Water quality

When water quality tests in the Mink Creek watershed came back showing high levels of E. coli bacteria, Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality reported cattle as the probable cause, setting the grazing permitees up for possible problems. But were the cattle really the problem? In this two part series from the “Art of Range” podcast, […]

After digging a well and running polyethylene tubing all over the place, my intensive grazing operation was humming right along. Cows never needed to walk more than two or three hundred feet to water and things looked pretty sweet. Then the water problem started. During a dry spell my well struggled to supply sufficient water […]

John Fant, Colonel, US Army (Ret), returned to southwest Virginia in 2013 to resume daily operations and management of the family farm. In this 6:52 video, John describes how he assessed the farm’s resources and then developed and implemented a plan that would improve water quality, and soil and animal health. What he found was […]

According to legend, the first Thanksgiving in North America was celebrated when two very different peoples sat down together to eat and give thanks. The folks in this video are following in that tradition, coming to the table with government agencies and others to create solutions good for wildlife and for the people who make […]

We can graze around streams and avoid government regulations if we choose to do the right thing. Troy Bishopp is busy collecting examples and sharing them with On Pasture so our community can be a good example to all graziers.

With growing concerns over riparian management and its effect on water quality, farmers and ranchers are facing tightening regulations and restrictions on grazing next to streams and water bodies. In his first article on this topic, Troy wondered if we, as graziers, are doing all we can to protect water quality and our grazing future. […]

With growing concerns over riparian management and its effect on water quality, farmers and ranchers are facing tightening regulations and restrictions on grazing next to streams and water bodies. Here, Troy wonders if we, as graziers, are doing all we can to protect water quality and our grazing future. At this year’s Northeast Pasture Consortium […]

NRCS’s Victor Shelton is in the middle of a wet and muddy spring in Indiana. He tells us, “As much as I like the warmer days right now, I probably wouldn’t turn down some frozen ground to reduce mud and the impact of very saturated ground.  One guy told me that if it were just […]

When Iowa livestock producer Ryan Collins bought his 170-acre farm near Harpers Ferry, he knew from experience with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that the agency could help him plan a rotational grazing system. But he didn’t realize he’d get so much more assistance than that. When he first contacted NRCS for assistance, Collins […]