Grazing Management

Last week I introduced you to a practice that increases forage and soil’s water-holding capacity while also doing a great job of sequestering carbon. Spreading compost is so good at carbon sequestration that, if we were to implement it across our grasslands, we could actually pull enough CO2 from the atmosphere that we could begin […]

Lately I’ve found myself looking back, back to the early days of my ranching career. Clearly, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I’d had no business training of any kind and I was saddled with a weighty bunch of paradigms and bad habits, mostly inherited from people who thought a few […]

Some years back, I went to a meeting in Denver sponsored by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. I don’t remember the exact title, but it was something about how ranchers could adapt to a changing climate. Scientists explained what their research was telling them about plant responses to increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, and they shared […]

In the last while I have attended a couple of field day, farm tour type of affairs. To my knowledge none of them were sponsored by any of the chemical companies directly, but listening to the folks putting on these things you could very easily believe were in the employ of these companies. At one […]

This month we’re focusing on weeds an how to manage them. I’m including a lot of information about how livestock can manage your weeds for you by grazing them. But, while many weeds are perfect forage, not ever weed can be grazed. That’s when we need another approach, like this example from John Marble. When […]

If you’ve been reading On Pasture for any time at all, you know that I emphasize principles because remembering them is easy and can provide good results. They also work no matter where you live, whether you’re working with native grassland or tame forage, with a wide variety of plant types, or just a simple […]

Welcome to week two of our series on record keeping to get where you’re going in your grazing operation. Today we meet Dave Pratt, Ranch Management Consultants Emeritus. In this video he shares the Ranching for Profit record keeping mantra: “Records are a waste of time – if they aren’t specific, timely, and comparable to […]

Spraying herbicides wasn’t doing the job of reducing spotted knapweed and was just reducing legumes and other forbs in pasture. So Jim decided to work with his cattle to take care of the problem and create healthier pastures. The results were tremendous!

If you’re not facing drought, you’re likely facing higher prices for hay and maybe even reduced hay availability thanks to the rising cost of fertilizer. Either way, you’re looking at ways to make sure you have enough feed for your stock while maintaining soil health and good cover. That’s what a drought plan is all […]

Thanks to the Beef Cattle Research Council for this great article! Does it feel like grazing management information is shrouded in acronyms and terms that boggle the mind on first glance? Do you struggle to decipher terms like animal unit equivalents? And how does one go about calculating AUMs and then applying those numbers? Be […]

This article by Brianna Randall originally appeared in Farmers.gov. I’ve added some additional information to it to serve On Pasture readers. The main advice I would have is don’t be afraid to jump in with both feet. Talk to all your partners. there’s other people out there in your community, other agencies that will help […]

Thanks to Curt Gesch for this piece reminding us that we don’t have to be full-time farmers/ranchers to be considered critical to our communities. Curt is a retired schoolteacher who is passionate about creation care. He and his wife, Betsey, live on a 153-acre farm, which includes more than 80 acres of “moose pasture.” They […]

Why bale graze? To save money. One of the ranchers interviewed here says it costs him 14¢ per head per day to haul hay to his herd, but only a penny a day to feed bales in pasture. Not only that, each of the ranchers interviewed found that bale grazing improved their hay fields thanks […]

Help us welcome a new author: Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist and Grazing Specialist in Indiana.

I have been reading Troy Bishopp’s articles on how to fit grazing around your life rather than building your life around your grazing operation (What’s a Grazing Decision Worth and Where Are You, Where Do You Want to Be and How Do You Get There?). Troy writes about planning camping trips, vacations, and time with […]