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By Garnet Perman
July 2024
The Aldo Leopold Award for Conservation has been given in South Dakota for 15 years now. The 2024 recipients are father and son duo Barry and Eli Little of Blioux River Ranch located northwest of Castlewood, SD. Blioux River Ranch is a diverse grain and livestock operation with decades of conservation history that turned into true passion for soil health over the past 10 years.
The 2024 Recipients
The father-son duo has taken land that was poorly managed for many years following homesteading and is pursuing an end goal of being a completely regenerative operation not requiring any synthetic fertilizer or pesticides. They have taken advantage of many programs through NRCS, Pheasants Forever, and Ducks Unlimited to help protect land that is in the Big Sioux River watershed. Barry converted many of those acres into permanent pasture with the help of CRP and easement programs starting in the 1990’s. Son Eli joined the operation following graduation from SDSU in 2013.
Blioux River Ranch already had a cow/calf operation when Eli returned. Pasture acres were limited and the crop and livestock enterprises were separate. Making the livestock enterprise more profitable was key to bringing in the next generation. Adding a custom cattle feeding enterprise and integrating cattle with their cropping systems was their solution.
Everything in Nature has a Cycle
They were conscious of soil health before they first heard the term in 2014. Like many other regenerative operations, the Littles had some aha moments that led to a sharpened focus on soil health on both cropland and pastures. The Littles have made a point of attending workshops and conferences. A presentation by Gabe Brown impressed Eli. “I decided to prove him right, not to prove him wrong,” Eli said. Barry mentioned Christine Jones’ work as an influence. For him, understanding how everything in nature is a cycle helped shift his thinking. “We’ve always been advised that farming is linear with all kind of inputs, but things work in a cycle,” he said.
They added small grains to the crop rotation. They no-till all crops except corn which is strip tilled in spring. After 2018, they focused more on the timing of planting cover crops so they could be used for forage. They started interseeding crops with a hybrid machine Barry designed with the help of a local welder. Grazing cropland has helped cut their fertilizer application to a fraction of what they once used without impacting yields.
They went from just rotating pastures to intensive, high density grazing which has enabled them to increase forage production from a stocking density of 4-5 acres/cow to less than two acres. They utilize regenerated pasture, cover crops and crop aftermath. They started small, initially trying it on one pasture. Cattle are moved once a day into temporary paddocks. “It takes longer to drive to and from pasture than to put up fence,” Barry said. Calving moved to May. The late Gerald Frye influenced their cattle raising philosophy. They like black baldies that weigh about 1200 pounds with good mothering ability that do well on grass. Eli purchased his own cattle in 2021, phasing out the custom enterprise.
Eli tracks crop inputs, grazing and crop maps on a computer program. Experience and observation informs cow math when estimating forage. Implementing the first five principles of Soil Health made a positive difference to Blioux River Ranch. The sixth principle, context (figuring out what works best on their operation in their ecosystem) has increased ranch production and enthusiasm for their work.
The 2024 Leopold Award Winner Tour
This year’s Leopold tour is August 8 from 9:30-4:00 CST at 45696 SD HWY 22, Castlewood, SD. Directions to Blioux River Ranch from Kones Korner, Castlewood SD: At the intersection of US HWY 81 and SD HWY 22 East, go two miles East on HWY 22. Blioux River Ranch is on the North side of the road at 457th Avenue. Please RSVP for meal count to Judge Jessop at jljessop@kennebectelephone.com or call/text 605.280.0127.
Source: July 2024 Newsletter