we accumulated during the spring with well-timed rainfall lent the opportunity for some landowners to implement prescribed burns this summer. However, July and August were hot and dry and wildfi res were already a problem as the fuels began to dry. The Na- tional Weather Service is predicting El Niño to stay in place through the spring of 2016, which likely means above normal rainfall and below normal temperatures for this region. This will pose problems and opportuni- ties for ranchers in the region. The coming months will continue to pose a wildfi re
threat with abundant accumulated forage. This will provide an opportunity for some cool-season prescribed burns, which can help prevent wildfi res and suppress undesirable brush species. Whether you are preparing for a prescribed burn
or protecting your property against a wildfi re, you should be fi nalizing your burn plan and implement- ing pre-burn prep work now. Prepare your property’s fi reguards by blading or disking around the pasture to mineral the soil. The fi reguard width should be 10 times the height of the fuel to be burned.
If you fi nd yourself in a position where the land is truly underutilized, a good option might be stocker cattle, particularly heifers.
Forage quality may be a concern, as it will decline
quickly through winter with above normal rainfall. Management steps should include monitoring body condition of livestock, testing forage quality and ad- justing supplemental feed appropriately. The Grazing Land Animal Nutrition Lab in Temple
is an option for testing forage quality. Livestock fecal samples are collected and tested, and the data can provide you with a report showing crude protein, di- gestibility and other pertinent information. The lab can also make supplemental feed recommendations based from this data. For additional information, visit
www.cnrit.tamu.edu/ganlab. If the El Niño weather pattern holds, those need-
ing to plant perennial grasses should have a good opportunity to do so in spring 2016. Grazing avail- able from small grains should also be comparable to last season.
tscra.org
If you would like more assistance or more informa-
tion regarding the Edwards region, contact your local NRCS offi ce or Kason Haby at 830-426-2521.
South Texas Jose de la Luz “Pepe” Martinez, rangeland manage-
ment specialist, USDA-NRCS We have very good rangeland conditions overall in
South Texas, even after rainfall events stopped in the summer for the most part. The problem we saw was not the lack of rainfall,
but its combination with the dry spell at the hottest part of the year. The plentiful forage produced in the spring has almost dried up. Even though we anticipate a cold and wet fall this
year by a strong El Niño in the Pacifi c Ocean, we need to recognize that less than 30 percent of the total forage produced in a year occurs in the months of September through December. Therefore, even if the area receives plenty of moisture through the fall, we cannot expect our forage producing plants to produce tremendous amounts of forage. If we keep getting scattered rainfall events through-
out South Texas late this year, we are going to have a quick response of winter weeds and other annual forbs, which will complement the remarkable quail and turkey crops we had in 2015. If you would like assistance or more information in South Texas, contact your local NRCS offi ce or Jose Martinez at 361-592-0309 x3.
Coastal Prairie Stephen W. Deiss, rangeland management special-
ist, USDA-NRCS The Coastal Prairie experienced a typical, even pro-
nounced, El Niño weather pattern late this summer. Forage gains made over the spring and early summer shriveled up in the dry, high heat of July and August. September rains as of the time of this writing certainly caused a boost in forage production. I noticed many of the better range grasses, such as big bluestem and yel- low indiangrass, produced seed earlier than we have seen in quite a long time. In theory, forages did not do all their growing in
September, as in the past several drought years. I think this will translate to healthier, leafy bunch grasses next year, but only if stocking rates are correct and land is not overgrazed. This type of growing season makes just about any
caliber of grazing manager look good. Do not fall into the trap of thinking this condition is now the norm. You
December 2015 The Cattleman 63
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