Welcome to Dakota Regenerative
Dakota Regenerative is a diversified ranch that uses regenerative agriculture to produce ethically raised, grass-fed livestock.
Our practices restore the native prairie ecosystem of western South Dakota and provide healthy, nutrient-dense meats for consumers like you. Meats from Dakota Regenerative are GMO-free, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free for maximum flavor and nutritional quality.
Our Black Angus steers and heifers graze natural prairie grass and diverse cover crops, a process that enriches the soil and surrounding ecosystem. We never confine our animals or feed them grain, and we treat them with respect and dignity.
Dakota Regenerative is owned and operated by young fourth generation farmer Joshua Johnson, who is committed to raising animals the way nature intended.
Mission Statement:
To provide high quality yet affordable meats in a responsible manner that benefits the land, animals, and people.
Our Regenerative Practices
Regenerative agriculture is a farming and ranching philosophy that seeks to regenerate natural resources and make ecosystems more resilient. Regenerative practices increase biodiversity, recharge grasslands, improve water systems, and enrich soil. By sequestering carbon, these practices can also help reverse climate change. Regenerative operations produce nutritious food, rebuild rural communities, and leave the land in better condition for future generations.
- No-till farming
- Diverse cover crops
- Rigorous crop rotations
- No synthetic fertilizers
- No pesticides
- No GMOs
- Gentle, low-stress animal handling
- Rotational, holistic grazing management
- Sustainable hay production
- No antibiotics
- No growth hormones
- No feedlot confinement
- Minimal hay consumption in winter
Watch Mob Grazing in Action
Rotational grazing means moving cattle frequently between medium to small pastures. Mob grazing, which is a form of rotational grazing, means moving cattle daily or several times daily across very small paddocks typically created by portable electric fencing.
Mob grazing forces the cattle to graze each pasture intensely, which results in even animal impact and plant consumption. Those pastures are then allowed to rest for a longer period than usually afforded by rotational grazing. High impact followed by long periods of rest mimics the historic movement of bison across the shortgrass prairie of South Dakota.
In this video, Josh opens the bat-latch, a gate opening device equipped with a timer that automatically opens the gate to the next paddock each day. With a bat latch, the cattle move themselves to fresh grass – with virtually no stress on them or their calves, which maximizes animal welfare. Josh activates the bat latch manually in the video to demonstrate how it works and how the cattle move themselves to the next paddock. Note the abundance of fresh grass that awaits and the high impact in the grazed paddock!
Meet Josh
Joshua Johnson is a fourth generation rancher and the owner/founder of Dakota Regenerative, located outside of Bison, South Dakota.
He started raising livestock and crops using regenerative agriculture in 2016. Josh is committed to enacting true environmental and social sustainability.
With family and friends helping him, he is rebuilding the soil on 160 acres of formerly conventional cropland and restoring native prairie on 1,400 acres of formerly conventional pastureland.
Josh markets his beef directly to the public because he believes in reconnecting consumer and producer.
