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New Mexico Ranches, Rangeland Benefit from State’s Healthy Soil Program
from NMS Feb 22
by Kristie Garcia, New Mexico Department of Agriculture
When Kim Barmann talks about the land she manages on the CS Ranch near Cimarron, she can’t help but bring up soil health.
“I’m such an advocate of soil health,” said Barmann. “We were grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen as one of the Healthy Soil Program projects.”
The CS Ranch was awarded funding through the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s (NMDA) Healthy Soil Program during its pilot year. Created in 2019, the purpose of the Healthy Soil Program is to promote and support farming and ranching systems and other forms of land management that increase soil organic matter, aggregate stability, microbiology and water
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Phone: 806-655-3033 • 325-554-7434 with proven land management capacity to support healthy soil” and include nations, Cell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.com tribes and pueblos; land grants; acequias; soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs); and New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service. Individual Phone: 806-655-3033 • 325-554-7434 www.expressscale.com Phone: 806-655-3033 • 325-554-7434
Applicants include farmers and ranchers, as well as businesses and nonprofits engaged Cell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.comCell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.com www.expressscale.comPhone: 806-655-3033 • 325-554-7434 Cell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.com www.expressscale.com in farming, ranching or other forms of land management and must be backed by either a SWCD or a nation, tribe or pueblo. www.expressscale.com NMDA awarded funding to the M-Scar
Farm & Ranch during the program’s pilot year. Mira and Kevin Merritt of the M-Scar Ranch in Maxwell applied for funding for a project which utilized seed mixes to plant cover on both cropland and pastureland. The integration of livestock added fertilizer and incorporated organic matter into the ground.
Mira Merritt said the biggest success story has been the bale grazing.
“We had so much open ground, our pasture was a half-bare prairie-dog town,” said Merritt. “The bale grazing allowed us to cover ground and integrate our livestock. The residue of organic matter covered bare ground, then in the summer, the result was a variety of new plant species growing in those areas. It’s been advantageous to our soil, as we’ve noticed it in our samples.”
The Merritts used the project as a backdrop for educating children in the ways of generating healthy soil as a viable agricultural setting for future generations.
“We had a soil conservationist show 4-H
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students how to calculate dry matter, identify plant species and how to conduct a water infiltration test,” said Merritt.
They also hosted students from a homeschool cooperative for a hands-on experience. “We did soil sampling with the kids, and they learned how to assess soil and count plant species,” said Merritt.
Given that an Individual Applicant’s project must be backed by an SWCD or tribal entity, both the CS Ranch and M-Scar Ranch secured project support from Colfax SWCD.
The Healthy Soil Program continually improves its outreach efforts, engagement and efficiency. NMDA hosted webinars last month to show potential applicants the steps to take to be considered for a grant.
“Our goal is to have people come away from these webinars knowing simple steps they can take early on in order to succeed in the application process,” said New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte.
NMDA will open its next Healthy Soil Program grant application period in March. For more information, visit www.nmda. nmsu.edu/healthy-soil-program, email hsp@nmda.nmsu.edu or call 575/646-2642. ▫
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