I've written in the past about our practices at Buffalo Ridge Farm and my opinion of using buffalo as a tool to save the planet.
Yesterday, while jumping onto Facebook in my morning and then nightly social media times, I engaged in a back-and-forth thread that started with a poll asking "How often do you rotate your herd"... My response was never. We do not treat our herd as the growing practices of cattle ranchers across the country.
One...of many...of our goals is to preserve this iconic animal's natural and wild characteristics.
"Management" is not aligned with that of our fellow ranchers who have domesticated livestock grazing their grounds for the following reasons:
Bison are regenerative by nature - "That’s why the National Bison Association has trademarked the phrase, “Regenerative by Nature” as to further promote the United State’s National Mammal and keystone species of the Great Plains." But...if buffalo is 'by nature' a regenerative integral, why are we prompted to remove their natural instinct?
Buffalo roamed (key word) the lands freely, they didn't stay in a small(er) area
Buffalo are not cattle. Their grazing characteristics differ greatly from their domesticated bovine cousins and mimic more that of horses than cows. Cows will eat using their tongues to wrap around blades of grasses, and then pull the plant into their mouth. This pulls roots at times, others, breaking the plant at ground level. Buffalo, on the other hand, uses their lips to 'feel' the grasses, selecting the desirable forages and chewing/biting it off above ground level.
I am not a nay-sayer of bison grazing management. Perhaps there is a foundation for building a better method of managing "climate" issues. I simply believe that buffalo should be buffalo. And, if they are the original regenerative "tool" from the past, then we should not have to manage them in order to produce the effects that many organizations are now propping them to be. I firmly believe that we learn from animals, and wild animals especially have mitigated the best and worst environments and disasters via instinct and natural survival techniques.
Why would the National Bison Association push to move buffalo into a domesticated arena so vigorously? Trademarking "Regenerative by Nature" promotes their natural instinct...but then deviates from that messaging by pushing rotational grazing and holistic management as the only way to raise buffalo. Seems contradictive to me.
As this climate church grows, the parish becomes more devout. That leads to strong opposition becoming more vocal. The science simply doesn't exist that supports this holistic management push. But the question remains, is rotating and regenerative a myth or magnificent?
According to a recent article in the Idaho Statesmen For some environmentalists, research on regenerative practices showed evidence that it is little more than a marketing strategy for an industry that has been linked to spreading invasive grasses — which reduce soil carbon — and squeezing out native species like deer and elk.
Here, in East Tennessee, we have a diminishing number of White Tail, Whipper Will, and even our wild turkey population has been falling off in the past few years. Of course, the coyote and wild boar populations are increasing - despite heavy efforts to control or eradicate the two from the immediate and surrounding areas. We've had an increase in Bobcat and Mountain Lion sightings as well, and our native Black Bear population is increasing also. Maintaining a habitat that provides forage and sanctuary for our native species of mammals and birds is equally important to me. We watch the Red Tail Hawks daily as they fly across the fields and listen to them as they scream from the trees throughout our wooded land. And, the number of dung beetle varieties has increased to include the Geotrupes blackurnii and Onthophagus hecate, both native East TN species.
The article also outlines the lack of science and research supporting the growing promotion of regenerative ranching. Even more importantly, it highlights the lack of definition and missing perimeters that would effectively identify sufficiently for consumers the ranches (and companies) that are truly putting in the effort to make a climate difference. Instead, spotlighting the exploitation of the terms and phrases associated with the movement. And, if you read enough of these articles, one could potentially conclude that it has become not only a cult-like movement but another government-funded resource for a tax-payer handout. While others are seeking investment and funding from large private corporations that can add to their public promotion of "being green" "regenerative friendly" and "environmentally safe" by funding efforts that science has yet to prove to have any benefit in building soil, banking carbons, or anything else that we're told repeatedly are happening.
In a melody of that old "Show Me the Money" tune is my version of "Show Me the Data" -- for so many, especially in the bison world, to preach that Regenerative and Rotational grazing is so beneficial to their lands and especially their animals, why are they not sharing the data publicly? Put your data where your mouth is. SHOW US! Prove it folks. Till then, I will continue to be a voice of CHOICE. There are more ways to accomplish positive results for our lands and our herds than the singular holistic methodologies. I was at a local Ag meeting earlier this month when I heard my friend Emmy and Farmer Bob (no, really, that's his name) speaking. Farmer Bob grows tomatoes and other yummy non-GMO vegetables here in Greene County. Emmy was asking him if he is "organic" and he laughed. His response was simply, "No, that's all just marketing BS." Emmy nodded, and I heard her say "Oh Good!!! We're not either, but Jo is."
It was like a sword puncturing my heart! I am not organic, holistic, green, regenerative, or any other 'buzzword' -- I won't be labeled. And I will not let labels define my methods of husbandry and ranching in general. I want NATURAL. I want HEALTHY. I want HARMONY. I don't want chemicals, or overuse of needle therapies (for my herd), I want clean healthy land, healthier animals, and most importantly to contribute to the existence of my environment. It's that simple.
So, I corrected Emmy -- in my defense. "Noooo! Not me! I don't wear labels!"
*Footnote - After yesterday's back-and-forth on the Facebook thread, I'm going to work on adding our data records 'somewhere' here on the site for public review. Our research and data records are not post-worthy and would be buried as blog posts are added. So, whether that will be a Data and Research Page or some other plug-in that I find conducive to readers' accessibility is another research project. But it will be made available in the coming weeks.
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