Pearl Snaps

Stories of a cowgirl living life by her own lights

Tag Archives: grazing management


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Ranch Land Monitoring Boosts Profitability

Well-done monitoring of ranch land should lead to improved rangeland health, better animal performance and more black ink on the bottom line. In addition, as can be seen in the photos below, it provides an excellent means of documenting changes in ecological health due to management changes over time. Learn how by reading my Beef Producer blog, Fodder for Thought found HERE. 

Taken in September 2007 following grazing on a Montana ranch, this photo shows 750 pounds of forage per acre with 10 inches rainfall.

In September 2011 at the same transect and photo point good grazing management plus a 2008 seeding of some native warm-season grass produced 2,500 pounds of forage on 11 inches of rainfall.


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Grazing Technology: Just Because We Can Doesn’t Mean We Should

by Jesse Bussard

Unwieldy: The current design for the cattle side of the virtual fence looks cumbersome, not to mention expensive. It also fails to address necessary management skills.

Unwieldy: The current design for the cattle side of the virtual fence looks cumbersome, not to mention expensive. It also fails to address necessary management skills.

Technology today evolves at an exponential rate. Where once it took years for the next technological advancement to appear on the market, it now only takes months.

Along with this rapid rate of development our own desires have also evolved to that of a preconceived notions we must always have the latest gadget, the next big thing. Recent discussion in cattle industry social circles of an article discussing a technology currently in development, known as virtual fencing, brings light to such notions.

The original interview on this topic with USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Dean Anderson was conducted by Venue in August of 2012. Until recently it had received little traction in mainstream or beef-industry news outlets.

Click here to read my latest post on my Beef Producer blog, Fodder for Thought where I share my thoughts on virtual fencing and why we should weigh the worth of this grazing technology as part of our strategic thinking and goal-setting process.


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Forage Friday: Change Grazing Strategies to Handle Early Forage Flush

It’s Forage Friday! Here’s my latest post on Fodder for Thought for Beef Producer Magazine.

by Jesse Bussard

This winter was one of the mildest on record and this spring seems to be starting off in similar fashion with unseasonably warm temperatures. Here in Kentucky we are nearly two to three weeks ahead of schedule in our growing season.

This earlier growing season has led cool-season forage grasses and small grains to reach optimum feed quality at a more rapid rate. Ray Smith, extension forage specialist at University of Kentucky, said this is the earliest forages have matured in the seven years he’s been at the university.

This situation creates a need for beef producers to implement a slightly different grazing management strategy than they may usually consider. To take advantage of this earlier grazing opportunity, producers will need to think outside the box. This is where a little knowledge about plant growth cycles and grazing management can come in handy.

Read the entire post on Fodder for Thought by clicking here.

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