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DAKOTA LAKES IN THE NEWS

Feb 13, 2018 |

A February 12th article written by Doug Rich and published in the High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal (Dodge City, KS) about the recent Soil Health U panel in Salina contains a shout-out to Dakota Lakes from Farmer Larry Manhart (Grainfield, KS): "Dwayne Beck, research...

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ANNUAL MEETING 2018

Jan 31, 2018 |

The DLRF annual meeting will be held on February 6, 2018 at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center.  This meeting is free and open to the public.  In addition to the posted agenda Jason Miller will be addressing issues with cover crops including potential impacts with grazing.

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MANAGER’S COMMENT

Mar 17, 2017 |

Welcome to the new version of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm Web Site.  We hope this will be useful to our members and others that follow our work.  Please feel free to e-mail me at beck@dakotalakes.com with any comments.

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Ample Wildlife

Just like people, wildlife needs food, shelter, and water not just to survive but to thrive. The farming practices we follow at Dakota Lakes nurture a robust ecosystem that provide for the needs not only of the deer and pheasants that are popular with local hunters and nature enthusiasts but also a diverse range of species that ideally keeps pests at bay naturally without the need for intensive pesticide intervention.

Healthy Food

Much of the nutrient acquisition in plants is mediated by microbes, so soils that are home to a rich diversity of microbial life are better equipped to provide plants with their required nutrition effectively and efficiently. Recent studies have shown foods, including meat, grown under regenerative farming practices contain higher levels of certain vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals than those grown under conventional farming practices. While the science behind these studies is complex and sample sizes are small and highly variable, preliminary results suggest that regenerative practices can enhance the nutritional profile of many of the foods we eat.

Clean Water

Carbon is one of the best water filters known to man, and regenerative farming practices like no-till, cover crops, and livestock integration help to maintain or even increase soil carbon levels. Plants serve as natural “carbon pumps,” bringing carbon in from the atmosphere by way of photosynthesis and feeding it to soil microbes in the form of exudates. In addition, plants take up and hold onto nutrients that are mineralized in the soil, so keeping living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible goes a long way to preventing nutrient runoff into local waterways.

Living Soils

By following diverse cropping rotations, keeping a living root in the ground as much as possible, integrating livestock, maintaining good soil armor, and keeping soil disturbance to a minimum, we are nurturing the soil microbiome and providing favorable conditions for the bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa, insects, earthworms, and other living creatures that call the soil their home. Just a teaspoon of healthy soil can contain billions of microbes and our goal is to promote a natural, balanced environment that allows them to thrive.