Soil Health — the Foundation of a Profi table Ranch By Robert Fears Nicole Masters lecturing in the fi eld. P


ROGRESSIVE CATTLEMEN CONTINUALLY EXPLORE WAYS TO improve production effi ciency, even to the point of going underground. Realizing that soil is the


foundation of agricultural production, they are now focusing on underground populations of microorgan- isms that are responsible for keeping soil healthy. The keen interest of cattlemen in soil management


was substantiated by a workshop in Wharton spon- sored by the Locke Division of J.D. Hudgins Inc. John Locke attended the Ranching for Profi t Conference in Laramie, Wyo., where he heard a presentation by Nicole Masters, an agro-ecologist with Integrity Soils, based in New Zealand. Locke was so impressed with what Masters says about improvement and maintenance of soil health that he invited her to speak in Wharton. A date was set for Masters’ visit and invitations were


86 The Cattleman February 2016


emailed to a broad range of people. A dozen ranchers accepted and attended the workshop from as far away as Oklahoma and East Texas. The group was the right size for a productive workshop because there was time for each individual to get answers to their questions. The event lasted 2 days, with lectures in the morn-


ings and fi eld laboratories in the afternoons. For the laboratories, trenches were dug with a backhoe on the Locke ranch so the soil profi le could be examined and discussed. TSCRA Director Coleman Locke summarized the


workshop saying, “Masters made me more aware of what goes on beneath our soil and the need to include soil management in our operational plans. I’m convinced that taking care of soil microbes is very important for ranch sustainability and future income.”


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