Posted on 09/08/2004 10:58:49 AM PDT by Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit
TURTLE LAKE, North Dakota — In the early 1980s, Gene Goven noticed his cattle spent all of their time in one place, grazing on the tender regrowth of their favorite plant species and ignoring the rest. The favored plants eventually dwindled and nonnative species thrived, resulting in less plant diversity and unhealthy soil.
After studying the land and the cattle, Goven came up with a new grazing system. He divided his two pastures into 18 smaller plots and gave the cattle only 10 to 15 days in each pasture. As a result, he was able to boost the grazing season by nearly 100 days.
Goven is one of a few ranchers in the state who employs a technique called intensive rotational grazing, which scientists say is better for the land, cattle, and wildlife. Rotational grazing puts more livestock in smaller areas for shorter periods of time than the traditional season-long method. It emulates the grazing pattern of bison herds, which was a proven winner on the plains, Goven said.
"It's a system of high intensity for short periods of time," said Jim Richardson, soil scientist at North Dakota State University. "You go like crazy, then let (the pasture) sit and allow the plants to regenerate. Ranchers can actually do very well with this kind of system."
Richardson traveled from Fargo to Turtle Lake in 1990 to see the results firsthand. It was during a drought, he said, and Goven's neighbors had dry wetlands and brown pastures. However, the Goven ranch retained its green and soaked up water more efficiently when rain did come.
A study of Goven's land showed root depth improved from 3 to 4 inches to between 12 and 40 inches. The native plants thrived, going from one species of grass to 11.
Gary Sandness, an environmental scientist with the state health department, said rotational grazing also has beneficial hydrological effects.
On undergrazed or overgrazed pasture runs off the surface unimpeded, he said, water. But with well-managed grazing, more water infiltrates the land. That helps plant growth and lessens flooding on creeks and rivers, thereby decreasing erosion. When the water does make it through the soil to the waterways, it is filtered and cleaner.
Though the rotational system is catching on, it's doing so slowly. Of the 13.5 million acres of rangeland in North Dakota, only about 10 percent to 20 percent are actively involved in rotational grazing, said Jeff Printz, a state range conservationist.
But ranchers such as Goven and Gabe Brown, who has cattle east of Bismarck, are helping to spread the word. They're involved in the Grazing Management Mentoring Network, part of the state Private Grazing Lands Coalition. Mentors provide advice based on what they've seen work on their own land.
You've made excellent points. Cattle tanks, on skids can be pulled from one pasture to another here in the midwest where ranches are smaller.
Portable fences are quite common here. They are used for both sheep and cattle.
The Premier tool, so to speak. ;-)
Right! Lets see, that would cost me about $250,000 to fence and another $150,000 to bring water to each section.
And then the gates....... never happen here...
Wow thanks.
Hmmm, I see a Grange resolution in the making.
I knew I was bent and wierd because the rotational grazing was the only way I ever ran cattle.
Using 4 pastures it was quite easy, just open the gates to the adjoining pastures one evening and they would move over by themselves by morning.
This was the first in a series. The other two can be found from the link.
i've known ranchers who used their water source as the cross point for the fences. Of course that is the one point of the land that did see the heaviest use.
I used four connecting manmade ponds.
Just about every rancher that wasn't on BLM gound uses either five or seven grass pastures. Some grow fastest in the spring, others like the heat, others prefer the cool fall.
I always added in some clover just because they liked it.
Depending on just how cold it got in E. Texas determined how much hay I'd have to feed.
I think these articles would be better if written by someone who understood ranching from the ground up, which is where it does start.
Well I think Carry has proven that taking the cattle off the BLM controlled land is not the way to improve habitat. Just goes to show that the enviros are more interested in cutting profits not helping the environment.
Check out the link.
If BLM would go to 50 year leases or something along that line I think we would all be better off.
How about getting rid of the BLM all together?
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