A 6:3:4™ Case Study: Turning Desert Into Grassland

This article first appeared in our May 16th, 2023, newsletter, and is adapted in blog form here.

One will not find a more discernible difference that regenerative agriculture principles have had on a landscape than what a particular rancher has done in the Chihuahuan Desert 250 miles south of El Paso, TX in Mexico.  Alejandro’s 30,000 acre ranch lies in the heart of the desert.  Faced with frequent triple digit days and an average annual rainfall of 10 inches, the deck is stacked against any type of sustainable cattle enterprise.

This is a typical sight of conventional farming practices in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Enter the folks of Understanding Ag and the 6:3:4™ principles. 

Armed with this knowledge and applying the 6 principles of soil health, the 3 rules of adaptive stewardship, and the 4 ecosystem processes, Alejandro began seeing a rapid change of turning a desert into a grassland.  Here are some of the things he improved over time:

• The ranch tripled the # of cows on the same acreage.  They ran 600 cows vs the 200 they were

  running.

•           The required average acreage per cow improved from 125-150 acres to 42 acres.

•           Utilized epigenetics – that is, the selection and culling of cows that has produced a herd adapted to

  the harsh climate there.

•           No more supplemental feed given.

•           Less labor time to operate though the cattle are moved twice daily.

•           Annual mortality rates decreased from 10% to 1%.

•           Net revenue increased 350%.

•           Soil water infiltration rates increased to 18-20 inches per hour vs the neighboring ranch’s 2 inches per

  hour.

•           The cattle have a better overall temperament and are easier to handle.

These are simply some of the benefits Alejandro experienced on his ranch.  If someone with that large of an acreage can transform his landscape, what do you think someone with smaller acreage, say – 100 acres – or even 2 acres – can do? 

Check out Alejandro’s journey to regenerative ranching here.

Above is Alejandro’s ranch today - a desert has become a wonderful oasis of grass. And the cows have even learned to eat cactus!