Grazing Management

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 […]

On Pasture’s New Year’s Resolution is to help you develop a business vision and goals that ensure a happy, healthy life, and a grazing operation that gets you there. Creating a vision and goals, isn’t something that’s natural for most of us. So to make the process easier, we’ll be providing lots of examples. With […]

This piece is part of our discussion of moving toward a better life with grazing. Last week, Troy Bishopp share how he’s creating a more fulfilling life by building in time in his grazing management for family, friends and fun. This week, John Marble provides another perspective. Several decades back (well shoot, let’s be honest […]

This month’s Grazier’s Focus is on managing our winter grazing to future forage. Victor Shelton adds to this by reminding us what to do when we’re dealing with a wet winter. I’ve enjoyed several good autumn days and joked, “it can just stay this way and then turn nice!” But, winter is coming. I do […]

  George Whitten and Julie Sullivan own and operate the San Juan Ranch in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. The  Valley is known for the crops it produces – potatoes, head lettuce, wheat, and barley – and for the struggles to save and maintain the aquifer that supports the farms and ranches. In this […]

This week, Victor Shelton has answers to the most asked questions for winter graziers. Thanks, Victor! What is the difference between a frost and a freeze? When water vapor condenses and freezes without first becoming dew, a thin layer of ice crystals form – this is frost.  It generally has to be below 36 degrees […]