Good things take time and there are no shortcuts. Years ago we bought some land that bordered us. I (Amanda) was not excited about the purchase. The land was covered in mesquite and tarbush, growing zero grass and looking like nothing good could possible come from it.  John knew better. Honestly, I don't know if he ever met a land parcel he didn't want to buy. Sigh. 

We have a little side business that actually does land restoration, mesquite clearing, and the like so it was an easy process to get started. Fast, no, but we did know how to start. Along with the Natural Resource Conservation Service we began clearing out the mesquite and tarbush, raked it into piles and leveled the ground. This process took a year of solid work.  

After the land was cleared and leveled, the next move is to work with experts and determine a seed mix of native grasses and forages. It takes lots of time and extra water but over the course of a year, the grasses slowly began to establish.

While we waited on the grass to establish we worked to building fencing and add water troughs. Just this week, we were able to turn cows into these pastures for the first time. The grass is shoulder high and thick. These young heifers will grow our herd by 80 and they are as happy as can be to be roaming around on these pastures. It's truly a dream come true. 

If you are wondering if this is possible where you are, it most likely is. There is great funding assistance available to you from the NRCS and we are happy to help you to find the right people to talk to. It would be amazing to see our region back in grass and able to sustain more livestock to support our local food systems and we are here to help guide you.