consortium, because I am joined by numerous like-minded organizations and individuals from across the country. We already have seen such a tremendous outpouring of support. What makes this project so impactful is ESMC’s commitment to joining like-minded organizations and individuals to make a difference.
Rangeland and Pastureland Soil Health Initiative While still in its development stages, one final example of our collaboration is FFAR’s the Rangeland and Pastureland Soil Health Initiative. Farmers and ranchers have had the opportunity to provide input from the earliest stages, along with the Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable, National Grazingland Coalition, USDA, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA NRCS, University of Wyoming, University of Kentucky, and Point Blue — to name just a few. This project is developing a wellintegrated, transdisciplinary, comprehensive research program that focuses on the restoration of soil health in rangelands and pasturelands. Two more quotes help color in their work; the first from Jeff Goodwin, Senior Rangeland and Pasture Consultant for the Noble Research Institute, and the second from Kristie Maczko with the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable. Grazing lands, more specifically rangeland and pasture, make up over 788 million acres in the United States. Understanding the ecologic and socioeconomic impacts of soil health-focused management on this resource, and further harnessing technology to quantify those impacts at scale, is critical to providing actionable producer decision-making tools that create positive returns to both the landscape and producer livelihoods.
These are only a few of many examples that demonstrate the fundamental value that FFAR supports most of all: connection and collaboration between on-the-ground producers and various researchers, citizens, and specialists. Together, we have so much more power to increase our reach and our impact. It is becoming clearer to me these days, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, that communal effort increases the value of all individual projects by leveraging shared learning, relationships, and experiences. As director of the Soil Health Challenge area, I see firsthand how recent changes in our climate affect
Peace
not only our food system but also our entire world. I’ve also witnessed exactly how much more effective our efforts can be when groups work together. Tackling challenges like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving soil health, developing appropriate environmental and economic incentives, or making decisions easier for farmers and ranchers seems daunting when attempted alone. However, if we work together, then enormous change is possible. FFAR has not created this spirit of togetherness alone, but our sense of community is one that I am proud to say FFAR contributes to every day, through the projects we’ve funded and continue to fund.
and
Joy
A note from Badger Creek Ranch Story and photo by Chrissy McFarren Badger Creek Ranch is a working cattle operation that accepts guests every summer. In addition to our grassfed and grass-finished beef, we offer pastured pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs through direct-market sales to our local community. We also provide educational opportunities focused on land health and regenerative agriculture. Last but not least, we are mentors with Quivira’s New Agrarian Program. Whew, yes, we are busy … even during this pandemic pause. Due to the nature of the work that we do, we have a strong community and a large public following through Facebook. Now, more than ever, we are sharing photos and videos (like the one below) from the ranch to remind people that life still goes on, and can be positive, beautiful, peaceful, and fun. Last winter, we decided to add a few sheep to the ranch’s livestock mix, because why not? We purchased five bred ewes that we expected to lamb around April first. Well, April came and went without any lambs … the waiting game had begun. I guess the sheep decided that Easter was a perfect time to lamb instead — what is more positive than that? Thanks mama ewes for providing perfectly timed lambs for our Facebook community!
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Addressing rangeland and pastureland soilhealth management questions benefits from a usable science approach. With this in mind, FFAR, SRR, and Noble sought to engage producers with researchers to ensure that the program framework developed would capture information needs on the ground, responding to producers’ questions and concerns around monitoring and measurement; ecological interactions among soils, plants, and animals; and ranch-level economic aspects.
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