America’s Conservation Ag Movement hosts live, farmer-led networking events, called Virtual Peer Networks, which allow producers to hear the latest from experts and innovators moving the needle in conservation ag. They can glean insights and meet other like-minded farmers and ranchers in their own states and others at these interactive virtual events. In 2024, ACAM is hosting a series of VPN events in Montana, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New York.
On October 30, the first VPN of the fourth quarter was hosted by Oklahoma rancher Jack Thomas who utilizes a strong partnership with his local conservation district and USDA-NRCS to expand conservation on his 2,000-acre cow calf operation. During his recent field day, Jack shared how river-bottom conservation tactics, rotational grazing, and financial incentives are changing his fourth-generation farm for the better. He was joined by his local USDA-NRCS officers Trevor Folsom and Julie Lamb for the discussion. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Stevie White is featuring comments from that conversation.
Folsom detailed that the NRCS office has aided Thomas with erosion control, replacing historical cropland with grass to preserve topsoil, and further plans to help Thomas implement bale grazing into his operation to help increase organic matter in the soil.
“Increasing organic matter will add resiliency to his operation to reduce the negative effects of things like drought by increasing the holding capacity of his pastures,” Folsom said.
Thomas shared how the NRCS office helped him overcome an invasion of Sericea lespedeza when Remedy wasn’t quite as affordable. “You learn a lot through that process,” Thomas shared. “Since then, I have learned to budget Remedy or the generic Ally, Metsulfuron. Sericea is not a huge deal anymore.”
He shared another experience with bottomland that his family had planted to wheat for generations, but Thomas noticed that the ground was eroding and found that the process of planting wheat was costing him more than the gain on the calves. He reached out to Lamb at his NRCS office once again who helped him replace the wheat with Bermuda grass. Through proper management of the grass, the change benefited his operation more than he ever anticipated.
“I used to run about forty pairs on that land,” Thomas said. “Now I run about seventy pairs, and in just an average summer, I can shut them on that pasture, and they don’t run out of grass all summer. That is good bottomland. The best land that Oklahoma has is that bottomland – that mason silt loam.”
He added that water retention has improved greatly, and even in the current drought, the converted pasture still grows green grass in places. He has also gotten control of some ravines that were forming through erosion.
“He has built resiliency into his operation,” Folsom added. “The plant community shifted from the Sericea, so that was restored back. Water quality was one of the things that he hit on by fencing out his ponds and adding alternate watering systems. He reduced erosion. Just all of the resource concerns that we have identified on his property have been addressed and now we are trying to take it a step further as we look toward the future.”
The NRCS office offers two main programs. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program addresses resource concerns on the landscape through brush management, herbaceous weed treatment, adding or improving ponds and other watering facilities, and improving water quality.
“That is our fix-it program, and guys who have already been through EQIP or are already doing a good job coming through our doors for the first time can participate in CSP or the Conservation Stewardship Program.”
CSP is for good stewards of the land who have achieved good conservation practices already. NRCS helps them take the next steps to improve the small things such as organic matter in the soil, body condition scoring education, and many other activities to take stewardship to the next level.
NRCS Soil Expert Jamie Patton chimed in to encourage producers to participate in a VPN and emphasized that they are not only state-wide. “We are continuing these throughout all of our ACAM concentrated states,” she said. “These are not state-specific. You can go to our website, AmericasConcervationAgMovement.com, and register for any of these VPN’s that you would like, in whichever state you want.”
