On this week’s “Resilience Rodeo”, Candice Mizera shares her successes and failures in improving her grazing and cropland’s resiliency through goal setting and being flexible. On the Mizera/Olson family operation near McLaughlin, SD, implementing rotational grazing has been a central element to Candice and her husband’s adoption of regenerative agriculture. Candice noticed quickly how rotating animals offered the land one brief stretch of intended disruption and she was amazed to watch the land respond; seeing big bluestem come into the pastures, knocking back Kentucky bluegrass. When asked to speak on resistance to regenerative practices, Candice understands the skepticism and hesitation. Her father was skeptical when she began to install more fences and waterlines, but it’s gratifying now that he can see the results; green grass, even in drought. To Candice, resiliency means flexibility, profitability, and resourcefulness. Capturing and using rainfall, recycling the nutrients made available by cover crops, and utilizing adaptive grazing has kept her root systems intact. She also understands that resiliency in their operation is a collaborative effort: their family, their crew, their faith, and their willingness to seek opportunities to learn and try new things all play a critical role in helping restore soil health to improve the operation for the future Candice Mizera   1)    What is the one thing that you have done that's been the most important to the success of your operation?   Well, I guess my husband would say definitely getting married. And that's probably partially true for the most part. We've complemented each other more than we strain each other, I guess. So, we've gotten to grow the operation because of that, that we work together and we both kind of have different goals and strengths, so we've complemented each other that way. Bob worked in construction before we got married and worked 20-some years of construction as well as farming, and I’ve had three or four part time jobs to make ends meet when we we’re starting out.   We just kept plugging away or finding ways to pay the bills and figure out what we can do to improve the operations, efficiencies, and get more cattle out on the land to justify having more cows. When the cropland makes a lot more of a profit on a lot less acres, it's tough to justify spending 60% of your time on the cows when they're only 30% of the income. So, identifying those things, really looking hard at the numbers and what we needed to do to make each other happy, grow our operation, make it resilient economically, and improve and restore the soil so that it would pay us back were really important things for us.   2)    Can you recall a moment or time when the light bulb went on for you to change the way you were grazing?   I would say when I realized that our pasture was full of curlycup gumweed and seeing bare soil. I found out what curlycup gumweed was and that it's indicative of overgrazing and overuse. I would say that that was kind of a lightning bolt moment where we knew we just had to do something different.   3)    What surprised you the most when you changed the way you were grazing?   I would say the speed at which the ground recovers, in the pastures that we graze really hard early in the spring to knock back the Kentucky bluegrass, we saw the big bluestem come in that same year and fill up the pastures. It was amazing and really rewarding to see that kind of response in just a one-time treatment and a little sacrifice. It seems like the more intense and shorter the duration, the better the response.   4)    What would you say is the biggest misconception people have who are not managing their grazing systems for resiliency and soil health?   I'm not sure. I guess if they don't think it's worth the effort or think it's too much money or too much time or labor. I know that was where my dad was coming from when I told him what I wanted to do on his place. When we bought his cows and started implementing more fences and water lines, he thought we were crazy, but we knew that we had to contain the cows to a smaller area for a shorter time. That was the only way we could really do it with [minimal] labor. Instead of doing electric fences and hauling water, we needed to build the infrastructure, so we put in permanent cross-fences, permanent waterlines, and perimeter-fenced fields.   Just one person to go move cows every Monday morning was the goal, so that it was simple and on the schedule, and we just had to go do it. There was a goal, and it was an improvement. But then you realize, well, you need to be a little more flexible. They either need to go sooner or stay a little longer. There is a lot to learn, but it's been really rewarding to see [Dad] go out to the pastures now and see how much grass is left even in the middle of drought. And having more cows out there than he ever had*. That’s been really great to see and I’m glad he’s been around to get to see the improvements.   *The Mizera’s now have more than doubled their stocking capacity in the last 15 years.   5)    Is there something that you'd still like to do that you haven't yet to improve your soil health or your grazing system?   Yes. We'd like to increase diversity in crop rotations, try poly cropping, and improve and beef up our perimeter fences, and I'd like to bring in some sheep and do some multi-species grazing. We'd also like to break down our current pastures even more with a temporary electric fence and want to have a grazer hired that just moves the cows. Like, even if we just take the 160-acre pastures down in the eighties or eventually forties, you know, and move those cows. And I think honestly, that's when it's no longer going to be practical to have cow-calf pairs. That's where I lean toward the yearlings or fall calving just for the ease of rotational grazing. Yeah, I think that's the really big hurdle we have to get over because having little calves in the system does make it a lot harder. So that's the goal, just do it more intensely so that they're in there for a day or two or three instead of a week or eight or ten days to get more consistent animal impact.   6)    What advice do you have for someone who is considering changing their grazing system to one that's better for building soil health?   Well, I think I'd first advise them to get a shovel and see what they're dealing with, where they're starting from. Then maybe call in or see us and do a rangeland assessment survey so that they can find out where they're starting from. Then just make a plan based on what your goals are.   So, to improve water infiltration and aggregation, if that's what we're going for, implementing some sort of more management intensive grazing like adaptive grazing, something where you figure out the watering system, figure out your fencing, figure out the size of herd and how many acres you're looking at. You know, just figuring out a plan and talking to guys that have done it before. It's really phenomenal the kind of expertise and knowledge out there. I would recommend that they start talking to a neighbor that started on the system and look at their place.   7)    When you walk across your grasslands now, what do you look for as an indicator of healthy grasslands and healthy soil?   I would say leadplant and Western wheatgrass, and I really like big bluestem. That's really great. In one quarter that we just rented this year that hadn't been grazed for four years there was a lot of Kentucky [bluegrass] in that as well as brome. We hit that pretty hard, you know, for a short amount of time, and within that that summer there started to be some big bluestem and a lot of leadplant came in.   I just smile and just love going out in those pastures that are healthy, you know, where the big bluestem is growing in the creek and up the hillside and it's awesome because you know that those deep roots are bringing nutrients back up. So, there's just a lot of that that really helps to keep you going to see improvements. And then, of course, seeing green grass in the middle of summer, the end of summer. Of course we need rain, but keeping it vegetative helps.   8)    What change have you made that you thought would never work?   I would say the change that we thought would never work would have to be cover cropping after small grains. I hoped it would work, and it seems like it can if we can get the drill chasing the combines around and try to not plant too deep or too shallow. It's kind of a tricky deal, but we've gotten some really good cover crops and we've had a few kind of disasters where, you know, it just didn't rain or we got them too deep or too shallow and some species always grow better than others. But that's been really rewarding to see what we can grow and not hurt the next crop, and that we're actually recycling the nutrients and keeping the soil alive and we're not extracting too much water from the soil like we thought we might. I mean, that was always the thought; we used to think having summer fallow for a year was needed to stock up enough moisture for a crop. So, now to see that we can grow a cover crop and a cash crop, it's really rewarding to see that we can do that with our rainfall, and to learn that it takes a green, growing plant to keep soil alive.   And the animals definitely help pay for this, you know, when they can feed themselves in the wintertime that takes care of the hours on a tractor and fuel for the tractor and man hours and the hay bales. It’s a lot of cost savings for sure, as long as it’s less than a foot of uncrusted snow and we have hay on hand for heavy snow years.   9)    What are the signs that your land is resilient, and what does resiliency mean to you?   I would say to be able to withstand drought and still either grow a crop or be able to keep our herd together without having to cull because of lack of forage. That's really being resilient and being profitable enough to stay in business. To be able to manage it well enough and grow enough forage or crops to feed the animals when we don’t have rain. Resiliency means flexibility and profitability. And not having runoff, that's huge in my mind. If we can capture 90 plus percent of all the rain that falls on our land, that's what makes us very resilient.   10) When we talk about the importance of grazing management, we often refer to the Rs. Of the words rotate, rest, and recover, which one sticks out to you the most and why?   I like rotate. That's because without rotation you can't have either of the other ones. Getting the cows where you want them, when you want them, to accomplish the goals on your range or farmland, that's the key. ______________________________________________ ______________________ Visit these “Growing Resilience Through Our Soils” information pages: 1. Podcast page for drought planning fact sheets, Q&As, news, podcasts, and more. 2. Video page to watch videos of other ranchers’ journeys toward improved rangeland/pasture. 3. Follow Growing Resilience on social media: Facebook - Growing Resilience Twitter - @GrowResilience_ Instagram - growingresilience.sd 4. Our homepage: www.growingresiliencesd.com

Editor’s Note Over the past several months, Jim Martindale and I have been engaged in an ongoing conversation around the merits, limitations, and underlying assumptions of tillage and no-till systems. What began as a private exchange has grown into something we felt was worth sharing more broadly—not as a debate to be won, but as a conversation to be explored. Jim’s piece below reflects his perspective, particularly his concerns around how terminology and tool definitions shape decision-making in agriculture. We are grateful for his willingness to engage candidly on these questions. ______________________________________________________________________ by Jim Martindale, Guest Writer When “Vertical Tillage” Meant Something Specific Is anybody else as frustrated at the terminology about tillage and non-tillage as I am? To my point, which may come with advancing years in life, I remember when the subsoiling always resulted in the necessity to perform some kind of secondary tillage. When Ray Rawson created the Zone Builder subsoiler, which didn’t require additional tillage for a plantable surface, it earned new terminology. It became known as vertical tillage. There were other characteristic results associated with vertical tillage as well. They included largely undisturbed root systems and lack of mixing of the soil profile. For clarity, when I refer to ‘vertical tillage,’ I’m referencing the original Rawson-style concept—minimal horizontal disturbance—not the disc-like VT tools commonly marketed today. How the Marketplace Blurred the Meaning of Vertical Tillage Today the marketplace presents vertical tillage machines (popularly called VTs) that for all the world resemble a disc. The proliferation of differing labels has unintentionally clouded the concept of vertical tillage, making it harder for farmers to evaluate tools based on what they actually do to soil. I’m reminded of a request made of me almost two decades ago by a notable soil scientist to present a coherent definition of tillage to an international gathering of fellow soil scientists. It never happened because he was outvoted by the rest of the program committee. What Root Systems Reveal About Tillage, Temperature, and Soil Function This very old study done at Purdue University (table below) pointed quite clearly to the differences that types of tillage and no-tillage have on root system architecture in corn plants. Corn Root Weight by Tillage System (Purdue Study) The study cited (chart below) indicates that cooler soil temperatures during the root system development will result in root system distributions resembling no-till. Research and practical on-farm experience have consistently shown slower increases in soil temperatures in no-till managed soils. Corn Growth and Root Development Over the Season Taken from http://www.kingcorn.org/ So if we were to only look at root system development, we can begin to see the significance of the type of management of soil through tillage or absence thereof has on a crop like corn, and likely most other plants as well. These findings suggest that root architecture can be influenced by both soil disturbance and  soil temperature, so similar root patterns can arise from different management conditions. There are also secondary or resulting collateral conditions that impact the biochemical makeup of the rhizosphere. These influences of soil density and biochemical influences deserve a much deeper dive. Distorting the Lexicon of Tillage Tools By distorting the lexicon of tillage tools, we run a greater risk of making poorer choices, which can have serious negative impacts on plant performance. Shouldn’t the descriptor of a machine tell us something that reveals what it does to soil in its several aspects? Hasn’t the continued lack of a meaningful and coherent definition of what tillage of any kind or absence of tillage is really been impacting decision-making in stewarding our soil? Is it really as simple as what kind of a seedbed we have to plant into? Clear, shared definitions could help producers choose tools based on soil function—root development, aggregate development, gas exchange, and temperature gradient—rather than on terminology alone. ________________________________________________________________________ In the next post, we’ll offer a response to Jim’s reflections—continuing what we hope will be a constructive and ongoing dialogue.   __________ Visit these “Growing Resilience Through Our Soils” information pages: 1. Podcast page for drought planning fact sheets, Q&As, news, podcasts, and more. 2. Video page to watch videos of other ranchers’ journeys toward improved rangeland/pasture. 3. Follow Growing Resilience on social media: Facebook - Growing Resilience Twitter - @GrowResilience_ Instagram - growingresilience.sd 4. Our homepage: www.growingresiliencesd.com

Rising diesel costs are one of several pressures farmers are navigating this season by Barrett Self A South Dakota Story with Wider Implications A farmer from Mitchell, South Dakota, doesn’t usually make national headlines. But this spring, one did. In a recent Newsweek article , Mitchell-area farmer Chet Edinger described scrambling to secure fertilizer as global tensions disrupted supply lines. Within days, prices surged. Then, just as quickly, supply dried up. “You can’t even buy it right now if you wanted to,” he said. For those who spend time on the land, there is something familiar in that kind of moment. Not necessarily the geopolitics, but the feeling. The sense that decisions made far away have a way of arriving unannounced, right when the planter is supposed to be rolling. This is not just a story about one farmer or one season. It is a glimpse into how tightly modern agriculture is tied to systems that stretch far beyond the fence line. Diesel prices jumped sharply in a matter of days. Nitrogen fertilizer—already volatile—spiked as well, with some farmers paying significantly more than just months ago. In some places, it is not just expensive—it is unavailable. That last part matters. Because farming does not operate on flexible timelines. Crops do not wait for markets to settle. Spring comes when it comes. Family Farms Are Living Through Tight Margins For decades, agriculture has benefited from relatively stable and affordable energy: diesel to move equipment, natural gas to produce nitrogen fertilizer, and global supply chains to deliver it all more or less on time. But moments like this raise a quiet question: What happens when those assumptions no longer hold—even for a season? Not as a political question. Not even strictly as an economic one. But as a practical, on-the-ground reality. What changes first? Do we make fewer passes across the field? Do we adjust planting decisions? Do we rethink how much fertilizer we apply or where it comes from? or... Do we simply absorb the cost and hope for a better year next time? There is no single answer. Every operation carries its own soils, weather patterns, crop mix, and financial realities. But there may be another way to think about it. Systems That Require Less – Framing Regenerative Agriculture Some producers have been moving—gradually and often experimentally—toward systems that simply require less. Less fuel. Fewer passes. Less reliance on purchased fertility over time. In many cases, reducing tillage means fewer trips across the field, which can lower fuel use and labor. Those savings often show up first. Changes in fertilizer use tend to come more slowly. As soil structure improves, biological activity increases, and practices like cover cropping are introduced, some farmers report being able to reduce nitrogen inputs over time—sometimes modestly at first, and more substantially as the system matures. In the first few years of transition, fertilizer reductions may be modest. But as aggregation improves, microbial nutrient cycling increases, and cover crops begin fixing nitrogen and retaining nutrients more effectively, many farmers report significantly lower nitrogen fertilizer inputs, and some advanced regenerative operations report 30–60% lower synthetic fertilizer use over time. Not every farm sees the same results. Not every soil responds the same way. And transitions, where they happen, take time. But the direction is worth noting. Because the benefit is not only about cost savings in a given year. It is about reducing dependence on inputs that are priced—and sometimes supplied—far beyond the farm gate. Years ago, SDSU's Dwayne Beck made a simple observation that has stuck with us: the farmer’s real job is to harvest sunlight and water . Everything else—fuel, fertilizer, machinery—is meant to support that process. Somewhere along the way, many of those supporting inputs became central to the system itself. Reliable. Essential. Assumed. Until, occasionally, they are not. And in those moments, resilience becomes the real question. What parts of a farming system keep working when diesel spikes? When is fertilizer delayed? When supply chains falter? The systems that rely less on external rescue  tend to bend without breaking. That does not mean every farm should look the same. Nor does it mean every operation must change overnight. But it does suggest that building healthier soils, reducing unnecessary passes, increasing biological function, and growing more fertility in place may be more than environmental goals. They may be a financial strategy. They may be risk management. They may be what keeps family farms viable for the next generation.   Chet Edinger’s story in Mitchell, South Dakota, is not an isolated event. It is a reminder. The pressures arriving at one gate this spring may arrive at another tomorrow. The question is not whether agriculture will face more volatility. It will. The question is: What kind of systems are we building before that moment comes? What do you think? Are rising fuel and fertilizer costs changing how you think about your operation timeline—and could regenerative practices play a role in making farms stronger for the long run? __________ Visit these “Growing Resilience Through Our Soils” information pages: 1. Podcast page for drought planning fact sheets, Q&As, news, podcasts, and more. 2. Video page to watch videos of other ranchers’ journeys toward improved rangeland/pasture. 3. Follow Growing Resilience on social media: Facebook - Growing Resilience Twitter - @GrowResilience_ Instagram - growingresilience.sd 4. Our homepage: www.growingresiliencesd.com

Discover expert insights, farmer-led strategies, and practical solutions to manage soil salinity. Transform depleted soils into thriving fields with Growing Resilience. Soil Salinity Resources Soil salinity has quietly reshaped agricultural landscapes for decades, posing a growing challenge for farmers and ranchers. Anthony Bly, a seasoned soil scientist and agronomist, unpacks the complex factors behind this issue—how shifts in rainfall patterns, evolving land management practices, and economic pressures have contributed to rising salt levels. Drawing from his career working alongside producers, Anthony shares how past approaches, such as diverse crop rotations and integrated livestock systems, once kept salinity in check. He recalls lessons from the early ’90s at SDSU, when grasslands and perennial systems played a crucial role in managing soil health. But as more land was converted to cropland, water tables rose, bringing salt to the surface. This resource hub is about solutions—practical, research-backed strategies to help farmers and ranchers reclaim their land. From adjusting crop rotations to reintroducing perennials, the path forward lies in understanding the land’s natural processes and working with them. Explore the insights shared here and discover real-world approaches to mitigating soil salinity. With the right knowledge and stewardship, depleted soils can be restored, ensuring productive fields for future generations. Together with USDA-NRCS , we're tackling soil salinity and building healthier soils. Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Discover how the Hamilton brothers tackled salinity on their farm through innovative vegetation strategies and farming practice changes, transforming once unproductive land into thriving acres. Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Soil salinity has been creeping into agricultural landscapes for decades, and Anthony Bly explains why. Drawing from his long career in soil science, agronomy and firsthand work with farmers, he explains how changes in rainfall, land management, and economic pressures have contributed to rising salt levels. Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Discover the dramatic transformation of salinity-affected soil at the Cain Creek Project. Kent Vlieger shares detailed salinity and sodicity data from 2015 to 2023, revealing how strategic revegetation restored productivity and soil health. All VIDEOS Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Join Kent Vlieger as he explores the Cain Creek Project’s success in radically reducing soil salinity. With real data and years of progress, see how innovative strategies are restoring productivity to the land. . Soil Salinity Podcasts All PODCASTS Soil Salinity Blog Posts You Can’t Fix Salinity with a Box Why Soil Salinity Is Likely to Worsen This Year — and What You Can Do About It Learning About Salinity: A Journey from Confusion to Clarity Building Resilience in Family Farms: South Dakota's Innovative Salinity Solutions All BLOG POSTS Soil Salinity Resources BEADLE COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT DEMO PLOT RESULTS Click here to download! HOW TO MORE PROFITABLY MANAGE SALINE SOIL SPOTS Click here to download! A BETTER WAY TO MANAGE SALINE SOILS FACT SHEET Click here to view! NRSC SALINITY AND SODIC SOIL MANAGEMENT Click here to download! SOIL SALINITY MANAGEMENT Click here to view! ALL RESOURCES Soil Salinity Shorts ALL SHORTS

We get together with ranchers Drew Anderson (Lemmon, SD), Bart Carmichael (faith, SD) and Harold and Jodie Gaugler (Grant Co., ND, also ranching near Thunder Hawk SD.) to discuss their experiences with bale grazing. Not Just No-Till: Sorting Fact from Fiction in a Lively Debate Few topics on our site spark as much interest—and as much spirited debate—as no-till farming. Scroll through our Facebook threads and you’ll see it: farmers, agronomists, gardeners, and even a few armchair soil scientists weighing in with strong opinions. Some argue no-till is the clear path forward; others point out it’s no silver bullet. We get it. For some, no-till sounds like the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland —asking you to “believe six impossible things before breakfast.” Perennial roots going 12–20 feet deep? Diverse soils that act like sponges instead of concrete? It can be hard to picture if you’ve never seen it. But producers who’ve lived through the transition know it’s possible—and profitable. That’s because no-till isn’t meant to stand alone. As Dr. Dwayne Beck has spent decades demonstrating, when no-till is paired with rotations, cover crops, and sometimes livestock, it becomes part of a system that restores natural pore space, improves infiltration, and often lowers costs. And while regional soils—from South Dakota silt loams to Kansas clays—behave differently, research and farmer experience show that context-driven management makes all the difference. Our goal here isn’t to push a single narrative, but to share the science and stories so you can sort through the information for yourself. You’ll find podcasts with innovators like Dr. Dwayne Beck, Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, and Dr. Ray Weil, alongside South Dakota farmers who’ve put no-till to work in their own operations. You’ll also find blogs where we dig into questions like: Does no-till really improve water infiltration compared to tillage? How do crop rotations affect no-till outcomes? What do large-scale studies (and real farmers) say about yields and profits in no-till systems? When does no-till work—and when doesn’t it? Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, we invite you to explore, question, and draw your own conclusions. Thank you to the USDA-NRCS for collaboration on these valuable no-till stories. Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied All VIDEOS No-Till Podcasts All PODCASTS No-Till Blog Posts The Wind You Don’t Notice (And What It’s Taking from Your Soil) Most soil loss doesn’t happen in storms—it happens on ordinary spring days. In dry conditions across South Dakota, steady winds are quietly moving soil, nutrients, and long-term productivity off exposed fields. Mar 31 4 min read Cows on Cover Crops: South Dakota Farmer Adds $86/acre and 70 Bu Corn On our spring tour of South Dakota farmers integrating livestock, my partner in crime, Joe Dickie, and I left Huron, and a couple of hours later crested the rise where Ryan Urban lives. Ryan identifies himself as a fourth-generation Pukwana crop-and-cattle producer—he jokes that they’re “cattle people who farm on the side.” With a name like Urban, I half expected him to grab a guitar and sing us a country tune. Instead, he grabbed the keys to his pickup, and we rode out into Aug 11, 2025 3 min read No-Till vs. Tillage: Which Really Lets the Water In? Jeff Hemenway, former Soil Health Conservationist, pointing out Roots in the Subsoil at 80” in a No-till, Cover-Cropped Field in Brookings, SD When a commenter wrote on one of our recent videos Dwayne Beck, no-till , he put it bluntly: “Without tillage water won’t penetrate. I rented 400 acres that was zero till for decades and it was like a concrete block.” That comment — echoed by others in our threads — hits at one of the most common criticisms of no-till. If the soil is h Aug 11, 2025 4 min read No-Till, No Yield? Are We Putting Corn Above Soybean Yields? As a response to several requests for more peer-reviewed material on the economics of no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT), I went digging into the usual suspects — input costs, yield comparisons, and long-term trials. That’s when I stumbled on research from South Dakota State University’s Beresford Research Farm that made me realize: I had a bias . In an earlier blog , we cited a meta-analysis showing no-till yields averaging 5.7% lower overall compared to conventiona Jul 21, 2025 3 min read Beyond No-Till: Why Crop Rotations Matter More Than You Think Natalie Sturm By the Growing Resilience Team For decades, no-till has been hailed as a cornerstone of regenerative agriculture—an essential practice to protect soil while still producing food, feed, fuel, and fiber. However, a groundbreaking thesis by soil scientist Natalie Sturm, conducted at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm in central South Dakota, shows that no-till is only part of the equation. It’s not just about reducing disturbance. It’s about what you grow—and how you g Jun 16, 2025 3 min read When Does No-Till Work? Two Major Studies and What Farmers Told Us By the Growing Resilience Team When we posted a video of Dr. Dwayne Beck explaining how tillage destroys soil structure and reduces infiltration, we expected a little pushback—but not hundreds of comments. What followed was one of our most active conversations yet, with producers from across the region offering both challenges and praise. It confirmed something we already suspected: There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to tillage and yield. So, we did what we alw May 27, 2025 3 min read ALL BLOG POSTS No-Till Resources No-Till: Common Questions and Straight Answers Click here to download! ALL RESOURCES No-Till Shorts ALL SHORTS

We get together with ranchers Drew Anderson (Lemmon, SD), Bart Carmichael (faith, SD) and Harold and Jodie Gaugler (Grant Co., ND, also ranching near Thunder Hawk SD.) to discuss their experiences with bale grazing. Livestock Integration Livestock integration is one of those topics that quickly sparks both excitement and skepticism. Spend a little time in our conversations online and you’ll see it: some producers see livestock as the missing link in soil health systems, while others wonder if the added complexity, cost, and management are worth it. We understand both perspectives. Bringing animals back onto the land—especially in systems that haven’t had them for years—can feel like a big leap. Fencing, water access, timing, and labor all matter. And no two operations look the same, so what works for one producer might not translate directly to another. But for many farmers and ranchers, integrating livestock is less about adding something new and more about restoring a natural cycle. Managed well, grazing can help cycle nutrients, stimulate plant growth, and improve soil structure in ways that complement practices like no-till and cover cropping. It turns residue into a resource and can create additional revenue streams along the way. Like no-till, livestock integration isn’t a standalone solution—it’s part of a system. Outcomes depend heavily on context: soil type, climate, crop rotation, stocking density, and management goals all play a role. The results can be powerful, but they’re rarely one-size-fits-all. Our goal is to share both the research and real-world experiences so you can evaluate what might work on your operation. Here you’ll find insights from producers, researchers, and conservationists exploring questions like: How does grazing impact soil health and nutrient cycling? What are the economic tradeoffs of adding livestock to a cropping system? How can grazing be managed to support—not set back—long-term productivity? When does livestock integration make sense—and when might it not? Whether you’re actively grazing, considering it, or just curious, we invite you to explore the ideas, weigh the evidence, and draw your own conclusions. Thanks to our partnership with the USDA-NRCS , we are able to help share this valuable information. Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied All VIDEOS Livestock Integration Podcasts All PODCASTS Livestock Integration Blog Posts When Cattle Bring the Desert Back: Alejandro Carrillo’s Regenerative Ranching Story “I saw cattle bring the desert back,” Ray says, “and transform it back into native rangeland. It changed the local climate. He’s getting more rain now.” Jan 7 2 min read Healing Rangeland, One Graze at a Time — Van Mansheim’s Story Heath Bullington (Van’s nephew), who runs the farm with Van Mansheim, Lealand Schoon, Van’s soil Health Mentor, and Van in one of his pastures, October 2020. I first visited Van Mansheim about 5 miles north of Colome, in Tripp County, SD, on his farm in October 2020. When I recently sat down again for a podcast interview with him, the conversation quickly grew beyond a podcast. Van is the whole package: no-till, long rotations, cover crops, bale grazing, livestock integration Aug 21, 2025 3 min read How the Michalski Ranch Turned Marginal Cropland into a Diverse, Profitable Pasture On the South Dakota Coteau, the Michalski family transformed marginal cropland into a thriving, diverse pasture. Discover their grazing strategies, land ethic, and how diversity drives both resilience and profit. It was July 2021 when Joe Dickie and I rolled up to the Michalski spread on the Coteau. Waiting to greet us were Darin, his wife Jessica, and their son Cutler. Darin cut a dashing figure — blue sleeveless button-up, well-worn jeans, cowboy boots planted in the ground Aug 19, 2025 4 min read Cows on Cover Crops: South Dakota Farmer Adds $86/acre and 70 Bu Corn On our spring tour of South Dakota farmers integrating livestock, my partner in crime, Joe Dickie, and I left Huron, and a couple of hours later crested the rise where Ryan Urban lives. Ryan identifies himself as a fourth-generation Pukwana crop-and-cattle producer—he jokes that they’re “cattle people who farm on the side.” With a name like Urban, I half expected him to grab a guitar and sing us a country tune. Instead, he grabbed the keys to his pickup, and we rode out into Aug 11, 2025 3 min read Sorting Goldenrod Fact from Fiction: Toxic Weed or Overlooked Forage? We recently posted a video short of Pete Bauman talking about goldenrod on the July "Our Amazing Grasslands" video, and it took off! 110,000 plays and 1,000 likes in just 11 days. With that reach came a tidal wave of comments, and not surprisingly, many folks had strong opinions about goldenrod. They ranged from “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Let’s feed shoe leather” to “Spot on—my sheep will hit the goldenrod, sunflowers, amaranth, giant ragweed, and mares tail first.” In between Aug 7, 2025 3 min read Blending No-Till, Cover Crops, and Stocker Cattle: Cody Merrigan’s Regenerative Farming Model in Clay County, SD By Buz Kloot An old friend of mine grew up in Utah’s Cache Valley, where his dad, a worn-out dairyman, would shake his head after a long day and mutter, “I sure hope there ain’t no cows in heaven.” But I’m not so sure anymore—especially after visiting Cody Merrigan, a young farmer just a stone’s throw from the University of South Dakota’s Vermillion campus. Cody runs a mixed operation of row crops, cover crops, and stocker cattle in Clay County, where most folks stick to corn Jun 24, 2025 3 min read ALL BLOG POSTS Livestock Integration Resources No-Till: Common Questions and Straight Answers Click here to download! ALL RESOURCES Livestock Integration Shorts ALL SHORTS