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The Miller Ranch—
Improving Soils and Pastures with Cattle BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
and ranchers have been able to do to improve soil heath. It was an honor and humbling experience to win the award.”
Learning to Work with Mother Nature
Ken says Holistic Management helped point him in the right direction about 30 years ago. “I went through the training with Allan Savory in the olistic Management has made a huge difference in ranch mid-1980s in Albuquerque. The way we were ranching/farming before that sustainability for Ken and Bonnie Miller on their ranch was not sustainable. Like most producers, we were always told we had in south central North Dakota near Fort Rice. Miller’s to get bigger and bigger and more efficient so I was renting all the land management strategies and soil improvements led to his around us that I could. We were getting bigger and bigger and going broke being nominated for and receiving the 2017 Leopold Conservation faster and faster! Back then we were still tilling, and had a lot of erosion. Award for North Dakota. We were farming very fragile soils and I knew there had to be a better The Miller Ranch was way, to manage the land.” nominated by the Morton he says. County Soil Conservation “Then I had the District, stating: “The Miller opportunity to go to the Ranch truly embodies the five-day extensive Holistic diversity North Dakota Resource Management carries in its agricultural course in Albuquerque. portfolio. From livestock I was very grateful for a to crops, from grazing to scholarship I received from gardening, from dryland to our local soil conservation irrigation, from commodity district and thankful that I marketing to direct went. It totally changed the marketing and from family way I ranch; my thought to agricultural advocacy, process is very different the Millers display and now. The holistic approach share it all confidently, changes how you think,” yet humbly, with a land says Miller. ethic that runs through You realize that and through.” any decision or action “Anyone can be you make affects the nominated for the award,” whole ranch. If you use Ken Miller says Ken. “This award herbicides to spray to kill is being presented now in more and more states to honor the farmers a certain weed, you realize that you are also killing some good plants. and ranchers who do an exceptional job of caring for the land. It strives The same with pouring the livestock with insecticides; you kill many good to build bridges between agriculture, government, environmental insects, too. Whatever action you do, you need to think how that action will organizations and industry. affect everything else. The important thing is to work with Mother Nature “As producers we have to tell our story, about how we are trying instead of trying to fight nature,” he says. to regenerate the land. We need to show people some of the good “Back then, we calved in February and March and at the training things farmers and ranchers are doing and how we are being good course they asked me why we calved during the coldest part of the stewards and role models. This award opened some doors for us—to year. I said, ‘Everybody does.’ That’s the way we did it, partly to get the go to Washington D.C. and visit with our congressmen about the farm calving done before we were busy getting our crops planted. Now we bill, conservation practices that worked on our place, etc. Hopefully this calve in June and it makes life so simple, and the cattle more profitable,” helps enlighten congressmen about what we are doing and what farmers Miller says.
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Land & Livestock
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November / December 2018
