Some may think the topic of rangeland management is limited to vast Western rangeland and public lands that include livestock grazing. Those areas likely get the most notice and scrutiny, but rangeland management principles apply to pastures as small as just a few acres to a few thousand. 

Recently, I had a conversation with a vegetable farmer from the Upper Midwest. Somehow, we got on the topic of scales, and I explained to him that many cattle producers don’t have a scale. The farmer looked at me in pure shock.

The year 2019 is here. Although it is the middle of winter and very little forage is growing, producers still need to be thinking about their forage production and pastures.

Often, in the course of our work as consultants in the Southern Great Plains, we work with clients through land management issues that have a relatively straightforward answer. For the most part, we address a producer’s concerns based on a particular land management goal.

One of the services offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is grazing management plans. These plans can be developed by a technical service provider (TSP).

Management decisions that impact forage availability, such as forage species/cultivar to plant, fertilizer and weed control needs, along with herd genetics, are very important to the bottom line of any cattle farm.