The Dakotan:
And now time for this week's edition of Ranching Issues. Here's Neil Roberts.
Neil Roberts:
Welcome to another edition of Ranching Issues. Our guest this week is Noonan area rancher and former NDSU livestock specialist John Dhuyvtter and John. Input costs continue to skyrocket for farmers and ranchers across the region. Now, you believe regenerative ag could be a solution in part.
John Dhuyvetter:
There's really five principles to this that are promoted. Minimize tillage, keep your ground covered. Keep growing roots in the soil as long as possible. Strive for diversity in what you're putting on the land. And then finally to integrate some livestock into these farms.
Neil Roberts:
All right. Good stuff, John. And hey, we'll talk about regenerative ag and cattle role in it when we come back.
The Dakotan:
You're listening to Ranching Issues with Neil Roberts on the Dakotan Network.
Neil Roberts:
Talking Regenerative Ag with John Do Better today on Ranching Issues and John Watt's cattle role in this.
John Dhuyvetter:
I think it's a number of things. One is cattle recycle is high residue stuff and cycle the nutrients to the manure utilized by plants faster and quicker. But they also allow you to plant more diverse rotations. And that gives you just a break in the monoculture of what we might normally raise. And then certainly on perennial pastures, rotational grazing helps develop root systems, organic matter in the soil by giving rest periods in the growing season and just the biology, the cattle with the diverse microbes in their room and depositing them on the soil helps jumpstart some of their biology. I'm not suggesting all grain farmers or crop farmers would get herds of cattle, but I think there's an opportunity for them to cooperate and find some ways to find synergy with those with the cattle, to grow some forage crops and maybe let some cattle graze on their land.
Neil Roberts:
Good stuff as always, John. Always a welcome guest on our program and that will conclude this edition until next time. I'm Neil Roberts.
The Dakotan:
You're listening to the Dakotan Network. Real, Honest, Local News.
