LAND
The land had been farmed for 100 years previously and was abandoned for 30 years, when we purchased the ground in 2018. It was a true diamond in the rough with two creeks coalescing to form the main artery of Ridgeview between rolling hills of Badin silt loam soils.
Conservation
Conservation and the regeneration of the soil is of equal importance to the cattle enterprise. We believe for a natural ecosystem function we must have a diverse mix of flora and fauna. We have invested in infrastructure such as riparian buffer zones, high tensile fence, and buried water points to give us better tools to manage our cattle in a way that better mimics the pre-existing ruminant herds. Our conservation efforts have also brought more opportunity for outdoor recreation, in turn giving us the opportunity for fellowship and education.
Pasture
Our pastures are constantly evolving hopefully to the point that we have the option to responsibly graze year-round. We attempt to maintain a living root in the soil throughout the year using a combination of perennial grasses along with seasonal annuals drilled directly into the dormant perennials. We utilize different stocking rates to vary grazing pressure on our perennial stands in an attempt to leave our pastures in a perpetual vegetative state. This maximizes available forage to our cattle while maximizing carbon and sunlight sequestration. Our seasonal annual pastures allow us to graze through the Southeastern 'summer slump', utilize new hybrid forages, and continue to shield the soil from the severe heat.
