Proper range management adds value
That dream piece of property to make a ranching operation can turn into a nightmare without proper range management.
During HPJ Live, Aug. 6 to 8, in Wichita, Kansas, one topic that captured the attention of producers was “Defending grasslands with satellites, strategy and stewardship” by Doug Spencer, a state grazing specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Spencer provides NRCS personnel and the producers they serve with statewide leadership, technical guidance and training on grassland and livestock management-related practices, programs and activities.
Spencer was raised on a small cow-calf operation in Kansas. He resides in Marion County with his wife and three children, and he continues to help with the family operation.
Based in Kansas, Spencer has been able to see different types of range, including rangeland.
Kansas has about 15.6 million acres of rangeland and 3 million acres of native grass. The state has 1.8 million acres of Conservation Reserve Program.
When Spencer thinks of Kansas, he says, “the beef industry is huge.”
He focuses on rangeland potential and how many head of cattle it can efficiently support.
One tool he touts is the Rangeland Analysis Platform app, which combines satellite imagery with thousands of on-the-ground vegetation measurements collected by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and NRCS. The power of cloud computing and machine learning technology allows the platform to easily map vegetation.
“It gives us one more decision tool,” Spencer said.
The app, in a 10-meter resolution, can capture the cover of shrubs, trees, bare ground, vegetation gaps, and perennial and annual herbaceous plants in the western U.S.
Encroachment
Over time one of his concerns has been encroachment of woody species. Many ranchers and landowners know about eastern redcedars that in a short amount of time can turn an open pasture into a mess. The encroachment in rangeland can quickly diminish the capacity needed to support cattle, Spencer said. The loss of quality grassland also impacts birds and pollinators. He noted that that can mean up to $2 billion in lost revenue potential for cattle in the state.
Shrubs and woody coverage change the topography. Eastern redcedars not only suck water from the ground, they also increase fire volatility risk.
“It’s not just a ranching concern. It’s not just an agricultural concern,” Spencer said. “It’s a concern for everyone.”
Tough opponent
Woody encroachment, though, can be tough to address. Some landowners deny it is a problem until it’s too late. Seeds from an innocuous cedar may seem harmless only to become a major headache in a couple of years as he showed photos of how an open pasture was turned into a nightmare.
One redcedar can produce 1.5 million seeds, he said, and a mature tree can be established within 200 yards, and six trees can wreak havoc on a pasture. To add context, he said one seed can trigger an expansion of 26 acres.
Another nuisance tree is hedge as one tree can produce 200 to 300 seeds.
Plan ahead
Regardless of the tree species, “a rancher needs to have a game plan for managing the seeds,” Spencer said.
In his focus on redcedars, he said the key to management includes prevention of seed production and distribution plus monitoring encroachment.
There are tools a producer can use including prescribed burning, Spencer said. “Frequent fires reduce woody invasion.”
A healthy diversity in plants and the use of grazing cattle and other species of livestock like goats can help keep the rangeland vibrant, he said. A landowner should also keep hand and mechanical tools available. He added drones can be used for efficiently spraying herbicides.
A successful plan will include a realistic starting point and regularly monitoring and updating it as needed, he said.
The more productive a tract can be for the rancher and landowner, the more value it adds, he said.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
