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Save the Date: Grassfed Exchange
Plans are underway for the popular Grassfed Exchange conference which will be held in Albany, NY, in September 2017. Learn more about the event here.
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Monitor with GrassSnap
This photo app helps make monitoring range and pasture quick and simple. Get the details here.
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Lucky 7
The 7th National Grazing Lands Conference is being planned for 2018. It will be held in Reno, Nevada, Dec. 2-5, 2018. A call for papers will begin in November 2017. More information will be shared as plans come together over the next year.
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Mark Your Calendars
NOW for 2018!!
The NatGLC will hold it's 7th National Grazing Lands Conference,
December 2 -5, 2018, in Reno, Nevada. Stay tuned for more information!
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May - June 2017
Vol 22, Issue 3 |
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Rangeland fires have been devastating to landowners this spring. As they look to recovery, Don Schoderbek shares several post-fire management strategies in his article featured On Pasture. He notes that replacing lost forage (as well as future grazing) will be a challenge. But recently burned pastures will come back stronger if livestock are not re-stocked too early. Post-fire, the period of recovery on rangelands is determined by moisture, past grazing management, recovery period, and severity of erosion post-fire. Read more here.
Kansas State University has also updated their management publication titled “Management Following Wildfire.” View it here.
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What does it take to be a successful grazing manager? With fewer individuals directly on the land involved in production agriculture, it’s an important question to ponder. Jeff Goodwin with the Noble Foundation recently shared information from a survey that was recently conducted of 14 resource professionals who have spent their entire working careers assisting land stewards through the good and tough times. These professionals are from respected institutions such as the Noble Foundation, Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program, the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and several private consultants. Together, these professionals total more than 469 years of experience. Based on their responses, a list of the top 10 traits of successful grazing land managers was compiled. Read the list here.
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Source: Angus Journal
Near Gordon, Neb., Plum Thicket Farms offers up some impressive numbers. The operation includes 563 acres of irrigated farmland, 1,774 acres of dryland farm ground, 2,230 acres of deeded native pasture, 1,850 acres of leased pasture and 380 acres of leased cornstalks. In 2015, they managed nearly 300 cow-calf pairs, 99 yearling heifers, 499 stocker steers from May through July, and a couple hundred head of steers and yearling heifers they carried over to 2016. They strive to maintain an 11-month grazing season. If they can do it, could you? Read more about their operation, here.
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Source: Beef Magazine
This past winter and spring at grazing conference events, it’s been common to hear conservation professionals and producers alike reference their “soil livestock.” That is the critters under the ground are just as important to them as the larger livestock grazing above ground. It’s a paradigm shift for sure. Not too many previous generations put emphasis on those underground microorganisms, but as we’ve learned more about soil health in the past 10-20 years, it’s a concept that is coming to the forefront. Texas rancher Donnie Dippel shared his story with BEEF magazine last summer and said, ““You have to work just as hard below ground as you do above ground.” Read about soil health’s role on his operation here.
For more on the importance of soil health, watch the video Soil Carbon Cowboys.
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