In this episode of the SoilHealthLabs podcast series, Buz Kloot and Joe Dickie chat with Dr. Fred Provenza, professor emeritus of Behavioral Ecology at Utah State University, and author of several important books on animal behavior and land stewardship. Our discussion delves into the profound connections between healthy grasslands and healthy livestock, with Fred sharing personal stories and research that highlight the intricate relationships between soil, plants, animals, and humans.

Fred begins by recounting his early experiences working with Henry DeLuca, a rancher who started in the late 1800s. Henry’s deep understanding of his land and livestock left a lasting impression on Fred, particularly Henry’s practice of retaining his own replacement heifers to ensure they "knew the range." This experience shaped Fred’s lifelong exploration of the dynamic interplay between animals and their environments.

As the conversation progresses, Fred shares intriguing anecdotes about the mutual learning that occurs between livestock mothers and their young. He describes how a calf might explore and learn to eat a plant that the mother avoids, eventually leading the mother to try it as well. This two-way street of learning is crucial for the herd's adaptability and the health of the landscape.

The discussion also touches on the innovative methods used to train livestock, such as using a bitter, non-toxic substance to deter cows from nibbling on saplings. These stories illustrate how thoughtful, experience-based interventions can create sustainable practices that benefit both the animals and the environment.

The conversation then moved towards the wisdom of shepherds, contrasting their role with that of herders. Fred explains that while a herder might direct animals where to go, a shepherd observes and learns from the animals, allowing them to naturally select the plants they need. This approach not only supports animal health but also promotes the biodiversity of the landscape, which is essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Fred shares insights from his collaboration with French shepherds, particularly with co-author Michel Meuret (see additional resources below), highlighting how they use sequencing in grazing to optimize both animal and land health. By understanding which plants to graze first and in what order, shepherds can ensure that the landscape is utilized sustainably, preventing overgrazing and promoting a balanced ecosystem.

The conversation also explores the broader implications of reconnecting with our food systems. Fred reflects on the disconnect between modern agricultural practices and the land, using the example of Montana—a state rich in cattle but reliant on imported beef, and the talk he gave at Montana’s Old Salt Festival. This disconnect, he argues, has weakened our sense of community and our relationship with the land.

As the episode concludes, Fred emphasizes the importance of re-establishing these connections. The wisdom gained from shepherds and their relationship with the land and animals offers valuable lessons for how we approach our food systems today. This episode is a call to action, urging listeners to rediscover the value of experiential knowledge in maintaining the health of our ecosystems.

Additional Resources:

• Dr. Fred Provenza’s Talk at Utah State University: The Web of Life Event
• Dr. Fred Provenza’s Books:
  • Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom
  • Foraging Behavior: Managing to Survive in a World of Change
  • The Art & Science of Shepherding: Tapping the Wisdom of French Herders
• Old Salt Co-Op (Montana) website: https://www.oldsaltco-op.com/
• NY Times Article: Montana has more Cows than People: Why Are Locals Eating Beef from Brazil? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/business/montana-meat-old-salt-co-op.html

In this conversation with Soil Scientist Buz Kloot, Dwayne Beck— former research manager to Dakota Lakes Research Farm— discusses the destructive effects of some traditional land management techniques, one of which being tillage. Tillage consistently disrupts soil pore structure and leads to the loss of organic matter, initiating a downward spiral towards desertification. He references the Sahara Desert as an example, which was once a grassland but turned into a desert due to the loss of nutrients.

Beck highlights the importance of integrated farming practices that consider the land’s natural vegetation and climate. On his travels, particularly in Australia, he noticed significant differences in ecosystems based on rainfall patterns and soil water retention. He notes the challenge of farming in regions like Western and Eastern Australia, where the climate and soil conditions differ from grassland regions. He notes that in tree-dominated regions, water moves deep into the soil during winter, beyond the reach of grass-type crops. This creates a challenge under standard agricultural approaches; nutrients being in the soil, but too deep for crops to reach.

He shares his insights on potential solutions, such as integrating perennial crops like sorghum in summer to utilize the nutrient cycles effectively. Dwayne mentions Colin Seis, who developed a system called "pasture cropping" or "grain and graze," which integrates tall grass species and winter crops to create a mixed-species system that enhances nutrient cycling and works in tandem with the seasons. He highlights the benefits of having a mix of perennials and annuals, as it more closely resembles natural ecosystems—urging farmers to not grow dependent on perennial grains. While annual crops focus on producing seeds, perennials primarily aim to survive until the next year— noting that Seis’ ‘grain and graze’ approach, while an insightful guidepost, will not work in every climate.

Dwayne addresses the historical importance of megaherbivores in maintaining landscapes, and how the absence of these animals affects current ecosystems. The subsequent deficiency of deep-rooted species contributes to what he calls a leaky system: soil pH deficiencies leading to water and nutrient leakage. He references Randy Anderson's concept of a "death spiral," and emphasizes the need to restore the soil community to as close to its native condition as possible. This involves reintroducing diversity to rebuild soil’s capacity and productivity.

In a follow-up conversation with Kloot, Beck discusses ongoing challenges and potential solutions for farming in the Jim River region, specifically focusing on salinity issues. Dwayne emphasizes the importance of integrating perennials into farming systems to address these issues, noting that perennials could help manage salinity, although every property will have its own unique needs.

Beck highlights the benefits of having a mix of perennials and annuals, as it more closely resembles natural ecosystems. He notes how pH problems often stem from nutrient cycling deficiencies rather than input deficiencies, recounting an instance where he was asked in a conference how far a farmer would need to go to get lime. Beck’s answer was “Three feet.” He wants to remind farmers that lime is often in the soil, possibly beyond the reach of their standard crops, rather than miles away in a lime mine.

Beck expressed his concern about the increasing emphasis on bio-oil crops like canola, flax, and soybeans, warning that an over-reliance on these crops could exacerbate issues in the Corn Belt. He also mentions innovative uses for crop residues, such as making lumber from corn stalks, and suggests that tallgrass plants could be harvested biennially for biomass production while still benefiting the soil. He acknowledges that while this approach is not as beneficial as grazing, it is still better than many standard agricultural practices.

In all, Beck’s wealth of understanding on crop management and long-term planning underscores the need for strategic thinking in sustainable farming, and makes for an insightful conversation about regenerative land management.

Additional Links:

Dr Randy Anderson’s Spiral of Soil Regeneration:

Part 1: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/videos?wix-vod-video-id=6mckHaT2Giw&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-l0v2ecy2

Part 2: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/videos?wix-vod-video-id=aoT8x0VWu_I&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-l0v2ecy2

Part 3: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/videos?wix-vod-video-id=jJwtd5UtUak&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-l0v2ecy2

Pasture Cropping with Colin Seis:

https://www.wool.com/on-farm-research/weather-the-drought-with-regenerative-agriculture/

Dakota Lakes Research Farm:

http://dakotalakes.com/

The conversation begins with Matt sharing a bit about his background, growing up on military bases in Germany and having ties to agriculture through his family's farming history. He then talks about his education and work experience in fisheries, water quality, and conservation, leading up to his current role as an agronomist at Ducks Unlimited. Matt also briefly mentions his personal experience with livestock and land management.

The podcast interview between Buz Kloot, Matt Hubers, and Joe Dickie delves into the pressing issue of salinity in agricultural systems, particularly in South Dakota. Matt Hubers, an agronomist at Ducks Unlimited, brings valuable expertise and insights into the discussion, drawing from his background in natural resource management and personal involvement in agriculture.

Matt discusses the historical and current factors contributing to salinity problems, such as changes in cropping practices and increased tillage. He highlights the detrimental effects of salinity on soil health and crop productivity, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to mitigate these issues. Matt suggests strategies like diversifying cropping systems, reducing tillage, and incorporating perennial grasses to address salinity and maintain soil cover.

The conversation also touches on the escalating salinity issues in specific regions, such as the James River Valley, and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. Matt stresses the role of technical and financial assistance from organizations like Ducks Unlimited, emphasizing that now is the opportune time for farmers to seek help and implement solutions.

Joe Dickie raises questions about the broader implications of salinity issues and government assistance for non-farmers. Matt underscores the interconnectedness of agriculture with clean water, clean air, and healthy food, highlighting the benefits of supporting sustainable agricultural practices for all residents of South Dakota.

In summary, the interview underscores the urgency of addressing salinity problems, provides practical insights into mitigation strategies, and emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts to sustain agriculture and preserve the state's landscape for future generations.

Dwayne Beck is the Research Manager at Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, South Dakota. Soil Health Labs researcher Buz Kloot spoke with him in 2013 and again in 2023 about his journey at Dakota Lakes.

When Dakota Lakes Research Farm was first established by local farmers in the early 1980s, the aim was to address irrigation challenges exacerbated by rising energy costs. Dwayne Beck was a graduate student at the time studying irrigation research and ushered the farm toward emphasis on efficient water usage, not only in irrigated but also dryland areas. Over time, the farm's focus expanded beyond irrigation to encompass both dryland and irrigation research, its current goal being to identify, research, and demonstrate methods of strengthening and stabilizing the agriculture economy.

Over time, through the Dakota Lakes property, Beck expanded the regional pool of research on blossoming topics in regenerative agriculture: holistic no-till approaches, effective uses of irrigation, and the conditions necessary to bolster a native mixed-grass prairie ecosystem.

“Farmers are doing ‘no till’ in the US in some ways that don't make much sense, because there's no diversity and there's no attention to water cycles and nutrient cycles and sunlight, they’re just not doing tillage– basically just a conventional system with the tillage taken out.”

Now, ten years after first speaking to Beck, he has witnessed a local rebirth in small agricultural communities. There has been a noted increase in those working in fertilizer, cropping support businesses, and grain elevators, alongside a heightened understanding of the farmer’s power in soil health issues. Land value has increased, and with it, a broader understanding that healthy soils mean for a healthy community.

“How do you change the social moorings, so to speak, of a whole area? In the old days, if we had soil erosion happening, ditches filling with dirt-- which was common-- that was just seen as an act of God, something beyond the farmer’s control. And that part has changed.”

Beck hopes in the future to engage non-farming members and absentee landowners in issues of local agriculture. Particularly absentee landowners that rent local land don’t often have an intimate understanding of how the land is being managed— Beck would like to engage these landowners and invite them to express a vested interest in what’s happening on their land and within their soils.

Engage with Dakota Lakes’ Virtual Field day through the 2020 video series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTZDoxH1GkisubbRzKxg2XA_PIzzPE8PM

Get in touch with Dakota Lakes Research Farm through their website, http://www.dakotalakes.com/contact/ where there is also information on membership.

In this, our first series on salinity, we talk to Kent Cooley, area resource scientist in Rapid City, SD.  We discuss some of the causes of salinity in South Dakota, where it's estimated that 7.5 million acres of land are affected by saline soils, with almost a million more acres added in the past 10-15 years due to management practices. Kent helps is dive into the geology aspects of the region, explaining how the presence of an ancient inland sea and subsequent sedimentation left a high concentration of salts in the soil. We also look at the natural processes that contribute to the formation of saline and sodic soils, including the role of parent material, climate, and water movement. Natural salinity can occur due to the upward movement of water dissolving salts in the soil, which then accumulate on the surface as the water evaporates. This process is exacerbated by certain agricultural practices that incorporate high disturbance, and low diversity. 

Our conversation also addresses the critical difference between saline and sodic soils, with sodic soils being particularly challenging to remediate due to their impact on soil structure and water infiltration. Kent stresses the importance of soil testing to accurately diagnose the condition affecting the soil, which in turn informs the appropriate remediation strategies.

We briefly touch on remediation (the subject of future podcasts) and these include diversifying crop rotations, adopting no-till farming practices, and perennial systems to make better use of soil moisture and keep salts deeper in the soil profile. The podcast underscores the significance of managing the recharge areas (upslope of the salinity area) to prevent the movement of salts to the surface in lower areas. Additionally, Kent touches on the challenges and potential solutions for managing salinity in irrigation districts, where the use of water with moderate to high salt content can further exacerbate soil salinity issues.

Kent emphasizes the need to be proactive and taking a comprehensive approach to addressing salinity including soil testing, appropriate residue management, crop selection, and the adoption of farming practices that preserve soil health and prevent the accumulation of salts in the soil profile.

Laura Kahler is the director of the South Dakota Grasslands Initiative (SDGI), pushing South Dakotan agriculture toward sustainability and heightened reverence for the natural landscape. Laura's mission is to provide resources and support to landowners, helping them keep their pasture lands not just profitable, but also sustainable and ecologically sound.

The SDGI aims to manage grasslands effectively while balancing profitability and environmental conservation. Grasslands are more than just land; they are ecosystems that require attentive, informed management to thrive. Laura emphasizes that the initiative is more than a conservation effort; it's a collaborative platform where hunters, ranchers, conservation groups, and others converge to share perspectives and solutions.

A key aspect of SDGI's approach is the integration of local knowledge with scientific research. Farmers and landowners bring generations of experience, while scientific insights offer new perspectives on soil health and ecosystem management. This blend of knowledge is crucial for developing effective, sustainable land management strategies.

Education forms the backbone of the SDGI. By educating landowners and the public about the importance of soil health and sustainable practices, the initiative aims to create a ripple effect, one that spreads awareness and action across communities. This educational component is vital in cultivating a shared understanding and commitment to land stewardship.

At its heart, the success of the SDGI hinges on collaboration. By bringing together diverse groups, each with their own perspectives and interests, the initiative fosters a sense of community and shared purpose. This collaborative spirit is essential for addressing complex environmental challenges.

The real-world impact of the SDGI and regenerative practices is profound. Farmers report healthier soils, increased biodiversity, and improved yields. Environmentally, these practices contribute to carbon sequestration, water retention, and habitat preservation - essential components in the fight against climate change.

Looking ahead, Kahler intends to continue expanding the initiative, deepening the understanding of regenerative practices, and fostering a community where every stakeholder has a voice in shaping the future of our grasslands.

The South Dakota Grasslands Initiative stands as a testament to what can be achieved through collaboration and a deep commitment to our planet. Regenerative practices and collaborative effort not only impact today’s soils, but have ripple effects into plant, animal and human life for years to come.

Links:

SD Grasslands Initiative Homepage: https://sdgrassinitiative.org/

SDGI Summit and Introduction Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikpzs8sA4xU

New Feature Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAoqp0cYwPc

In this insightful episode, Tate Lantz joins hosts Joe Dickie and Buz Kloot to discuss the Central Grasslands Roadmap. Lantz shares his personal journey from a childhood on a South Dakota cattle ranch to his current role in conservation, reflecting a deep connection to the grasslands. 

Tate grew up on a cattle ranch near Winner, SD and after high school attended SDSU majoring in range science. His career began at the Conservation District in Kingsbury County, after which he joined the NRCS in 1998 and currently serves as Assistant State Conservationist for field operations in Rapid City, SD since 2016. Lantz first got involved in the grasslands roadmap mission when the operation was temporarily housed in the Sturgis field office where he was positioned. He was immediately drawn into the aim: to combine the efforts of three countries and eight sectors to save one of the most vital ecosystems on earth- the grasslands. Grasslands face threats from urban sprawl, agricultural conversion, and tree encroachment, leading to grassland loss (32 million acres since 2012) as well as significant biodiversity loss. 

The Roadmap aims to raise awareness of grasslands' value in carbon sequestration and climate mitigation. To do this, the Roadmap emphasizes community involvement, including indigenous voices and industry partnerships. The Roadmap highlights the interconnection between grassland health and economic resilience of rural communities. It aims to bolster collective understanding and action, influence and push forward impactful legislation, heighten efficiency of resource use and allocation, refine shared progress monitoring standards and construct sustainability models to support scaling programs in grazing, regenerative agriculture, and industry. Tate Lantz's conversation sheds light on the Central Grasslands Roadmap's importance in preserving one of America’s most vital ecosystems. Stay tuned for more discussions on grassland conservation and the roadmap's impact across North America. 

Useful Links: 

Central Grasslands Roadmap Home page: https://www.grasslandsroadmap.org/ 

Our recommendation for understanding the roadmap: 

Roadmap Executive Summary New Feature Video on Grasslands loss and reclamation: Two Regenerative Ranchers Share Shocking Soil Health Discovery (growingresiliencesd.com/videos) 

Other Notes on the Central Grasslands Roadmap: 

History: 2018- Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (backbone organization) – Tammy VerCauteren’s (exec director of BCoR) vision. 

Need/Context: 50 million acres (size of SD?) lost in last 10 years? “Measures of human community health and healthy grassland ecosystems across the biome continue to decline. The time to act is now.” 

Scale: Mexico, US and Canada, 600 million acres, eight sectors (e.g., indigenous communities, landowners & ranchers federal agencies, industry/ag and private sector, state and provincial agencies, NGO’s, academia, foundations and funders). Diverse ecosystems and diverse communities What is the Central Grasslands Roadmap? A hub for information and connection across countries and sectors - “We must think, collaborate, and act differently.” 

Vision: Eight outcomes – all look like related to thriving economic, environmental and equity (3 tectonic plates of sustainability) outcomes for these communities, beginning with indigenous populations, but includes ranchers/landowners, NGOs policymakers.. 

Principles: Respect, priorities to sustain indigenous communities, ranching and rual communities, science priorities, eight sectors. 

Most folks have heard of the Haney test, but who are the people behind the test, what is the test and how did it all get started? In this episode, Buz Kloot and Joe Dickie talk to Drs. Liz and Rick Haney both soil scientists who live in Texas. Rick and Liz met during their graduate studies at Texas A&M – he was doing his PhD at the time and Liz her Masters. We begin by asking about the philosophy behind the Haney test and Rick walks us through his background as a farmer, student and soil health advocate. As Rick says, “My main objective was to come up with something that would help [land managers] do something… Soil science seemed to be the place.” Rick takes us through some of the steps of the development of the Haney Test that included looking at organic nitrogen, soil respiration and using an alternative extractant to look at soil minerals. Rick’s driving philosophy was to mimic in the lab what was happening out in the field. While the middle part of the discussion does get technical, Joe and Liz bring us back to reality with examples, for instance, of talking about how soil respiration may resemble a party. We end the conversation discussing what this means for producers and how the soil test provides a different look at their soils, how this has allowed many producers to save on inputs (especially nitrogen) and how mimicking nature in soil tests encourages producers to improve farm management practices. Rick concludes the discussion with: “The biggest takeaway that I've had in the last 15 years is seeing farmers that had no hope have hope. That is been the most dramatic thing that I've seen in that instead of doing it the same old way over and over and over, you know, try, try different test and I'd have to be the hey, just try something.” After retiring from the ARS, Rick continues his work as a technical director for a commercial soil test lab. After leaving a job in the corporate world Liz now is co-owner of a company called RegenAg that educates and consults with farmers and nonprofits on their regenerative journey. To learn more about what Liz and Rick are up to, visit them at: regenag.com For more free links and resources, visit our website: growingresiliencesd.com

In this podcast, Buz Kloot, Joe Dickie, and Gabe Brown discuss Gabe's motivation behind his mission to help farmers and ranchers. Gabe shares that his dedication to the mission was solidified during the three years of extreme difficulties he faced. At that time, there were few resources for farmers and ranchers to learn about the principles, rules, and processes required for regenerative agriculture. Gabe felt a calling to help others avoid the difficulties he faced and made a commitment to dedicate his life to this mission. Throughout the podcast, Joe and Buz reflect on their own experiences working with Gabe and express their admiration for his unwavering dedication to this mission. Gabe's work is about more than just farming and ranching—it's about making a positive impact on the planet. The discussion turned to regenerative agriculture, and Gabe shared his experience in showing visitors his garden before the farm: "And I often get this puzzled look, 'Well, why the garden?' [visitors ask]. And I tell them, 'Every single thing you need to know about regenerative agriculture can be shown in this garden.'" He notes that the transformational movement towards regenerative agriculture has been driven by farmers who are leading a grassroots effort to change the industry. Gabe adds to the discussion by sharing a story about how Maker's Mark bourbon announced that their farm has been certified as regenerative, which received 2.47 million views in five hours. This indicates a high demand for regenerative certified products, which can be profitable for producers. He also notes that regenerative principles can significantly reduce input costs for producers, which is why the industry has experienced explosive growth. What drives producers towards regenerative agriculture? Gabe explains that profitability is the main driver for producers, as regenerative principles can reduce input costs. He also points out that education is crucial to promoting regenerative agriculture. "I always tell people that, you know, if I went out and polled farmers and ranchers and asked them to write me one paragraph about how a soil aggregate was formed, 95 plus percent of them wouldn't be able to answer that simple question. Yet 100% of those producers, their livelihoods depend on that soil aggregate," says Gabe. How do we shift the mindset of farmers and ranchers towards regenerative agriculture? Initially, Gabe says, producers make decisions based solely on money. However, when they start working with regenerative practices and see positive changes in their soil health, water infiltration, and nutrient cycling, they have an "aha moment" and realize the broader impact of their actions. This realization leads to a shift in priorities towards a more holistic approach to farming and ranching, where they consider the positive impact on the landscape, wildlife, and their families. Gabe and his team take clients through a process that includes a shovel and infiltration test in the field and nearby woods, followed by soil testing, split trials, and profitability tracking, which helps farmers and ranchers recognize the benefits of regenerative agriculture. Positive compounding effects, such as increased soil aggregation, improved water infiltration, and increased insect populations, further reinforce the idea that regenerative agriculture is not just about making money but also about improving the environment. The shift towards regenerative agriculture leads to more diversified operations, with farmers and ranchers adding more crops and livestock. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of a holistic approach to farming and ranching, where producers consider the impact of their actions on the environment and their communities. Link to Six principles of Soil health, Three Rules of Adaptive Stewardship, and Four Ecosystem Processes: https://understandingag.com/resources/fact-sheets/

We were delighted to get back with Pete Bauman who is a Natural Resources and Wildlife Field Specialist for SDSU Extension. Pete specializes in range, pasture, and grassland management with an emphasis on educating producers about how profitability and ecological balance are complimentary. Pete’s focus areas include alternative grassland management tools such as fire, biological control, controlled grazing, and reduction of inputs for systems health. We got together specifically to discuss contract grazing and structuring of grazing leases. Pete, who wrote an SDSU Extension article on Structuring Grazing Leases (see link below), explains that at the core of contract grazing is an agreement between two parties with parameters that are beneficial and acceptable to both parties. Contract grazing can be beneficial if both parties are committed to mutual goals and objectives, leading to better resource management and a recognition of the other’s needs and goals. Pete warns against the conventional paradigm of prioritizing short-term income and profit maximization over the long-term relationship and ecological impact, what happens then is the land “gets trampled in the dust” and the relationship between lessor and lessee is either strained or broken. The time that lands – and relationships – are most vulnerable are when cropland rental prices are high, driving grazing land rental prices up. This mechanism is explained by Pete in the podcast. Overgrazing, often leading to costly weed problems, and pressure on water systems and fences, leading to costly repairs, can often lead to unexpected costs that the landowner has to bear – it is these unexpected costs that can have negative effects on the relationship between lessor and lessee. Parameters can and should be established in the lease agreement to prevent such consequences, and both parties should have a clear understanding of their partners’ contract's goals and objectives - good communication between the landowner and the livestock owner is key to this process. If you take nothing else from the podcast, get the agreement down on paper, a handshake agreement may work for a while, but when things go wrong, the more that is spelled out, the less there is to dispute. Pete talks about the importance of setting goals (e.g., financial, input cost, aesthetic, ecological goals) for managing grazing land and how landowners should assess the current state of their property and set a desired future condition, based on their gals – this ought to be communicated to the livestock owner as well. A good lessee's role is to enhance the long-term viability, productivity, and ecology of the leased property to keep it or improve it toward being a well-functioning system; when the lessor’s goals should align with the current lessee's goals, they can create a mutually beneficial agreement between the parties. As long-term relationships build, many good landowners consider the value of their lessee beyond short-term arrangements; a landowner who values their lessee is often willing to take less, conversely some lessees are willing to pay more – all of this points to the inherent (financial and other value) of a good partnership. Bauman believes that instead of renting by acre, it is better to rent per head, per day, which is based on the amount of grass consumed by the lessee's livestock. By having a predetermined agreement, both parties can avoid misunderstandings and conflicts over conflicting goals. Buz and Pete also discussethe services provided by the landowner and lessee during the grazing period. He provides examples of both extremes, where some lessees are responsible for everything, while others have contract graziers that provide all services, including infrastructure, rotation labor, water systems, and even medical treatment. Links: SDSU Extension Article on Structuring Grazing Leases: https://extension.sdstate.edu/structuring-grazing-leases South Dakota Grazing Exchange: https://sdgrazingexchange.com/

Barry and Eli Little are a father and son team farming near Castlewood, SD located in the eastern part of South Dakota. Together they have close to 1600 acres of crop land, and farm this along with another 1300 acres of Barry’s brother’s land. Though cropland is still the centerpiece of their business model, Barry and Eli run close to 500 head of cattle – while they have 800 acres of dedicated pasture, their operation is designed for the integration of livestock. In the previous episode, Joe Dickie and Buz Kloot spoke at length to the Littles about their operation. In this bonus podcast, we ask them ten (10) questions like “what was the most important thing you have done to advance soil health in your operation?”, “when did the light bulb go on for you?” and “what would you say is the biggest misconception people have who are not managing their crop farming systems for soil health and resiliency?”. We were so delighted by their witty and diverse responses that we thought we’d air these as a bonus to the Little’s main podcast. Enjoy! Videos featuring Barry and Eli: A New Approach to Farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZsZgMSGLeU&list=PLg6Jx7lcOmB3kQyswC5iP2YuY6rWQfLSP&index=45 Incorporating Diverse Enterprises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RzqzjNtRyY Additional Resources: Stress Reduction through Soil Health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAG2ouCZjFk Follow Barry and Eli's operation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bliouxriverranch/ For more info on regenerative, climate smart ag, get in touch with your local NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/south-dakota

Barry and Eli Little are a father and son team farming near Castlewood, SD located in the eastern part of South Dakota. Together, they have close to 1600 acres of cropland, and farm this along with another 1300 acres of Barry’s brother’s land. While cropland is still the centerpiece of their business model, Barry and Eli run close to 500 head of cattle – and though they have 800 acres of dedicated pasture, their operation is designed for the integration of livestock into their operation. While a herd of cattle was on the land when Barry’s father farmed, 2011 was the first time the Littles deliberately planted cover crop with an eye to utilizing the cover for grazing. Their first cover crop, planted behind winter wheat did so well that it encouraged the Littles to double down. In this podcast, Joe Dickie and Buz Kloot hear from Barry and Eli on their livestock integration journey, some of the things they have tried with cover crops, inter-seeding and their pastures. We then move on to talk about some of the economics of cover crops and livestock integration and how, while maintaining and increasing yields, they’ve managed to cut back on inputs. Barry and Eli also talk about the fact that if a decision is motivated with an eye to soil health, decisions become a lot simpler, and intergenerational conflict is lowered. Eli attributes his ability to farm full-time with his dad to soil health (livestock integration has played a huge part of that too). Finally, if you think the Littles have it figured out, Barry’s take on his operation is: “There's been several times in my life when I thought we had it all figured out and then something comes along and we have to change our paradigm one more time. We're on a journey. It gets better every year, but I’m pretty sure that we're not even a quarter of the way there.” Enjoy the show! Videos featuring Barry and Eli: A New Approach to Farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZsZgMSGLeU&list=PLg6Jx7lcOmB3kQyswC5iP2YuY6rWQfLSP&index=45 Incorporating Diverse Enterprises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RzqzjNtRyY Additional Resources: Stress Reduction through Soil Health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAG2ouCZjFk Follow Barry and Eli's operation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bliouxriverranch/ For more info on regenerative, climate smart ag, get in touch with your local NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/south-dakota

In this week’s SoilHealthLabs podcast, Gabe and Buz have a chat with Russell Hedrick, a first-generation farmer who began his agricultural journey in 2012 with a focus on no-till farming to minimize equipment costs. Introduced to cover crops by NRCS's Lee Holcomb, he faced skepticism from older farmers but garnered interest from younger peers curious about his methods.

Since then, Hedrick's farm has expanded significantly, collaborating with distilleries and diversifying into cattle and pasture pigs, although they've scaled back livestock due to time constraints. They also produce and sell grits and cornmeal under their brands, ensuring financial security with premium prices far exceeding market rates.

Their diverse crop portfolio includes specialty corn varieties like Jimmy Red and Blue Hopi, favored by distilleries for superior taste profiles and tested for nutrient density despite lower yields.

Buz praises Hedrick's innovation and asks about agroecology and soil health. Hedrick humorously shares a story about a Missouri farmer's struggle with soil health understanding, reflecting on the financial pressures in commodity agriculture that hinder risk-taking.

Reflecting on his early farming days, starting small allowed Hedrick to experiment and learn, boosted by resources like the "Undercover Farmers" video and supportive farmer networks. He details initial challenges with cover crops but notes significant soil health improvements over 12 years, emphasizing increased microbial activity.

Gabe queries the condition of Hedrick's land pre-cover crops, described as degraded despite decades of conventional farming. Hedrick credits cover crops for reducing nitrates in soil and controlling weeds, enhancing water table health.

Buz shifts to community support in farming innovation. Hedrick stresses the importance of addressing specific farmer concerns like finances or erosion, fostering change and practice adoption.

The interview delves into consumer-farmer disconnects, technology's role, and collaborative learning's value. Hedrick shares urbanite struggles on the farm and advocates for knowledge-sharing within farming communities, citing mentorship benefits from peers like Gabe Brown.

He reflects on past errors like overly dense cover crops and excessive organic matter, urging balance in farming practices. His farm's large-scale trials yield data-driven improvements in fertilizer efficiency, influenced by university and private sector collaborations.

Discussing technology integration, Hedrick mentions AI for accessing agricultural research insights, enhancing farm decisions. He extols a lab service offering precise nutrient deficiency corrections, countering generic fertilizer use.

Hedrick highlights regenerative farming's scientific evolution, balancing tradition and innovation. His farm innovations, from Australian compost methods to fertility enhancers, underscore sustainability and yield success.

Hedrick's dynamic farming blends tradition with modern innovations for sustainable productivity. His insights on soil health, consumer education, and farmer collaboration illustrate a progressive approach to agriculture.

To see more about farmer experiences like Russell’s, check out our “Under Cover Farmers” video that he mentions influenced him.

To find out more about Russell and his ag. support and consulting company with Liz Haney, visit https://www.agsoilregen.com/.

Have a question for Russell? Contact him here: russell@agsoilregen.com or through Facebook messenger (fb.com/russell.e.hedrick)

We sat down to chat with Chris Coreil, now the National Erosion Specialist based at the NRCS’s Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth, TX. Chris is originally from Louisiana where he was state agronomist for ten years before going to Fort Worth. On May 12, 2022, a derecho wind hit eastern South Dakota and west central Minnesota (see May 12 derecho summary below. Note that a derecho (pronounced similar to "deh-REY-cho") is a widespread, long-lived windstorm where damage is typically directed along a relatively straight swath (see description in derecho link for more below. The May 12th derecho as Chris describes “the event really occurred during about a 10 to 15 minute period, immediately following that tremendous wind event, which, had sustained winds of maybe 60 miles per hour, gusts, around a hundred miles per hour. Right after that event, rain occurred. You could clearly see that and again, settled a lot of the dust and, prevented, erosion from occurring at quite an intense level for the rest of the day.” After the derecho, Chris was contacted by NRCS in South Dakota to help quantify and explain what happened during this event, and what could be done to prevent some of the damage in the future. Chris used a wind erosion model called SWEEP to estimate the erosion of bare tilled soils in that 15-minute window on the day of the derecho. While the derecho was a spectacular 15-minute event, Chris talked about modeling for the 12-hour day of May 7th where wind held steady between 20 and 30 mph, yet the amount of erosion on one day exceeded that of the derecho. While the numbers for bare ground were eye-popping, Chris did point out that if the ground were covered by residue or a cover crop, the soil loss would be considerably lower. We will leave the numbers to the podcast. We next turned to the ways in which the soil health principles can be used to mitigate soil loss through wind – Chris does a nice job of explaining these interactions to lay people. We finally reflected on the fact that while there is a long way to go, we have made much progress in the last 10-15 years – adoption rates of cover crops may be the best indicator. If you want to understand more about the effects of a derecho or wind erosion on bare soils, and how to reduce the damage, this podcast is for you. References: Description of a Derecho: https://www.weather.gov/lmk/derecho May 12 derecho summary: https://www.weather.gov/abr/StormsummaryMay122022

In this podcast, Buz Kloot talks to Dan Mehlhaf, District Conservationist for the USDA NRCS, currently stationed at Yankton, South Dakota. Dan was raised on a farm and has a degree in agriculture from South Dakota State University and he actively farms with his son on land they own in Hutchinson County, about 30 miles from his work. The discussion centers around Dan’s experience in April and May 2022, that culminated in the May 12, 2022, windstorm (or derecho) that occurred in South Dakota. Prior to the derecho, the entire spring was extremely windy and warm; and on April 14, 2022 there was a day of constant 40-50 mile an hour winds that caused wind erosion in the fields. Dan went to investigate a relative's report of severe wind erosion about 30 miles northeast of Yankton and saw soil coming off the field due to the tilled, dry soil and the absence of any residue or canopy cover. Dan looked up the soil to find this was an Egan-Ethan soil, which is a silty clay loam, considered a very good soil. Five days later, Dan revisited the site on a sunny day, and the road ditch was completely full of soil that had come off the field, Dan noticed that the soil in the road ditch was sand, not the texture on the field which was a silty clay loam. Dan realized that the silts and clays that made up the soil had gone airborne and disappeared, and the only particle left was the sand left in the ditch. He took a soil sample to be tested and found high to very high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other nutrients which ought not to be in a sand, and calculated that over $900 of fertilizer per acre were in the ditch sand, what about the rest of the silts and the clays that blew off the property? Buz and Dan turn to the topic of the importance of cover (small grains, standing residue, cover crops) and no-till agriculture in the context of wind erosion was raised. Dan highlighted his experience on April 14th, 2022 (a full month before the May 12th 2022 derecho) in the significant difference in wind erosion between two fields of the same soil series (Egan-Ethan), where one was bare ground and tilled, while the other had a cover crop of cereal rye. The field with the cover crop experienced virtually no erosion compared to the other field, which was blowing soil around even with a moderate wind. Dan emphasizes that the adoption of no-till and the use of cover crops are slowly changing farmer's attitudes towards conservation tillage. Dan does note that a well-planned cover crop can protect against a 25 mile an hour wind fairly easily, while a 50 mile an hour wind requires a good, intact residue from the cover crop to prevent significant erosion. Dan notes that adoption of no-till and the use of cover crops is slowly gaining momentum, in both and wet dry years, and that the attitude of farmers towards reduced tillage is changing. Dan hopes that the change in attitude towards cover crops and no-till agriculture is a long-term change and not just a temporary response to the dry years. Dan highlights that there is still a need for more education and awareness on the importance of cover crops and no-till agriculture to protect soil quality and water quality. MORE ON THE DERECHO See: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/ for more on the derecho and find our Growing Resilience name for videos wherever you get your social media. OTHER REFERENCES: Description of a Derecho: https://www.weather.gov/lmk/derecho May 12 derecho summary: https://www.weather.gov/abr/StormsummaryMay122022

As part of our adaptive grazing management series (if you haven’t listened to the podcasts with Justin Thompson and Candice Mizera, we highly recommend the listen, especially if you are in South Dakota and want to understand more about cool season invasive grasses) Joe Dickie and Buz Kloot sat down with Allen Williams who is an adaptive grazing management practitioner, consultant and former academic. Allen grew up and went to school in the south and after his PhD, continued for 15 years in academia. Around the year 2000, Allen left the safe environs of a tenure-track professorship to start on his own in regenerative farming and ranching consulting. Since then, Allen has consulted for regenerative agriculture all over the country and the world. After exploring Allen’s interesting background, we dive into some of the basics of adaptive grazing management principles and practices. Adaptive grazing is not about a formula or a prescription, but rather a practice that is profoundly dependent on observation and constant adjustment. Allen also does a great job of demonstrating why the time invested in daily observation is ultimately less labor intensive than the labor required to feed hay all winter long, for example. Allen walks us through what we need to observe in the field, and also some of the more recent developments in the relationships between healthy soils, healthy forage and of course the health of the animal as well. Another key set of thoughts that Allen walks us through are the three rules of adaptive stewardship, namely the rules of compounding, diversity and disruption. Allen’s explanation of these alone are worth the listen. In addition to the generalities, we bring some of the examples back to practical applications that may be found in South Dakota, including the grazing of annuals and applying adaptive stewardship to the controlling of cool season invasive species (Kentucky bluegrass, smooth brome and crested wheatgrass). We hope you enjoy this podcast a much as we enjoyed talking to Allen! Notes: Fact Sheet that outlines three rules of adaptive stewardship along with the six soil health principles and the four ecosystem processes: https://understandingag.com/resources/fact-sheets/ Please search “Allen Williams Adaptive Grazing” for fact sheets, magazine articles journal articles, videos and more on Allen’s work. Take the soil health challenge: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/challenge-gr

If you have not yet listened to the previous podcast with Justin Thompson we strongly recommend you do before listening to this one. The first release of this podcast was set to coincide with the spring thaw and the green-up of cool season grasses and forbs. One of the biggest threats to South Dakota rangeland is the increasing prevalence of three cool season invasive species, in particular, smooth brome, Kentucky bluegrass and crested wheatgrass. We spoke to Candice Mizera from McLaughlin, SD, located in the northern part of South Dakota, just west of the Missouri River. Candice and her husband farm and ranch – they have a diversified crop rotation on their farm that includes cover crops and they rotationally graze beef cattle. Apart from running a farm and ranch, Candice is also a board member of the SD soil health coalition. When Candice took over the 4,000-acre operation, they had only four pastures. Today, they have provided fence and water such that their operation consists of 100-180 acre pastures, and in the process, doubled their carrying capacity. In this podcast, Candice walks us through the evolution of some of the Kentucky bluegrass issues that emerged on her pasture. Candice talks about the adverse consequences of “babying pastures” through letting them rest too much and not grazing early enough and then noticing the adverse consequences of seeing thick mats of Kentucky bluegrass thatch on the pasture. “And so I guess then we realized that we were part of the problem by letting it rest too much and not getting in there early, we exacerbated the problem.” Candice is now several years down the road remedying the Kentucky bluegrass problem, in conjunction with rangeland management specialist, Ryan Beer, based in Buffalo, SD. The method that Beer recommended and that Candice employ involved increasing disturbance through grazing events , possibly leaving the herd a few days longer to trample and or utilize the cool season invasive grasses. This may seem counterintuitive to some of us who have preached “minimize disturbance”, but Candice has been able to innovate and they have seen good results on her land. We were also joined by Emily Helms, state rangeland management specialist for South Dakota, and Ryan beer, rangeland management specialist out of Buffalo, SD. Ryan works directly with Candice. If you have an inkling that cool season invasive species are a problem, this podcast is for you. Resources mentioned in the podcast: Workshop on Cool-Season Invasive Species in the Northern Great plains (note, while the hyperlinks to the full papers no longer work, the abstracts are useful. Note we don’t necessarily endorse every practice, but want to share this with the idea that the abstracts provide useful education and reflect more recent thoughts on cool-season invasives) https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/CoolSeasonGrass2014_10.pdf Regenerative Agriculture Podcast interview with Fred Provenza: https://regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com/episode-81-fred-provenza Growing Connections South Dakota App: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/growing-connections-app/ SD Grazing Exchange: https://sdgrazingexchange.com/ SD Soil Health Coalition: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/

The first release of this podcast was set to coincide with the spring thaw and the green-up of cool season grasses and forbs. One of the biggest threats to South Dakota rangeland is the increasing prevalence of three cool season invasive species, namely smooth brome, Kentucky bluegrass and crested wheatgrass. Please also see below Justin’s correspondence post interview of things he wishes he’s emphasized more. Our oft-repeated mantra of rotate-rest-recover and our regenerative instinct for minimal disturbance were challenged by what we saw and hear on the ground when we met with Justin Thompson, rancher near Mobridge, South Dakota. Don’t get me wrong. Rotate-rest-recover and minimum disturbance principles really work to repair the land when it is bare or overgrazed. But what happens after you do everything right, rotate, and rest and really allow your pastures to recover? “Doing everything right.” Within a few years, you find that your pastures are overrun with thick layers of Kentucky bluegrass thatch that choke out the native western wheatgrass in the cool season and your big and little bluestem (amongst others in the warm season). What do you do? We visited with Justin Thompson to discuss this very issue. Justin is an avid rancher, loves the land and the cattle and has been to grazing schools, learning as much as he could. Yet after heavy snow years in 2018 and 2019, Justin found that in a few short years, Kentucky bluegrass and crested wheatgrass had invaded this land. Justin is an astute observer and keeps meticulous photographic records from monitoring points, so he can pinpoint these times. What to do? Justin walks us through four observations he made on his land where there was unusual disturbance, one by the power company and the rest by heavy hoof traffic. The results were remarkable in that western wheatgrass was able to express itself again. The podcast discusses these scenarios and how Justin intends to use adaptive grazing principles to address this pervasive issue. To add to the layers, the farm that Justin occupies is in heavy clay gumbo land and the cool season invasive problem is much more pronounced than another ranch he runs 20 miles down the road, but where less clayey soils are present. This is Justin’s story of adaptive grazing, some of the many practical struggles he has and yet reflects his deep commitment to right management; there are no silver bullets, but there is much to learn from Justin’s philosophy and practice – we are also joined by Emily Helms, state rangeland management specialist for South Dakota, and Ryan Beer, rangeland management specialist out of Bison, SD, who provide us with their very valuable perspectives. From Justin’s e-mails subsequent to the interview: “I do wish I had specified that the sandier soils of our first ranch, have benefited from take half-leave half. Truly nearly all NRCS practices have worked on that ranch!! The ranches are 20 miles apart with completely different set of issues. The sandy soiled ranch has water table at 120 feet and springs that flow 9 months outta the year. The home ranch has very little water as one example. Another example would be free choice salt. The west ranch I go through 5 to 6 ton of white salt a year, at home one half a ton. I use a custom mineral with grass clippings, water samples, and liver biopsies.” “Another idea I had since we last talked and I will ask Ryan next time I see him. Maybe...You take half - leave half, once over rotation, rest, etc. IF, your annual production is 2200 pounds per acre or less. (Which is about what our west ranch is)If your annual production is 2250 pounds or more you only leave 1000 pounds. I have measured 4300 pounds before. Usually, it is around 3200 pounds.” Resources mentioned in the podcast: Successful farming Article on Boom or Bust (please note we don’t necessarily endorse this method, but there are take-homes that we believe are useful): https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/cattle/build-drought-resistant-soil-via-boom-bust-grazing Workshop on Cool-Season Invasive Species in the Northern Great plains (note, while the hyperlinks to the full papers no longer work, the abstracts are useful. Note we don’t necessarily endorse every practice, but want to share this with the idea that the abstracts provide useful education and reflect more recent thoughts on cool-season invasives) https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/CoolSeasonGrass2014_10.pdf

“If you break out the fungal hyphae and you disturb microbiomes, they won't be able to develop, establish, and flourish from that point on.…we realized how important it is to have the fungal community in the system.” David Johnson is a molecular biologist and research scientist in Las Cruces NM, investigating soil microbial community population, structure, diversity and biological functionality and their influence on plant growth and soil fertility development in farm and rangeland ecosystems. While working on a project that involved composting excess cow manure that needed a lot of turning, David brought home a lot of dirty laundry. David’s wife, Hui-Chun Su-Johnson, says she grew tired of washing David’s clothes from turning cow poop, and this changed their lives. David and Hui-Chun started to work on the idea of a compost system that was aerobic, yet did not require turning – a tall order indeed. Hui-Chun joined David in the field and the couple co-developed the no-turn, aerobic Johnson-Su Bioreactor (compost system) that provided a fungal-dominant, biologically diverse compost. The use of Johnson-Su Compost, integrated with land management, then became known as BEAM, or Biologically Enhanced Agricultural Management. What started off as an effort to reduce the laundry load in the Johnson household resulted in a unique compost with a global following (for example, see the Johnson-Su Facebook group)!! Given that ruminant animals are also “great composting machines”, the Johnsons turned their attention to examining the biological benefits of Adaptive Multi Paddock (AMP)Grazing Systems. AMP is based on the use of ruminant animals to mimic nature not unlike what we may have found a few hundred years ago as bison roamed the prairie in herds that constantly moved in search of food and were kept tight by predators, leaving behind urine, dung, and hoofprints and other animal residue that fed soil organisms. The leftover grass, trampled by bison hooves, covered, protected and fed soil microbes, especially fungi, facilitated the capture and incorporation of more organic matter into the soil profile. In short, this process of herds of ruminants moving through the landscape “inoculated the soil as the bison passed through each area.” Whether you call it Adaptive Multi Paddock grazing, or Adaptive Management, the watchwords for this process are: Observe, Adapt, Repeat. Each area is different. Each herd, each ranch, each pasture is different, and each day’s weather is different. The key to moving this system forward in the regenerative process lies in observation and subsequent adaptation. In 2022, Johnson and colleagues produced another peer-reviewed article on the benefits of AMP grazing. This research, based on 5 paired across-the-fence pastures (one conventional pasture, one AMP pasture) in the Southeast, fit nicely with similar efforts across the country with a group of researchers that include Richard Teague, Steven Apfelbaum, Ry Thompson, and Peter Byck (also co-authors with Johnson). This group is conducting other across-the fence experiments, on real farms and ranches, in different parts of the United States and Canada, keep an eye out for their names, also see a list of some of their peer-reviewed articles at the end of this piece. Results from the Johnson et al. study showed (1) AMP grazing systems significantly outperformed their conventional across the fence counterparts in standing crop biomass (2) increased fungal/bacterial ratios and (3) increased predator/prey ratios. This means that ranchers converting to AMP grazing strategies will see improved soil structure, improved forage production, increased soil organic matter, improved nutrient efficiency along with increased resilience of their systems to weather extremes. To be sure, AMP grazing is an appreciable departure from conventional systems and what was considered “the right way” for decades. “But now that we have more information out there as tools for [producers], hopefully there will be more ways to show people that there is a more defined, more reliable path.” Says Johnson. He continues: “For [producers] to transition to regenerative and be profitable will only be positive and beneficial for everybody when they are able to make more money and be a better steward of land.. it's all positive feedback loop…and I think we just need to find a way to show people that OK, here is a path that you can go forward with or without having to take on so much risk of unknown.” More science like this is making its way to peer review literature, validating what some regenerative ranchers and farmers have known and practiced for decades. This science, paired with living working examples on farms and ranches across the country, across the globe, provides more evidence and incentive for producers to rethink their business models for the better.

“You look at soil health… the tenets don't change, right, the tenets of those five things, will remain truthful, now, [and] in 10 years from now, I would hope, right? And that's kind of how I try to approach my outreach.” We were delighted to get together with Pete Bauman who is a Natural Resources and Wildlife Field Specialist for SDSU Extension. Pete specializes in range, pasture, and grassland management with an emphasis on educating producers about how profitability and ecological balance are complimentary. Pete’s focus areas include alternative grassland management tools such as fire, biological control, controlled grazing, and reduction of inputs for systems health. Pete grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and, as a young man, fell in love with cattle, with wildlife and the land in general. As a young man, Pete noticed some of the unintended consequences of conventional farming; the nearby marsh he played in filled up while the creek he fished from became a mud bottom, gone were some of the animals like perch, rock bass, and the frogs, toads and snakes that kids love to collect. There observations influenced young Pete’s story and led Pete to start his undergraduate studies at SDSU in natural resource and park management; he then gravitated toward wildlife and fisheries. That’s where Pete finds his calling today. After completing his bachelors and masters at SDSU, Pete started out as a Land Manager at the Nature Conservancy; as a young professional, he managed several of public lands in both Minnesota and South Dakota “I was the Nature Conservancy hippie on the South Dakota side [where public lands were overutilized by grazing], whereas I go in and defend grazing in Minnesota [where public lands were underutilized by grazing], saying we needed more and all of a sudden now it's the cowboy that all I wanted to do was play with cows.” This experience, while not always easy, informed Pete’s current philosophy about land management, using grazing animals, fire and other management; some disturbance is necessary, but it needs to be managed properly and is always site-specific. When SDSU came a-calling and asked him to apply for an extension position, Pete first said no, but was finally convinced to join SDSU because he was given an opportunity to reshape what it meant to work in extension. The result is that Pete focuses all his energies on the remaining of South Dakota's native grasslands, working with private producers on the prairie ecosystems. What follows in this podcast is a wide-ranging discussion where Pete talks with Buz and Joe about different ways to work with producers, about approaching each case with humility and about listening first to each producer. It is from these angles that the tools of grazing and fire can be intelligently applied by the producer. We touch on many subjects including the notion of context as the 6th principle of soil health; restoring native grass habitat; his role in the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition; prescribed burn; his role as an extension agent in the age of Google; grass-fed beef and contract grazing. Pete is a busy guy and some of his 2022 activities included the following: 2022 - Wildlife Professional of the Year Teacher at Eastern Grazing School - July 26-28, 2022 Prescribed fire workshops Coordinator and Instructor - June 2 and 3, 2022 Apart from being in the field, Pete is a prolific author and we have attached some of the links to Pete’s written work below: (see the whole list at https://muckrack.com/pete-bauman/articles ) Grass-Fed Beef: Market Share of Grass-Fed Beef Grass-Fed Beef: Understanding Terminology in Conventionally Raised Beef and Grass-Fed Beef Grassland Management Do’s and Don’ts Managing and Protecting Grasslands for the Future Plan Now to Control Weeds With Grazing Next Season 5 top tips to help successfully move back calving dates Manage livestock for beneficial species Managing Livestock for Dung Beetles and Other Beneficial Species Structuring Grazing Leases

What’s the soil food web got to do with it? This is a special podcast to prepare our audience for the upcoming Climate Smart Agriculture enhancements to the EQIP and CSP programs, amongst others. In our previous podcast recorded in November 2022, we spoke to South Dakota NRCS’s Jessica Michalski and Kent Vlieger about some of the programmatic and practical aspects of the Climate Smart initiative, the potential opportunities for producers and what you as a producer can do to best prepare for the enhanced funding opportunity. In this podcast, we speak to soil scientist/biogeochemist Dr. Andrea Jilling from Oklahoma State University’s Plant & Soil Sciences about some of the scientific underpinnings of the effect of climate smart practices that are extensively discussed in the previous podcast. Yes, we nerd out a little, but we think that you, our listeners are ready and will take this discussion in their stride and see how it may benefit you, especially as you think about your conservation plan and how the Climate Smart enhancements may benefit you. Topics that we discuss include: • What does the soil food web have to do with climate smart ag? Can you use climate smart ag to enhance nutrient efficiency? Just how diverse is organic matter, what is the rhizosphere? • How plants harness solar energy, and why they invest so much in below ground development, especially root exudates. • What do root exudates have to do with enhancing nutrient efficiency? • What does it mean when we say “carbon is the energy currency of the soil”? • How diverse is organic matter? Can we distinguish between particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral, or clay/silt associated organic matter? • What and has recent science done to shed more light on how view mineral associated organic matter? • How do POM and mineral associated organic matter work together to immobilize and release nutrients? • What do plant-soil interactions look like over the lifecycle of the plant in releasing and immobilizing nutrients, what are the management possibilities in the future, and what can we do now to optimize plant-soil interactions? • How do these principles work with soil minerals like phosphorus and why are pH hot spots at a microscopic scale are a big deal? • What kinds of change could you expect in your soils if you decided to go all in for climate smart ag? • What are scientists like Dr. Jilling thinking about for the future in agriculture? Will new research try to leverage more producer collaboration? Also, Dr. Jilling provides some parting words on resilience. Dr Jilling can be found at: https://experts.okstate.edu/andrea.jilling For related articles on how soil health (and climate smart practices) can add real value to the farm see: Successful farming’s: “Living Roots, Low input costs: Turning Cover Crops into Cash Crops Boosts Profits and lowers costs” https://www.agriculture.com/crops/cover-crops/living-roots-low-input-costs No Till Farmer’s “How No-till improves land values” https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12090-how-no-till-improves-land-values

Get Ready to take Advantage of the Climate-Smart Practice Incentives. In this special podcast episode, we get together with the South Dakota NRCS’s Jessica Michalski and Kent Vlieger to discuss what the upcoming climate smart agriculture and forestry package looks like, what we know, and as of December 2022, what we also don’t yet know. NRCS uses conservation practices to do business with their farmers, ranchers and foresters and in the last two years, many of those conservation practices have been defined as ‘climate smart’. Many of those practices are already in use in South Dakota; these include conservation crop rotation, residue and tillage management, reducing tillage or using no-till, cover crops, nutrient management, grass seeding practices like field borders, filter strips, grassed waterways, pasture and hay, land plantings, and range seedings are defined as some of the practices. In short, most of these practices have been shown to put more carbon into the soil; more importantly to producers, more carbon (typically 60% of organic matter is carbon) in the soil means better soil function, namely better infiltration, water retention, nutrient recycling and healthier crops and animals. In this recording, we speak to Jessica and Kent about the following: 1. What are examples of climate-smart practices? 2. Demystifying the “climate smart” label and how do climate smart practices benefit the producer, keeping in mind that these practices already have a proven track record on South Dakota farms and ranches 3. While there is a lot we don’t know, it’s important to understand that producers can prepare themselves to take advantage of the funding before any announcements are made. Jessica’s main advice? Go to your field office and make sure your conservation plan is up to date! 4. Kent Vlieger gets a little more granular on how these climate smart practices may benefit you and how you can use these incentives to think outside the box. 5. The funding for climate smart practices has the potential to be transformative for many farms and ranches, Jessica gives advice for what else a produce can do to be prepared to take advantage of this program (announcement is set for January 2023). 6. Finally, Kent touches on why the producer may want to become more educated about the soil food web, and how that may be an advantage when choosing which conservation practices may fit a particular operation. To end, what does Jessica Michalski advise? “So when it comes to the EQIP program, right after the first of the new year, we'll probably be getting out our payment schedule information, …and start looking at the practices that would really help you address your resource concerns. I think the more educated a producer can make themselves, again, a more successful conservation plan, a more successful contract they're going to have if they do their homework.” Useful links to help you get started, watch out for new announcements in January 2023! Stay tuned to the SD NRCS website: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/south-dakota Farmers.gov: https://www.farmers.gov/conservation/climate-smart

“.. everything works together. The more diverse a pasture or grassland is, the healthier it is, the more resilient it is to any disturbance that comes at it. So, if we can have that diversity it’s going to reduce the inputs needed and the landscape can be more resilient as well”. - Emily Helms USDA-NRCS’s State Rangeland Management Specialist in South Dakota. If you find yourself in a meeting or in the field where farmers or ranchers are demonstrating or discussing good grazing practice (like Rotate, Rest, Recover), whether East or West River, you’re likely to find Emily Helms, USDA-NRCS’s State Rangeland Management Specialist in South Dakota. While Emily is not one to draw attention to herself, anyone who is interested in rangeland function and diversity would do well to pay close attention to what Emily says. While most of us would walk by an obscure-looking plant, Emily is likely to stop and say “Oh! This is a …..” and she’d take you to school about the plant above and belowground, it’s story, its function in the prairie and how or when it can be grazed. Soil Health Lab’s Joe Dickie and Buz Kloot sit down to chat with Emily Helms about rangeland, it’s value, the threats to rangeland, what can be done to mitigate the threats and we discuss a number of examples of what folks are doing right to restore function to grasslands in South Dakota. In the podcast, Emily walks us through four threats namely: 1. Woody encroachment on rangeland 2. Urban encroachment 3. Conversion to cropland 4. Cool season invasive species Finally, in the last few minutes of the interview, Emily walks us through why the grasslands are important, why diversity is important to resilience and why this groundswell of partners and partnerships has the potential to restore grasslands in the state, and elsewhere. We hope you enjoy the podcast! Other Links Mentioned in the Podcast: USDA-NRCS South Dakota Range and Pasture website that includes the SD Drought Status and Drought maps, Drought Tool, South Dakota Range Planning Tools and South Dakota Prescribed Burning - https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/ SD Grasslands Coalition - https://sdgrass.org/ The Central Grasslands Roadmap: https://www.grasslandsroadmap.org/ Book by Owen Wormsley - Lawns to Meadows Mid Missouri River Prescribed Burn Association: https://www.midmissouririverpba.com/ Prescribed Burn Videos, Podcasts and Blogs: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/prescribed-burn Drought Management Videos, Podcasts and Blogs: https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/drought-management

In a lively interview with Buz Kloot, Joe Dickie and Lynn Betts, Maygen and Noah of the band Maygen & the Birdwatcher delve into the origins and evolution of their musical journey and their collaboration with the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition. 

The discussion began with Maygen recounting her unexpected path into music, having grown  up with 90’s country music in the house thanks to her mother. After having children, she overcame her fear of performing and began as a studio vocalist, eventually forming a duo called Sparrow's Rising. This partnership led to an opportunity to open for the Indigo Girls, where she met Noah, a talented guitarist who shared her passion for music.

Noah's background contrasted Maygen's as he grew up disliking country music, influenced by his father's farm boy roots but personally drawn to classic rock and metal. His appreciation for country music grew over time, and when Maygen and Noah met, they clicked immediately, both musically and personally, leading to the formation of Maygen & the Birdwatcher around 2018.

Their collaboration matured, with Noah stepping into songwriting and contributing significantly to their melodies, lyrics and message. The pair continually pushed each other to learn and grow, resulting in a dynamic and evolving musical partnership.

The conversation then shifted to their acclaimed project, "Where Good Things Grow." Lynn Betts, a consultant for the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, recounted how he discovered Maygen & the Birdwatcher while searching for the perfect band to create a song for a campaign promoting the benefits of grasslands. He spent considerable time listening to various Midwest artists before finding their sound ideal for the project.

Maygen and Noah eagerly embraced the challenge. Inspired by the coalition's work and their own experiences touring the grasslands, they crafted lyrics that captured the essence of the landscape and the interconnectedness of its ecosystem. They wrote two songs initially and combined elements from both to create the final version of "Where Good Things Grow," which resonated deeply with the themes of the campaign.

The intention from the start was to produce a music video, which eventually featured the band performing amidst the prairie, visually complementing the song's message. The result was a powerful and evocative portrayal of the grasslands' beauty and significance.

In recognition of their outstanding work, Maygen & the Birdwatcher received an award from the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, underscoring the impact and excellence of their contribution. The project not only showcased their musical talents but also highlighted the importance of preserving natural landscapes, blending art and advocacy in a compelling way.

Overall, this interview highlights the band's journey, their creative process, and this meaningful and innovative collaboration with the South Dakota Grassland Coalition that defines new ways music and advocacy can intertwine.

Links: 

https://wheregoodthingsgrow.org/

Watch the full video for ‘Where Good Things Grow” at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklZNJWNxcY

To find out more about Maygen and Noah, go to: https://www.maygenandthebirdwatcher.com/

or follow them on Facebook or Instagram. @maygenandthebirdwatcher

It is a rare pleasure to speak with a person of consequence and have their undivided attention for an hour. Ray Archuleta, who needs little introduction, has been a person of consequence in the lives of Buz Kloot (Soil Health Labs at the University of South Carolina) and Tanse Herrmann, NRCS Grazing Lands Soil Health Specialist working out of Rapid City, South Dakota. In this podcast, Buz and Tanse host Ray Archuleta and catch up with him, but before that, both Buz and Tanse tell their stories of how they first met Ray and how he has impacted their lives. A theme that runs through the podcast is The Goal of farming/ranching – making money is an outcome, but The Goal is to Follow the Pattern that Mother Nature has provided. We talk to Ray about his journey since he left the USDA-NRCS (where he served for 3 decades) and what he’s been up to since then. Ray now has land near Seymour, Missouri and talks about having “Skin in the Game” now that he has his own land payment and his own livestock to manage! Ray talks about having skin in the game as being a great tool to make him more empathetic to the ranchers and farmers he speaks to, and he still does a lot of that. Ray also speaks from his own experience of farming with sheep, the mistakes he has made and what he’s learned in the process – infrastructure, animal safety and health, epigenetics and simplicity of design are discussed. The conversation turns to the work that Alejandro Carrillo has done on the Las Damas Ranch in the Chihuahua desert and how transformational this has been to the landscape (see the Las Damas Case Study at the end of these show notes). Ray uses the discussion about Alejandro’s land as an opportunity to educate us on the principle of ecological context (often considered the 6th principle of soil health), in this case, he discusses ecological context in terms of the difference between rainfall on his land (~45” a year) versus Alejandro’s (8” - 10” a year). Note that the first five principles of soil health are: 1. Minimum disturbance; 2. Cover the soil; 3. Keep a live root in the soil as many days as possible; 4. Add diversity of plants (e.g., grasses and broadleaves, warm and cool season, annuals, and perennials); 5. Incorporate livestock back to the land. The discussion of ecological context also led us to spend some time discussing the very important human dimension of rangeland and farmland management, and how people make decisions. We make a few references to Dr. Ellen Davis’s Book “Scripture, Culture and Agriculture” and the work by Hannah Gosnell and others in a paper called “Transformational adaptation on the farm: Processes of change and persistence in transitions to ‘climate-smart’ regenerative agriculture” where “dimensions of transformation [are] associated with beliefs, values, emotions, worldviews, structures of meaning-making, and consciousness” are discussed. See below for the links to these two references. References from the Podcast: Alejandro Carrillo: Las Damas Ranch Case Study, Las Damas Ranch, Aldama County, Chihuahua, Mexico https://understandingag.com/case_studies/las-damas-ranch-case-study/ Ray discusses infrastructure, and there is no better network on rangeland and farmland advice than the SD Grasslands Coalition Mentoring Network where mentors on fencing and water placement, among other things, are provided: https://sdgrass.org/mentoring-network/ SoilHealthLab’s podcast with Shannon Kulseth-Iverson: “39 How Rangeland Health and Livestock Work to Solve Environmental Issues” https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/podcasts/episode/c506bbc6/39-how-rangeland-health-and-livestock-work-to-solve-environmental-issues Books Discussed in Podcast: Note we have links for convenience- there are other outlets that carry these books as well. André Lund. The Wonder of UHDSG (Ultra High Density Strip Grazing): Elandsfontein Beaufort West - Central Karoo South Africa. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40894069-the-wonder-of-uhdsg-ultra-high-density-strip-grazing Ellen Davis. Scripture, Culture and Agriculture. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/5941497-scripture-culture-and-agriculture Movies: “Kiss the Ground.” Understanding Ag’s Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Kris Nichols, Ph.D. https://kissthegroundmovie.com/kiss-the-ground-understanding-ags-ray-archuleta-gabe-brown-and-kris-nichols-ph-d/ Recommended Podcast: The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast – hosted by John Kempf. https://regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com/ Books Recommended by Ray Archuleta (these are all searchable, some of them available in pdf format) 1) Allan Savory - Holistic Management 2) Eugene P. Odum - Fundamentals of Ecology (3rd or 4th edition) 3) David Gleissman -Agroecology by 4) Weil and Brady - Nature and Properties of Soils (15th edition I available) 5) Martin Alexander - Introduction to Soil Microbiology 6) Patrick Lavelle and Alister V. Spain - Soil Ecology 7) David Coleman, mac Callaham and D.A. Crossley, Jr. Fundamental of Soil Ecology 8) Sir Albert Howard – An Agricultural Testament 9) N.A. Krasil‘nikov -Soil Microorganisms and Higher Plants: The Classic Text on Living Soils 10) Michael John Swift and others: Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems 11) Donald Q. Innis- Intercropping and the Scientific basis for traditional agriculture 12) David Pimentel - Handbook of Energy Utilization in Agriculture (ISBN 9781315893419) 13) Ken Killham - Soil Ecology 14) David Pimentel - Food, Energy and Society 15) Richard Bardgett, Usher and Hopkins - Biological Diversity and Function in Soils 16) Bill Mollison - Permaculture: A designers Manual 17) Fred Magdoff and Harold Van Es - Building Better Soils for Better Crops 18) Richard Bardgett and others - Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services 19) Brian walker and David Salt - Resilience Thinking: sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world 20) F. Stuart Chapin and others - Principles of Terrestrial ecosystem ecology 21) Masanobu Fukuoka – One Straw Revolution

In this, our second chat with Bart Carmichael, rancher out of Faith SD, we quizzed Bart on his approach to year-round grazing where Bart walks us through why he aims to graze year-round, what he does to make this possible and what benefits he sees from this practice. Given the dry conditions experienced at the time of the podcast, the conversation also turned to drought; Bart is always planning for drought he agrees with fellow rancher Pat Guptill who says (paraphrased) “when we call it a drought plan, we get scared, a drought plan is nothing other than a forage plan”. We discussed a very interesting innovation with Bart, namely destocking without selling off his herd – how does that work? Find out in the podcast. Keep in mind that to be able to support year-round grazing, land needs good management, one of the keys to Adaptive Grazing management is long rest time coupled with high stocking densities. We highlight a quote from Bart in the first 30 seconds of the podcast where he says “I figured up last fall that 99% of my land that I'm in control of is in rest. You know, we're only ever on like 1% of it at any given time. So that way there's always something there and we graze it once and then give it plenty of time to recover and send down the roots and build up soil, and once the soi temperature is up, it’s ready to grow grass...[even] in a drought”. More about Bart: Bart Carmichael and his wife Shannon run the Wedge Tent Ranch (https://www.wedgetentranch.com/) seed stock operation with their family just north of Faith, SD. Bart is also an educator at heart and is extremely active in the SD Grassland Coalition (see https://sdgrass.org/ ) . For more information from our sponsor, the USDA-NRCS in South Dakota please visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/

We’re excited to introduce our good friend, Shannon Kulseth-Iverson. Shannon is a native of North Dakota and ranches with her husband, Eric Iverson and her three teenage children out of White River, SD. We caught up with Shannon (yes, she is always on the move) and talked about ranching, native range restoration, and her work as a consulting biologist. Shannon is passionate about rangeland and the environment, and because of her diverse background, she has a really important message. Shannon runs a consulting company called Native Range Resources, LLC where she consults on environmental compliance, agricultural monitoring, stormwater compliance, and integrated pest management; she also started a new company called Westslope Corporation that focuses on native prairie restoration projects. If that’s not enough, Shannon also has a podcast called “The Business of Barrel Racing” which is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Audible, Stitcher and Gaana. Check out here podcast site at https://www.thebusinessofbarrelracing.com/ or find the podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Dr. Shaun Grassel is a wildlife biologist who works out on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation’s headquarters for the tribe’s Department of Wildlife, Fish and Recreation.  In addition, Shaun has recently taken a more active role in managing his family land in Lower Brule. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Grassel’s work with prairie dogs and the re-introduction of the black footed ferret, the natural predator of the prairie dog.  There is a wide range of attitudes toward prairie dogs amongst ranchers and how they deal with them, and Dr. Grassel discusses this in the podcast.  There is a very interesting part where he discusses the dynamic nature of prairie dog's interactions with their predators, black footed ferrets and their interactions with livestock. We are posting this as a special feature because we think this discussion, especially looking at re-introducing black footed ferrets into P-dog towns may be of interest to west river ranchers. Dr. Grassel can be reached at the Lower Brule Department of Wildlife, Fish and Recreation https://www.lowerbrulesiouxtribe.com/copy-of-enviromental-protection-office Dr. Shaun Grassel’s Research Gate profile also provides one with an insight into his research interests https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shaun-Grassel Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/

In the last seven years, the name of Joe Dickie has become more and more synonymous with high quality video that highlights outstanding farmers and ranchers in South Dakota. Many in the South Dakota agricultural community know and trust Joe, but he is a busy man and doesn’t always get to share his whole story. Since Joe works with us at the Soil Health Labs on the SD Growing Resilience Project, we thought it would be worthwhile discussing how Joe got into videography and ended up working on so many South Dakota projects. This is not in the podcast, but did you know that at one time Joe was a DJ before he started down the visual creativity path? Joe brings with him a wonderful sense of humor and stories of some of his travels in South Dakota and elsewhere. In this episode, which takes an unexpected turn, Joe shares about his life, and a very recent tragedy in the family, and how that tragedy has renewed his sense of purpose in spreading the good news about soil health to farmers and ranchers not only in South Dakota, but other parts of the world. Visit Joe's website at: https://www.joedickiephotography.com/ Joe has also created the Our Amazing Grasslands Series with the SD Grassland coalition and Soil Stories with the SD Soil Health Coalition. All these videos can be found on the SD NRCS YouTube site. Joe has also worked on the SD NOLO (Non-Operating Landowner) project and has produced many videos for this project as well as the NOLO/Tenant partnership stories. These can be found at: https://www.nolosd.org/ Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://bit.ly/SDGrasslands

In this second of two podcasts with Tanse Herrmann, State Grazinglands Soil Health Specialist in South Dakota, we discuss a number of topics including: How can rangeland managers think about soil health principles as applied to rangeland and not just cropland? What makes adaptive grazing managers so successful, what is their secret? What goes on in the soil-plant-animal ecosystem and how can we use rangeland plants as carbon pumps to get more organic matter in the soil and increase soil health? Where to start on the rotational grazing journey? Tanse ends the podcast with some advice you can’t afford to miss, so stick with it. Tanse can be reached at the NRCS Service Center in Rapid City, SD, the Service Center guide will help you to get to his information: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/contact/local/ Remember Tanse’s words – “WE WANT TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE” so “DON’T BE TOO PROUD TO ASK”, calling up your NRCS Service Center and Speaking to a Grazingland Specialist costs nothing. What do you have to lose? Watch for an announcement from SD Grassland Coalition for the 2022 Grazing School https://sdgrass.org/ Watch for Soil health Workshops and Conferences at: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/ Watch also for Ranching for Profit Schools: https://ranchmanagement.com/ranching-for-profit-school-2/ Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/

We caught up with Tanse Hermann, NRCS’s newly appointed State Grazinglands Soil Health Specialist in South Dakota; to our knowledge, this is the first appointment of its kind in the country, and we were thrilled to talk with Tanse. Before we dive into the subjects at hand, Tanse, a man whose love for the FFA, horses, rodeo and livestock, first walks us through his own background; you’ll find that Tanse is a born teacher. In the rest of the podcast we discuss a number of questions including: Why is soil health more emphasized in cropland than rangeland? What makes rangeland the blueprint for soils and cropping systems? As a seasonal grazer who feels overwhelmed with the prospect of going to rotational grazing, but who really feels it’s time to make the shift, how would Tanse or another NRCS representative talk to me? Finally, Tanse talks about the changing definitions of what it takes to be a good farmer and rancher. Because Tanse had so much to share, we added a second part of this interview as our next podcast, Tanse opens up with telling us how we think of the soil health principles to rangeland. Tanse can be reached at: tanse.herrmann@usda.gov For more contact information, visit NRCS Service Center in Rapid City, SD: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/contact/local/ Remember Tanse’s words – “WE WANT TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE” so “DON’T BE TOO PROUD TO ASK”, calling up your NRCS Service Center and Speaking to a Grazingland Specialist costs nothing. What do you have to lose? Watch for an announcement from SD Grassland Coalition for the 2022 Grazing School https://sdgrass.org/ Watch for Soil Health Workshops and Conferences at: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/ Watch also for Ranching for Profit Schools: https://ranchmanagement.com/ranching-for-profit-school-2/ Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/

In this second of two chats with rancher, Pat Guptill (Quinn, SD), we discuss how he can graze his livestock year-round and (to us, at least) the surprising link between year-round grazing and calving on grass (so when you see fawns out on the prairie, that’s the time to calve in your area). Pat’s basic philosophy on year-round grazing and calving on grass is “we can’t make our calves worth more, so we need to figure out how to raise that calf with less inputs”. Listen with us as Pat discusses how he does that in this podcast and provides some helpful tips on how one begins down the year-round grazing path. Pat also addresses weaning times, concerns like low Body Condition Score (BCS) for mama cows in March (and how that looks to others) and calf weights at market time hint: Pat’s calves may be lighter than others, but he sells more beef because his calf survival rates are so much higher. Pat is passionate about mentoring folks who are interested in improving their land and is a board member of the SD Grassland Coalition. Pat can be contacted through the SD Grassland Coalition website (https://sdgrass.org/). Pat is a big proponent of grazing schools and Ranching for Profit Workshops: Watch for an announcement from SD Grassland Coalition for the 2022 Grazing School: https://sdgrass.org/ Watch for Soil Health Workshops and Conferences at: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/ Watch also for Ranching for Profit Schools: https://ranchmanagement.com/ranching-for-profit-school-2/ In addition, we provide some video links that feature Pat: 2013 SD Leopold Award: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGsjUdScWZM A 2014 video by SDSU visits with Pat about High Stock Density grazing (Pat doesn’t necessarily like to use the words “Mob Grazing”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWC9qkYdDNA In 2021, Pat and wife Mary Lou (through the SD NOLO project) discuss “Understanding the Connection: Stress Reduction Through Soil Health”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfIJp-M1K5U Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

We catch up with Pat Guptill, rancher from Quinn, SD, Pat grazes his base herd year-round and when he has enough grass in the summer, will take on additional stockers. Pat discusses his basic operating philosophy and business model, he shares with us the number 1 thing he attends to: spoiler alert, these are livestock but not cows! Pat rotates almost daily using high stocking densities and he provides thoughts on why he wants every square inch of land covered by hooves. We discuss recovery times between his land and land that has been left bare, the use of temporary and permanent fencing as a tool. Pat is a keen observer not only of his land but his livestock and talks about “setting their plates” every day, very handy when it comes to controlling things like Canada thistle. Stockmanship is important as well, Pat talks about trust between man and animal, how he can tame new stockers on the land in a matter of days, how this helps with labor and sick livestock (which are rare in his case), and how human and animal stress can be a two-way street. Finally, we discuss some of the concrete (and to many, surprising) actions that Pat has taken to improve his soil and animal health, we include a little discussion on the many dung beetles he has on his land and how they act to recycle nutrients and help reduce fly pressure. Pat is passionate about mentoring folks who are interested in improving their land and is a board member of the SD Grassland Coalition. Pat can be contacted through the SD Grassland Coalition website (https://sdgrass.org/). Pat is a big proponent of grazing schools and Ranching for Profit Workshops: Watch for an announcement from SD Grassland Coalition for the 2022 Grazing School https://sdgrass.org/ Watch for Soil Health Workshops and Conferences at: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/ Watch also for Ranching for Profit Schools: https://ranchmanagement.com/ranching-for-profit-school-2/ In addition, we provide some video links that feature Pat: 2013 SD Leopold Award: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGsjUdScWZM A 2014 video by SDSU visits with Pat about High Stock Density grazing (Pat doesn’t necessarily like to use the words “Mob Grazing”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWC9qkYdDNA n 2021, Pat and wife Mary Lou, through the SD NOLO (Non-Operating Land Owner) project, discuss “Understanding the Connection: Stress Reduction Through Soil Health” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfIJp-M1K5U Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://bit.ly/SDGrasslands

In this podcast episode, we chat with Greg Brown, a market gardener at Greenleaf Farms in Columbia, South Carolina. Greg's farm spans about an acre, where he grows a variety of flowers and produce organically, despite not being certified organic. He sells his products at a local farmer's market and to some local restaurants, but his main focus is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program he runs with another farmer.

Greg began his farming journey in Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to Columbia due to health issues that necessitated a heart transplant. Post-recovery, he resumed farming in Columbia about five years ago. He rents an acre of land where he grows various crops, including unique and lesser-known ones like ginger and lemongrass, to keep his farming interesting and to offer something different at the market.

In addition to growing crops, Greg practices companion planting and uses various soil health techniques. He uses lemongrass as mulch and creates his own compost and plant extracts to enrich the soil and manage pests. Greg emphasizes the importance of soil health and regenerative practices, like using cover crops and Korean natural farming techniques, to improve soil organic matter and nutrient levels. He also highlights the role of flowers in attracting pollinators and beneficial insects to his garden.

Greg's approach to farming includes creating natural treatments from plants like comfrey and yarrow, which he ferments into sprays to enhance soil and plant health. He is also enthusiastic about using locally available materials like fall leaves and rice hulls for mulch and composting.

Overall, Greg's focus is on maintaining a sustainable and organic farming practice, enriching the soil naturally, and providing unique, high-quality produce to his community.

Helpful Links

Follow Greg and Greenleaf farms on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenleaffarmssc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenleaf_farms_sc

For more podcast episodes, videos, blogs and other free resources, check out our website: soilhealthlabs.com

In this podcast, we talk with Miranda Meehan, NDSU Extension Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist. We chat with Miranda about a wide range of subjects that include environmental stewardship and livestock-environmental interactions including: range and riparian ecology, grazing management, integrated crop livestock systems, water quality, and reclamation. Miranda grew up in the agricultural community in North Dakota and brings a practical edge to her academic work, along with a sense of intellectual humility, a fabulous quality in any human being, but important for the work in which she is engaged. While Miranda is located and works in North Dakota, we believe that ranchers in South Dakota and other places can learn form this wonderful talk we had with her. Miranda earned B.S and M.S degrees in Animal and Range Science and a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Management, all from NDSU. Miranda’s Bio in her own words reads as follows: “I am the Extension Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist in the Animal Sciences Department at North Dakota State University. My appointment is 65% extension and 35% research. Extension responsibilities include development of statewide livestock environmental stewardship program materials, conduct meetings, offer training for livestock producers, extension personnel, and other professionals in the livestock industry. The objective of my research is to increase our understanding the ecology of rangeland ecosystems and assisting landowners in managing their resources in a profitable and sustainable manner. Some of my research interests include riparian ecology and management, grazing management, integrated crop livestock systems, and the influence of energy development on livestock production.” We include links to Miranda’s NDSU page, her research gate page (we discuss a number of her publications in the podcast, and they are available in the ResearchGate link), and her Twitter feed. NDSU Page: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-home/directory/miranda-meehan ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Miranda-Meehan Twitter: https://twitter.com/ndsu_ex_steward Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/

South Dakota NRCS and the Conservation Districts have identified that Non-Operating Landowners (or NOLOs) are one of the key s to moving the soil health needle in that state. Jeannie Franceus is a landowner, yes, but we’d like to coin a new term, she is a Super-Involved Landowner (or SILO) – Jeannie did grow up in South Dakota and went to SDSU but left for the big city and raised a family but was drawn back to her family land a while ago. While Jeannie does not own cattle herself, she has cultivated excellent relationships with her tenants and works alongside them in the summer while livestock are on her farm. In this fun and entertaining podcast, Jeannie tells us her story and her motivations behind why she does what she does, we think this is an excellent podcast for ranchers and non-operating landowners alike and possibly a model for some who may not necessarily want to own cattle, but who still want to use cattle as a tool to improve their land “the cows are my gardeners and my landscapers!”. Jeannie wrote this in a couple of emails to me after listening to our interview: “After we finished recording, I realized my error in focusing on Canada thistles, and neglecting to mention Muskies which had been an equally serious problem for us. (We were covering a lot of ground in the interview. I could do a whole podcast on nothing but weed control.)” “…my big regret is neglecting to mention the hundreds and hundreds of man-hours that the boys [Jeannie’s now adult sons] and I put into manual labor on Musk thistle control. When the soil is moist enough, they easily pull with leather gloves. When you get tired of that, or it gets too dry, we used a small hoe (made by a local rancher specifically for this job) to hack them off, about an inch below the soil surface. There are many good things that we can say about manual labor that connects us to the land: physical exercise, outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air, and seeing and feeling the land. I always do my best to inspire people that the secret to successful weed control is: DON'T LET THEM GO TO SEED. I would also add that MANY people are not aware that if you chop (or pull) a musk thistle that is close to blossoming, that dying plant will lay on the ground and pour all of its dying energy into that blossom...actually making it possible for the plant to produce fertile seeds as it lays on the ground!!! When our local veterinarian taught me that, we REALLY started to make progress on Musk thistle control. IF the buds start to show color, we now pluck, bag and burn them.” Jeannie is a member of the SD Grasslands Coalition, and we also provide a link to a 6 ½ minute “Amazing Grasslands” video that gives you an idea of Jeannie’s land, how she moves on it and her working relationship with tenant, Mark Guericke – this is well worth the watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIj07FFdk28 For more information on Non-Operating Landowners (NOLOs) in South Dakota, please go to https://www.nolosd.org/ and check out the new NOLO/Tenant Partnership Stories! Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

Dr. Cody Zilverberg is not your ordinary rangeland scientist who grew up on the ranch knowing this was exactly what he wanted to do. Cody’s path was somewhat more circuitous – he grew up in Central South Dakota on a registered beef cattle ranch that his parents, brother, and sister-in-law still operate. Cody studied computer science at St. John's University in Collegeville, MN and had no intention of returning to agriculture. It was in Guatemala, where Cody experienced hand-planting corn that he came to rethink agriculture. Cody returned to study Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M then went to Texas Tech where he received his PhD in studying crop livestock systems. Cody’s PhD and postdoctoral work put him in a unique position to help Dakota Lakes Research Farm’s quest to find ways to integrate (or re-integrate) livestock back into cropping systems. In our previous podcast, Cody walked us through some of the methods that Dakota Lakes has been looking at in terms of livestock integration as a tool, especially with annuals. In this podcast Cody shares with us his experience of introducing perennials into cropland systems as well as reestablishing native grasslands in pasture that was overrun with cool season exotics. Apart from links to Dakota Lakes, we include a link to Cody’s Research Gate page which gives one an idea of his background and interests. Cody Zilverberg Research Gate page - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cody-Zilverberg Livestock Integration at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eyq93SqnNc Dakota Lakes Research Farm - http://www.dakotalakes.com/ Dakota Lakes Virtual Field Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc66Z_FEyOM&list=PLTZDoxH1GkisubbRzKxg2XA_PIzzPE8PM&index=1 Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

Dr. Cody Zilverberg is not your ordinary rangeland scientist who grew up on the ranch knowing this was exactly what he wanted to do. Cody’s path was somewhat more circuitous – he grew up in Central South Dakota on a registered beef cattle ranch that his parents, brother, and sister-in-law still operate. Cody studied computer science at St. John's University in Collegeville, MN and had no intention of returning to agriculture. It was in Guatemala, where Cody experienced hand-planting corn that he came to rethink agriculture. Cody returned to study Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M then went to Texas Tech where he received his PhD in studying crop livestock systems. Cody’s PhD and postdoctoral work put him in a unique position to help Dakota Lakes Research Farm’s quest to find ways to integrate (or re-integrate) livestock back into cropping systems. In this podcast, Cody walks us through some of the methods that Dakota Lakes has been looking at in terms of livestock integration as a tool to make more money on and to improve the land while being mindful of the fact that in South Dakota weather, especially rainfall is so often a limiting factor. Subjects we discuss include swath grazing, bale grazing, grazing of cover crops, grazing in snow conditions, nutrient recycling and soil biology amongst other things. In our next podcast, we’ll continue to chat with Cody about using perennials in cropping systems and reestablishing native grass systems. Apart from links to Dakota Lakes, we include a link to Cody’s Research Gate page which gives one an idea of his background and interests. Cody Zilverberg Research Gate page - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cody-Zilverberg Livestock Integration at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eyq93SqnNc Dakota Lakes Research Farm - http://www.dakotalakes.com/ Dakota Lakes Virtual Field Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc66Z_FEyOM&list=PLTZDoxH1GkisubbRzKxg2XA_PIzzPE8PM&index=1 Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

To most farmers in South Dakota, Dr. Dwayne Beck needs very little introduction, Dwayne is the manager of the Dakota lakes Research Station near Pierre, SD and has been an influential force in promoting no-till farming and an awareness of soil biology with farmers. While Dwayne has written a good bit on no-till farming, he is in his element at Dakota Lakes with farmers, doing things like turning on the pivot irrigation system, putting 2” of water on the n-till ground and immediately following the pivot with producers so they see that on this land, infiltration happens so fast that they can keep their shoes clean!  We got together with Dwayne in the fall of 2021 to talk about Dakota lakes and specifically his interest in integrating livestock into cropping systems.  This has been a dream of his for some time, but it was made a reality through a gift of the Howard Buffet foundation.  Dr. Dwayne Beck is a natural storyteller and in this podcast, we get a 30,000 ft view of how Dakota Lakes is working on re-integrating livestock into cropping systems and why these things are important – Dwayne is open about failure and successes “it says research on the gate” is one of his expressions and he shares both with equal candor.  Most of Dwayne’s principles are illustrated with a story of some sort or another and we end the discussion with why we often need a “brain transplant” or an attitude shift to “see” or benefit from out of the box thinking. Rather than rehash Dr. Beck’s Pedigree, we are providing some links to those of our listeners who don’t know him as well: No-till on the plains – Dwane Beck Bio - http://www.notill.org/dwayne-beck SD Hall of fame – the legacy of Dwayne Beck - https://sdexcellence.org/Dwayne_Beck_2007 Dakota Lakes Research Farm - http://www.dakotalakes.com/ Dakota Lakes Virtual Field Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc66Z_FEyOM&list=PLTZDoxH1GkisubbRzKxg2XA_PIzzPE8PM&index=1 “Reversing Soil Degradation with Dwayne Beck” on the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast: http://regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com/2020/11 Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

Jessalyn Bachler is an Extension Range Field Specialist with SDSU, based in Lemmon, SD. Jessalyn graduated from NDSU with her Masters in Range Science with her thesis entitled “Winter Feeding Beef Cattle: a Review on Bale Grazing in the Northern Great Plains”; Jessalyn did her research out at NDSU’s Streeter REC in North Dakota. Apart from Jessalyn’s schooling, she grew up on a ranch in North Dakota. As part of our bale grazing campaign we launched in early December 2021, we asked Jessalyn to join us in a discussion on this emerging subject. In the podcast we discuss her thesis work, the good and the bad, including a disastrous first year where deep snow put an end to the first year of the project. The podcast continues where Jessalyn talks on a number of practical issues that include: the type of producer who may best benefit from bale grazing; wind breaks, extreme weather contingency plans, labor, fuel costs, infrastructure, soil health benefits, the type of hay one may want to feed on cropland vs rangeland; design of the bale grazing system, location of bales, types of wire and fence posts. Jessalyn also discusses some of the common objections and barriers to bale grazing namely the issues of waste, up-front expense for infrastructure, fence and water and she provides advice for those who may want to start out – the key here is to start small. Jessalyn’s professional profile, along with some of her wok may be seen at https://extension.sdstate.edu/about/our-experts/jessalyn-bachler , also contact your local NRCS offices to have a rangeland management specialist visit with you to see if bale grazing can work for you. Check out free resources at the NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

Bart Carmichael and his wife Shannon run a seed stock operation with their family in Northwest SD, just north of Faith SD. In this interview we kick off with drought – in a 12” rainfall area, Bart says they’re either preparing for a drought or in a drought. In the last 28 years, the Carmichaels have trebled their grass production in this cold, dry climate, so it’s worth listening to just how Bart has made this journey! We discuss management a lot, Bart typically moves animals every day and has a wonderful story about how a mentee of this timed him moving the fence and setting up a new fence – the short amount of time taken to do this will shock you. While Bart’s labor is down, he spends a lot of time managing and like Lealand Schoon in the previous podcast, observing – don’t be surprised to see Bart on his hands and knees when he is in the field! Bart is also an educator at heart and is extremely active in the SD Grassland Coalition (see https://sdgrass.org/ ) . https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/

Lealand Schoon is a 28 year veteran of the NRCS and works as an Area Rangeland Specialist out of Murdo, SD. Leland also has some land, and runs 150 head of sheep along with 30 cows, putting the grazing management and soil biology expertise he has acquired to work. Lealand’s ultimate question is “what is this action going to do for the soil biology?” We dive into some soil biology, but with the aim of how grazing management actually can increase photosynthesis and grass production and feed soil microbes. The heart of this discussion I imagine for the grazier is just to look at the terms like grazing readiness, partial defoliation, primary, secondary and fall tillers, rest and regrowth/recovery after defoliation – Lealand has a great way of explaining this wonderful mutualistic relationship that man, cattle and grass have with one another and how they interact with the elements. We discuss a lot of other things but at the end of the day, Lealand is a keen observer and was the first one to help me to look at rangeland with new eyes. Remember that access to knowledge of people like Lealand’s is free through the NRCS please go to your closest NRCS office or visit them at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/sd/home/

It's often thought that being a rancher is a noble profession—but not one that easily pays the bills. In this episode, Jenita Qualm (current Farmers Network Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Specialist) calls on us to question this old way of looking at the ranching profession and invites us to step into a reality where ranchers can take their fortune into their own hands.

“The Eastern Red Cedar invasion is happening right in my backyard. It affects many of my friends, landowners, ranchers, and people I work with in the county." Sean Kelly, South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension Range Management Field Specialist, Winner, South Dakota, discusses the process of a prescribed burn to showcase the safe use of fire to rid pastures of grass-choking and water-stealing red cedar trees.

In this first-of-its-kind episode on the Soil Health Labs podcast, we share big news on our expansion into South Carolina. Join us as we introduce Dr. Gabe Kenne, a molecular biologist turned soil health advocate, who will be leading our efforts in the Southeast. This episode sets the stage for what’s to come, sharing insights into the different agricultural landscapes and practices of South Carolina while maintaining our commitment to soil health principles that benefit land managers everywhere.

We start by discussing the podcast's new focus, emphasizing the universal applicability of soil health principles and the value that South Carolina's unique agricultural conditions will bring to our audience. Dr. Kenne provides an overview of his work in South Carolina, highlighting his transition from molecular biology to hands-on soil health advocacy.

The conversation covers several key projects, including the Cover 5 Project, which demonstrates the benefits of cover crops on poor land, and the Evaluate, Quantify, and Share Project, aimed at helping producers adopt soil health practices with tailored support. Dr. Kenne also shares updates on the Soil Health Labs website, which now features a wealth of archived and new content, and highlights our active social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

We also preview our first SC episode (coming soon) featuring Greg Brown. Greg is a successful small-scale vegetable and flower producer in South Carolina. Greg's innovative marketing strategies and strong community presence provide a fascinating case study in successful agricultural practices and community engagement.

As we close, we express our excitement for the upcoming South Carolina-focused episodes and encourage our South Dakota listeners to stay tuned for valuable content. We invite everyone to explore the updated Soil Health Labs website and connect with us on social media for more soil health insights. 

Thank you for joining us, and stay tuned for more from the Soil Health Labs podcast!

To learn more about what we're up to (and for more free content and resources), visit our website: soilhealthlabs.com

In this podcast Dr. Buz Kloot and Rangeland Management Specialist Rod Voss talk about the eastern red cedar (or green glacier) invasion and what it means to rangeland, the problems the invasion occurs and why its with us in South Dakota. After we discuss the problem (invasion of eastern red cedar) Rod walks us through the option of using fire (as opposed to simple mechanical treatment) and how this can be done safely through prescribed fire. Rod touches on the burn plan, which, if followed will reduce the risk of a wildfire. Apart from the burn plan, we also touch on how to prepare the land, and this depends on the size of trees you have, the concept of fuel load, fuel ladders (that’s where we have forests with trees of 20 ft and taller0 and the notion of fire return interval. Rod also gives a good explanation of why its important to control cedars when they are small, rather than wait for them to get big. Finally, Rod discusses why neighboring up in burn association is the only way we are going to get the eastern red cedar issue under control in South Dakota. Right now the Mid Missouri River Prescribed Burn association (Gregory, Charles Mix, Lyman and Brule Counties) is the only one of its kind in the state and we are going to have to see more burn associations organize to take care of this significant problem.

“Soil health knows no bounds,' says Jeff Zimprich, the recently retired NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota. "It can be accomplished on the front lawn and is alive and well in our grasslands and our croplands. But we can always do more to become more resilient to handle the weather patterns coming our way.” Hear the whole story of rangeland and cropland soil health from the former NRCS State Conservationist in this episode.

Stan Boltz, a USDA NRCS rangeland management specialist in South Dakota for 33 years, describes how healthy soil and cattle grazing management can reduce invasive species, bring back native rangeland and increase stocking rates. Listen to the podcast interview with Robin “Buz” Kloot on Growing Resilience podcasts or Soil Health Labs podcast.

“Here in South Dakota, we always say we’re two weeks away from a drought. Having your soil in good condition in wet years helps store more water than having it runoff. You get through a really dry year pretty well.” Larry Wagner, a rancher who grows grass in cropland country southeast of Chamberlain, SD, has readily shared his journey to grassland health. Hear Larry's seasoned wisdom on promoting healthy, resilient soils in this episode!