Foraging with Finn Farm
Nestled on the prairies of Western South Dakota (SD) is home to Finn Farm Inc., operated by Shad and Jenna Finn, who are fourth-generation ranchers raising their children and cattle along the banks of the Bad River while rehabilitating a field that had been in annual cropland since the early 1970s.
Written by:
Mike Beck, West River Public Affairs Specialist
Nina Pekron, District Conservationist, Philip USDA Service Center
Nestled on the prairies of Western South Dakota (SD) is home to Finn Farm Inc., operated by Shad and Jenna Finn, who are fourth-generation ranchers raising their children and cattle along the banks of the Bad River. In recent years, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees, Nina Pekron and Lealand Schoon, had the opportunity to work with Shad and Jenna to rehabilitate a field that had been in annual cropland since the early 1970s. Historically, this field was entered into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 1987 and planted with a mixture of alfalfa and western and intermediate wheatgrasses. The Finns maintained this cover for 20 years to decrease erosion and provide habitat for wildlife.
When their CRP contract expired, the Finns added a pipeline and livestock tank to the field and began grazing. Over time, due to the proximity of a road ditch, the vegetation changed from tame, native species to invasive smooth bromegrass. The Finns expressed interest in renovating the field, and while on a field visit with an NRCS employee, Shad pointed out that this field was not producing enough for their animals, and they had to fertilize just to keep the forage at useable levels. They knew their long-term goal was grazing but first had to find a solution to the low productivity, so they enrolled in a Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contract in 2023.
Starting in 2023, Shad and Jenna used herbicides to remove the bromegrass, followed by a season-long cover crop of hybrid sorghum and Sudan grass. Some brome survived, and the overall forage crops were small, but an overall improvement from previous years, and they were able to graze a few cows on the field. In 2024 and 2025, they repeated chemical suppression of the bromegrass followed by no-till cover-cropping. The cover crop was adjusted to German hay millet and Sudan grass. As the soil health improved, more forage was produced, with the added benefit of the brome being almost eliminated.
They noticed one very clear sign that their plan was working. “Almost immediately, we saw a change in the soil,” said Shad. “(It went) from root-bound sod to mellow soil. The protein and energy provided to the cattle from the cover crop is huge. We were able to graze 120 cow and calf pairs for ten days.”
In 2025, the cows were able to stay for a month." The Finns plan to seed the field to permanent vegetation in 2026 and continue to enhance the health of the land and improve forage for their animals through grass species selection. “We will include some warm-season native grasses in our permanent mix to give grazing flexibility,” added Shad.
The Finns expressed gratitude to the NRCS for the support that has made this field renovation successful to date. They plan to use the lessons learned through their CSP contract to restore more fields in the future. Shad and Jenna have hosted local tours and willingly offer their ranch as an example to others who are considering the same path of renovating land for grazing.
The NRCS mission of “Helping People Help the Land” is highlighted best when producers use NRCS technical and financial assistance to achieve their goals and then voluntarily encourage other producers to follow in their footsteps.
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