Two years ago, Lutter branched out. He became partners with a Rapid City veterinarian in one of the only private pureblood buffalo herds in the country. In exchange for pasture, he gets half of the calves born every spring. With marginal rain and poor soil, large parts of his land are best suited to stay pasture. Farmers plow at their own risk, and history has not been kind to those who try. Highly erodible creek drainages and hillsides on Lutter’s land are still covered with native short-grass prairie, western wheatgrass, green needle, buffalo grass, and little bluestem. With buffalo adapted to the harsh weather, Lutter doesn’t have to spend every winter coddling the animals. “I think I’ve fed two bales of hay to the herd in the last two years,” he said. While our other farmers are looking for higher yields from bigger inputs, Jim is always thinking of how he can get more for less. Let the Great Plains be the Great Plains, he argues. Lutter’s buffalo roundup starts on Friday.
Four Farmers Project, Week 13: Cutting Costs
continued (page 2 of 2)
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- sam hurst,
- four farmers project,
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