Grasslands

The Cumberland Plateau once featured prairies, grasslands, savannahs, and forests. The seemingly ubiquitous closed canopy forest of the region has decreased overall plant and animal diversity. Most of the grasslands have disappeared.

Half of the acreage on Coal Creek Farm was clear-cut—all the trees harvested—just a few years before it was purchased by the present owners nearly 15 years ago. The other half of the farm had mature woods.

Coal Creek has worked with the University of Tennessee’s Center for Grasslands Management and The Southeast Grasslands Initiative of Austin Peay State University to find ways to cost-effectively diversify habitats on the farm while maximizing profitability.

Repeated and focused controlled burning and directed cattle grazing has intentionally created space for more oaks, grasses, and flowering plants –native vegetation – that are pollinator-friendly and forage for cattle. Dense thickets of red brush and briars—which grew after logging—have been converted to more open areas for cattle forage and native plants. What was thicket is turning into savannah.

Through land and livestock management, we’re helping support the proliferation of diverse and threatened ecosystems while operating a profitable farm.