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eric

SA Ranch Goes Fully Chemical Free – December 2016

Our New Year’s resolution is to stop putting out synthetic chemicals on the SA Ranch. The SA Ranch has two distinct areas.  The main farming area is up on the bench (Square Butte Bench) and the second farming is down around Arrow Creek. In 2016, we had stopped chemicals on the bench and the plan was to “wean” ourselves out…
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SA Ranch JV’s with Wild Sky Beef

SA Ranch moves cattle operation under the umbrella of Wild Sky Beef. SA Ranch has decided to JV with Wild Sky Beef. The key tenets of this JV is formalizing our commitment to wildlife friendly ranching practices as well as beginning the process to ensure all SA Ranch cattle are fully “grass-fed” from start to finish.  This update will provide…
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The Montana Carbon Project Begins

Our operating hypothesis is that the regenerative ranching/farming “biomimicry” practices that the SA Ranch will employ should effectively store additional carbon in the soil. Storing additional carbon in the soil is a critical component in reducing greenhouse gasses and slowing climate change.  In the summer of 2016, we made the decision to measure the level of carbon in the SA…
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Compost, Compost, Compost…the 4,000 ton challenge

Compost is the key ingredient in the conversion of SA Ranch’s soil Compost is the key ingredient in the conversion of SA Ranch’s soil.  In the early days of designing the SA Ranch’s business plan, it became clear that in 2016 and 2017, we would have to make approximately 4,000 tons of compost to execute what we hoped to accomplish.…
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2016 Progress Report

Making Progress It was late 2015 when the owner of the SA Ranch (Eric) hit the wall on conventional agriculture and decided that something had to be done.  After much research a path was chosen and the SA Ranch’s sustainable, but economically viable, agriculture project began in earnest in the spring of 2016.  In March we retained the two Scientists (Elaine…
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The “Before”

Erosion on Sandy Arrow Ranch Bare dirt and lack of living roots in the ground caused erosion on Sandy Arrow Ranch, which you can see in two of the pictures in this post.  Also included are photos of the chemicals previously used on the ranch — including the “super-size vat” of RoundUp.  The prior owners of the ranch would go…
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