The Serengeti Symphony
by Kat Taylor, Founder of TomKat Ranch
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"One of the most profound and important examples of this productive harmony is the migrations of herbivores like bison, elk, and antelope that grew the deep rich soils of the Yukon, the Great Plains, the breadbaskets of Eastern Europe, and the Serengeti."
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 Regeneratively-managed agricultural lands offer us a priceless opportunity to create massive and cost-effective ecological, social, and economic benefits at global scale. Regenerative agriculture reduces emissions of greenhouse gasses, prevents nutrient runoff into waterways, and re-sequesters excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into productive and resilient soils through photosynthesis.
The magic of regenerative agriculture comes from how it works harmoniously with the earth’s natural systems to produce ample healthy food in a way that makes the planet and people more resilient and productive. On the ground, this is done through using domesticated plants and livestock to mimic how nature grew some of the most abundant and lasting ecosystems on the planet.
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Bucolic Beauties. Photo - Annie Fresquez
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Goats to the Rescue - Goatapelli at TomKat Ranch for Fire Fuel Reduction.
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For areas vulnerable to high heat and drought conditions, it’s fire season again. Here in the South (San Francisco) Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains, new research shows vegetation contains record-breaking low moisture levels causing concerns that the 2021 fire season could be especially grim. That’s why, on April 14, we invited about 850 goats to chomp down on combustible weeds and brush at TomKat Ranch in preparation for California’s wildfire season this summer. 
The research, from San Jose State University's Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, found that vegetation across the South Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains has a record low ratio of moisture to combustible material, otherwise known as fuel-moisture content (FMC). April plant samples from Blackberry Hill - located about 37 miles from TomKat Ranch - revealed especially low numbers. The average FMC for this site is 137% and the previous low was 115%. This year the ratio of moisture to combustible material was 97% - well below normal moisture content levels.
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‘No-Dig’ Gardening at TomKat Ranch
by Andrea Hatsukami and Susan Hadacek
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Typically, landscaping at the ranch focuses on the care of flowers, orchards, and a modest vegetable garden, last year however as we began to see the impacts of COVID-19, we wanted to do more to address food insecurity in our community. We quickly identified a single-acre plot outfitted with a former hydroponics greenhouse and a perimeter deer fence, as the ideal location to start a market garden.
Preparing and maintaining farm ground can be hard work. To make it less strenuous for our two-person team, we decided to implement a ‘no-dig’ regenerative method of planting. To do this, we placed layers of flattened recycled cardboard boxes on the ground for weed suppression and spread a thick layer of finished compost over the top. The combination of increased moisture retention and microbial activity from the compost, along with the penetrative power of the plants’ roots easily breaks down the cardboard within the first month or two. For the beds, we used compost made of horse manure, bedding, and food scraps from the ranch. The no-dig method effectively grows vegetables while improving soil biology; last year’s growing season yielded 1,700 pounds of produce which we donated to a local food distribution program run by Puente, our community nonprofit resource center.
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An Interview with Goatapelli Foundation’s Lani Malmberg
by Celia Hoffman
(Celia is volunteering at TomKat Ranch during her gap year and will be starting college in the fall)
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 Fire prevention has risen in importance over the past few years. This April, TomKat Ranch partnered with Lani Malmberg, founder, and owner of Goatapelli Foundation, a goat grazing service that uses managed goat herds as an effective, ecologically beneficial wildfire prevention tool.
Goats at TomKat Ranch
On April 6, approximately 850 goats arrived and immediately started grazing up the brush-filled hill behind the main barn and around the ranch buildings to create a fire break. Lani explains her job here is “Fire mitigation in an educational adventure with TomKat Ranch.” Neighbors came to see the goats and learn from Lani about how goats can decrease fire risk while promoting soil health.
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Aspen Global Change Institute Invited Review on Soil Carbon Science for Policy and Practice
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This spring, my colleagues and I were invited to submit a research review to the Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) as part of their quarterly series to summarize peer-reviewed literature on climate change science and solutions. The series offers an opportunity for scientists like us to translate our research into a more public-facing piece, and we used this as a chance to revisit a recent article we published on soil carbon science for policy and practice. Our original article highlighted an active and ongoing debate around the potential for soil carbon sequestration to help mitigate climate change, and we took the stance that regardless of the climate change mitigation potential, there is scientific consensus on the need to rebuild soil carbon for sustainable land stewardship more broadly.
 In the AGCI quarterly research review, we updated the conversation by highlighting new publications on the importance of soil carbon for climate adaptation and crop yield stability, and showcase emerging momentum around soil carbon stewardship from some influential companies, NGOs, and agencies. We also offer thoughts on how we can begin addressing challenges related to measuring and verifying changes in soil carbon from a climate mitigation standpoint, but reiterate that regardless of climate change mitigation potential, "protecting and restoring agricultural soil carbon is about food security and soil conservation writ large, and this should be a primary goal of agricultural production and supply chains."
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Notes from the Field: Managing Rangelands for Secondary Cavity Nesting Birds
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 As spring unfolds at TomKat Ranch and on ranches across California, we are eagerly watching the onset of the breeding season for many species of birds. The value that rangelands have for birds and other wildlife is well-known to the ranching community. In California, rangelands are home to over 100 species of breeding birds, and several rangeland ecosystems are considered among the most important breeding bird habitats in North America. Birds also provide important services for rangelands, including dispersing seeds of oak trees and other beneficial plants and controlling insects such as mosquitoes and flies. In this field note, we would like to highlight one particular component of the rangeland bird community: secondary cavity nesting birds.
In contrast to the cup-shaped nests made of plant material that are used by many species of birds, cavity nesting birds build their nests in enclosed spaces like the inside of a large branch or the trunk of a tree. Primary cavity nesting birds, such as woodpeckers, are species that are able to excavate their own cavities. With special adaptations in their skull that enable them to withstand the concussion of drumming into wood, the many species of woodpeckers in California are very capable of creating their nests in both living and dead trees. Secondary cavity nesting birds are not able to create their own nest cavities; instead, they rely on abandoned cavities. In many circumstances, the size of the population of these species is limited by the number of nest cavities that are available to them.
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