Montana Ranchers Shift Management Paradigm

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps farmers and ranchers plan and implement conservation activities that enrich Montana’s living and life-giving soil. But to really make long-lasting changes to the soil it takes out-of-the-box thinkers, like the farmers and ranchers featured during the 2019 Montana Grazinglands Soil Health Tour in southeastern Montana.

Meet with ranchers who are shifting the management paradigm and discovering the benefits healthy soil has for their forage, animals, and community.

Fifteen years ago,  Dirk O’Connor , a farmer near Plevna, Mont., made the decision to move from chem fallow farming to a minimum tillage system and then to no-till. Before the switch, the farm had issues caused by some 80 years of tillage. The soil had difficulty holding moisture, which is especially important in a 12-inch precipitation zone with no irrigation. Loss of fertility, lack of soil structure, and compaction layers were causing issues such as saline seeps, erosion, low moisture holding capacity, and overall productivity.

"I just felt like we needed to do something different," O'Connor said. "Why did we have half of our farm ground producing nothing every year? The biggest thing to me was making all of our acres produce something every year."

Grazing cropland and rangeland in this manner benefits both land uses as it allows access for short periods of time, which maximizes recovery. It also ensures manure and urine are spread more evenly over the acreage benefitting nutrient availability on a wider scale. This reduces nutrient export from his cropland and hayland fields since the livestock graze the material in place, recycling most of the nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and carbon on site.

“Soil fertility was a big issue to begin with,” O’Connor said. “I had 1.5 to 2 percent organic matter 15 years ago and now I have 2.3 to 2.5. We are seeing a gain, but it takes time.”

Installing cross fences and water developments through  NRCS technical  and financial assistance, O’Connor has been able to set up some systems that make his whole operation more flexible. 

Todd Barkley and his wife, Molly, began ranching southwest of Baker, Mont., by operating the Tim Barkley ranch (Todd’s dad) and purchased the Coon Creek Ranch in 2005. Since then, Todd has leased some farmland north of Baker and, more recently, some neighboring crop and grazing lands. 

Barkley began as a farmer who left his fields fallow, but now considers himself a regenerative farmer. He said he had an eye-opening experience when he lost some American elm trees on his property after a crew had sprayed to control noxious weeds. “I lost nine of my American elm trees and thought I am not going to deforest my place to get rid of weeds,” he said.

“The cows are doing a pretty good job managing the weeds,” he said. “Once they get a taste for the weeds, they will seek them out.”

Having the ability to cross-fence with temporary electric fence into smaller paddocks, then further break those paddocks down into strips ensures even distribution of manure and urine over cropland and rangeland. Barkley said his cattle graze no longer then 10 days in any pasture, allowing pastures to rest for a year before being grazed again. To facilitate this grazing system, Barkley invested in portable water tanks.

“We are much less water deficient than we are nutrient deficient,” Barkley said. Following bale grazing, forage quality tests showed improvements and infiltration rates greatly increased.

Todd’s long-term goals are to stabilize soil, water and wildlife habitat quality for the future by increasing productivity and decreasing inputs. “We are pretty passionate about what we are doing,” Barkley said. “Soil health is where it’s at for me.”

Kalyn Bohle and his wife, Leslie, operate Bohle Angus Ranch southwest of Baker, Mont. They run 150-200 head of Angus-based cows with 50-60 yearling replacement heifers. Cattle were managed in a conventional grazing system until 2011 when Bohle attended a holistic management course.

The meeting came at a perfect time. Bohle was contemplating how to manage cropland coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program that fall and the following spring. This course, and the many educational workshops the local conservation district and NRCS provided, helped define new goals and strategies for building soil health on his grazing land.

Bohle first implemented  bale grazing . He eased into it the first winter and eventually progressed to feeding just once per week. “Most of the stuff we're feeding on is old CRP land that was not real great as far as productivity,” Bohle said. “The first year I kind of spread it out to see if there was going to be a difference in those areas and there was a huge difference on them.” He said he learned that waste is not waste. 

“The stuff that's left over is nutrients and food for the soil, for the organisms and the little herd that's in the soil.”

The second major change was to get out of the registered Angus business, which allowed him to run all the cows in one herd. Bohle wanted to move toward a more intensive grazing management system on the ranch, which required significantly more infrastructure. NRCS provided both technical and financial assistance through  Environmental Quality Incentives Program  to help install new wells, pipelines, tanks, and some permanent electric fences. The water and fencing enabled him to move to a semi-intensive grazing system. While the permanent structures got them set up to move in the right direction, temporary electric fences remain an essential tool for the operation as they now try to move the cattle every two to three days during the spring and summer months when the grass is growing quickly. Most pastures are only grazed up to seven days maximum during the growing season. 

The Double D Ranch lies in the southeastern corner of Fallon County, Mont., with average annual precipitation of 12-14 inches and an average growing season of 136 days. Dave and Deanna Hayden, along with their son Chase and his wife Debbie, are the operators of this family ranch. 

In the late 1990s, before seeding his cropland back to perennial grass, Dave Hayden hosted an informal “kitchen workshop” with his neighbors to discuss soil function and quality with an NRCS agronomist. At that time, he was in a summer fallow cropping system, tilling the soil so he wouldn’t have to spray for weeds.

“We had created a plow pan and had blowing soil,” Hayden said. “We knew that type of farming wasn’t right.”

With help from NRCS and others, he developed grazing plan. He used financial assistance through the  Environmental Quality Incentives Program  and  Conservation Stewardship Program  for infrastructure needed to facilitate his grazing management plan. Grass seedings, cross fencing, water developments and windbreaks provided the foundation to get the Haydens moving in the right direction when they began a twice-over grazing system. 

The largest shift in their operation came in 2007 when Hayden attended a holistic management course and decided that a recurrent problem he faced on the ranch—finding water—needed to be solved before he could implement the management plan he envisioned.

He came up with the schematics for the portable water sources he still uses on his ranch today during the drive home from that course in Wyoming. Portable water sources and temporary electric fence allow the Haydens to implement a high-intensity grazing system in which cattle rotate every day three to four days, allowing each grazed area at least 360 days of rest. 

A regular monitoring program provides feedback for decision making. The Haydens are constantly watching and scouting to ensure they are improving the soil health on their ranch and watching to see what contributes to that function. A high-intensity system like theirs provides habitat for both shortgrass and tallgrass birds. The dung beetle population, which reincorporates manure into the soil, has also increased.  Dung beetles  aid in breaking down manure so that it is accessible to plants and soil microorganism communities and help to increase forage production potential by processing patties, increasing available surface area for plants. 

“The amazing thing about this is when you use your cattle as tools to manage your land, they make more grass and then you need even more cows to use the grass,” he said.

Joe Bruski and his son, Ryan, operate F & R Ranches Inc. just west of Ekalaka, Mont. The ranch currently raises commercial beef cattle and pastured pork. Long-term goals for the ranch include a conservation plan that sets soil health as the cornerstone to maximizing profitability.

Joe and Ryan have made high stock density grazing work well on their operation. Flexibility in management and portable structures are key to that success. The high intensity, short duration grazing with one- to three-day moves is facilitated by temporary electric fence that Ryan moves throughout the established pastures. Water developments on hayland allow flexibility in management by being able to rotate the use of tame species between pasture and hayland to increase ground cover, build soil carbon, and cycle nutrients. 

“Our management changes and diversity have really improved our water infiltration,” Ryan said. “No water runs off; our ground is able to soak it in.”

They have also used bale grazing to improve hayland. They alternate between haying and grazing to minimize carbon exports and build soil organic matter which is key to managing the fertility in their hayland.

They have seen improvements beyond the soil. “Our wildlife numbers have probably doubled,” Joe said. “Our bird numbers have gone way up.”

Ray Banister, who ranches south of Wibaux, Mont., calls his grazing system “boom-bust.” “I severely graze a pasture for a short period and then let it rest for 18 to 24 months,” Banister said. He says the system mimics historical grazing of large herds before eastern Montana was settled. Under this system, the cattle use all the vegetation without grazing by preference. This provides a balanced diet to livestock and takes the competitive advantage away from less desirable plants.

Banister’s cattle routinely eat problem weeds such as Canada thistle. An NRCS dynamic soil property study was completed comparing his grazingland and to land that is grazed all season-long. The study found that Banister’s land has more plant diversity and production, better soil cover and structure, and increased water infiltration. This leads to improved nutrient, plant, biology, water, and energy/carbon cycles for maximum sustainable production.

Banister’s grazing system evolved over time. “It’s okay to start small,”, he said. “Get your cows used to what you are doing and let the land respond.”

He first began working with NRCS in the 1970s when he participated in the  Great Plains Conservation Program  to install stock ponds, spring developments, watering facilities, fences, and shelterbelts.

The relationship continued as Banister moved to minimum tillage, chemical fallow and then to no-till. He added diversity into his rotation in 2009 with rapeseed, quickly followed by the addition of flax, safflower, canola, peas.

In 2015, Banister lost some leases due to the sale of the land. Without those acres, Banister needed to plant some cropland back to grass for grazing. He worked with the local NRCS office on a seeding mix that met his needs, including intermediate wheatgrass, crested wheatgrass, alfalfa, sweet clover, and cicer milkvetch. 

“Work with Mother Nature,” he said. “Don’t try to fight her.

The  Coulter Family Ranch  operation is located near Brusett, Mont. Casey and Lacey Coulter run the ranch with a holistic goal that incorporates natural resource health, financial health, and quality of life. 

The Coulter Family Ranch is now 100 percent based on perennial forage. The Coulters want to collect as much sunlight with plants as possible, and infiltrate as much precipitation as the soil allows. They use cattle and sheep as a tool to manage the land and are increasing their stock density as their infrastructure allows. The ranch goal is to graze 365 days a year if weather allows, but when supplemental feeding is required, they use bale grazing on areas in need of management.

The ranch has seen an improvement in diversity and production of forage and wildlife species since focusing on regenerating their resource base. The healthier the land becomes on Coulter Family Ranch, the healthier their business and quality of life becomes as well. Coulters are excited about the changes they have made and more excited about what the future holds for their business and their resources.

Bryan and Chelsea Phipps run the  Phipps Ranch  near Jordan, Mont., where Bryan’s family homesteaded in 1905. The Phipps, along with their two children, have a cow/calf, yearling, and custom grazing enterprise.

Through the  Environmental Quality Incentives Program , they were able to install a livestock watering system in 2009 that included a pipeline, storage tank, and several water tanks. This project gave them water in pastures where they had only had reservoirs. It gave them the ability to graze areas of the ranch they were never able to graze before due to lack of water.

The experience with the NRCS was a positive one and led Bryan and Chelsea to a  Conservation Stewardship Program  contract in 2010. With the installation of electric fence, they now have 25 pastures to rotate through which allows them to focus on improving native range with grazing. They do planned grazing to change the season of use and provide at least a 90-day rest period for each pasture every year. To measure change over time, they have set up transects and monitoring sites in key grazing areas across the ranch. 

NRCS has been a valuable resource to help them reach their goals. NRCS helps with monitoring and grazing planning. In addition, a new Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract will help them plant the remaining cropland back to a native mix of grasses and forbs, build infrastructure (water and fences), remove wildlife hazards, and improve the grazing system. Adding more cross fences will add more pastures, ultimately shortening the grazing period and increasing rest periods. This will be key for improved soil health.

The Phipps’s goal is to improve soil health and quality of life while being profitable. They believe that if their ranch is easy to operate, regenerative, and profitable, the next generation will want to come back. 

For more information about NRCS conservation technical assistance, contact your  local USDA service center .

USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.