We caught up with Tanse Hermann, NRCS’s newly appointed State Grazinglands Soil Health Specialist in South Dakota; to our knowledge, this is the first appointment of its kind in the country, and we were thrilled to talk with Tanse. Before we dive into the subjects at hand, Tanse, a man whose love for the FFA, horses, rodeo and livestock, first walks us through his own background; you’ll find that Tanse is a born teacher. In the rest of the podcast we discuss a number of questions including:

Why is soil health more emphasized in cropland than rangeland?

What makes rangeland the blueprint for soils and cropping systems?

As a seasonal grazer who feels overwhelmed with the prospect of going to rotational grazing, but who really feels it’s time to make the shift, how would Tanse or another NRCS representative talk to me?

Finally, Tanse talks about the changing definitions of what it takes to be a good farmer and rancher.

Because Tanse had so much to share, we added a second part of this interview as our next podcast, Tanse opens up with telling us how we think of the soil health principles to rangeland.

Tanse can be reached at: [email protected]

For more contact information, visit NRCS Service Center in Rapid City, SD: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/contact/local/

Remember Tanse’s words – “WE WANT TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE” so “DON’T BE TOO PROUD TO ASK”, calling up your NRCS Service Center and Speaking to a Grazingland Specialist costs nothing. What do you have to lose?

Watch for an announcement from SD Grassland Coalition for the 2022 Grazing School https://sdgrass.org/

Watch for Soil Health Workshops and Conferences at: https://www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org/

Watch also for Ranching for Profit Schools: https://ranchmanagement.com/ranching-for-profit-school-2/

Also please visit the SD NRCS Range and Pasture website for more information at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/sd/technical/landuse/pasture/