These are two soil profiles, dug within 20 feet of each other. 
 That's a painted shovel in background - Photo by Wayne Burleson

GROWING SOIL WITH MANAGEMENT

On Eastern Montana's short grass native prairie, Don Shaules's, Spring Creek Ranch is managed not only for the livestock but also for the land.  His livestock management has been used as a tool to add over one inch of new organic matter into the soils. This was evident when compared to adjacent ungrazed lands in a livestock exclosure (no grazing for 8 years - land without livestock in the above photo). 

Both dug sod samples have the same grass species growing in them - western wheatgrass.  Note the darker colored and much taller western wheatgrass with wider leaves growing on the land with livestock grazing.

These samples were dug just 20 feet apart.   It took 8 years for this change to happen.  We started with one large pasture with the same land management plan, a  2-pasture rotation that had the same soil profile.  Now the land is intensively managed using a holistic goal, that is helping us move the land and soil into phase II (land and plants moving toward full potential).

QUESTION.  What caused the huge increase in soil organic matter?  

ANSWER.  Herd effect.  Lots of animals moving around in a bunch for a very short time period (10 days).  Their hooves pushed old organic matter into the soil profile.  This increase in soil organic matter all started in 1988  - a severe drought year when the plants were very dry and brittle.  The plants simply broke off, were shoved into the soil surface and later became soil - resulting in a big jump in biodiversity.

Herd effect is not a new tool used in land management, but as old as the hills themselves.  For thousands of years other large herds of animals did the same thing (herd effect) as huge bunches of bison, elk, deer, & antelope, numbered in the thousands, grazed and migrated through this same area.

This is a good example of creative land management that goes well beyond conservation into regeneration of the land by using an age old tool common to nature.

If you would like to do this on your land just give Wayne Burleson a call at (406) 328-6808 

He will likely  slow you down and ask you about the future GOAL for your place - A HOLISTIC GOAL stating a vision for the future of the land, other resources, your money needed, and the people's quality of life.  Then you will be able to see if herd effect, depending on a land evaluation, is the first tool you need to use to take you toward that predetermined GOAL.

Doing things this way (having one holistic goal) just makes common since and more cents when deciding about making a major change in management.