The Secret Behind the Power of Diversity Multispecies Grazing: A Primer on Diversity A Case Study of Soil Improvement Which Cover Crops are Best for Grazing? Adaptive Multi Paddock Grazing Supplemental Grazing Nitrogen: The Double Edged Sword Quorum Sensing in the Soil Microbiome Grassfed Beed and Soil Health: Profit, Possibilities…
It has been observed that a mixture of plants often performs better than a monoculture of the best performing plant in the mix, an observation that defies “common sense”. Dr. Norman Gentsch from the Institute of Soil Science at Leibniz University Hannover says, “In biodiverse mixes, specific species or varieties…
By Lee Rinehart, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Resilient farms are based on diversity of life, and while much of the focus of agricultural sustainability of late has been on diversity of crops, forages, and soil microbial populations, not much has been said about the diversity of grazing species. Multispecies grazing takes…
By Kevin Schilthuis • Lovell, Wyoming We are farming irrigated entisols, which are known to have high mineral content but little biological activity. We would much rather be farming the more productive mollisol soils, but since you play the hand that you were dealt, we have developed a “mollisolve cocktail”…
Grasses are king when it comes to growing cover crops for supplemental grazing. In addition to being the highest yielding family of cover crops, they are vital in reaching other cover cropping goals such as reducing erosion, building organic matter, and suppressing weeds. Warm-season C4 plants such as sorghum sudan…
When people think of grazing forages, they often think of fencing the whole field with one location for water and mineral and continuously grazing the whole herd until all the forage is eaten. This type of grazing can be destructive to soil health and productivity as it leads to compaction,…
One of the most widely reaped benefits of cover crops is providing valuable supplemental forage to grazing animals. Well-planned annual cover crop mixes can provide highly nutritious available forage when perennial grass pastures are either unproductive, poor in quality, or in need of rest. The most critical period for perennial…
By Christine Jones, Ph. D Dr. Christine Jones is an internationally renowned and highly respected groundcover and soils ecologist. She has a wealth of experience working with innovative landholders to implement regenerative land management practices that enhance biodiversity, increase biological activity, sequester carbon, activate soil nutrient cycles, restore water balance,…
By Christine Jones, Ph. D In human society, a quorum is the number of members of an organization that must be present in order for decisions to be made and business to be transacted. In the microbial world, the term quorum sensing (QS) refers to density dependent coordinated behavior that…
By Tim Goodnight • Pharo Cattle Company The Program: In early 2018, Tyson Foods approached Cactus Feeders about developing a grassfed beef program due to growing retail demand. Cactus quickly realized that to produce premium grassfed beef they were going to have to select the best genetics available, improve soil…
