biology cycling those nutrients to make nitrogen avail- able to plants for production and maintaining a nitrogen reservoir in the soil.” John Sackett, resource soil scientist for USDA NRCS,
says ranchers understand they are not feeding the cow, but the microbes in her rumen. Plant residues incor- porated in the soil work the same way, feeding soil microbes, or the “underground herd.” In addition to feeding microbes, organic matter al-
lows air spaces to form in the soil, producing a great- er water-holding capacity. When producers increase the soil’s organic matter from 1 percent to 3, they’ve doubled the water-holding capacity. A great way to provide plant residue is to implement the rule of Take Half-Leave Half. “Say you have annual forage production of 4,000
pounds,” Kneuper poses. “In the idea of Take Half-Leave Half, we want to leave 2,000 pounds of production to return to the soil. Animals use the other half, but we also have some loss through defecation and urination fouling the forage. We also have other animals consum- ing it, such as insects, rabbits or deer. Of the half that is taken, we say half of that is available for grazing. In the rule of Take Half-Leave Half, we have a harvest effi ciency of 25 percent that is available for grazing.” Sackett says, “We’re starting to understand that if
we intensify management with our 5 soil health prin- ciples, we can make drastic improvements in our soil within a relatively short period of time.” Ranchers can’t pick and choose from the 5 principles of soil health though. They must be tackled in order.
Apply all 5 principles of soil health — in order.
1. Keep the soil covered Vegetation protects soil from heat, reducing water
evaporation. Water is not only vital for plant growth, but for all chemical reactions that occur in vegetation and the soil. Kneuper recalls standing in a pasture with a patch
of bare ground and a stand of bluestem grasses. The air temperature was 105 degrees while 2 inches below the bare ground, it was a whopping 154 degrees. Under the grass it was cooler, at 108 degrees. Why are these differences important? Intense heat kills bacteria and soil loses water to evaporation. That
92 The Cattleman February 2015
halts the nutrient cycle, preventing nourishment and nitrogen from becoming available to plants. Plant residue armors the soil because it holds water,
helps minimize erosion, buffers soil temperatures and allows air circulation. Plus, organic matter increases the nutrients available for the nutrient cycle and pre- vents soil from becoming hard and dense. “A lot of our ranchers buy and feed hay,” explains
Kneuper. “Typically, they put feed in a round bale feeder, but they could unroll the bale on an area of ground that needs cover. We don’t have 100 percent utilization on hay. We’re going to have loss due to trampling and fouling. If cattle aren’t eating the hay, at least they’re stomping it into the ground, feeding the underground herd. As hay breaks down, it’s add- ing nutrients to that site.”
2. Minimize disturbances It’s important to recognize forms of disturbances
such as drought, rainfall, a prescribed fi re or wildfi re, and grazing by cattle, deer or even grasshoppers. “In 2011 and 2012, we were in a drought,” Kneuper reports. “We didn’t have control over the weather, but we did have control over putting livestock in those pastures. “If you turn cattle on a drought-stressed pasture
with your normal stocking rate, you’re not minimizing disturbance — you’re adding to it. Minimizing distur- bance could have meant selling the cattle.” Developing a sacrifi cial pasture is another strategy
to use during major disturbances. Kneuper recom- mends that a producer with a 1,500 acre spread move cattle to a 200 acre pasture and supplement with hay. This practice allows rest and recovery for the remain- ing 1,300 acres. “Remember the 200 acres that we sacrifi ced? We still
want to turn around and give it the necessary recovery it needs,” Kneuper advises. “We disturbed it by put- ting all the livestock on it. Let’s give it a good break.” “One way to minimize disturbance is to plan the
future by having alternatives when certain milestones occur, such as rainfall by a certain date,” Sackett ex- plains. “It’s a trigger date that would kick in a new management decision. “To be an effective manager for the soil health
system, you have to be fl exible and adapt to changes,” he says.
3. Increase or maximize plant diversity Putting this concept into action boosts plant resil- ience. By having a variety of warm- and cool-season
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