Abstract
I explore the hypothesis that managing grazing using regenerative grazing principles to improve soil health is a sustainable base to improve net farm profits. Carbon-rich soil is healthy soil and beneficial for the entire ecosystem. Changing current unsustainable high-input agricultural practices to low-input practices that regenerate ecosystem function will be necessary for sustainable, resilient agro-ecosystems. Current reductionist, small-scale, short-term research managed without goals to find what management framework will deliver positive outcomes for ranchers has produced very erroneous conclusions. Healthy ecosystems function by increasing soil carbon to improve water infiltration and retention; soil nutrient access and retention; and the diversity of fungi, microbes, plants, insects, and wildlife that contribute to both improved livestock nutrition and human nutrition. I will give an overview of our research endeavors using a systems-science, multi-discipline framework to find the best grazing management for regenerating: soil health and function; delivery of ecosystem goods and services; and farmer livelihoods and social resilience. To accomplish this, we partner with farmers who have improved the environment and excel financially to convert experimental results into sound environmental, social, and economic benefits regionally and globally.
Keywords: grazing management, ecosystem, regeneration