Bismarck, N.D., farmer Gabe Brown says no-till and diverse cropping solve problems by improving the health of his soil.

by Larry Reichenberger, John Deere
The Furrow Magazine, February 2012
used with permission

ivestock are doing a whole lot more than lifting mortgages these days. Thanks to some innovative grazing techniques, they're also improving soil health, reducing crop inputs, protecting the environment, and easing farm transitions. This approach may seem old-school, but integrating crops and livestock into a balanced, sustainable farming system suddenly is new again.
     "The cows never should have left the farm," says South Dakota no-till guru and soil health advocate Dwayne Beck. "Taking animals off the land and putting them in feed-lots and confinement facilities was a huge mistake brought on by government programs, cheap energy, and low grain prices," he explains. "We thought it was more efficient to haul hay in and haul manure away, but that's led to depleted soils as well as mounting environmental concerns."
     There's a growing realization that restoring soil health is the ultimate solution to these problems-and that putting livestock back in the field in intensive rotational grazing situations is the best recipe for that recovery. "Many of the problems that confront agriculture, including everything from high input costs and low income, to soil erosion and weed resistance are all symptoms of poor soil health," says Bismarck, N.D., farmer Gabe Brown. "Develop a healthy soil-one that's teaming with diverse biology, protected by surface residue, occupied by growing roots, and left undisturbed-and you will see most of those problems go away."
     Grazing strategy. Brown continues to draw international acclaim for the holistic management style he has used to transform his 6,000-acre family operation. By incorporating cover crops and managed "mob" grazing into the farm's 2,000 crop acres, he has managed to decrease herbicide usage by 70% and fertilizer use by 90%, while improving yields and building soil organic matter. Along with tame grass pasture and improved management on the native range that makes up the balance of the ranch, his approach has allowed a four-fold increase in carrying capacity.

Cattle "mob" graze paddocks of cover crops and tame grass pasture for only a few hours before time- release gates allow them to move again.

     "People don't realize how much money they can make with this approach," says Brown. "We used to think that making $20 per acre on a wheat crop was doing good, but now we can net $300 an acre or more while taking less risk and building our resource base. And even more important, adding livestock to a crop farm allows you to bring another family into the operation," he adds.
     Cover crops-typically mixtures of sunflowers, field peas or other legumes, radishes, turnips, triticale and various forage species-are planted each year on all acres not growing alfalfa. "We no-till seed the cocktail mixes into stubble after harvest and broadcast seed into standing corn in June. We don't graze all these acres, but what are grazed are divided into paddocks and grazed intensively one time for a few hours," Brown says.
     Brown explains that when grazing yearlings his son, Paul, starts the day by stringing polywire electric fence to create four to six paddocks that vary from 1/4 to 2 acres in size. Solar-powered "Batt-Latch" automatic gate release timers control the animals' access to adjoining paddocks.
     "The latches are set so gates open automatically every couple of hours and the cattle move themselves," continues Brown. "Our stocking rate varies, but is typically equivalent to 680,000 pounds of beef per acre (325 head x 700 pounds/head x 3 moves per day). We've seen gains range from 2 1/4 to 3 pounds per day and figure we're producing 200 pounds of red meat per acre with this approach."
     Unseen biology. Cattle aren't the only livestock being fed in Brown's system. "There are millions of soil organisms underground that also benefit from the 50% to 70% of cover crop residue that remains on the surface," says Jay Fuhrer, district conservationist with the Burleigh County Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Jay Fuhrer uses a "slake" test, where soil samples are suspended in jars of water, to show stable structure of healthy soil (at right).

     "Even the saliva, urine, manure, and hair from cattle add to the soil biology and take soil health to a higher level."
     Fuhrer says he began to take notice of Brown's system when his dryland corn yields averaged more than the county's irrigated acres. That's happening because of an increased water infiltration rate and improved soil structure that's resulted from no-till farming and a diverse cropping system. The quality of such soil is illustrated in the "slake" test he demonstrates in the photo above.
     Fuhrer adds that soil organic matter levels on the Brown ranch have also nearly doubled under those practices, going from less than 2% to around 4%. "At an organic matter level of 1.5%, Gabe's loam soils held 2 inches of water per foot of soil, but at 4.5% organic matter they will hold 3.75 inches per foot," he explains.

	Gabe Brown (right) and son Paul use electric fence to divide cover crop fields into small paddocks for intensive rotational grazing.

     Brown says those higher organic matter levels allow him to reduce and even eliminate fertilizer purchases."At today's fertilizer prices, each 1% of soil organic matter contains $650 per acre worth of nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, sulfur, and carbon. At our level of 4%, we have roughly $2,600 per acre worth of nutrients locked in the top 6 inches of our soil," he adds.
     Feed the soil. The trick is to make them available to the plants, and that's where the soil biology comes into play. "Instead of focusing on feeding the crop with commercial fertilizer, we're focused on feeding our soil so it feeds the crop," Brown says. "The best way to do that is to follow a diverse cropping program and to put livestock back on the land.
     "Our yields aren't as good as some of our neighbors, but they're 30% above the county average. We grew 159-bushel (per acre) corn last year for $1.32 per bushel and I'll put that production cost up against anybody's."
     Grazing cover crops has also caught the eye of crop growers in other areas. "More and more growers are seeding cover crops of oats, rye, and some brassicas (radishes and turnips) in the fall or spring between corn and soybean crops," says Iowa State University Extension beef specialist Denise Schwab. "This helps reduce feeding costs by extending the grazing season in the fall while also providing a good place to calve in the spring. And, it helps crop production by cycling nutrients, improving soil health, and breaking weed and disease cycles."
     Schwab says cover-crop grazing typically provides a month of grazing in the fall (behind corn silage) and a month in the spring. "In a study last year, we found that grazing cover crops cost about 60 cents per head for each of those days compared to $1.20 per head to feed hay in the lot."
     Skyrocketing land prices in Iowa are also a factor driving the popularity of cover-crop grazing programs. "Farmers may find it difficult to dedicate acres to the hay crop that's needed to feed the cow herd. Cover-crop grazing can relieve that pressure and help keep cows on the farm," she says.
utchinson, Kan., beef producers Jim and Torrey Ball have toured Brown's ranch and believe cover crops fit in their grass-fed beef operation. "We're trying to use cover crops to improve soil health by increasing organic matter levels so we can reduce the use of fertilizer and herbicides," Jim explains.
     "In the last five years, we've had thousands of visitors to our ranch from all 50 states and 15 countries," says Brown. "Some say it won't work for them, but more are beginning to understand how healthy soil can be sustainable. And, we've never had anybody go back to conventional methods after giving this approach a honest effort."