Source: https://modernfarmer.com/2018/04/making-the-case-for-regenerative-agriculture/
Bison: The Latest in Carbon Capture Tech
The 777 Bison Ranch has been in the Hillenbrand family for over 40 years and has been raising bison for over 30 years. It is located in southwestern South Dakota, where the landscape is comprised of mixed, short grass prairie. raises its animals holistically, sustainably, and humanely. It has a strong belief to care for the land, plants, and the wildlife in the same manner. It plans for the whole, using Holistic Management, which has helped set its goals and achieve them.
She has studied Holistic Management and has been practicing it for over 30 years. Mimi has the best outdoor office, works with amazing people, and loves the bison and land, which teach her something new every day. Contact Mimi: Mimi@777BisonRanch.com
To hear Mimi Hillenbrand tell it, American bison are more than just the majestic creatures that once graced the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains by the millions until we nearly wiped them off the face of the earth. They may very well play a role in saving us from ourselves.
“They’ve have been around for millions of years …” Hillenbrand says. “They are just so American, so us.”
Hillenbrand owns and manages 777 Bison Ranch in Hermosa, a 26,000-acre ranch that has been the site of the several movie productions, including “Dancing With Wolves” and “Wyatt Earp.”
The ranch has been in her family since the 1970s, when it was still a cattle ranch. The land, at the time, was in bad shape and overgrazed, she told weather.com.
For a time, the family grazed both cattle and bison, but a particularly brutal blizzard in the 1980s prompted her family to make the switch completely to bison and to employ different grazing methods that has made a difference in the health of the land. They now grass-feed just under 2,000 bison.
“The switch fits our goals of trying to bring back native grasses and trying to leave the land in a better state for the next generation,” she said.
One of the added benefits of making the switch, she said, is what she learns from the massive animals that at one time numbered upward of 60 million in North America but have now dwindled to some 400,000.
“They teach me something every day,” she said, adding that she admires the animals named America’s national mammal by Congress last year because “they are still wild, they are intelligent and curious, and they know the land and the weather,” perhaps even better by instinct than humans.
They may also have a role in healing the land and reducing global warming.
Vulnerability to Global Warming
The Northern Great Plains are particularly vulnerable to the effects of human-induced climate change, according to the congressionally mandated 2017 United States Climate Assessment Report.
Some of the greatest increases in average temperatures in the U.S. are expected in the region over the coming decades. A projected increase of 4.05 degrees Fahrenheit in average temperature is expected by 2065, and a projected increase of 9.37 degrees Fahrenheit in average temperature can be expected by the turn of the century if nothing is done to curb emissions.
Hillenbrand, who has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana and a master’s in agricultural sciences from Colorado State University, says her family already has noticed a difference since they purchased the ranch more than 40 years ago.
“Definitely the weather patterns are changing here,” Hillenbrand said. “We used to have some wind, but now the winds are horrible. Winters are drier and temperatures in the spring are in the 90s when they shouldn’t be.”
The average annual temperature in South Dakota has increased by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the 20th century, and most of that warming has occurred in winter and spring, according to weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
“All but two of South Dakota’s top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1980, and four of the top 10 warmest years have been registered since 2005,” Dolce said.
South Dakota’s annual average temperature is expected to increase to levels never before experienced in historical records by the end of this century, he noted.
“In summer, the number of 100-degree days in the northern Plains could double by the middle portion of this century,” he said.
Along with increased temperatures, the amount of precipitation observed annually is expected to rise in South Dakota, with the biggest upswing in winter and spring. Average precipitation could jump by 10 to 20 percent above current levels during the winter in South Dakota.
“Droughts will continue to affect South Dakota even as precipitation increases overall on an annual basis,” Dolce said. “In fact, the severity of droughts will rise in a warmer world due to an escalation in soil moisture loss from higher temperatures during periods of dry weather.”
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Making the Case for Regenerative Agriculture
For thousands of years, monstrous herds of animals roamed the earth. These beasts covered vast swaths of land in search of food, water, and safety from predators. Their presence was integral, both as a food source for hunters and as ecological regulators. This was especially true for ruminant like goats, cattle, buffalo, sheep, and deer, whose stomachs have the ability to ferment plants through special microbial actions. The result: a highly potent manure that’s incredibly valuable as a fertilizer. When paired with the natural soil aeration provided by their hoofs, these animals could stimulate the biological elements of healthy grass and soil in ways no man-made tool ever has.
These factors created a symbiotic, cyclical relationship between the planet and its inhabitants. The grass fed the animals, the animals fertilized the soils, and the grass grew back taller and stronger while the animals were away. Unfortunately, as humanity proliferated, it slowly chiseled away at the size and frequency of these herds. We hindered their roaming capabilities by putting up fences or killing off their predators, limiting their ability to impact lands like they once could. Simultaneously, we began employing harsher farming methods and poor livestock management that stripped soils of vital nutrients and left them little time to recover between harvests. Suddenly, our natural land stewards were no longer able to do their job. The system was shattered.
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Regenerating the Land and Native Communities with Bison
Another important partnership is with Niman Ranch*, a like-minded premium meat brand working to build a better system that benefits all along the food chain. This partnership is unique: this is not a merger or acquisition. Rather, Niman is providing technical support and supply chain development for Tanka. At the same time, Tanka will be helping Niman build more partnerships with independent family farmers, expanding their network of cattle ranchers and helping to develop a vibrant bison program.
*Niman Ranch is the largest farmer and rancher network in the Western Hemisphere to be 100 percent third-party-certified under the Certified Humane® program. Their community of more than 740 small, independent U.S. family farmers and ranchers adhere to some of the strictest animal welfare protocols in the industry.
As the demand for meat continues to escalate during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the store shelves grow bare and the food supply system finally shows the cracks of a system of largess. I’m seeing how sustainable, smaller production models, like Niman Ranch, are succeeding and supporting the families who work the land and raise the animals. I’m reminded of how my Native people lived with a deep commitment to the preservation of our food and land. The question of what we must do to impact the future of a sustainable food system can be answered by listening to my elders who whisper: honor the sacred Buffalo.
Yes, the answer is BISON.
Bison are at the heart of our Native community. I’m so glad to see that there is a newfound appreciation for their role as an important species for healing our lands and restoring natural balance. With a population upwards of 30 million just a couple of hundred years ago, bison were on the brink of extinction by the 1880s with just a few hundred remaining. Through conservation efforts and expanding market demand, there are now an estimated 500,000 of these giant mammals. Many bison have been revitalized by my own Native community on the Pine Ridge reservation.
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The Seneca Nation Is Building Food Sovereignty, One Bison at a Time
For Michael Snyder, it was canceling the Gakwi:yo:h Farm’s annual Maple Weekend that drove home how serious the pandemic would hit the Seneca Nation.
Snyder, the director of the agriculture department for the Seneca Nation, has overseen a number of efforts to rebuild food sovereignty among the Seneca, including the development of Gakwi:yo:h Farms, the growth of a bison herd on the Nation’s reservation, and the ongoing construction of a new cannery facility.
And Maple Weekend—scheduled for late March 2020—would have been the perfect showcase. Instead, everything was going to have to be put on hold.
“A week before we were going to do Maple Weekend. I’m pulling all our maple products and our bison meat, everything that I have and setting it aside ” until the pandemic passed, Snyder said.
Snyder’s work grew out of the Food is Our Medicine initiative, launched in 2013 by the Seneca Diabetes Foundation and funded to encourage healthy eating through gardening, canning, and education about culturally significant plants. Because no farm existed on Seneca land, the initiative helped fund the establishment of Gakwi:yo:h Farms, whose name means “good food” in Seneca, and whose mission is to increase the Nation’s food security and food sovereignty by promoting traditional agricultural practices and engaging with the community through food.
The founding of their farm started from the ground up, an entirely Indigenous enterprise focused from the start on everything from creating to branding, marketing, and packaging its own goods. Training new growers is also an important goal for Gakwi:yo:h Farms.
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WTH is Regenerative Agriculture
Wild Idea buffalo: Dan & Jill O’Brien created Wild Idea Buffalo Company in 1997 with the mission of preserving the Great Plains by returning buffalo to their native habitat. Many years have passed since their original “wild idea” that began the company, and today Wild Idea Buffalo Company, LLC continues to grow through our customers’ conscientious decisions about the quality and stewardship of the food they purchase.
The incredible flavor of Wild Idea Buffalo meat is the result of the animals’ lives being lived more naturally and without unnecessary human interference. Its clean, rich, slightly sweet taste has subtle notes of grass, sage, and we swear – sunshine. Our humane prairie harvests ensure that our buffalo are not exposed to any undue stress that would spoil the flavor of this natural meat. Our buffalo are given respect, dignity, and care throughout their lives. Our buffalo tastes better because they are raised better!
There are many words that individuals, companies, farmers and ranchers use to help inform you, the consumer, on what makes them different. Inevitably, those words (natural, organic, sustainable, free range, etc) are hijacked by master marketers who put their spin on them and attach them to products that simply do not measure up. For instance, “regenerative agriculture” is used when promoting mono-cultural crops. It is a lie. There is nothing regenerative about massive acres of a mono-cultural crop.
With that said, we get the, “What the heck is regenerative agriculture?” often. A little Google search provided the following definition:
Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming and grazing practices that among other benefits, increases biodiversity, enhances ecosystems, enriches soils organic matter and rebuilds degraded soil biodiversity, improves watersheds, and captures the draw down of carbon in the soil. These practices reverse current global warming trends of atmospheric accumulation.
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Videos
Books
Great Plains Bison, Dan O’Brien
Buffalo for the Broken Heart, Dan O’Brien
For twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarks on a personal journey that returns buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half.
Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon hone in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines a novelist’s eye for detail with a naturalist’s understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.
Bison Producers’ Handbook, National Bison Association
Hard Grass: Life on the Crazy Woman Bison Ranch, Mary Strange
Association
National Bison Association
https://bisoncentral.com/
HISTORY AND MISSION OF THE NATIONAL BISON ASSOCIATION
In 1995 the American Bison Association (formed in 1975) and the National Buffalo Association (chartered in 1966) merged to become the National Bison Association.
The NBA has more than 1,100 members in all 50 states and 10 foreign countries.
The NBA is a non-profit association of producers, processors, marketers and bison enthusiasts.
The vision of the NBA is a community bound by the heritage of the American Bison.
The mission of the National Bison Association is to bring together stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of American bison, to educate, and to create a sustainable future for our industry.
National Bison Association members abide by the NBA Code of Ethics, which ensure the humane and sustainable raising of the American bison. View our Code of Ethics.
View the National Bison Association’s annual report and many recent accomplishments here.
Contact details:
National Bison Association
8690 Wolff Ct. #200
Westminster, CO 80031
Phone: (303) 292-2833
Fax: (303) 845-9081
Other
Ranchlands is an agricultural-based business that operates large-scale cattle and bison ranches in the American West. We partner with conservation-minded owners to implement ambitious conservation programs that coexist alongside our own cattle operations. In addition to our diversified cattle business, we run a series of complementary land-based businesses including hospitality, hunting and fishing, a leather shop, strategic advisory services, and ecotourism.
Our mission is to promote the conservation of ranch lands, our American ranching legacy, and quality of life for people living and working on ranches through innovative and sustainable business ventures, long-term business partnerships, and strategic alliances inside and outside our industry.
We believe that, too often, the management of ranches is underestimated, resulting in high costs of ownership, degradation of natural resources, loss of potential earnings, and erosion of long-term value. Our management model hinges on the premise that ranchers’ most important role in large rangeland investment strategies is as asset managers. We manage the land, resource base, facilities, and infrastructure from an ownership perspective, knowing that a healthy and balanced whole leads to higher long-term productivity and appreciation in value.
