Search Results Within This Resource:

Selecting plants adapted to individual farm and ranch conditions is an important part of a water management strategy. Consider drought-tolerant varieties for water efficiency. Plants with deep root systems, such as buffalo grass, can stretch to the water table. Rangeland species—cool-season grasses ideal for cool-climate pastures or warm-season plants for hotter zones—can thrive in dry […]

In the coastal region of South Carolina where Mary Connor runs Three Sisters Farm with her two sisters, practices that improve soil health and water management are critical but complicated. Because of tropical weather conditions that often bring extreme rains, they need to grow their vegetable crops on raised beds on their 90-acre farm. This […]

Cover crops, seeded between or amid cash crops, contribute a variety of conservation benefits for water and soil. For water, they offer a triple bonus. A living cover crop traps surface water. When killed and left on the surface, cover crop residue bumps up water infiltration and lessens both erosion and evaporation. When incorporated into […]

Conservation tillage leaves at least 30 percent of the soil surface covered by residue after planting. No-till planters leave even more than that by placing seeds or transplants in narrow slots, the only area where farmers disturb the soil. No-till also consistently improves water infiltration, with reports of up to three times the infiltration compared […]

Some farmers, particularly organic farmers, have long applied manure and compost to meet fertility needs. Most non-organic vegetable producers rely on the quicker fix of annual applications of commercial fertilizer. In either case, nutrient applications should be based on the crop’s needs and on results from soil testing if they are to enhance soil health […]

Think of the soil as a sponge: it absorbs and holds water, and it reaches a point where it’s full and cannot hold any more. Unlike a real sponge, though, you can change the amount of water that soil can hold through the way you manage your soil. However, you are somewhat limited by your […]

The Social Aspect of Sustainable Land Management: Tohono O’odham’s story Successful range management incorporates flexibility, mobility and reciprocity, particularly when the range is jointly owned. Then, management also becomes about maintaining relationships. A participatory planning and education project funded by SARE on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona highlights the power of personal relationships to […]

One person can’t know everything, so successful managers learn to rely on other experts. Some go as far as developing a formal team of advisers. Duke Phillips, Colorado rancher and winner of the 2003 Colorado Society for Range Management “Excellence in Range Management Award,” teams with experts in range monitoring, ornithology, mammalogy, entomology and botany […]

Hope for the Best, But Plan for the Worst Recent rounds of severe drought across western rangelands have brought home the critical need for management strategies during times without rain. For many, the knee-jerk drought strategy becomes a desperate attempt to keep the number of livestock stable no matter the lack of feed. After all, […]

Promoters of multi-species grazing love to discuss the environmental benefits of managing vegetation for increased forage production, reduced fire fuel loads, better wildlife habitat and noxious weed control. However, some ranchers are now making money by offering their livestock grazing services. While herbicides are an effective front-line weapon in the war on weeds in most […]