Soil health is the soil's ability to function as a vital, living ecosystem. Five principles behind creating healthy soil include: maximizing soil cover, minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing plant diversity, keeping a continual living root in the soil, and integrating livestock. Sand County Foundation works in partnership with farmers to demonstrate the environmental and farm benefits of integrating livestock.

We offer technical assistance to help you get started with grazing. We also offer consulting on nutrient management and manure use. Our research into grassland bird's use of grazing land, and the integration of cover crops in silage for feed quality offer insights into why and how farms can increase the positive impact of livestock.  

Contact Briana Schnelle, Sand County Foundation's Agricultural Conservation Specialist, at bschelle@sandcountyfoundation.org (608) 630-3470.