represent one of farming's greatest missed economic opportunities, and how a single philosophy — "the means determine the ends" — shapes every decision she makes.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:00 Introduction.

• 02:01 Cate introduces Range Revolution and her parallel careers in design and regenerative agriculture, both starting in 2013.

• 04:10 The 35% waste problem: only 65% of a cattle carcass becomes meat; hides going to landfills represent a high-value asset hiding in the waste stream.

• 07:10 Regenerative agriculture defined: shaping management systems to create enhanced ecological outcomes on the land, and why sustaining is no longer enough.

• 09:05 Finding perspective through ancestry and Buddhist philosophy: holding suffering and joy at the same time.

• 10:45 A 10-year vision: proving that materials from regenerative farming systems are a good business decision, not just an altruistic endeavor.

• 11:35 During a 116-degree heat wave, regeneratively managed soil held at 89 degrees while an unmanaged neighboring parcel reached 148 degrees — the difference between species survival and demise.

• 14:52 The philosophy: "The ends do not determine the means. The means determine the ends," and how it shapes how Cate builds Range Revolution.

• 17:10 True wealth defined: meaningful work that brings joy, and being part of redefining what is aspirational — away from status and exclusivity, toward natural fibers and regenerative systems.

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“Regenerative agriculture, it’s not about sustaining. We must regenerate soil health.”

- Cate Havstad-Casad

Resources Mentioned:

• Range Revolution

• Western Design Conference

• “Seat for Society” podcast

• Bowen family systems theory

• #RegenerativeAgriculture #LuxuryLeather #TrueWealth

Connect with the guests:

LinkedIn: Cate Havstad-Casad
LinkedIn: Range Revolution

Connect with Nathan Mersereau:

Phone: 248-645-1520 
Email: nathan.mersereau@planningalt.com
LinkedIn: Nathan Mersereau
Address: 255 S Old Woodward, Suite 310
Birmingham, MI 48009