Sun Ranch Agriculture provides holistic rangeland and
livestock management on Sun Ranch Group properties.
The agricultural pillar of the Sun Ranch Group is holistic cattle ranching. Seasonally, the Sun Ranch team progressively grazes between 1200 and 2400 cattle. These sustainable ranching practices aim to create high-value livestock and healthy grasslands, thereby preserving the habitat imperative to resident wildlife. Today, cattle fill the niche that vast herds of bison once occupied: they graze intensively for short periods of time, thereby promoting healthy native plant communities that, in turn, support the entire range ecosystem.
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Sun Ranch Agriculture uses wildlife-friendly fencing, and has replaced over 100 miles of barbwire fences accumulated throughout the past century. The ranch crew erects barbless, high tensile drop-down or quickly deployed temporary fencing that facilitates the fluid movement of resident wildlife. The crew will continue to replace fences for the next several years to improve grazing strategies and wildlife management techniques. Sun Ranch Agriculture has created a grazing program that protects the land's creek drainages by placing watering tanks strategically away from riparian zones. Historically, overgrazing in creek bottoms led to the destruction of wetlands and riparian areas. The ranch staff has halted the erosion of this highly sensitive riparian habitat. Our ranches also operate with an exceptionally low mortality rate for cattle in the region, due to sound animal husbandry and healthy land-management practices. Sun Ranch Agriculture's sustainable ranching practices have won prestigious land stewardship awards. Our ranches are a vital part of their respective vallies as they preserve open spaces, maintain a robust natural ecosystem, and support regional historic ranching culture. |
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