in september 2022, i had the privilege of visiting mcginley ranch of the turner institute of ecoagriculture near gordon, nebraska, to learn about regenerative ranching and ecological economics for conservation and commerce. 

on nearly 80,000 acres of pasture, a herd of about 4,000 bison is supporting a community of more than 8,000 organisms. these bison are carefully managed and grazed on parcels of land to create subtle disturbances in the vegetation and soil below. grazing disturbances create habitat diversity which sustains life on the prairie and improves its watershed. 

in this short film, dr. carter kruse and ranch manager tyrell mcclain explain the importance of regenerative bison ranching and its lucrative opportunities. 

here, kossler is at the top of the food chain. as the vice president of ranch operations at turner enterprises (tei), kossler oversees all 15 ranches in turner’s 1.85 million-acre land empire and the 45,000 bison on them – the largest private bison herd in the world. growing up in the 1960s on a ranch in colorado, the experienced rancher is a living witness to over six decades of change in agriculture and the communities it sustains. with the rise of what he calls “additive agriculture,” kossler has seen farmers and ranchers grappling with declining profit margins, degrading land quality, and an exodus of youth from the industry. 

he explains that additive agriculture stems from the intensive use of chemical additives – fertilizers, pesticides – to increase monoculture agricultural yields. the results? short-term gains that compromise ecological integrity and long-term profitability. it’s a model where man allegedly triumphs over nature, and an industry standard that the turner institute of ecoagriculture is challenging. 

a delicate balance

according to the tei mission statement, turner enterprises has always had a triple bottom line of economic sustainability, ecological sensitivity, and conservation. the company’s goal is still profit, “but not at the expense of nature,” kossler said with emphasis. this “balance of conservation and commerce,” as kossler calls it, pushed tei toward implementing more holistic land management practices. years later, kossler finally matched tei’s guiding principles with a name: regenerative agriculture. 

unlike additive agriculture, regenerative agriculture is a set of practices that focus on maximizing productivity through restoring ecosystem services, like building healthy soil microbiomes, enhancing carbon sequestration and water infiltration, and supporting native ecosystem biodiversity. the connection was instant, kossler said, “i just knew this was the next step for [tei]. we were already doing a lot of it, but there was more we could do…it became a mission in our company.”

as a result, in 2021, kossler and the team at turner enterprises founded the turner institute of ecoagriculture as an agriculture research organization dedicated to “researching, developing, and disseminating sustainability strategies and techniques for conserving ecosystems, agriculture, and rural communities,” according to the institute.

driving across mcginley ranch is evidence that principles of regenerative agriculture have been embraced with open arms: pastures are divided uniquely to support high-intensity grazing, the lush meadows are grazed instead of hayed for the winter, and two fleeing prairie chickens signal a rebounding endangered population. the ranch aims to “lead by example” in the agriculture industry, turning a profit off the land while also actively supporting its regeneration. their products, kossler said, are of higher quality as a result of it. 

healthy soil, hard sell 

still, there are profound challenges ahead for the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices. 

“change is fearful,” kossler said, especially when there is a way things have always been done culturally ingrained in the agriculture community. “many are more comfortable doing something that’s not really working well,” he said, and what they’re doing is often reinforced by a higher education system that supports industrialized additive agriculture. “what we were taught was only half of the story – one side of a two-sided story. i feel as though i was only told half of the story.” 

financially, farmers and ranchers can also be put in a tight spot if they are seeking to transition. despite long-run increases in yield, the tight margins in agriculture can make it hard to front the initial cost of switching to regenerative practices due to upfront costs like fencing and the “three-year trough,” or a time of lower production while natural systems adjust to new agricultural practices. it can be a hard sell, and many “hardcore ag producers are skeptical,” kossler said, especially older generations. 

but in the fertile soils kossler and his team are growing, they’ve cultivated more than prairie grasses and carbon sinks: change is taking root. as the outliers in the equation, mcginley ranch and the turner institute of ecoagriculture have been in the business of influencing others to create “synergies” for change. “we’re kind of herd animals,” kossler said, and like bison, once some go, others will follow. 

the future of regenerative agriculture

in the sandhills, the dominoes have already begun toppling. after watching, then inquiring about the success of mcginley’s regeneratively-managed pastures, a nearby rancher has adopted what ranch techs mcginley say is the uncommon practice of grazing meadows instead of haying them for the winter. partnerships between the turner institute of ecoagriculture and research institutions, like south dakota state university’s center of excellence for bison studies, are changing the traditional understanding of agriculture in academia and adopting regenerative approaches. 

perhaps most importantly, younger generations are buying in. jessica lovitt, mcginley ranch’s primary range data specialist, is one of them. like many in agribusiness, lovitt started with very traditional cattle ranching on her family ranch. after coming to mcginley, she admits to harboring doubts, having “never seen things done [differently] before.” despite her reservations, she said, “the results speak for themselves,” and credits her traditional background for pushing her to ask more questions. now, she offers others the same advice: “get out and go see it for yourself…give it a chance. ask the questions.” 

lovitt embodies a critical generational transition that mcginley is investing in to help turn the tides: educating the younger generations helps bring viable paths of integrating regenerative practices into family agricultural operations. as the turner institute takes on more young staff and interns, kossler is hopeful that they will “go home and make some changes,” and the pace of progress will quicken. 

together, kossler and lovitt hope that private and government support can help alleviate the financial barriers for agricultural communities seeking to do right by themselves and by the land they live off. both are optimistic that 10 years from now, the rolling sandhills of nebraska will have healthier soils, pastures, and communities.

“it looks just like this,” fresno rueda said, displaying the spinach smoothie at her workbench.  

the belly of the beast: studying bison gut bacteria

on the ranch, home to the turner institute for ecoagriculture, fresno rueda is studying the nutrient-processing genetics of bacteria in bison rumen. the rumen is the largest compartment of the bison’s gut. it contains bacterial colonies in its fluid, which break down the animal’s natural diet of prairie grasses and vegetation. 

a symbol of america’s past, the bison is gaining interest from livestock researchers as they look toward a future of declining grassland. 

since the turn of the century, extreme heat and lacking rainfall have ravaged the great plains. as of late september, 50% to 80% of pasture and rangeland in the plains is rated poor- to very poor-quality as a result of drought. two-thirds of regional cattle ranchers have reported selling parts of their herd due to inadequate feed, according to an american farm bureau survey. 

bison, meanwhile, demonstrate a unique resilience to climate change’s effects on their diet. 

the animal belongs to a family of herbivorous mammals with multi-part stomachs, known as ruminants. cows, sheep, goats, and yaks are also in the ruminant family. species in this family lack the gut enzymes necessary to break down grass and instead rely on internal colonies of bacteria to aid in the process.

bison are supported by the work of more than 116,000 kinds of bacteria, many of which are not found in other ruminants. researchers believe genes in these microbes allow bison to digest starchy, low-nutrient plants better, and maintain weight in drought conditions for longer periods of time.  

“they seem to not lose condition as quickly as other domesticated ruminants will when they’re on poor-quality forage,” said carter kruse, director of science and conservation with the turner institute for ecoagriculture. “we think there’s some key in the bison rumen that allows them to process this forage, which could have huge implications for how we manage the animals out on the range.” 

finding helpful bacteria in this rumen would mean a higher-margin future for bison ranchers, as they spend less on supplemental feed. it may also help livestock ranchers across the industry. 

fresno rueda said transplanting rumen bacteria between ruminants has been done in prior study. so finding a key colony in bison could help other livestock survive on nutrient-poor grasses for longer periods of time, as well. 

“if we identify beneficial bacteria, some of the things we can do with them are create products, or prebiotics, or probiotics,” the research assistant said. “it’s not just going to be for the bison. these will be for goats, and sheep, and cattle.”

a dirty job

according to fresno rueda, bison rumen bacteria have less than 90% genetic resemblance to bacteria from other ruminants.  

“we don’t really know what they are,” she said.

finding out is somewhat of a messy process. and it all happens in a white bison shed, the research team’s lab at mcginley ranch. 

inside is a maze of blue-painted gates and pens, with cut-up tire flooring and wooden platforms placed above them. on this mid-september sampling day, three bison had been wrangled into a holding chamber. they snorted and rattled barrier rails with their flanks. the shed smelled of manure, sulphuric bile, and wood chips.

a ranch technician led one bison through a corridor of pens with a flagpole until it arrived in the bison chute, a shipping container-like chamber. with the press of a button, the researchers applied gentle hydraulic pressure to hold the bison in place. 

at one end, kruse inserted a hand into the bison’s rectum for a fecal sample before bagging it and bringing it to fresno rueda. at the other, turner institute of ecoagriculture veterinarian tom bragg maneuvered a metal pipe into the bison’s mouth, before inserting a length of plastic tubing. 

“this tube is curved at the end,” bragg said. “so once we get it into their mouth, they swallow it, and it makes collection easy.”

on cue, the bison shook its head and olive-green rumen fluid flowed through the tube into a plastic bucket. fresno rueda paced the room with purpose, occasionally draining samples into test tubes and documenting them.

when work was complete, fresno rueda and kruse loaded their materials for a return trip to their lab in sdsu’s animal science department. they planned to break open the bacteria and extract the dna with a soap solution and high-speed test tube shaker. then, the research team would analyze bacterial dna chunks for their function. 

“right now, we’re just in the process of finding out what is there,” fresno rueda said.

while fresno rueda has two years left to complete her research, the promise of a viable probiotic is at least three years down the road. 

still, initial findings have the researchers hopeful for a more robust grass-fed meat market.

“if we show producers that grass-fed animals are healthier, higher-profit, and better for the environment, they will market it better as an alternative,” fresno rueda said. “it’s a win-win.” 

ranchers in the area fear that contact with free-roaming bison will jeopardize the health of their herds. “as long as we have the disease proliferated in the wildlife, our ranchers will have to undergo heightened surveillance, testing and management procedures, which do cost money, not to mention the sanctions that are put on montana’s cattle by our trading partners,” says errol rice of the montana stockgrowers association.

so far, bison have not transmitted the disease to cattle, but elk, which freely roam outside of yellowstone’s borders, have been known to infect cattle. unlike elk, when bison leave yellowstone, officials attempt to herd them back into the park, and when that fails, they corral them in a capture facility.

mark pearson of the greater yellowstone coalition says, “we’re facing this spring what we’ve feared we would face for the last couple of years, which is a large out-migration of bison from yellowstone, because of the more severe winter we’re having.” during the last migration, in 2008, over 1,400 bison were captured and sent to slaughter.

bison once numbered in the millions in north america, but unregulated hunting and mass slaughter all but eliminated the species. just 25 bison survived in yellowstone in 1901. thanks to restoration efforts, the yellowstone herd today numbers well over 3000. it is the largest free-roaming wild bison herd in the country, but their freedom to roam has a limit.

“in past years, as part of our component of the inter-agency bison management plan, we have captured bison and we have handed them over to other ibmp partners, and they have been taken to slaughter in the past,” explains al nash of yellowstone national park.

recently, montana governor brian schweitzer put a 90-day ban on shipping bison to slaughter. the federal government has also eased pressure on the billion-dollar montana cattle industry by changing regulations regarding brucellosis. ranchers are no longer required to slaughter their entire herd if a few animals are infected, and the whole state doesn’t risk losing it’s disease-free status over the infection of a few animals. with the new rules in place, state and federal officials have agreed to allow these bison to move into tens of thousands of acres outside yellowstone which were previously off-limits to the bison. this allows the bison to roam more freely, while relying on the steep canyon to keep them from roaming too far beyond this area.