Expanding Peer-to-Peer Learning and Information Sharing to Benefit Ranching Systems and Landscapes in Central and Eastern Montana

Commodities

• Additional Plants: native plants
• Animals: bovine
• Animal Products: meat

Practices

• Animal Production: rangeland/pasture management
• Education and Training: farmer to farmer, networking

The Rangeland Monitoring Group (RMG) brings together ranchers in central and eastern Montana to collaboratively monitor and manage private and public land. RMG has seen firsthand the benefits of sharing on-the-ground knowledge and experience to inform land management practices. RMG also strives to incorporate research and academic knowledge by engaging with other experts in the field.  Facilitating authentic conversations among such a diverse and widespread group can be challenging; trust is needed to engage in productive discussions. Additionally, collaborative efforts may be hindered if there is lack of an organized, adaptable platform for sharing evidence and experience. RMG strives to overcome these obstacles through multiple avenues.

With a dedicated facilitator, an established mission (see soilhealth.app/RMG-Montana), and an emphasis on peer-to-peer learning, RMG builds trust among its participants, which leads to more honest, effective conversations surrounding sustainable land management. Through facilitated conversations, peer-to-peer learning sessions, and on-the-ground demonstrations, ranchers expand their technical knowledge and analytical skills.  Additionally, other field experts witness the innovation and dedication of ranchers to adaptive management. Each of these components, combined with RMG’s grassroots origins, has made the group particularly successful at building trust among diverse stakeholders.

To provide structure and consistency in the collaborative efforts of RMG, a shared database, soilhealth.app, has been developed. Through this platform, ranchers and collaborators can pool monitoring data on range health, grazing practices, and climatic changes. This approach enables participants to learn from each other’s experiences via tangible, organized data. Ranchers are empowered with tools to track long-term trends and better understand the impacts of their management decisions, transforming individual insights into a more comprehensive, credible regional picture.

Further success and expansion of this project will provide a model for using cooperative monitoring and data-sharing to positively impact the ecological, economic, and societal health of a landscape.

Previous SARE research indicates the value of peer-to-peer learning and sharing in the field of natural resources for developing effective, lasting conservation efforts (EW11-015, LS21-345, SW19-905, and SW22-942). However, issues of accessibility, privacy, and organization can hinder the collection and exchange of information among landowners. This project focuses on helping ranchers in central and eastern Montana overcome these hindrances to collaboration with the following objectives:

Objective #1: Coordinate and facilitate virtual (at least 8 per year) and in-person meetings (at least 1 per year) where ranchers from central and eastern Montana can exchange knowledge and experience with peers in a supportive environment, for the purpose of informing management on their own operations and across the landscape.

Objective #2: Provide education and assistance for at least 8 participating ranches to collect, share, and interpret rangeland monitoring data, which will be used in peer-to-peer conversations among said ranchers to evaluate and adjust land management practices.

Objective #3: Work with project participants to enhance the accessibility and utility of the data-sharing platform, soilhealth.app. Optimize this platform by integrating outside resources, adding rancher-derived observation questions, and/or developing data visualization tools; this will allow participants to collect, share, and interpret more detailed monitoring data to learn, experiment, and collaborate more effectively.

The above objectives are intertwined and will therefore be ongoing for the duration of the project. They will be evaluated at least annually according to the evaluation protocol outlined later in this application.