Little Creek Farm The Nature Conservancy bought Little Creek Farm in 2017 and has turned its 217 acres into a center of agricultural innovation. Overlooking the rolling hills of Dunn Ranch Prairie, which sits just across the road, the property is more than just a farm with a view. It serves as TNC’s first sustainable grazing demonstration farm in Missouri. With our partners, we’re testing strategies that benefit farmers and the environment. Local rancher Ryan Cox leases the land from TNC and collaborates with our staff on sustainable practices. Interseeding warm-season native grasses has improved the health and biodiversity of pastures, and Cox rotates his herd through the farm’s twelve paddocks, instead of leaving them in one or two pastures to chew the grass to the ground. That’s extended the grazing season and allowed Cox to run more cows per acre.
Rancher Ryan Cox is a partner at TNC's Little Creek Farm. © Kristy Stoyer/TNC
The farm’s namesake has been improved, too. A major stream restoration project completed in 2022 repaired the eroded banks of Little Creek and created an underwater wedge that reconnects more than five miles of aquatic habitat. This is critical to the passage upstream into the headwaters for the federally listed Topeka shiner. That’s great news for the health of the creek and the aquatic system here in this portion of the Great Plains.
BEFORE & AFTER: Before restoration, the streambanks of Little Creek were severely eroding, dumping harmful nutrients and sediment into the stream and limiting aquatic habitat. Now, the free-flowing creek is lined with natural materials that increase habitat and provide a more fish-friendly passage. © Steve Herrington/TNC
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