Dunn Ranch Prairie Grassbank Standing in the sea of tallgrass, Dunn Ranch Prairie can feel endless. Waves of wildflowers go on and on, choruses of migrating birds fill the air and fascinations range from bison to towering dark-earth anthills. A lot of life flows through Dunn’s 3,258 acres, but The Nature Conservancy’s Kent Wamsley notes that it’s “a drop in the bucket” when placed in the context of its place within the 160,000 acres of the Grand Rivers Grasslands of Missouri and Iowa. The grassbank is TNC’s first in the central United States. It is a way to extend Dunn’s ecological impact— and help out our neighbors. A three-year agreement allows two local ranchers to graze cattle for a few months a year on two specific pastures on Dunn in a unit that totals 400 acres. In return, those ranchers choose and implement sustainable grazing practices, such as removing fescue and planting native grasses, woody removal, resting certain pastures and controlled cattle access near streams on their own land. The program is as much an exchange of ideas as it is resources. TNC and its neighbors work together to figure out how to support ranchers and the land. “We’re in grazing country,” says Wamsley, TNC’s grasslands and sustainable agriculture strategy manager in Missouri. “If we want to make a difference, we need to work beyond our property borders.” 4R Nutrient Reduction Program Think of the 4R program as farming backed by scientific data and logistical support. It is about using fertilizer efficiently to save money while protecting the land and water from harmful runoff. No one who grows crops wants to pay for expensive nutrients that are going to wash away, but a lot of variables can make it hard to figure out how to avoid it. That’s where the program’s four “rights” come in: using the right fertilizer source at the right rate at the right time in the right place. Soil testing through TNC’s current pilots use the Nutri-Track system developed by TNC’s retail partner MFA, Inc., which helps create individualized fertilizing plans for farmers and ensures the plans are working in the future. TNC joined a diverse group of collaborators with help from the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board, select ag retailers, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts to launch the 4R program in 2018, and thousands of acres across the state have been enrolled since then. We have a goal to enroll 250,000 acres by 2025. That will help farmers’ bottom line and improve water quality all the way from Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico. TNC's grassbank in Missouri is helping ranchers put conservation practices into place on their land. © Kristy Stoyer/TNC
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