Cowboy GPS Guides Ranch Planning
A GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a device used to help navigate from one location to another. Essentially, it helps direct one’s way.
Nebraska ranchers Lynn and Marlene Myers, who run a commercial Angus herd on their Tippetts-Myers Ranch near Lewellen, Neb., have developed their own unique GPS to help guide ranch management decisions. They say every ranch needs G = Goals, P = Philosophy to live by, and S = System to operate — which adds up to a Cowboy GPS.
Lynn explains, "It's pretty simple: 'You can't get to where you're going if you don't know where you've been and you don't know where you're at.' "
To other ranchers, Myers suggests that by putting some thought into your own ranch decisions — or GPS — you'll develop a roadmap for success.
G is for GOALS
Myers shares that in addition to expecting cows to wean a healthy calf every year, he and his wife have set the following goals for their ranch:
• Pass it to future generations
• Be profitable
• Improve the care of tall, warm-season grasses
• Strive for long-term range health
Myers explains, "Part of our range health goal is to heal blowouts, increase wildlife, increase ground cover, and improve range condition and productivity. This goal also goes back to profitability and passing the ranch on to the next generation."
To other producers, Myers says, "Sit down and think about your ranch and your goals. You wouldn't wear your neighbor's boots, why would you use his goals?"
P is for PHILOSOPY
To Myers, P stands for your ranch philosopy. This encompasses what the land and people are able to produce. He calls this "property-ability" and "personal-ability" and says, "Your land and your help have limits, and you need to consider those."
"The Sandhills of Nebraska is a fragile, brittle environment," Myers says, using an example from his own ranch. "We don't have topsoil, rains are unreliable, and poor management will ruin your rangeland. I have found people to help me understand what my land is capable of."
He credits a University of Nebraska program called SanDRIS (or Sandhills Defoliation Response Index System) for tracking pasture productivity by assigning values for moisture, residual cover and season of use. By using the program, Myers explains, he has been able to minimize effects of drought and optimize recovery of his plant and range community. While SanDRIS is made for the Sandhills, other grazing indexes are available for different pasture and range types.
Given all of the factors that can influence the productivity of the land and the people, Myers says, "Pasture management is a juggling act where you must strive to balance year-to-year and long-term use."
He says the important thing to remember is that what happened 10 years ago on the range affects your ranch today. And, what happens to your range this year will affect how it will look 10 years from now.
Thus, part of Myers philosophy with relation to range management is to continually ask, "Where have we been? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? How do we cope with what Mother Nature may throw at us?"
In the Sandhills, he has realized, "We are either in a drought, recovering from a drought or going into a drought." As a result, the Tippetts-Myers ranch uses a deferred-rotation grazing system and has a drought plan already made in order to avoid making rash decisions during tense times.
S is for SYSTEMS
As a result of their goals and philosophy, Myers has developed a rotational grazing system for operating the ranch. He says they had always used some form of rotational grazing, but now to keep in line with their land management goals, they rest the land more. The outcome has led to the ability to produce 50% more pounds of beef per acre.
Using their deferred-rest rotation, every plant and pasture is rested during its major growing season during the three-year cycle. For the Sandhills, the rest occurs from June through August.
"Evaluate each part of your ranch or pasture," Myers advises other producers. "Where have you been with it, where do you want to be, and how do you get there? What do we improve, how do we do it, and what can we afford to do?"
Myers notes that a monitoring program is an important part of the system to help answer those questions and give direction for the future. He says several organizations such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can be beneficial in helping design a system for your ranch and helping with grants and funding for land management practices.
The Tippetts-Myers ranch is currently being operated by the fifth and sixth generations. Myers is hopeful that by using their Cowboy GPS the ranch will be viable for future generations as well.