Case Study
Royal Family Farms
The Challenge
A conventional corn-and-grain pasture system is being transitioned into an integrated crop–livestock rotation. The challenge is to convert soils conditioned by conventional management into a grazing-ready platform by using nurse cattle to rebuild soil health, then shift the land into a potato rotation and return it immediately to grazing after harvest. This requires proving, through measurable soil health outcomes, that improved biology can reduce or eliminate fungicide spraying, and that post-harvest nutrient cycling is sufficient to rapidly re-establish pasture growth through livestock integration.
The Solution
Polycrop seed has been sown, and we designed and implemented a suitable blend alongside a purpose-built livestock water system. We trained the cattle to electric fencing to enable multiple pasture moves per day, are rolling out hay bales seeded for establishment, and will introduce cattle in spring.
The Impact
The programme will target cattle carrying costs of roughly $1.50, reduce potato harvest costs through integrated grazing, and drive a projected 0.5–1.0% year-over-year increase in soil organic matter. AS well as otehr co-benefits