Badlands Soil Crawl

Join our final Soil Crawl of 2024! This special event will take place over two days in the badlands of eastern Montana. One day will be spent in the classroom, and one day will be in the field. Come join fellow land stewards to dig deeper and explore practical ways to assess soil, water, and invasive species in your own backyard whether that is a garden, farm or ranch!
 
Building soil health is different everywhere depending on a property’s existing soils, history, and microclimate. “Soil Crawls” are public events where we gather to explore the soil health on our members’ ranches and farms to learn what we could do to make improvements.
 
This event will focus on what producers can do to keep their operations sustainable and profitable over the long haul. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of what to include in land assessment needs, rangeland productivity, and strategies for managed grazing within a dryland or arid context.
The variable, complex landscape of the Aus Ranch provides a rich case study for attendees to learn from soil health experts and locals alike. We will be joined by Matt Ricketts of Triple R Bar S Consulting, Montana State University soil science professor Dr. Tony Hartshorn, and others!
 

Badlands Soil Crawl
September 19th & 20th
Glendive, MT

Click here to register!

EVENT DETAILS

Thurs., Sept. 19; 1-5 pm (classroom seminar)
Dawson Community College
Ullman Center Lecture Hall
300 College Dr.
Glendive, 59330

Includes an evening dinner catered by Black Sheep Market

Fri., Sept. 20; 9 am-3 pm (outdoor field day)
Aus Ranch
454 Road 544
Glendive, 59330
Includes a delicious BBQ lunch with beef donated by the Aus Ranch

Cost: $20 total for both days (includes one meal each day!)

*Schedule subject to minor changes

SCHEDULE

Thursday, September 19
On Thursday, we will be in the classroom for a soil health seminar from range expert Matt Ricketts, who has over 40 years of experience teaching, researching, and as a land management practitioner. This presentation will cover topics like grazing and drought management, livestock and plant nutrition, range improvement, and even ranch economics. Attendees will hear about a two-year study researching effective ways to inventory operations and get a sense of what nutritional content exists on range forage. For example, learn how to determine protein and mineral content make-up, how ranchers can reduce input costs, and how to find causes of reduced yields.

Friday, September 20
On Friday, attendees will visit Aus Ranch to put what they have learned into practice. We will get out in the field and check out examples or riparian, arid, and other grazing contexts. The variable, complex landscape of the Aus Ranch provides a rich case study for attendees to learn from soil health experts and locals alike. We will be joined by Montana State University soil science professor Dr. Tony Hartshorn, Third-generation rancher and “vermicast-generator” Steve Charter and others!

LODGING

PLEASE NOTE: Attendees are responsible for lodging reservation. Here are some great local options:

Hotels
  • Holiday Express
  • La Quinta
  • Yellowstone River Inn


RV & Campgrounds

  • Green Valley Campground
  • Makoshika State Park
  • Riverview RV Park
 
Questions? Contact Gusty at (406) 248-1154 or gusty@northernplains.org.

This event is generously sponsored by Kateri. Kateri provides soil sampling, ranch advisory, technology, and other investments into properties while enabling ranchers to secure new income streams through carbon credits and other nature-based programs.

Kateri unlocks the potential of your lands to build natural capital.