New Mexico Department of Agriculture Healthy Soil Program Pilot Grant Program

Cover Sheet

Keeping Soil Covered

Minimizing Soil Disturbance on Cropland

Maximizing Biodiversity

Maintaining a Living Root

Integrating Animals into Land Management

No

No

No

acres

Total funds requested for this grant: $

Total number of acres to be treated:

Does this project have current or pending funding? Yes

If yes, does that funding require a match? Yes

Can this project be completed if not fully funded? Yes

Explain:

Revised August 2019 - Version 1

Date:

Project Title:

Project Applicant:

Name: Address:Telephone #: Email:

Check the soil health principle(s) this pilot project addresses:

Eligible Entity:Eligible Entity Project Coordinator Information

Location Project (i.e. address, GPS):Telephone #: Email:

Does the project apply to: Farm Ranch Other:

Attach Project Summary - 1 page

Attach Project Proposal - 5 pages

Attach Budget

Additional Attachments

Attachments

PROJECT TITLE:

A New Beginning: Use of Ground Cover and Livestock to Improve Soil Health

SUMMARY:

Covering the ground with multiple species of plants is important for improving soil

health. This project will utilize both warm and cool season seed mixes to plant cropland and

pastureland to regenerate soil. Integration of livestock will add fertilizer and incorporate organic

matter into the ground. Using this project as a backdrop for educating children in the ways of

generating healthy soil is a viable agricultural setting for future generations.

M-Scar Farm & Ranch, LLC was formed in June of 2019. This entity consists of Kevin

& Mira Merritt, a first-time farming and ranching family that recently moved to Colfax County.

The project site consists of 410 acres north of NM 505 and south and west of the Maxwell

Wildlife Refuge boundary, northwest of Maxwell, NM. As a start-up entity we are seeing first-

hand the economic challenges of repairing damaged or dead soil to maximize soil health. Being

in an arid and droughted land, the goal is to utilize all 5 soil health principles to improve soil

health on all 410 acres. By using minimal soil disturbance practices such as no-till planting and

intensive management grazing techniques, it is our hope to restore and improve soil health by

increasing soil organic matter while providing nutrient dense food for the surrounding

communities.

Evaluation on the success of this project will include providing sufficient water to

livestock in key locations, growing tall forage on cropland and pastureland to maximize

photosynthesis, increasing soil organic matter on bare ground, monitoring soil test results at

precise times, and comparing water infiltration times before and after completion of this project.

Success will also be monitored at the soil education seminar for students by sharing quiz results

of before and after knowledge testing on soil health.

Contact applicant information: Kevin & Mira Merritt, 913 W. 18th Street, Cimarron, NM

87714. Phone: 575-760-7178 or 575-799-2178. E-mail: mcgregor588@gmail.com

As beginning farmers and ranchers in Maxwell, NM, we are wanting to transform our

410 acres of multiple prairie dog towns, bare ground pasture and monoculture cropland into

covered ground with multiple plant species and healthier soil. The goals of this project are to

address all five soil health principles. We want our grazing and cropland to have more soil

armor (principle 1), to be covered with multi-species of plants all year long. This cover will

maintain more moderate soil temperature, prevent erosion, reduce evaporation rates and reduce

soil compaction. We want to minimize soil disturbance (principle 2) by limit grazing and using

minimal tillage on our cropland. We will no-till drill our seed design mixes and prevent noxious

plants such as bindweed that chokes out more beneficial grazing species. Plant diversity

(principle 3) will be achieved by using special designed seed mixes on our irrigated acres by

certified experts. For the past 6 months my husband has worked for and with our neighbor Kim

Barmann at the CS Ranch near Cimarron, NM. My husband has participated in 4 individual and

group presentations regarding healthy soil principles and planting guidelines. He has planted the

CS fields with custom seed design mixes and consulted with their soil consultants Ray

Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Alejandro Carrillo from the Soil Health Academy. These experts

have consulted during and after the growing seasons and after mob grazing these same fields;

this is where my husband has learned more about improving soil health and is excited about

applying the same principles on our own land. We will be planting twice a year with cool-season

and warm-season plants, striving for continual live plant roots (principle 4) throughout the entire

year. By integrating livestock (principle 5) to our program we will help balance our

carbon/nitrogen ratios, manage weed pressure and provide a higher nutritional diet by grazing

our cover crops and crop residues.

Our first objective is to add an additional water supply for the livestock. This water

supply will allow us to integrate livestock onto our irrigated cropland and pastureland (tract 1) as

well as a portion of our non-irrigated pasture land (tract 2). We will be able to implement a more

strategic grazing plan and allow plant re-growth without overgrazing. Our second objective is to

cover the bare ground and prairie dog towns by adding organic matter. We want to bale graze on

top of the prairie dog towns; this will cover the bare ground and allow livestock to feed as well

as fertilize the soil. After bale grazing is completed, we plan to no-till plant pastureland to cover

the bare ground, stimulate the soil rejuvenation and re-establish pasture grasses. We will allow

the covered ground time to rest and recover, build soil health, increase perennial grazing plant

populations, and reduce the number prairie dog towns. Our final objective is to plant both warm

and cool season plants for grazing using no-till planting methods on our 60 acres of irrigated

cropland. Planting a diverse seed mix allows sunlight and water to hold onto carbon and other

nutrients, preventing leakage into surface and ground water. The increase in carbon will help the

soil’s ability to absorb and hold water. We will also host an education seminar for the local high

school FFA students, teaching them how to collect soil samples and collect and count plant

species.

We will incorporate the following practices into this project--conservation principles of

minimizing soil disturbance on cropland, professional seed mix designs specific for improving

the soil health, and use of intensive grazing methods to utilize feed sources but still maintain

ground cover and soil health. The no-till drill used to plant the cropland minimizes soil tillage

and begin to rebuild soil aggregates, pore spaces, soil glue and soil organic matter. Our seed will

be purchased at Curtis & Curtis Seed Inc., Clovis, NM. The warm-season blend will include

clover, sorghum/Sudan, pearl millet, cabbage, broadleaf mustard, chicory and buckwheat

formulated by Mark Peabody from Curtis & Curtis. The cool-season blend will include alfalfa,

rye, triticale, little Burnett, buckwheat and chicory forb feast. This mix design was made by

Gabe Brown. We plan to consult with Jeff Goebel from HMI to establish our annual grazing plan

for our livestock integration.

This project will be assisting us, first time producers, trying to improve the soil health by

removing excess prairie dog towns by growing tall plants, covering the bare ground by bale

feeding and creating sustainable native pastures with multiple species to continue to graze

livestock. Another benefit of this project is to help aid in teaching local school age children the

importance of healthy soil, including the specific methodologies of how-to improve soil health

both economically and environmentally.

The approach and methods we will take to accomplish our objectives are described in the

following timeline. In early January we will create our annual grazing plan with the help of Jeff

Goebel to complete our livestock integration, the fifth step in improving our soil health. In

January we will complete installation of a 1400ft water line and 1200-gallon water tank to

provide fresh water for livestock near the irrigated cropland. From January to May will use the

furthest west 160 acres of tract 2, to cover bare ground with hay-grazer bales and use this as feed

for our 4 bulls. This provides 20 pounds of forage per animal per day. With each 1400-pound

bale lasting 17.5 days, we will need 87 bales for 5 months. With each new bale placed in the

feeder, the feeder will be moved to a different location 42 ft away from previous bale to

maximize covering the ground with fertilizer and hay litter to achieve maximum ground cover

with even nutrient spread. In late February 2020 we will move our 15 replacement heifers onto

the east 160 acres of tract 2 for bale-grazing and calving for 60 days. At 14 pounds of forage per

animal per day this will require 1 bale per week for 8 weeks, a total of 8 bales. The same

principle of moving the feeder onto a different location with each new bale, will again allow

maximum ground cover and nutrient deposition. Bale grazing can add up to 548 pounds of

nitrogen (N) per acre and 49 pounds of phosphorus (P) when fed at 25 bales per acre according

to Sustainable Management of Nutrients (ANGUS Journal Oct 2014). After the bulls and

replacement heifers are removed from tract 2, up to 80 acres of pastureland will be planted with

warm-season seed mix in May and rested for 5 months. This will allow the fertilizer to

incorporate into the soil and plants to germinate and grow, both pastures will have improved soil

health with ground cover, increased carbon and new plant life. In June, we will test the soil of

both the cropland and pastureland using the Ward Laboratories in Kearney, NE. As per

recommended by Ray Archuleta we will test for the Haney Test, PLFA and Total Nutrient

package. In June we will purchase and plant warm-season grasses into our 90 acres of irrigated

cropland and pastureland. We will also purchase our cool-season seed mix design and have

Curtis & Curtis store seed until we plant it in August 2020. In November we will graze weaned

calves on our 60 acres of cropland and 60 acres of irrigated pastureland (Tract 1) for 60 days or as

grazing plan states, to ensure no overgrazing.

The project’s success and effectiveness will be evaluated using multiple tests. Being able

to provide enough water to support 100 head of cows and calves for 2 months on cropland and

pastureland will prove as a success in our water line project. Reducing bare ground from 50% to

20% by feeding round bales through the winter of tract 2 will give us a numerical improvement

of soil health. A Haney Test, PLFA and Total Nutrient package soil tests at Ward Laboratories,

Inc in Kearney, NE will be performed by June 30th. The results will help us determine increases

in organic matter and nutrient levels in our quest to improve soil health. Water infiltration

testing will be done in May and November to verify and quantify improvement of soil health.

An increase in water holding capacity will prove project success in creating healthier soil.

Pasture plant species collection will be done in May in conjunction with our education outreach

with the Maxwell FFA students. An increase in count and species will again prove soil health

improved.

The breakdown of costs for the project can be seen in the spreadsheet attached. The

largest expense is winter hay at $8,075 but the amount of nutrients added to the soil as stated

above and the amount of organic matter added to the soil naturally appears to be the most rapid

way to achieve healthy soil. The warm and cool season seed blends are certainly more expensive

than a monoculture crop, but again the benefits of plant diversity improves the water infiltration

and nutrient cycling, while reducing disease and pests. All of these attributes improve the health

of the soil. The total cost estimated at $23,565, of which we as the land owners would contribute

up to $7,000 as well as provide labor and equipment for completion of this project. This would

leave a balance of $16,565 for the NMDA Soil Health Pilot Grant Program to cover.

Soil Health Project M-Scar Farm & Ranch, LLC

Item Unit Cost Unit # of Items Total Cost

Water line 0.50$ per foot 1400 $700.00

Ditching fee 0.35$ per foot 1400 $490.00

1200 gallon Poly Stock Water tank 365.00$ per tank 1 $365.00

Water Tank Float 125.00$ per float 1 $125.00

Mulch Hay for ground cover 85.00$ per bale 95 $8,075.00

Warm Season Seed Mix 35.00$ per acre 140 $4,900.00

Cool Season Seed Mix 42.00$ per acre 140 $5,880.00

Electricity-N Sprinkler Highline Rd 45.00$ KWH 20 $900.00

Soil Testing--PLFA 16.00$ per sample 4 $64.00

Soil Testing--TN package 19.00$ per sample 4 $76.00

Soil Testing-Haney Test -$ per sample 4 $0.00

Water Infiltration Test 30.00$ per sample 3 $90.00

Grazing Plan Consulting Fee 1,500.00$ per day 1 $1,500.00

Education outreach 20.00$ per student 20 $400.00

Total Cost $23,565.00

Owner financial contribution 7,000.00$ (7,000.00)$

Soil Health Grant Request $16,565.00