Bart and Wendy Morris operate Oxbow Cattle Company near Missoula, Montana. They utilize NRCS assistance for the preservation and improvement of their land.
Read about their experiences in the Caring for the Land, a Passion and a Mission ArcGIS Story Map. Read a text-only version of this story below.
Watch their story in Conservation for the Future: A Montana Video Series.
High resolution photos of Oxbow Cattle Company.
Caring for the Land, a Passion and a Mission
Bart and Wendy Morris, Oxbow Cattle Company, Missoula, Montana
Conservation Easements Preserve Open Land
Bart and Wendy Morris operate Oxbow Cattle Company just outside Missoula, Montana. They raise all-natural, grass-finished beef on about 5,000 acres of owned and leased land.
“One of the cool things is of all the land we run on, except for a few little chunks, it’s all under conservation easement,” said Bart.
That is important for the Morrises because the land will not be developed for homes. It will always be open space with the opportunity to remain in agricultural production.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Missoula County has increased from 78,687 people in 1990 to 117,441 people in 2017. That means nearly 39,000 additional people needed homes. To accommodate this growing population, 18,855 new housing units have been built across Missoula County in that same period.
See the U.S. Census Bureau Missoula County Quick Facts and the Census of Population and Housing, 1990.
Bart and Wendy purchased 168 acres in 2017 that will also be preserved through a conservation easement. Bart says, “We went with the ALE program, which is part of the NRCS.”
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) manages the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Under that program, NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. The program also protects grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving grassland, including rangeland, pastureland and shrubland.
Partners in the Oxbow Cattle Company conservation easement include the City of Missoula and the Five Valleys Land Trust.
NRCS Easements in Montana
Success of Agricultural Land Easements has grown since the first year of the program in 2015. Local land trusts and other partners are crucial to the success of NRCS conservation easements. Not only do they hold the easement, but they work through the easement process side-by-side with the landowner.
“One of the most positive things that came out of this [easement process] was we had to do a succession plan. It shows you how little time you have here, which is sad, but it’s also invigorating. It makes you think about what you’re doing and where you’re going. I think that’s everything when you’re managing a piece of property. I think about that daily, now. With the ALE funding and the conservation easement, we know that land is going to be preserved in perpetuity and we want it to stay in ag production,” Bart Morris, Oxbow Cattle Company.
Taking Care of the Land
“A passion of mine and my wife’s is to be able to effect change in our natural landscape - for wildlife and the habitat. I can do that on a large scale and have an impact every single day ranching. I love it. We go backwards some and we’re learn from that, but we’re improving things and that’s our goal. It’s really fun to see that change,” Bart Morris, Oxbow Cattle Company.
And that passion drives the mission of Oxbow Cattle Company. Bart says, “Our belief system in our ranching is if we take care of the land, it’ll take care of the rest. If we don’t take care of the land, and that means all the way to the microbes in the soil, we can’t take care of the animals. It’s the basis of everything.”
What are they doing to take care of the land? Not only are they preserving open space neighboring a rapidly expanding urban area, but they are using their cattle to improve the condition of the soil and rangelands they manage. The benefits of healthy range and soil are many and varied. One direct benefit to Oxbow Cattle Company is high quality grass for their cattle.
Bart says the most important component of their grazing scheme is rest. They attempt to never graze a pasture at the same time year after year. For example, if a pasture is grazed in the spring, it won’t be grazed again until the following fall. If they utilize a pasture intensely, they want to be able to rest it for a least a year.
This installment of the Conservation for the Future video series highlights a livestock water project that Oxbow Cattle Company installed with NRCS technical and financial assistance. The project, completed through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), allowed for more flexibility in a grazing system limited by water availability.
A smaller-scale livestock water project was also installed through EQIP. The project is a solar-powered, geothermal pipeline system that is completely off-grid.
“We had some cold, cold weather this year, 20 below for a long period of time, and the geothermal water stayed frost-free the entire winter. It was totally run off battery bank from solar power and then heated from the earth, so it was a really cool system. We did that with NRCS as well,” Bart Morris, Oxbow Cattle Company.
Considering Wildlife
Oxbow Cattle Company is focused on the health and productivity of their land for healthy, productive cattle. That’s not the only concern, though.
“We ranch and we love our cows, but we also know that there are a ton of the residents on this unbelievably beautiful, wild country - the wildlife. All the way from neo-tropical migrants to black bears to wolves to elk and deer. We give them their respect and their space in our operation. We have conflicts. There’s no doubt about it, because we’re after the same thing, but wildlife is a component of our operation,” Bart Morris, Oxbow Cattle Company.
Wildlife considerations are included in all aspects of the ranch. Healthy plant communities are good for livestock and the wildlife sharing the land. Additionally, wildlife escape ramps were installed in stockwater tanks to ensure birds and small mammals would not be trapped. The project featured in the video even included a watering tank specifically for wildlife use.
For More Information
For more information about NRCS conservation technical assistance, contact your local USDA Service Center.
