February 3, 2020 | Vol. 13 : No. 1
Several projects in recent years have shown the value of late-season grazing to remove fuel loads on cheat grass-dominated rangelands. Robert “Bob” Alverts, of Science and Management Consulting and part-time faculty in the College of Agriculture at the University of Nevada–Reno, says ungrazed forage becomes fuel.
It’s an inconvenient truth: Everyone will die someday. Very few people want to talk about that eventuality, and that may be especially true for many farmers and ranchers. Most of them devote their lives to building up an operation, or building upon an operation handed down from previous generations. The land and livestock — the family business — are part of their legacy. Most probably recognize the wisdom of preparing a will and completing an estate and transition plan ... someday.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. There is also more than one way to manage cows. Aaron Berger, beef systems extension educator with the University of Nebraska, offered some insight on leasing cattle to attendees of the 2019 Range Beef Cow Symposium hosted Nov. 18-20 in Mitchell, Neb.
Some cattle do better on rangeland than others — traveling farther, climbing higher, grazing more of the landscape. Research indicates there’s a genetic component in rangeability; some cattle are simply more ambitious. Cattle can be trained to use higher country but there is also an innate tendency in some that makes it easier for them to utilize steeper slopes and farther corners.
“Ranching is like faith. We’re sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. It really doesn’t matter where we came from. Where we’re heading is what matters most,” Donnell Brown told attendees of the 2019 Range Beef Cow Symposium Nov. 18-20 in Mitchell, Neb.
How much forage for grazing will your ranch produce during the next grazing season? That’s a difficult question to answer because forage production can vary so much from year to year. Precipitation is a big factor. Both the amount received and when it is received matter. So does rangeland topography. Hills, valleys, slopes and swales exhibit differences in soils, moisture accumulation and plant species composition, and thus influence total forage production.
