Ducks Unlimited
Report date
October 2021
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
Develop Demonstration Farm: By December 2020, we restored 6 degraded wetlands on the property, installed livestock grazing infrastructure to manage the property (e.g., “drought proofing”), and seeded 15 acres of saline soils to perennial grasses. It was imperative that we restore the degraded wetlands first to showcase farming practices that can also accommodate natural, healthy, shallow wetlands that provide a suite of values to the local community. Grazing infrastructure, like fencing and water development, is critical to incorporating successful soil health practices involving the integration of livestock on croplands. Such infrastructure is also a limiting factor to incorporation due to cost. We utilized various funding sources that are available to local farmers and ranchers to incorporate soil health principles with grazing management. Ensuring permanent livestock water allows grazing even during exceptionally dry conditions, such as those seen in 2021. Through the perennial-seeded demo site, we can showcase how incorporating perennial species into cropland rotations can help manage problematic or saline soils commonly found in this region.
Establish management and advisory committees: DU and Beadle Conservation District (BCD) formalized a Management Committee with guidance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to establish a long-term soil health demonstration farm. The Management Committee will be responsible for making short-term and long-term decisions. The Management Committee is supported by a supplemental Advisory Committee, consisting of local farmers and ranchers, and other influential local conservation partners. We held the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on 11/17/20 in Huron with 16 attendees, including six organizations and three producers. The Advisory Committee will help steer both long-term and short-term goals for the demonstration farm, reach a broader audience and develop collaborative opportunities for growth.
Develop a soil health demonstration video to increase participation: We worked with Grey Loon Marketing Group to film the two-part “Soil Health in the Prairie Pothole Region” video series using the demonstration farm to help connect the unique prairie pothole landscape with the management practices that benefit local growers, provide wildlife habitat, and improve water quality. While on-site (and in-person) workshops are imperative to building relationships with the local community, it can be difficult to get a large audience to such workshops. It is especially difficult amid a pandemic, when some participants and conservation partners may not feel comfortable in such settings. We’ve found that providing alternative media to educate can reach a larger, more diverse audience. These tools are also available on the landowner's individualized schedule, providing just-in-time delivery of the information.
Key lessons learned
The local climate in this region is extremely variable. In 2019, the region had the wettest year on record. In 2021, the region was exceptionally dry (Severe Drought on Drought Monitor). Good soil health makes agriculture more resilient to both weather extremes; however, the demonstration farm is still new, so it is vulnerable to extreme climate conditions. Although we are implementing practices to improve soil health, the demo farm is still susceptible to drought. In 2021, we struggled to implement planned cover crop rotations due to hot and dry conditions, which made on-site demonstrations or workshops impossible. We would not consider this a failure, but we certainly did not see the results we would have liked to in this first year.
On a positive note, we installed permanent livestock watering facilities (grazing infrastructure) on the demonstration farm. The same water that is delivered to rural homes across the county now enters our water tanks in the fields for cattle. These systems did work and were crucial during the drought of 2021. If we had not had these systems in place this year, we would not have been able to graze livestock, an important soil health principle.
On a positive note, we installed permanent livestock watering facilities (grazing infrastructure) on the demonstration farm. The same water that is delivered to rural homes across the county now enters our water tanks in the fields for cattle. These systems did work and were crucial during the drought of 2021. If we had not had these systems in place this year, we would not have been able to graze livestock, an important soil health principle.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
Collaborative. This project brings together a conservation district, a wetlands conservation NGO, and an agriculture federal agency to collaborate on opportunities to demonstrate the benefits of soil health to farmers and ranchers in the prairie pothole region. Each of these organizations has different goals and objectives, but each also gains advantages and opportunities to further their mission with this project. Ultimately, the entire community will benefit through widespread adoption of soil health principles and associated best management practices.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
Significant leveraging opportunities made possible through our partnerships and collaboration have allowed us to have the resources to reach more farmers and to provide them with technical and financial assistance to implement soil health practices. Utilizing multiple grants and conservation partners, we’ve been able to work with 55 landowners, provide soil analyses on over 22,000 acres and provide cost-share for practices like cover crops, grass plantings, and livestock infrastructure on over 12,000 acres.
Understanding the problem
We have seen highly variable weather patterns and volatile agricultural market (<$3/bu to >$8/bu for corn) fluctuations over time. We know that building soil health with diversified agricultural practices will eventually buffer these extreme fluctuations; however, quantifiable environmental and economic outcomes are difficult to demonstrate over a short period. Our demonstration farm is experiencing the same difficulties as other farms in the region, and they are beyond our control. At the same time, these are the very same difficulties that may reduce or prevent widespread adoption of the practices we are promoting. We’ve learned that, for purposes of demonstrating value to the local community, we need to address longer-term goals (10-20 years) and growth to encourage widespread adoption. Over the long-term, resilience in soils will buffer those economic and environmental variables. In the meantime, we need to develop relationships with local farmers and ranchers and demonstrate the goals that are attainable from integrating multiple soil health principles into each operation. Seeing is believing, so we must show how diversity improves resilience and long-term sustainability.
If you could do it all over again...
Be patient. It can take a long time to build trust within a community and demonstrate growth and positive change on a local scale. Keep the end game in mind and plan on long-term positive outcomes. We know that the Prairie Pothole Region is inherently susceptible to extreme fluctuations in climate. Even over the course of the development and implementation of this proposal, the region transitioned from exceptionally wet conditions to exceptionally dry conditions. Literally, some of the same areas that were “too wet” to farm are now “too dry” to grow a crop. We know that soil health will help farmers and ranchers buffer extremes on both ends of the spectrum, and those advantages need to be an integral part of the conversation. The problems we are encountering today and how we deal with those can be strong case studies for showcasing the successful implementation of soil health practices and their resulting positive economic (and environmental) outcomes over the long term.
One last thought
This project provides a steppingstone for our larger partnership with the US Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), “Scaling Soil Health in the Prairie Pothole Region.” This program, slated for initiation this winter, includes an $8.7M USDA investment into DU’s highest priority landscape, the Prairie Pothole Region and will impact >30,000 acres of working lands in SD, ND and MT. We will work with agricultural producers to develop 5-year agreements that integrate the demonstration practices from this proposal: reduced tillage, integration of cover crops, diversifying crop rotations, rotational grazing, and restored grasslands. DU will provide technical and financial assistance and collect data to learn how these practices will enhance environmental, economic, and social outcomes for participating landowners. Further, to enhance long-term adoption of these practices and principles, we will help our cooperators connect to existing mentorship networks and facilitate workshops and demonstration sites just like we are doing with the Bush Foundation. Our success with this proposal will enhance our ability to complete those projects successfully.