A&W Homestead Ranch is a family farm located in Fayette County, Tennessee. There, Eugene McFerren has grown corn, soy, wheat, and other row crops for decades. The farm is near the Memphis delta region, where soils are thin and sandy. The combination of thin topsoil with years of traditional tillage practices led to erosion issues and gullies, a soil formation that looks like a ditch and occurs because of unstable soil structure.
Traditional tillage practices not only harm the soil; they also harm nearby waterways. Water pollution caused by soil erosion is a pressing challenge in the Mississippi River basin, but the A&W Homestead Ranch family is now working to restore soil and water health on their family farm through managed grazing practices.
Healing the Soil With Managed Grazing
In 2022, Eugene McFerren’s son-in-law, Will Christian, took over the management of 70 acres of the farm that were no longer in use because of erosion issues. Will decided to put cattle on the land to diversify their available products and heal the soil. Eugene, who formerly raised livestock, has guided Will in the new business and instructed him on everything from tractor repair to grass planting.
The Cumberland River Compact and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) helped Will implement a livestock management system called managed grazing (also known as “rotational grazing”). In this system, farmers herd their animals into a new paddock with uneaten grass as soon as the grass in the previous paddock is eaten below a certain height. The system allows periods of rest and regrowth in which grasses can grow deep roots and fertilizing manure can be worked into the ground by livestock hooves. These processes improve soil biology and soil carbon, two essential components of healthy soil.
Healthy soil with a high organic carbon content is “sticky” and absorbent; it stays in place rather than eroding into streams. It’s also able to hold more water than degraded soil. The sponge-like absorption capacity is beneficial during heavy rain as well as drought.
Guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture and NRCS on managed grazing states that, “under Managed Grazing, the percent organic matter in the soil can increase by 1 percent…over 5 years. That amounts to an increase in water holding capacity of 20,000 gallons of water per acre.”
You can learn more about managed grazing and its impacts on water health this interview with farmer Ira Jones.
Sharing the Cost of Managed Grazing Supplies
“Cost-sharing” is a term that means a farmer and another organization each pay a portion of the costs associated with a practice or project. It is commonly used in the agricultural field to encourage healthy land use practices.
In January 2025, the Compact and NRCS provided cost-share assistance to help Will pay for fencing, watering lines, and watering troughs. This equipment was used to create new paddocks for his cattle. NRCS provided technical assistance as well, helping Will make choices about fence location and pasture management.
The Compact also provided cost-share assistance for portable electric fencing. This movable fence allows cattle to graze portions of the farm that aren’t cordoned off with permanent fences. Will and Eugene will use the portable electric fence in row crop fields that have been harvested. The cattle can be herded into the field to munch on the crop remnants and naturally fertilize the land with manure, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.
Will calls this “getting back to the old school way of doing things” and using “the circle of life” to provide fertility. It’s also good news for our waterways, which are vulnerable to chemical pollution from fertilizers and pesticides found in rainwater and soil.
The Compact expects that Will will see improved plant vigor as soils improve on the A&W Homestead Ranch over the next several years. By embracing managed grazing, Will and Eugene have set an example for nearby farms, showing how sustainable practices can revitalize land and protect water resources.
The River Friendly Farms Grazing School
Recognizing that farmers need educational resources as well as cost-share assistance, the Compact held a River Friendly Farms Grazing School near Fayette County in the fall of 2024. More than 60 farmers turned up to learn about topics such as determining appropriate times to move animals to fresh paddocks, using native grasses in poor soils, and protecting streams from the impacts of livestock.
The Grazing School was a jumping-off point for the Compact to partner with the McFerren-Christian family. Over the last century, Black farmers have faced unique and heavy pressure to sell farmland and quit farming, so three generations of McFerren-Christians working the land is something to celebrate and protect.
Building partnerships through education is a key part of the Compact’s mission to work with everyone who impacts our water. The Compact is proud to assist in the land and stewardship efforts of the McFerren-Christian family.
Funding For This Project
Funding for the River Friendly Farms Grazing School and associated projects, like the one implemented at the McFerren-Christian farm, was awarded to the Compact by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (S-SARE), and the Tennessee Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).