Jeff Goodwin, state rangeland management specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), was one of the featured speakers at the 2013 Cattle Raisers Convention and School for Successful Ranching. He will be back this year to discuss the top 10 traits of successful grazing-land managers. In his 2013 talk, he used piles of forage like these to show how much a 1,000-pound cow eats versus one weighing 1,300 pounds.
forage height varies depending on forage species. Over- grazing depletes forage energy reserves, which results in weaker plants and potentially, loss of stand. A de- crease in overall forage production ultimately decreases animal performance and increases feed cost. “Breeding animals should be 70 percent of the herd,”
says Goodwin. “The remaining 30 percent should be stockers or other types of cattle that can be bought and sold based on available forage. This practice helps negate the necessity of selling valuable herd genetics in time of drought.”
Drought management Texas weather is often described as continuous
drought with intermittent fl oods, and this statement is not far from the truth. Many successful grazing-land managers maintained enough forage during the recent drought to avoid destocking of their breeding herd.
How did they do this? They constantly monitor avail-
able forage and adjust stocking rates when necessary. Drought is survived by matching animal numbers
to available forage and by spreading the grazing over the whole ranch. Distribution of grazing is a critical management
practice for effi cient forage utilization without site deterioration. Areas selectively grazed by cattle often occur because of varying distances from water and different topographies. Selective grazing can be re- duced by creating smaller pastures, developing more water sources and fencing to avoid diffi cult site and topographic combinations within pastures. If Jeff Goodwin is correct in his predictions, we
have named 4 of the 10 attributes for you. Can you name the remaining 6? Come to the 2016 Cattle Rais- ers Convention in Fort Worth, April 8-10, and check your answers. We’ll see you there.
We have named 4 of the top 10 attributes of successful grazing-land managers. Can you name the remaining 6?
Come to the 2016 Cattle Raisers Convention in Fort Worth, April 8-10, and check your answers.
tscra.org February 2016 The Cattleman 75
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