By Michael Fanelli
On a clear June morning in Missouri Heights, Felix Tornare gazes out over his 87-acre cattle ranch. From a distance, it looks like a regular grass field, but there are several other vegetables growing among the tall green blades.
“We plant cover crops… like radishes, turnips, peas,” Tornare explained over the sound of birds chirping.
He cuts the grass for hay, either to sell or to feed his 50 head of cattle, but he doesn’t harvest the cover crops. They provide an extra snack for his cattle and support the growth of hay grass.
“I had a bull that would take the turnips and eat them like apples,” Tornare said. “Or they mush them up; they turn into goo, and then feed the microbes in the ground, turn into nutrients to then help the rest of the grass be healthier.”
Across Colorado, farmers are embracing regenerative methods like cover cropping and rotational grazing, which have environmental benefits, including increased biodiversity and carbon storage.
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