North Dakota Farmers Are Champions of Conservation
In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Bare and windblown soil never sat well with Gene Goven, so when he began farming in 1967, he decided to do something about it. After leaving North Dakota State University when his grandfather asked him to come help on the farm, Goven began farming his own 770 acres near Turtle Lake just a year later.
He learned the value of companion cropping – growing a cash crop alongside a cover crop – from his father and grandfather. Besides providing continuous cover of the soil, this method enriches soil nutrients, reduces erosion, increases water infiltration and allows beneficial insects to thrive.
“It’s the hundreds of little things rather than any single thing,” Goven says of his conservation efforts. Using cross fencing and cattle on both pasture and cropland provides a host of benefits, including carbon sequestration, increased soil fertility, water infiltration and biodiversity for soil health.
It’s been 20 years since Goven’s treated livestock with pesticides for things like flies and ticks. Instead, he rotates the livestock using timing as a biological control, no longer killing both harmful and beneficial insects.
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Farming in Nature’s Image
Just east of Bismarck, Gabe Brown and his son, Paul, are busy regenerating their soil. After four consecutive years of failed crops due to natural disasters, Brown found himself desperate to make the land profitable without inputs – primarily because he couldn’t afford any. So, he began to take a no-till approach and soon saw success.
Brown’s Ranch has now been 100% no-till for 27 years, and the father-son duo also practices companion cropping. Additionally, they utilize cool-season plant species for winter grazing, allowing the plants to take carbon out of the atmosphere and feed the soil year round.
Since 1991, Brown has improved his soil’s organic matter by 6% and the water infiltration rate from half an inch to 30 inches an hour. “We have not used any synthetic fertilizers since 2007 and no fungicides or pesticides in 20-plus years,” Brown says. “We no longer need those things.”
These days, Brown’s Ranch boasts 5,000 acres of land containing 250 cow-calf pairs, grass-finished beef, grass-finished lamb, pastured pork, free-range laying hens, broiler chickens, turkeys and beehives. Gabe spends most of his time consulting for other farmers while Paul manages the farm, selling nutrient-dense food directly to consumers and providing sustainability for future generations.