The key To Success For A Beginning Farmer/Rancher

BY PHILIP FRANK

By now regenerative agriculture is a term that most everyone in the ag world has heard. In fact, I would say it has become a buzz word throughout the world, both in the minds of consumers and producers. A few years ago, many people took it as a “trend that would pass like everything else”. Some made stabs at it, some totally ignored it, and some jumped in with both feet. Here in the Grand Valley of Colorado, it is far from being just a buzz word to us. In fact, I would call it the most important investment I or any of the farmers I work with have made.

When I say investment, I’m not talking about a monetary investment. I’m talking about an investment in our own education, and a commitment to study the laws of nature and bring them into our own farming and ranching systems as much as possible. Basically, the concept behind regenerative agriculture boils down to five basic concepts; the soil health principles:

These five principles are what encourage life to restart in your soil, and in the long run, decrease costs for the producer.

rancher/farmer? Easy. It boils down to equipment, time, and input costs. For most beginners, there are two major holdups: capital and time. One of them is always missing, and to be honest its usually some combination of both. In my operation as well as a few other farmers I work with, we don’t own tillage equipment. We don’t have an investment in massive tillage tractors, plows, deep rippers, roller harrows, or disk harrows. Now for an existing farmer it takes time to make that leap, but as a beginner I am highly motivated to eliminate that expense and make it work. To go along with that, not only do I now not need the investment in that extra equipment, I also don’t need the extra manpower to run it. When we finish harvesting a crop, we follow immediately behind with a no-till drill and our diverse cover crop (or next cash crop) and we’re done. (We are mostly under flood irrigation here so there is an additional step with our special creaser to clean out creases and prepare to irrigate.) Now I enjoy running equipment as much as the next guy, but to be honest I wouldn’t want to go back to having tillage season and the headaches that go along with it, or the massive investment. Instead, we use our diverse cover crops to feed soil microbes, break soil compaction, cycle nutrients, and provide cover for our soil. Additionally, we use cattle to harvest those cover crops along with remaining stubble from the last crop. This breaks down organic matter quicker, allows biology to interact between animals and soil, and makes an additional income source off of those same acres. Another concept that was introduced to me through regenerative agriculture is the idea of Profit/Acre, not yield per acre, or yield per cow. Rather than focusing on growing my acreage constantly to support more quantity or pumping more inputs into each acre to grow our yields, I focus on maximizing each acre. We are already out ahead by eliminating the $100 or more per acre of tillage. What else can we do with that acre? How many crops can we get off of it in a year by following our harvesting equipment with a drill? Can we graze our cover crop? Can we interseed a pollinator into our corn and get income from somebody with honeybees? Can we reduce chemical costs by using cover crops to beat weeds or pests? These are all things that we either practice or believe we will practice in the future. On the cattle side, we have stopped focusing on having the biggest calves, and started instead focus on having the most efficient cattle so that we put less into each calf. In addition, we practice intensive grazing in order to use our resources better and more sustainably.

Now I’m not one of those radical guys who thinks conventional farmers are ruining the world. Agriculture has been my number one passion all my life, since long before I know about regenerative agriculture and I believe in all forms of agriculture from my heart.

I believe that most farmers are farming the way that has worked for a long time, and I don’t blame them for not wanting to experiment when they have paid for farms and cared for their families under the current methods they use. That is something I have not experienced, and something to be proud of! I fully understand that a beginner may have a much easier road adjusting to new strategies in their system, and I will never tell a farmer or rancher who has 30 years more experience than I do that they’ve done it all wrong. But isn’t it exciting and astounding what we are learning about our own profession? Truth is, 30 years ago many soil scientists didn’t even have an understanding of the soil that we have now, so we were doing things the best way we knew how!

I firmly believe that there is no single right way to farm, and even among regenerative farmers there is no universal method that works. But I do believe in this system, as someone who has experienced the differences in stress (time and financial) and the pure enjoyment of farming with life to create more life, and making better income while doing it.

Philip Frank Contego Ag Instagram: philipcotterf

BY DEPT OF AG

Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller respectfully requested Governor Abbott utilize unexpended State CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) funding to support Food Banks and Rural Hospitals statewide. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the State of Texas, Food Banks and Rural Hospitals continue to provide resources to assist the citizens of Texas. Unexpended CARES funding provided to the Governor’s Office will not be allowed to be expended after the December 31, 2020 expiration of the funding provided by the CARES Act.

Rural Hospitals in Texas continue to deal with dwindling revenues and the ever-increasing cost of care. COVID-19 has further strained the resources available to the remaining 163 rural hospitals. A $1.2 million grant to the rural hospitals would help facilities serve their communities in a more effective manner and would alleviate some of the financial strain that these hospitals have experienced.

“We can all agree 2020 has been a tough year for everyone,” Commissioner Miller said. “And let’s face it, rural hospitals in Texas have had their share of challenges long before the pandemic. When these hospitals are forced to close their doors, folks are denied access to healthcare and it’s in times like these that they need it most. We’ve got to keep rural hospitals on their feet and with the Governor’s help we can do just that.”

Food insecurity has doubled among Texas families during this pandemic and the need to provide resources is ongoing. TDA requests that a $2 million grant be distributed to food banks to help them feed the needs of Texans. Additionally, a grant of $1.3 million for the TDA Home Delivered Meals program would help programs like Meals on Wheels reach out to those Texans who need meal assistance but are unable to leave home.

“TDA has always been on the forefront of fighting hunger,” Commissioner Miller said. “Keeping Texans healthy and strong starts with access to proper nutrition. There has been an overwhelming increase in requests for food assistance during this pandemic. Food banks have done a fantastic job aiding those struggling to put food on the table but there is still a sincere need to continue feeding folks throughout our communities.”

These funds would offset the cuts TDA was required to make to meet the General Revenue reduction target Governor Abbott requested earlier this year.

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