When I was in college, I had an agronomy professor who liked to end lectures with the phrase, “You see what you know.” The slight use of reverse psychology was supposed to encourage students to expand their horizons because, as humans, we tend to look for reinforcement of our existing beliefs instead of seeking new information or experiences.
The way this transpires in agriculture is observed when the same practices are repeated year after year because the routine is familiar and the end product is adequate — even if something better is possible.
Cooper and Katie Hurst saw the potential for something better when they purchased property in Woodville, Miss., in 1990. The dynamic duo of first-generation farmers bought a piece of land that was historically used to grow cotton, soybeans, and cattle centered between what was once the Hunt and Hill plantations. This would become the namesake of Hunt Hill Cattle Company when the couple bought some cows and started a beef herd of their own five years later.
After a few rounds of planting annual ryegrass for spring and summer grazing and feeding hay to fill gaps in forage availability, the Hursts were discouraged by steep production costs and high levels of erosion caused by tillage. The heavy amounts of synthetic inputs that were previously applied to the crop fields had depleted the soil of key nutrients and organic matter, and the couple was afraid that maintaining the status quo would eventually sap their savings.
“We thought there was something flawed about this business model; the use of inputs was a vicious cycle,” Cooper said, wearing his passion on his sleeve. “It seemed like you never had enough time and you never had enough money to do everything the way you were supposed to. We said, ‘Something is not right here,’ and decided to find a better way.”
“We went to every conference, every field day, read every book, and read every article,” said Katie, whose calm composure complements her husband’s zeal. But it wasn’t until they met like-minded beef graziers and forged friendships with a wide web of experts that the Hursts challenged the way things had always been done on their farm.
The couple stopped using tillage to prepare seedbeds, introduced more diversified forages to pastures, and rotated a higher stocking density of cattle through paddocks faster, also known as adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing. They believed there was nothing to lose by trying new things. Little did they know there would be so much to gain.
It started with soil
One of the first changes the Hursts made to their operation was overseeding annual ryegrass instead of disking up pastures to establish the forage. They took a leap of faith by incorporating it into existing stands and letting the hoof prints of their grazing herd stomp seeds into the soil. Aside from a small delay in germination, the no-till seeding was successful.
“The ryegrass was late by about 30 days, so we just moved our calving season back the next year, which was an easy fix,” Cooper said with a shrug. “When you disk up the ground, you don’t have grass anymore, and you have to find a place to put your cows or feed them hay — or both. We just kept grazing.”
Ryegrass growth in the Deep South seems to explode in the spring, which is when many producers cut it for hay or make baleage. The Hursts, on the other hand, opted to avoid harvesting forage so to not disrupt nutrient cycling in their fields.
This subtle interest in soil health turned into a burning obsession after witnessing an aggregate stability test and a rainfall simulator at a field day hosted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). By understanding how a stronger soil structure could enhance water holding capacity and infiltration, the couple vowed to not use tillage or harvest equipment in their fields again.
“We saw those two visuals and said, ‘By gosh, this is it,’” Cooper said. “It was a light-bulb moment. We were totally infatuated.”
But that wasn’t it. More light-bulb moments ensued as the Hursts learned more about soil biology. They credit North Dakota’s Gabe Brown for personally showing them how seeding multiple species — not just ryegrass — provides soil microbes with a larger menu of root exudates. This promotes better biodiversity belowground, which enhances processes like mineral decomposition and organic matter formation that subsequently support better forage growth.
“Now we have the biggest bunch of diversity of warm-season perennials that you can imagine,” Cooper proclaimed. “We have crabgrass, bermudagrass, bahiagrass, johnsongrass, and dallisgrass, in addition to every forb and clover known to man.”
The couple drills an intricate mix of winter annuals into existing stands when plants are about knee-high every October, including ryegrass, cereal rye, triticale, oats, vetch, and various brassicas. This wide array of warm-seasons, cool-seasons, grasses, forbs, and legumes runs the gamut of growth patterns, which allows for consistent forage availability throughout the year as the pasture composition changes from spring to summer to fall.
More “aha” moments
The Hursts soon realized there was not a finish line for their farming journey as one breakthrough seemed to snowball into another. They became prudent to the way soil, plant, and livestock dynamics overlap, especially when it comes to animal performance.
Even with heightened soil health and improved pastures, the couple was not seeing significant returns in their cattle. The Angus herd they developed with big premiums in mind wasn’t well-suited to their grazing system or the sometimes insufferable southern climate.
“We loved our Angus cattle, and they really performed well in the feedlot. But then our grazing goals changed,” Cooper said. “We looked at each other and said, ‘These forages are great, so why are we supplementing our cows so much?’ That was a gut punch.”
“The cows were too black, too big, and they produced too much milk,” Katie explained. “We backed up our calving season to align with the forages, but by doing that, we were asking them to do something they were not genetically capable of doing by breeding in the summer. They just didn’t fit.”
The Hursts decided they needed cows with smaller frames and deeper bodies that could outlast Mississippi heat and humidity while making gains on grass. They started introducing cows with Red Angus and South Poll influence to their herd, but instead of homing in on purebred genetics, they eventually embraced crossbreeding as the solution to achieve all the traits they desired.
Stockmanship has evolved on their farm over time as well. After going all in on AMP grazing, the Hursts quickly subscribed to the Sandhill Calving System to mitigate morbidity and mortality in their young stock. Separating the herd into groups by advancing bred cows to new parts of the pasture each week of the calving season and leaving pairs in paddocks according to calf age significantly reduced the incidence of scours.
“The Sandhill Calving System not only didn’t cost us any money, but it saved us a fortune,” Cooper said. “Before, we were vaccinating and re-vaccinating, and all the antibiotics weren’t really working. They were Band-Aids. Now, we don’t even have to use antibiotics.”
A better understanding of animal welfare has informed better cow management, too. The couple is especially grateful for Dawn Hnatow, a herding expert who trained under Bud Williams, for teaching them about the physical, psychological, and environmental causes of stress and how to control what they can. This includes tweaking the timing of calving season to align with forage production and employing handling tactics that minimize stress while moving cattle.
The bigger picture
Stepping back to assess their pastures, the Hursts have ample evidence that the mistakes they’ve made and risks they’ve taken have actually been to their benefit. Denser and more diverse forage stands, extended grazing seasons, fitter cows, and healthier calves are the cornerstone components of their regenerative system that have enhanced the environment overall.
One morning when Katie was on her way to check cows, she stopped to admire the sunshine bouncing off a blanket of spider webs that was draped across the grass canopy and covered in dew. It was a natural work of art that she had never noticed before, yet one of the many marvels she doesn’t take for granted anymore. A sea of spider webs, countless insects, rabbits, deer, and more than a hundred species of birds frequenting their fields are all testaments to the healing powers their practices have had on the land.
“We never realized how everything in the world was connected,” Katie said. “All of a sudden, we started seeing butterflies and dragonflies and birds. Everything we are doing with the soil and forage base is affecting our wildlife populations.”
The couple has teamed up with scientists from across the country to quantify these ecosystem services. Researchers have installed solar-powered flux towers in their pastures to collect soil health and forage quality data that has been used for various experiments and ongoing studies. This important work has been captured in several videos, including the documentary “Roots So Deep You Can See The Devil Down There,” which highlights the hallmarks of regenerative grazing.
“We are spending a lot less money, we are growing more grass, we are using fewer inputs, and the cattle are healthier and look much better. If the research confirmed what we are doing isn’t ‘right,’ I didn’t care,” Cooper said. “Luckily, the data shows our system is much better off than a conventional one.”
As deep as their roots have run, the Hursts will tell you they’ve only scratched the surface. They continue to learn from friends, mentors, and acquaintances who come to visit their farm, and every interaction points their needle in a slightly different direction. For this reason, Cooper and Katie say they reserve the right to change their minds about their forage mixes, grazing practices, and cattle genetics down the road. They believe the best part of regenerative agriculture is that there is no end goal because the more they see, the more they know.
This article appeared in the January 2025 issue of Hay & Forage Grower on pages 6-8.
Not a subscriber?Click to get the print magazine.
