Sustainable Agriculture We take a balanced approach to sustainable agriculture. Working with Missouri farmers and their customers, we have a shared goal of growing a variety of healthy and safe food for a world with increasing demands. And we do it in a way that not only takes care of our soil, water and air, but demonstrates innovative methods others can use.
ON THE GROUND Growing Smarter TNC bought Little Creek Farm in 2017 and has turned its 217 acres adjacent to Dunn Ranch Prairie into a center of agricultural innovation. It’s our first demonstration farm in the state, a place to test out strategies that benefit the environment and farmers. One of those farmers, Ryan Cox, leases the land from TNC and collaborates with our staff on sustainable practices. Fences now protect the creek from soil erosion caused by cattle, and Cox rotates his herd through the farm’s twelve paddocks, instead of leaving them in one or two fields to graze the grass down to the ground. It’s a strategy that has extended the grazing season while making it possible for Cox to run more cows per acre. And those pastures? Interseeding with warm-season native grasses increases biodiversity and keeps the fields going during the hot summers.
WHAT’S TO COME Spreading Good Ideas The 4Rs are on the move, spreading across the state. The strategy of using the right fertilizer source at the right rate at the right time in the right place helps farmers save money and improve soil health while reducing the runoff pollution of Missouri’s streams and rivers. Since TNC and a core of collaborators launched 4R in 2018, new pilots and partnerships have continued to pop up. The program is now expanding in Osage Plains, where 1,665 acres have been enrolled, as well as southwest Missouri. We’ve also increased capacity for soil testing through our ag retail partner MFA, Inc., who developed Nutri-Track, a nutrient tracking tool which we are using as part of the 4R Verification in Missouri.
THIS PAGE TOP Ryan Cox at Little Creek Farm © Kristy Stoyer/TNC BOTTOM 4R farm field © Isaac Shaw
6 MISSOURI: STRATEGIES & SOLUTIONS
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