South Dakota Grassland Coalition
1984 was a tough year to be a rancher in northwest South Dakota. A perfect storm had spread across the Great Plains. A cow killing blizzard, drought, scary low cattle prices and land values so far into the toilet many
Holistic Resource Management on the Gilbert Ranch: A Case Study Read More »
Dealing with farm/ranch transfer is important, but often difficult to accomplish. The Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition recently hired a ranch transition task manager to work with ranch families in
We recently attended a session of “Edible Landscapes,” a two-day Soil Health Summit held at Bismarck State College. The ND meetings are always very informative and usually include a human health
Healthy Soil Healthy Food Read More »
As the summer winds down and leads into the fall, it seems that our growing season never really became normal. Wetness has persisted, and even the small creek in my pasture, normally dry in August, has remained at a muddy high flow all summer due to upstream surface runoff and field tiling creating seemingly huge
Last winter was a tough one. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a “parade of snowstorms” on the Northern Plains. The verdict will be in next April. In the
Getting Ready for Winter Read More »
In the northern Great Plains, land surface disturbances, such as grazing and fire, are responsible for creating one of the largest grasslands on earth. Historically, bison would graze large expanses
Using Grazing and Fire to Improve Ecosystem Services Read More »
Coming into a ranch/ farm business from a non-agricultural background presents additional relationship challenges because in addition to adjusting to married life, the newbie is also assimilating
Adjusting to Ranch Life Read More »
For the two or three people that generally read my columns, you know that I’m a staunch advocate for keeping our native grasslands ‘green side up’ when it comes to converting
The South Dakota Soil Health Coalition (SDSHC) has officially released a new online portal and accompanying educational resources, created to connect livestock producers and those with available
The South Dakota Grazing Exchange Read More »
I define a weed as something I don’t want or don’t have use for. A question could be, do my live-stock have the same opinion? All of our responses will be different depending on the species of