Our start to regenerative management was motivated by a tiny glowing bug.

In 2013 we cashed in the savings of our younger years working in the oilfield and became the proud new owners of an undeveloped sub irrigated chunk of Southwest Montana. Lush with marsh grasses, rattlesnakes, springs, a creek, native birds and other wildlife. The land being a section of a large family ranch, with a rich history of farming and shepherding.

We ran cows and farmed the dry areas for hay with the conventional and traditional practices acquired from our own farming and ranching family.

Not long into our ownership we began to notice the bugs.

Our swampy fields harbored many bugs. From little biting gnats to horse flies, dragonflies, native bumble bees, spiders, to these special little glowing creatures that only come out one month of the year.

A rare and sensitive firefly.

With only a couple known firefly habitats in the state, we were immediately struck with a heavy responsibility to preserve these special critters and learn how to manage without impacting them.

Chemicals, tilling, compaction, cutting the fields for hay, are all practices that impact the natural environment severely enough to cause these ground burrowing fireflies to die off. This species of firefly does not move under pressure, they simply cease to exist.

The realization of this launched our journey into regenerative agriculture.

We learned how to coexist with the fireflies, and make natural improvements to our fields. Our cattle are managed to not disturb the heavily concentrated areas, especially in the rainy season when the soil they nest in is so susceptible to compaction.

Our management practices changed greatly to accommodate the fireflies, and we learned how cattle can contribute to land regeneration and preservation along the way.