Redvers ranchers earn stewardship award thanks to holistic management

Restoring wetlands, reviving the land in Redvers, Sask.

The Hjertaas Farm is in the black soil zone with an abundance of wetlands. In his early grain farming career, Hjertaas got rid of the water by draining the sloughs, so he had more land available to grow his crops.

“When I discovered holistic management, I realized that draining those sloughs wasn’t particularly intelligent,” he notes. “Luckily, Ducks Unlimited had a program to reverse the process.”

The Hjertaas worked with DUC improve their grazing environment through DUC’s Wetland Restoration Program. According to DUC agrologist Kylie McRae,  the Hjertaas built ditch plugsearthen berms—to restore the wetlands when the program was still very new.

“Some benefits of restoring previously drained wetlands include increased watering locations for livestock and healthy forage production for livestock,” says McRae. ”Restoring wetlands also adds both plant and wildlife biodiversity to pastures.”

Hjertaas says installing the ditch plugs wasn’t a difficult task to complete and the results are worth the effort. “The ditch plugs allow us to store more water on the landscape which is beneficial to us and the production of grass,” he notes. “Most of the sloughs are small, and they dry up relatively quickly. In turn, we’re able to grow quite a lot of healthy grass in those low spots.”

Hjertaas notes the restored sloughs have cleaner water and increased biodiversity on the property. “One of the things we’ve noted over the years is that as our land begins to heal, we don’t have runoff running directly into the dugouts and sloughs, it infiltrates the soil first. This makes a huge difference in the water quality.”

Passing along the knowledge

Hjertaas is now a holistic management instructor. He also partners with DUC to host producer field days and workshops, as well as grazing club meetings/tours. He was also instrumental in the 4-H pilot project Southeast Greener Pastures Grazing Club. The Hjertaas Farm is part of an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada study that looks at the health of farming landscapes. This study evaluates measure such as soil carbon sequestration to wildlife to socio-economics to grass production. To that end, Hjertaas says the ultimate goal to any healthy landscape is diversity.

“People want to see diversity; they want to see wildlife; that’s important to society’s goals,” he notes. “The way I’m managing my land is better for everyone, plus I’m providing better food by doing it. Properly managed livestock are the only way to heal the earth.”