GRAZING MANAGEMENT TRANSFORMS GRASSLANDS

Developing the land's natural resources benefits the ranch operator and the wildlife.

- Mitch Kezar

Justin Thompson got his start managing a ranch on his own in 1998 after moving off his family ranch near Akaska, South Dakota.

He was hired by an absentee owner to develop a bison and quarter horse ranch, but bison market and bad 2002 drought a poor eventually forced its sale.

"The last years I worked on the bison ranch were so dry that we were nearly every day herding the buffalo into different areas to keep them from leaving," he recalls.

"There was no grass. You could go across that ranch as fast as you wanted to drive, because you could see every hole and every bump. We just didn't know how to fix the problems that were there."

Thompson, who was eager to continue ranching, was able to purchase his own land with the help of the absentee owner who gave him his first shot. Thompson, his wife, Micki, and their kids are living the dream, Photography Kozer Medios los Dickin working together on the ranch.

"We've been given this amazing opportunity to raise a family while I'm managing these grasslands and be able to make a living doing it with a chance to improve the land that's there," he says.

Preserving the Land

Within the sprawling acres of the Thompson Ranch near McLaughlin, South Dakota, are dramatic differences in soil, plants, and water. Taking care of the grass is both a privilege and a responsibility to Thompson.

Ryan Beer, a rangeland management specialist in the northwest part of South Dakota for the National Resource Conservation Service, has helped the Thompsons for almost 20 years.

Together, they have worked on grazing plans and development of natural resources through cover crops, bale grazing, grazing rotations, plant identification, and more.