Building Resilience through Regenerative Ranching at Rose Ranch

A young Native rancher’s approach to financial and ecological sustainability

Since 2018, Thad Rose has owned and operated Rose Ranch, a 125-cow operation focused on making the most of 3,000 acres of native grass pasture on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in central South Dakota.

From the start, Thad has been committed to regenerative ranching through sustainable land management. He recognized early on that running a successful ranch meant finding the right balance between using grazing approaches that improve soil fertility and support wildlife habitat, while still keeping the operation profitable.

"To me, regenerative agriculture is following practices that add back to the land and improve it."

Thad Rose, Rose Ranch

Low Stocking and Using Bale Grazing to Boost Soil Health

From the outset, Thad chose to invest in a low-intensity grazing system to support the long-term health of his soil and pastures. By keeping stocking rates low, Rose Ranch is better equipped to maintain enough forage, even during drought years. Thad also relies on adaptive management, adjusting when and where cattle are grazed based on weather and forage availability.

In 2020, Thad added bale grazing to the mix. This practice involves strategically placing bales in specific areas across pastures in the winter months. The goal is to not only feed the cattle, but to return organic matter to the soil and make use of manure as a natural fertilizer.

By rotating bale grazing locations each year, Thad maximizes the distribution

of nutrients more evenly across the land, helping improve soil fertility and increasing pasture productivity.

"We are seeing more soil organic matter and better soil moisture where bale grazing has been practiced."

Thad Rose, Rose Ranch 

About Rose Ranch

• Location: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation, Eagle Butte, South Dakota

• Owner: Thad Rose

• Years of Experience: 5

• Livestock:

  • 125 spring-calving cows

  • Grazing 3,000 acres of native grasses

  • Calves weaned and sold through local auction

  • Select heifer calves retained for replacement

• Forages & Grazing Systems:

  • Managed grazing across six native grass pastures, averaging 500 acres each

  • Native grasses supplemented by purchased hay

  • Adaptive grazing and bale grazing

  • Soil and forage sampling, low stocking rate, livestock-sensitive cross fencing

• Conservation Goals:

  • Improve soil health and fertility

  • Support biodiversity and water retention

  • Operate profitably and sustainably

Making Regenerative Practices Work Financially

One of the biggest challenges with conservation practices like managed grazing and bale grazing is the cost, especially before a ranch reaches a profitable scale.

Thad tackled this by enrolling in the USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The funding from his CSP contract gave him the flexibility to invest in key infrastructure and try out new approaches, all while keeping his cash flow steady and expenses low. That support made a big difference, helping improve the ranch’s financial health and reducing the overall risk of trying something new.

Even with the early financial hurdles, Rose Ranch has made conservation practical and profitable. Thad’s combination of a low stocking rate¹ and adaptive management has contributed to strong herd performance, low feed costs, and improved financials.

A Financial Snapshot of Rose Ranch

Thanks to a combination of regenerative practices and funding support, Rose Ranch stands out in several key areas:

•  Gross margin per cow: $1,371.35, significantly higher than the comparison group median of $880.97

• Direct expenses per cow: -$614.99 (in the 90th percentile for cost efficiency), compared to a median of $804.56

• Net return per cow: Rose Ranch ranks in the 100th percentile at $598.22 per cow.

These numbers come from financial benchmarking using data from the FINBIN database, which compares ranches of similar size and revenue in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota (Figures 1, 2).²

The Role of Financing in Conservation

It is important to recognize that Rose Ranch has transitioned to a profitable scale with the help of a CSP contract, which allowed the operation to invest in infrastructure and innovative practices to improve cash flow and keep expenses low. Without the CSP contract, a traditional lender would likely need to step in, take on more risk, and offer more flexible terms to help the ranch scale.

As one lender explained, patient, long-term capital is often the key to helping producers like Rose Ranch invest in their land and remain financially resilient through the ups and downs of weather and market conditions.

The Bottom Line

The Rose Ranch case study highlights the importance of financial support in implementing conservation practices. Flexible financing options from lenders can help producers like Thad Rose operationalize and scale up these practices, allowing them to simultaneously improve their financial health and achieve sustainable land management in the long term.

Measuring the Financial Impact of Regenerative Agriculture on Native Ranches

Thad is one of 13 ranchers participating in a three-year research project led by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Intertribal Agriculture Council. Launched in 2022, the project collects multi-year data to assess the financial impact of conservation practices on grazing operations in Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota.

While regenerative agriculture's environmental benefits are well-documented, this initiative aims to expand awareness of its financial impact on ranch profitability. The project’s ultimate goal is to identify financing solutions that support Native ranchers in improving both stewardship and financial success.

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1 Stocking rate intensity was compared to the recommendations in the South Dakota State University stocking rate calculator. Rose Ranch was found to have low stocking rates in 4 out of 6 pastures.

2 Producers participating in the project are working with Farm Business Management instructors on financial recordkeeping, benchmarking and analysis. Rose Ranch’s whole farm financial metrics were compared to two benchmarks of similar ranches in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the FINBIN database: 1) Beef producers who have 75% of revenue from beef enterprises and farm less than 100 acres. 2) Farms in the database with less than $500,000 of gross income. Cow-calf enterprises were compared to all beef cow-calf producers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the FINBIN database. The figures are based on data from 2022.