Hobart, Oklahoma

Kiowa County Conservation District

Matt Braun farms with his father, Bill, in Hobart, Okla. Their operation, located in the southwestern part of the state, consists primarily of wheat and cattle, but they also raise cotton and milo.

As a child, Braun recalls their farming operation of raising conventional, continuous wheat on every acre to be very labor-intensive. His father found that the amount of labor required was also very difficult to maintain. In order to cut labor and equipment costs, they decided to switch to a no-till system.

After making the transition to no-till, the Brauns discovered various weeds were beginning to take over their wheat fields. Drawing on his father’s and grandfather’s experience with growing cotton, Braun looked to break the weed cycle by working with his father to reintroduce cotton and add some milo into the crop rotation. In addition to the cash crop rotation, Braun incorporates cover crops to boost soil health and increase water infiltration.

Braun’s cattle bring added value and productivity to the land by grazing the wheat and the cover crops, which plays a significant role in both the nutrient cycling and weed control. “Once we have our cover crop seed and it’s planted, those cattle hopefully are out there making money, and we’re not running a sprayer or tractor all summer long,” says Braun. “The cows have always been part of our family’s operation. We’ve found by using the cattle with the rest of the changes on our farm, we can cut out a lot of the expense others are spending for equipment, chemicals and fertilizer.”

Updated January 2021.