During a presentation at Enid a few days ago, Richard Teague, rangeland ecology professor from Texas A&M at Vernon, Texas, uttered five gems worth saving.

Teague noted he has developed a different view of research to include ranch-scale operations and economics, something sorely lacking in university small-scale research.

1. "We have to partner with the people actually managing the land if we want to produce material they can use."

2. "The biggest limiting factor in agriculture is not the amount of rainfall you get. It's the amount that gets into the ground."

3. "Ninety percent of soil function is mediated by microbes, and they depend on plant exudates, so how we manage the plants is critical."

4. "Soil structure is entirely a biological function. You can't improve it with mechanical or chemical methods."

5. "Healthy earthworm populations and healthy arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi will produce all the nutrients you need. Then dung beetles can add a bit more."

Richard Teague offered five gems recently about grazing management and soil improvement.