Soil Series #9: Soil Amendments -- Compost, Biochar, and Mineral Support

Soil Series #9: Soil Amendments — Compost, Biochar, and Mineral Support

Most of the practices we’ve discussed in this series focus on working with natural biological systems — grazing management, rest, cover crops, and livestock impact.

But sometimes soil also benefits from carefully chosen amendments.

Soil amendments are materials added to the land to help improve soil structure, mineral balance, or biological activity. When used thoughtfully, they can help accelerate the recovery of degraded pasture.

At Dos Lobos Ranch, we’ve experimented with several types of amendments over the past few years as part of our effort to rebuild soil health.

Compost: Feeding Soil Biology

One of the most common regenerative soil inputs is compost.

Compost is made from decomposed organic materials such as manure, plant residue, and other biological matter. When applied to soil, it introduces:

• organic carbon
• beneficial microbes
• slow-release nutrients

These elements help support the soil ecosystem that drives plant growth.

In 2025, we applied compost to portions of our pasture as part of our effort to increase soil organic matter and stimulate microbial activity.

Compost purchased outright is too expensive.  We've partnered with a local tree trimming company A. Matt Tree Service and get wood chips by the 20 cubic yard truckload for free several times a year.  We've used these to create compost as well as control areas where erosion has been an issue.

Biochar: A Long-Term Carbon Sponge

Alongside compost, we also applied biochar to part of our pasture.

Biochar is a form of charcoal produced from plant material in a low-oxygen environment. It has an extremely porous structure, which makes it useful for improving soil health.

When incorporated into soil, biochar can:

• hold moisture
• provide habitat for beneficial microbes
• help stabilize organic carbon

Because biochar breaks down very slowly, it can remain in the soil for many years, acting as a long-term support structure for soil biology.

The problem with biochar is being able to source it.  We make ours in small batches in an open flame cap campfire in our backyard throughout the year.  We have not been able to find a vendor locally that can bring in the amount needed to seriously amend our pasture.  The industry of biochar is in its infancy, so it's hard to come by.

Bentonite Clay: Improving Soil Structure

In 2024, we experimented with bentonite clay as a soil amendment.

Bentonite is a natural volcanic clay that has the ability to absorb and hold water. In sandy or low-organic-matter soils (like ours), it can help improve soil structure by increasing the soil’s ability to retain moisture.

Better water retention means plants have more consistent access to moisture between rain events, which can help pasture remain productive during dry periods.

Kansas Gray Salt: Trace Minerals for Soil and Livestock

Also in 2024, we used Kansas gray salt as part of our mineral management.

This natural salt contains a variety of trace minerals that can support both livestock nutrition and soil biology.

When animals consume mineral salts and distribute them through manure and urine across the pasture, those minerals can gradually return to the soil ecosystem.

Over time, this helps maintain a more balanced mineral cycle within the pasture system.  And no, salt, when applied in appropriate amounts, will not burn the pasture.

Redmond Soil Conditioner: Supporting Soil Biology

In 2025, we applied Redmond soil conditioner, which is a natural mineral product derived from ancient sea deposits and also a bentonite clay.

Products like this are often used to introduce trace minerals and help stimulate microbial activity in the soil.

Healthy soil biology depends on a wide range of micronutrients, and small mineral additions can sometimes help support those biological processes.

Organic Worm Compost Tea: A Biological Amendment

In 2024, we contracted a local organic fertilizer company at Big Little Farm to spray our pasture several times per year with a microbial tea composed of worm casting tea, fish emulsion, sea kelp, and molasses.

This mixture has had a huge impact on our pasture health and has helped to seriously jumpstart our worn out hay field.

The purpose of this mixture is to do several key things: slow release nitrogen fertilizer (worm tea & fish emulsion), add trace minerals (sea kelp), and feed the bacteria in both the tea and the compost (molasses).  

This has helped to supercharge our soil and inoculate it with beneficial bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, and many other microbes, helping to rejuvenate soil that was almost useless.

And at a fraction of the cost of industrial NPK fertilizer that sterilizes the soil and creates a dependency problem for both the farmer and the plants, we only see upsides to using this amendment.

In 2026, our next door neighbor paid $160 per acre to fertilize his cattle / hay pasture with NPK while we paid $28 per acre for our organic fertilizer.  The organic fertilizer does need to be applied at least 4-6 times per year, but the benefits are outweighing the costs and competing very tightly on the price of NPK if not better in better-established pastures.   This year was the first year that our field outperformed his field early on in the spring flush and is still going strong!

Amendments Are Only Part of the System

While soil amendments can be helpful, they are not a substitute for good management.

The most important drivers of soil improvement on our ranch continue to be:

• rotational grazing
• rest and recovery periods
• maintaining living plant roots
• encouraging soil biology

Amendments work best when they are used alongside these broader regenerative practices.

A Gradual Process

Improving soil health is rarely the result of a single input.

It’s the combination of many small steps over time.

Compost, biochar, and mineral amendments can help support the process, but the real transformation happens as soil biology rebuilds itself through plant growth, livestock impact, and time.

Over the past few years, we’ve begun to see those changes take shape across our pastures.

What’s Next in the Soil Series

In the next post, we’ll take a closer look at something many people overlook when thinking about soil health:

Rainfall and water movement.

How water moves through the soil can tell us a lot about whether the land is improving or degrading.

— Dos Lobos Ranch