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The ranching industry’s toxic grass problem

Food Environment and Reporting Network

Fescue toxicity is the most devastating livestock disorder east of the Mississippi,” said Craig Roberts, a forage specialist at the University of Missouri (MU) Extension and an expert on fescue. Instead, in 2012, they converted 90 acres of pasture to native warm-season grasses, using their own money and cost-share funding from the U.S.

Ranching 101
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In Fire-Stricken Maui, Sustainable Land Management Is Key

Modern Farmer

Surveying the aftermath of the Kula Upcountry Fire—one of three devastating wildfires that raged across Maui last month—Brendan Balthazar noticed a striking pattern emerge across his cattle ranch. Peppered throughout some 500 acres of charred pastureland, he found sizable patches of grass left unscathed by the blaze.

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Inflation Reduction Act Conservation Dollars Are a Vital Bulwark Against Climate Change

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

In central New Mexico, for example, Christy Everett ’s family ranches, Jones Corona Ranch and Jones Mountainair Ranch, have seen not only hotter, more challenging summers, but a shift in the summer monsoons. Such practices can also reduce nitrous oxide emissions, in part by reducing the need to apply synthetic fertilizers.

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Ranchers Embrace Virtual Fencing for Greener Pastures 

Modern Farmer

Maintaining and building fences is a yearly job on every ranch, costing at least $20,000 per mile. Environmental benefits Regenerative grazing—or closely managing where and for how long animals forage—is a farming practice that can improve soil health and plant diversity. Ranchers think virtual fencing helps them be more efficient.

Pasture 122
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‘An Insane Amount of Water’: What Climate Change Means For California’s Biggest Dairy District

Modern Farmer

As such, his grandfather, who lived through the 1955 deluge, often stressed the proper maintenance of the berms protecting the ranch from the nearby Tule River—a lesson echoed by his father, who faced a similar event in 1983. His 580-acre farm grows enough forage to supply the herd, so “I’m good with where I’m at,” he adds.

Farming 89
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Changing How We Farm Might Protect Wild Mammals—and Fight Climate Change

Civil Eats

land, with cropland expanding by 1 million acres per year, fueling habitat loss for wildlife and mammals. For instance, agriculture can destroy forest habitats that certain bat species, like the endangered Indiana bat or northern long-eared bat , use for roosting and foraging. Deer, for example, help cycle nutrients and fertilize soil.

Farming 95
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The Healing Power of Collaboration – Timber Ridge, Nanton, Alberta

RR2CS

By Trina Moyles Glen and Kelly Hall have been managing Timber Ridge Ranch, a 480-acre farmland situated an hour south of Calgary near Stavely, Alberta, for over 40 years. Over the last four decades, they have seeded an impressive 5,000 acres, aiming to enhance biodiversity both above and below the soil. Absolutely.