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Producer| Blog > Autumn and Rain Arrives on the Minnesota Prairie | |
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| Autumn and Rain Arrives on the Minnesota Prairie | October 22, 2007 |
| October 22: We will remember 2007 as one of the driest summers we've ever experienced, second only to the extreme drought year of 1988. Late this summer, we watched annual plants succumb to the drought, while the deeper-rooted prairie plants adapted by forming smaller seed heads on shorter stems.
On September 22nd, everything changed, as the skies opened up and the rain began to fall. In one month, we have been able to replenish our subsoil moisture, and the pastures are once again a verdant green. The cool, sunny days of autumn are just right for the cool season grasses to flourish. We are smiling again, and the cattle are enjoying themselves too! After such a dry summer, we are even more appreciative of the one most essential nutrient above all nutrients: pure, fresh, clean WATER. The grasses and prairie plants drink in and hold the rainwater, much like a gigantic sponge. No rainwater escapes, and no soil is eroded, when grass protects the land. We are also more keenly aware of the resiliency, productivity, diversity, beauty and economy of grass. Hundreds of species of prairie grasses and forbs are symbiotic natives of the tallgrass prairie, forming the foundation of our solar-powered grazing system that ultimately yields delicious, nutritious high quality beef. We are fortunate to be students of these hardy perennials and their conserving nature. The prairie evolved living with less: less water, less nutrients, and less tillage. When the rains finally came, the prairie responded quickly with renewed vigor, and deep roots assisted the life-sustaining infiltration way down deep in the prairie soil. The shallow rooted, more water-dependent, non-native annual plants were not able to endure until the rains came. Through its thousands of years of conserving and sustaining water use, the prairie provides us with an "insurance policy" that next year's pastures will thrive. With our cattle providing the essential hoof-action disturbance to renew the prairie, followed by that miraculous ruminant ability to turn grass into high quality beef, we have the privilege to be a part of providing food for people beyond our family. Life is good on the prairie, and we are thankful. Send us an email at horizons@hcinet.net for more information on Prairie Horizons Beef, sold directly to our customers by the whole, half or quarter. We are currently taking orders for January of 2008. | |
| posted by forbord1 | |
