Regenerating the Blackland Prairie: One Farmer's Journey

This broad, solitary Osage orange standing in the pasture has become one of my most cherished trees.

When my husband and I first stepped onto our new 23-acre farm in northern Hunt County, Texas, I was captivated by the possibilities and admittedly inspired by learning about our difficult, thick, sticky "black gumbo" soil and the nearly extinct Blackland Prairie that used to exist here. The Blackland Prairie ecosystem, once sprawling across millions of acres, has sadly dwindled to less than 1% of its original area due to intensive farming and development.

Why Regenerative Agriculture?

I first discovered regenerative agriculture while looking for ways to improve both my land and the quality of life for my livestock. Simply put, regenerative agriculture involves farming in harmony with nature by restoring soil health, promoting biodiversity, and managing water more effectively. It’s less about fighting weeds and pests and more about understanding the natural balance and letting ecosystems thrive. My father taught me that nature is a wonder to be respected, and that the bible says we are to be stewards of the world, not conquerors. My step-father taught me that conventional farming methods - forcing our will on nature - are battles that are expensive and impossible to win. These two men, who taught me so much, inspired me. Instead of constantly struggling against the land, what if I could nurture it back to health by working with its natural processes? This realization ignited my desire to restore the Blackland Prairie on my own farm.

The Aspiring Micro-Dairy

I knew I wanted to farm. Since my early 20s, I had been yearning to return to the farm, realizing that I just don't fit in polite society (and I don't want to). Now in my 50s, I still relish the feeling of mud squishing between my toes, the smell of hay, dirt, and green growing things, and the satisfying exhaustion after a long day of using muscles I had forgotten I had. I considered a lot of things, but goats are what I know and love, so dairy farming it is.

Although it looked green, the ground was either bare or patchy with struggling grass and more than a few toxic weeds.

Although we've only been here a year, our property started out quite differently than it looks today. Half of the property was severely overgrazed, with compacted soil and very little vegetation. The other half was a dense, dying woodland of locust, elm, and osage orange trees shading each other into decline, leaving the ground beneath dark and lifeless. My goal is deceptively simple: I want to transform this tired piece of land into a thriving micro-dairy with a healthy, vibrant prairie ecosystem.

Watching grass grow

My first steps have been cautious but practical. A dear friend's husband has a rule in a new home - do nothing for a year but observe. He was talking about houses, but my gut says that's damned good advice, so that's what I did. I watched all that dry, bare dirt grow things. I took pictures of every plant I could find to learn what I already had growing here, was delighted by the Indian Blankets and dismayed by the Nightshade.

I watched the heavy rains flood that wooded part of the pasture and learned why there were the remains of an old barbed wire fence bisecting the pasture right at that tree line. When the water receded and the ground dried enough to leave my boots on my feet, I walked back in there and found...nothing. The seasonal creek bed was so choked with debris that the water had run over the banks for years like a river delta. Aside from a couple of little clearings where sun kissed the ground, there was no life under those trees and they seemed intent on killing each other in a crowded fight for sunlight. Even the hard, cracked, gray dirt seemed to have given up.

Steve was right - doing nothing but watching for a year was absolutely the correct first move. It has given me the ability to avoid mistakes and make practical foundational choices.

1. Bring life to the dead zone: We used a forestry mulcher to open up that tangled, wooded area, carefully preserving healthy mature trees. At first we hired it done at the end of summer, intending to give the mulch time to decay over winter. The trees were so dense that instead of clearing 9 acres in 3 days as planned, they were only able to clear 1-1/2 acres. Later that fall we rented a machine and opened it all up. We hope that it will become a vibrant silvo-pasture where animals can graze beneath scattered trees, enjoying shade in the summer and shelter in the winter.

2. Planting Native Species: We are planting that cleared area with native grasses, forbs, and legumes to revive the lands original plant communities.

3. Build Healthy Soil: The seeded area is being treated with compost that I have been carefully nurturing in hopes of growing the right microscopic critters to inoculate our soil.

4. Adaptive grazing: I'm implementing rotational grazing with my goats, and adding a small herd of Zebu cattle to "feed, weed, and seed" the ground. They will be limited to the grassy half of the pasture while we give the silvopasture a year to get established, although we may graze it lightly this fall.

As any farmer knows, patience and observation are key, and this is especially necessary in regenerative practices. These steps may work, they may not.  If something isn’t working, I will reassess and adjust my approach, always learning from the land itself.

Why Regenerate the Blackland Prairie?

I'm terminally curious, and I have romantic visions of what the Blackland Prairie is supposed to look like. I also enjoy challenges (obviously, I have goats!) Although I will thoroughly enjoy this journey, restoring this ecosystem isn't just about personal satisfaction; it holds broader benefits both practical and dreamy.

Lower Input Costs, long-term economic viability

• The deep-rooted plants that belong here will improve the soil structure, reducing compaction and increasing nutrient availability without the need for synthetic fertilizers.

• Diverse native plants provide nutrient-rich forage for my goats and zebu throughout the seasons.

• Adaptive grazing maintains robust pastures, increases my carrying capacity, and reduces my dependence on supplemental feeds.

Increased Resilience

• Increased soil organic matter and deep root systems improve water infiltration and retention, minimizing flood and drought impacts.

• Biodiverse and balanced ecosystems reduce vulnerability to pests and diseases - like the plague of grasshoppers we had last year.

• Native plants will better withstand weather events, maintaining productivity even in difficult years.

  
  

Healthier Livestock

• Diverse diets provide better animal nutrition and overall health.

• Grazing management helps to control parasites naturally, lowering veterinary costs

The Dreamy Bit

Healthy dirt is the most powerful tool for carbon sequestration we have. Whether you believe in climate change or not, there is no harm to come from living lightly on the land. We are supposed to be caretakers, not conquerors.