Trodden Ground:
Connecting Ranchers and Grazers with Farms
“The goal is to stitch noncontiguous landscapes together....find access to lands that don’t require that you own the deed to the land that you are grazing”.
1. Ariel Greenwood, Center for Food Safety, May10, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=109&v=2HUwK62CVKs&feature=emb_logo
SKILLS SHOWCASED: Ideation, research, planning, budgeting, forecasting profits, and prototyping of a business idea. Use of Business Model Canvas Tool.
Fundamentals of Sustainable Design, MASD Spring 2020
The project in breif:
People, Planet, Profit
Trodden Ground would support the efforts of farmers wanting to convert or maintain regenerative farms by connecting them with ranchers and grazers who have herds, broods, and flocks. Trodden Ground aspires to promote many localized hubs that promote the connection of ranchers and grazers with farmers and land managers. The goal is to improve soils, reduce fire risks, conserve water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce costs of farming, strengthen the community, increase the quality of farm products and increase the access to land for ranchers and grazers by promoting a source of income and food for their animals.
Planet
Sacred Cow, https://www.sacredcow.info/helpful-resources
Original Source: Bronson W. Griscom et al PNAS 2017: 114:11645-11650
Livestock grazing covers over 3.3 billion hectares, or 25 percent of the world’s land area, making it humanity’s largest land use. Poor grazing practices have contributed to land degradation and loss of soil carbon. In regenerative farming, which incorporates managed grazing, soil is improved and carbon reduced by capturing it in healthy soils through increased photosynthesis. (Climate Reality Project)
Trodden Grounds inspires to support managed grazing, because while emissions of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide continue from the animals, these emissions are more than offset by sequestration. “Ruminants could hold one of the keys to developing a food production system that reverses the impacts of releasing so many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”(Devore)
The impacts of increased adoption of managed grazing from 2020-2050 were generated, by scientists working for the Drawdown, based on two growth scenarios, and assessed in comparison to a Reference Scenario where the solution’s market share was fixed at the current levels. Adoption of managed grazing in one scenario is estimated to be 502.1million hectares, representing 43 percent of the total suitable land. Of this, 430.51 million hectares are adopted from 2020-2050. The impact of this scenario is 16.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 2050. Net cost is $33.6 billion. Net savings in profit is $2.1trillion and in operational cost is $640.8 billion. Increase in global livestock yield is 4.26 million metric tons from 2020-2050. (Project Drawdown)
Sources:
The Climate Reality Project, Soil Health and the Climate Crisis, https://www.climaterealityproject.org/sites/climaterealityproject.org/files/Soil%20Health%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf (accessed 3 Apr. 2020).
Brian DeVore, “Carbon, Cattle and Conservation Grazing”
"Managed Grazing”, Project Drawdown", https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/managed-grazing/technical-summary (accessed 3 Apr. 2020).
People
Sacred Cow, https://www.sacredcow.info/helpful-resources
Trodden Ground would promote local business interaction and shared knowledge by creating partnerships with shared interests within a community. The result would be more regenerative farming, access to better quality foods and healthier local environments for people to enjoy.
Trodden Ground supports regenerative grazing techniques that increase biodiversity and promote healthier populations through better quality food and environment. This method of farming is less labor-intensive for the farmer allowing the farmer more time for other activities and reducing stress. Sharing resources opens the door for a diverse group of ranchers and herders as they no longer have to worry about the burden of owning land.
Many first-generation ranchers are young, often female, and ethnically diverse. Rather than raising beef cattle destined for feedlots, many are managing small grazing animals like sheep and goats. And they are experimenting with grazing practices that can reduce fire risk on hard-to-reach landscapes, restore biodiversity and make it possible to make a living from the land in one of the most expensive states in the country. (Mundon-Dixon)
Source:
Kate Mundon-Dixon, "Young California ranchers are finding new ways to raise ....", January 28, 2020, http://theconversation.com/young-california-ranchers-are-finding-new-ways-to-raise-livestock-and-improve-the-land-124866.
Profit
Rodale Institute, Farming Systems Trail, 2011
The energy analysis covers only the time period 2008-2010 to reflect data collected for the most recent cropping system comparisons
Rodale Institute, Farming Systems Trail, 2018
Manure: This system represents an organic dairy or beef operation. It features a long rotation of annual feed grain crops and perennial forage crops. Fertility is provided by leguminous cover crops and periodic applications of composted manure. A diverse crop rotation is the primary line of defense against pests.
Trodden Ground would reduce energy needs and expenses for grazers and farmers and help provide more affordable local high-quality foods that would strengthen local community circular economics. Farmers would benefit from reduced costs to control weeds as no-till farming locks up more carbon in the soil and dramatically cuts back on fossil fuel/energy use in farm operations (less plowing/tilling means fewer reasons to gas up the tractor). (Climate Reality Project). The animals convert the biomass into manure which means they’re fertilizing the land as well, eliminating the need to spend as much time and money on compost. (Karas)
Diversification is a key economic and ecological strategy. The average new rancher raises two types of livestock, and one-third of them also produce crops. The majority of these new ranchers (53 percent) are managing sheep, while less than half (47 percent) are raising beef cattle.(Mundon-Dixon)
Trodden Ground would benefit many ranchers and herders who do not own land as they would save on having to feed their animals. As their animals move around to different farms and public and private lands they benefit from a variety of food that is often pesticide-free.
This also means that the ranchers and herders can benefit from Ecological Outcome Verified products such as wool, goats milk, cheeses, eggs that can be produced in this way. (Savory)
Sources:
The Climate Reality Project, Soil Health and the Climate Crisis, https://www.climaterealityproject.org/sites/climaterealityproject.org/files/Soil%20Health%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf (accessed 3 Apr. 2020).
Sheryl Karas, "Thinking Beyond the Plow: Equipment ...”, Center for Regenerative Agriculture, https://www.csuchico.edu/regenerativeagriculture/blog/equipment.shtml (Accessed 3 Apr. 2020).
Kate Mundon-Dixon, "Young California ranchers are finding new ways to raise ....", January 28, 2020, http://theconversation.com/young-california-ranchers-are-finding-new-ways-to-raise-livestock-and-improve-the-land-124866.
"Become a Global Hub”, Savory Institute, https://savory.global/regional-hub, (Accessed 3 Apr. 2020).
Revenue Streams for Trodden Ground
Due to the confidential and proprietary information included, the entire report will not be shared publicly but were researched as part of the project.