N RANCHING
atural Resources
raise the intensity of the fi re and damage otherwise resistant plants. “Then, the recovery is much, much slower,” he
says. “We want a certain amount of soil moisture and humidity, within certain bounds. It’s not an exact sci- ence, but within certain parameters it is what we’re shooting for,” Brite says. Before human involvement, fi re used to come across Brite’s part of the country every 5 to 7 years. Now it is
Prescribed fi re is intended to mimic
the benefi cial effects of a natural fi re. It renews the resource dramatically.
suppressed, and the fuel load can get heavy, old and decadent. Prescribed fi re is intended to mimic the benefi cial
effects of a natural fi re. “It renews the resource dra- matically, so the quality of the forage can go from a 5 to 7 percent protein forage resource to 12 to 15 per- cent,” he says. “We have little bluestem clump grass, and under good management these clumps may be 12 inches in
diameter. Over a period of years, if there is not enough activity in there, the center will actually die. If I run a fi re across it, it burns that dead center out.” The bluestem propagates via stolens, which will
fi ll in the centers. At the same time, “There are some undesirable plants that can be suppressed, especially once they have greened up. The little bluestem thrives when it has greened up — a little bit of fi re going across doesn’t bother it a bit. But if your threeawns have greened up, a fi re just about kills them.” Brite also plans the burns far in advance and man-
ages the fuel load. He will let the forage in that area grow extra heavy, but will concentrate livestock on the periphery of those pastures to produce a certain amount of overgrazing. That makes it easier to control “spot overs,” when the fi re jumps the control line. “There is a huge difference in a forage base that has
1,000 pounds dry matter versus a forage base that has 4,000 pounds,” he says. When there is a spot over, all other activities cease while the crew gets it contained, but using this technique, “If everybody is very atten- tive and you’re well organized, it’s not an issue at all.” It’s tricky in Brite’s part of North Texas to establish control lines. He says his county, Montague, and adja-
52 The Cattleman April 2016
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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