Hello! Thanks for visiting us here at the Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit ranch, just outside of Marfa, Texas. This short video explains a little about our organization and what we’ve been up to on our Far West Texas ranch this year.
NEWS & EVENTS
Fall Birding Events on Dixon’s West Texas ranches
Dixon Water Foundation is teaming up with the Borderlands Research Institute and opening the gates to our West Texas ranches for a few upcoming birding events. Please click this link to learn more about these events and how to register.
Members of the scientific community respond to dismissal of reduced emission benefits of regenerative agriculture
A recent blog post by the World Resources Institute (linked here) called into question the ability of regenerative agricultural practices to help mitigate emissions that contribute to climate change. In response, several members of the environmental and agricultural science community composed a rebuttal article which is linked here.
Our Foundation’s goal is to conserve water resources and sequester carbon through good land management. Our stewardship and research efforts constantly strive towards understanding the ways that our management intersects with these goals.
Cattle Grazing: A Tool to Promote Pronghorn Habitat
Please visit this recent article in the Borderlands Research Institute’s Desert Tracks newsletter to read about current research into pronghorn diet and carrying capacity on our Mimm’s Unit ranch in Marfa, Texas.
https://bri.sulross.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/v13i1_Desert-Tracks_draft-4.pdf
Kids On the Land – Learning from Home Outdoor Activites
One of our partners, Kids On the Land, has come up with some activities for families to do outside while learning from home. With spring programming being canceled, and schools being closed, Kids On the Land are looking for ways to stay engaged and for children to get outside and learn.
We’re happy to share these activities. There are 4 activities so far with more to come! Click the links below to access the activity details.
Activity #1 – Let’s Go Outside – Use Your 5 Senses
Activity #2 – Hurry and the Monarch
“Grazing Like It’s 1799: How Ranchers Can Bring Back Grassland Birds”
Our West Texas ranching operations work in partnership with Audubon’s Conservation Ranching program to raise cattle in a way that’s also beneficial to grassland bird species. Audubon has been building this program and developing more ways to deliver beef raised under this certification to the consumer.
Blue Nest Beef is a subscription-based delivery service that is now offering Audubon-Certified beef. Click for more information.
Dr. Teague’s Regenerative Agriculture Research Mentioned in Recent CNN Article
Dr. Richard Teague is one of the voices featured in this recent article about using good grazing management to address large-scale issues. This article helps explain the interactions between animals, plants, soil health, and carbon levels in the atmosphere. Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing practices, similar to those utilized by the Dixon Water Foundation ranches, are highlighted in this article about potential solutions to address climate concerns.
Dixon’s Mimms Unit ranch featured in “Searching for Desert Sparrows” TPWD show on PBS Feb 9-15, 2020.
Grassland birds are declining rapidly across North America. Habitat loss has made it especially tough on several species of sparrows. Research is underway from Canada to Mexico to find out how to save the disappearing grasslands and the tiny songbirds that call them home. This research is being done in conjunction with the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and the Dixon Water Foundation. Find out more about Grassland Sparrows at:
https://bri.sulross.edu/ Bird Conservancy of the Rockies at: https://birdconservancy.org/
REGENERATIVE GRAZING FOR RESTORATION
Time & Location
Feb 19, 8:00 AM CST – Feb 20, 4:00 PM CST Tenroc Ranch, 5471 Thomas Arnold Rd, Salado, TX 76571
Soil Regen, LLC, is happy to announce this special event with leaders in the regenerative grazing movement! Learn about the principles of grazing for the restoration of ecosystems, soil health, profitability, and carbon storage.
For more information and registration, click HERE
January 10-11, 2020 – For the Love of Soil
Strategies to Regenerate our Food Production Systems
You will learn how to take a future-focused approach to land management, growing healthy food, and creating robust ecosystems!
About this Event
In partnership with NCAT, Soil for Water and the Hill Country Alliance, ROAM Ranch is excited to host this 2-day workshop with Nicole Masters, agroecologist, soil expert and Director at Integrity Soils. This workshop is geared towards land managers, ranchers, farmers, gardeners, environmentalists, and anyone else interested in improving the health of Texas soil and making our lands more resilient to the dynamic and sometimes unforgiving climates of Texas.
Nicole will address the following topics:
– Building soil structure and improving water and mineral cycles
– The role of soil microbes on pasture quality and resiliency
– What weeds are telling you about your soils
– How to manage for weeds, disease and insects
– How to shift from invasive grasses to native grasses
– Adaptive multi-paddock grazing
– Monitoring strategies to ensure you are meeting your goals
– Reducing the need for chemical inputs without reducing yields
You will learn how to take a future-focused approach to land management, growing healthy food, and creating robust ecosystems!
This event will also include other experienced local farmers, ranchers and producers and will be an opportunity to network and learn from others in the field.
Tickets include 2 days of lecture and outdoor field study is $130 and includes lunch and refreshments both days. NO REFUNDS AVAILABLE 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EVENT (AFTER DECEMBER 27TH).
