They're baaaaaack, moo and moo again

 

If you've been following for the past couple of years you'll know that I've been experimenting with grazing. The principle from the Savory Institute is simple: brief periods of intense grazing improve soil health. Since my place is a dry land  ranch I'm after any way I can to help sequester carbon in the soil and keep rain water from evaporating when it does fall.

When you compare grass fed to feedlot there isn't any question. Carbon sequestration happens with grass fed. 

So the question is- what about mob grazing compared to no grazing? Can desertification be reversed?

 

I reset the rain gauge in June and this is the total for the year including snowmelt. Three inches came in April.  It's not the lowest I've recorded but it's 5" below average.

After that 3 inches in April this is what we had:

 

Pretty impressive since the 2017 grass was dormant until this Spring.

...but after April- came May- this month has had .02" of rain- total- yes- there is a decimal point in front of the zero- that's two hundredths of an inch of rain for the month. The growth of April is already turning yellow... and the fires have already started burning....

Cows- better grass and fire mitigation all in one go..... we hope.....

Previous years of moo.

3 years of Mooooooo

Last week of May and the pasture is looking good

 So here come the cows

Mowing the grass

 

After about a week of grazing and no rain the ground is showing.

 

They've cropped quite a bit 

My neighbors pasture on the left compared to my  pasture on the right: 

Right now the difference is a bit frightening.

Unlike the 2 previous years we didn't get rain during the grazing period and, although rain was predicted it's been 10 days of sun and no rain after the grazing. This will be a big test for the pasture. How will this viewpoint look in the Fall? That's the question.  

My hope is that enough of the old gray dead grass has been ground underfoot (or hoof) that when the rains do come (please let them come) the ground will be ready to soak it up instead of evaporating. 

Moooooooooo…...

The experiment continues….

Last year, inspired by Alan Savory's TED talk in 2013,  I attended a grazing clinic in Boulder. Okay… you who know me can stop laughing now… I know I know … a "glazing" clinic you could believe but this was a *grazing* clinic.

So, in May 2014  thanks to Strang Ranch there were cows on the ranch ...

41 "sets" of heifers and babies to be exact. 

Yes, that's the Pulik barking ….

This year we repeated the experiment with 81 heifers, calves and yearlings … and one rather impressive bull…. 

who seemed to like his lone bull status very much….

What is the benefit of cows on a "ranch"? 

We've had an exceptional year for rain this is the gauge since May 1, 2015… in 2013 there was 6" for the entire year including snowmelt. The trick is to keep the moisture in the soil instead of it all running off and that is what mob grazing helps you do- keep the water in the soil and improve soil health.

Here's what I learned at the grazing clinic….

1. Their cloven hooves break up the hard pan and make divits where rain can soak into the soil instead of running off.

See those little puddles? Those are hoof prints.

2. They break up the old gray dead grasses and allow air and water to get to the soil.

Behind the fence there were no cows- in front of the fence- cows. 

See the dead grass around the ungrazed area?

3. They leave behind free fertilizer (which the potatoes loooooove). A friend tells me she is paying for cow patties… obviously I need to explore this possible new revenue angle….

4. They're a great fire mitigation crew- mowing the grass down to a manageable height.

5. They stimulate new grass growth- as long as the grazing period is brief and the rest period is long enough for a full growing cycle in the grasses. 

compare the ungrazed area new growth grasses (green bits)

to the grazed area new growth grasses (green bits- with my shoe as a reference size)

Conclusion: the moo babies can come back and knock on the front door every spring.

Coal Creek

May 29, 2014 I went on a field trip to Coal Creek.  

We have hundreds (if not thousands) of old mines here and this may well be a solution for returning those scarred slopes back to what they once were- alpine meadow and grassland.

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

No, you probably haven't heard of it but I hope a lot more people will hear about it and we can start this process throughout the Western US.

Here's an overview of the  Coal Basin Project

…. or as  Scott Snelson calls it "the biochar grazing nexus" .  Scott was District Ranger of the White River National Forest at the start of this project.  

Youtube is being uncooperative this morning- so you'll need to click. If you want to read the Aspen Times article on Scott without feeding the marketing machine then go to the link on a tablet or a smart phone. aspentimes.com/article

The group yesterday was impressive. We had representatives from Pitkin County, the Town of Carbondale, The National Forest, the Roaring Fork Conservancy, Roaring Fork Water Shed Plan  and The Crystal River Cattlemen's Association to name a few. Soil Scientists and Geologists who have been monitoring the project were also there. The short version- this represented a lot of cooperation between Federal Government, County Governments (both Pitkin and Garfield), City Government, Private enterprise and non-profit Organizations.  Cooperation and collaboration between agencies and individuals for mutual benefit - what a concept. That may well be the most heartening part of this story.

We met at the Coke Ovens at Redstone.

and we carpooled up the Coal Creek Basin.

Here's Wayne Ives of the White River National Forest giving us an overview at our first stop. 

This was an area which was covered in mining "slag" 

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

much like the Hope Mine on Castle Creek. 

Unlike the Hope Mine this area had traditional grazing on it until about 30 years ago.

So what did the "Coal Basin Restoration Project" do? They used Cattle, Compost, Cattle Stomp and Biochar to restore something which used to look like this:

into something which looks like this

What you're looking at is an acre which has 2 different treatments. Both involve cattle and both involve "seed stomping" one has biochar the other does not.

Here's the process. 

noxious weed control.

photo from the Roaring Fork Conservancy pdf

Houndstongue, 

a 17th century cure for baldness, dog attacks and hemorrhoids but still a noxious weed.

(Weeds of the West- excellent book)

Then they spread 3" of compost  and then covered it with hay, "White River National Forest seed mix" and straw.  

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

On half the compost had an additional 5% biochar  other than that the process was the same. 

Then came the cattle. 

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

The cattle "stomped" the White River National Forest seed mix in, ate the hay and left the straw for cover (aka "litter). The cattle also left behind fertilizer and hoof prints (I'll get back to that later)

Take a closer look….

You see the distinct change in color in the soil?

That's the biochar.

That's moisture retention.

That's gold.

Compost, Hay, Straw, Seeds and Cattle *without* biochar.

Compost, Hay, Straw, Seeds and Cattle *with* biochar.

Each hoof print creates a microclimate which provides shade and a place for water to pool.

Here's the microclimate without biochar.

Here's the microclimate with biochar.

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

Got it?

Okay…. up the road a bit… and this time take the cattle out of the process...

Start with what's left over from an avalanche on the road (shale washed down from the cliffs above)

..bring in the machines

photo from the White River National Forest  and  Roaring Fork Conservancy pdf

to give you some furrows to impede erosion and give the water someplace to settle…

3" of compost with no biochar

3" of compost with 5% biochar

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

in case you were wondering...

 what 1" of compost with biochar will do…

what 3" of compost and biochar will do

There are a lot of elements to this experiment. 

There are plots growing native grasses and forbs under controlled conditions. 

Photo Brian McMullen 

Soil Scientist- White River National Forest

(These "bioislands" were planted by Garfield County prison inmates.)

There are sediment monitors on the creek

(There is a lot of sediment in that water- I mean a lot…) 

photo from the Roaring Fork Conservancy pdf

and soil moisture monitors in the ground.

The tubes go into the ground for control,  non-biochar and biochar compost sections.

Soil moisture monitor at 2", 8" and 20" of depth.

Here's the data- the process doubles the moisture content 

(or more- I'll give you exact figures as soon as I get them).

It's our choice, slag and erosion or

Grass.

Here's more information on the Cattle Stomp and  using the Savory Method to reverse desertification in the links; and here's info on Biochar from Morgan Williams at the 2012 ACES talk (youtube- get your act together please….) click here for the video.

Thanks to Mark Lacy for letting me use these reports from the White River National Forest and The Roaring Fork Conservancy:

White River National Forest and Roaring Fork Conservancy pilot pdf

Roaring Fork Conservancy update pdf

Thanks to Brian McMullen for letting me use images from his PowerPoint presentation.

Nov. 2015 update