[Carpenter] Patch burn grazing

[Kevin Carpenter]

Thats 99% aligned with what I've been reading in Grass-Fed Cattle by 
Julius Ruechel (Paperback - July 1st, 2006), although he recommends 
daily rotation, not twice a day, to give the cattle a bit more time 
during calving season.  Julius does recommend soil testing and 
correction - not traditional fertilizer, but getting things like the 
calcium/magnesium ratio in balance.

I was impressed enough with the book that I bought a second copy.  
Donnie? Guess who its for... <smile>

Two things make this difficult:  1) The system works best when you have 
a full herd of at least 100 cattle - below that number and the herding 
instinct doesn't kick in well - the cows tend to wander around rather 
than stick together. 2) It takes daily effort to move the temporary 
electric fence and  enough land permanently fenced to make this easy 
(like in long rectangular fields that can easily be daily cross fenced).

Julius is VERY fond of both temporary and permanent electric fence - 
suggesting its the only way to go as older barb wire needs replacing - 
cheaper, easier to install, and safer for wildlife (Frank recently 
mentioned to me a deer that got entangled in some barb wire and died, so 
I suspect there is something to that).

Of course, this takes a lot of planning for water (ideally also 
temporary to avoid manure buildup around the water hole), fencing, and 
the like.  I suppose a Co-op of land owners could pull it off, but it 
wouldn't be easy.  Integrating in patch burning would require innovation 
as well.

Oh, one tidbit was interesting:  a single shepherd can replace most of 
the wire and can handle over 1200 cows.  It would be an interesting turn 
of events if long term, we went back to that.

Julius was also big on training the cattle, and having 
multi-generational herds.  He used a mobile mineral feeder behind an ATV 
and a "come cow" call to move the cows between fields.  He liked that, 
since it kept him from being mobbed until he was was the ATV and pulling 
the feeder.  Oh, he is a little heavy on the "all organic" side of 
things, but acceptably so - I didn't catch any outright false claims 
(like in one book I read, where the lady claimed drifting Round-up mist 
from a neighbors  field  "almost killed" her cows - Round-up is less 
toxic than table salt...).  He did recommend using a 1:1 by weight mix 
of dried kelp and rock salt in the mineral feeder to supply the cows 
(and in the long run, the fields) with natural trace elements.

Kevin

Justin Johnson wrote:
>
> Kevin--
>
>  
>
> Did you see this article?
>
>  
>
> http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2008/may/20080504news001.asp
>
>  
>
> I think I passed it around earlier in the year.  Note that this fellow 
> is doing the intensive management on 1,300 acres and moves his cattle 
> more than once per day.  There is no mention of fire in the story.
>
>  
>
> What I'd really like to see one day is thousands of acres up in the 
> Mystic Plains COA under a sustainable grazing plan, with multiple 
> landowners using a variety of forages to raise high-value gourmet meat 
> and to produce great wildlife habitat.  I think it is possible, and 
> given the high cost of fertilizer and hay, I think it might actually 
> wind up being the only way to go in the future.
>
> Justin Johnson
> Missouri Prairie Foundation
> Executive Director
> 573-356-7828
> www.moprairie.org
>
> --- On *Sat, 7/19/08, Kevin Carpenter /<kevinc at mysticplains.org>/* wrote:
>
>     From: Kevin Carpenter <kevinc at mysticplains.org>
>     Subject: [Carpenter] Patch burn grazing
>     To: "Carpenter Prairie in the Mystic Plains COA"
>     <carpenter at mysticplains.org>
>     Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008, 9:36 PM
>
>     John?
>
>     Happen to have any good references on Patch Burn grazing?
>
>     It is my understanding that light grazing is viewed as good for the
>     prairie - I'm trying to balance that with what I've read on grass
>     feeding
>     cattle.  In particular, the use of rotational grazing, ideally with a
>     daily rotation.  Suspect that is similar to the intensive managed grazing
>     I heard you make mention off on our walk in December.  Essentially, the
>     goal I've read about is to get the herd to eat everything off a small
>     parcel, and move then to new grass every day.  Of course, the parcel sizes
>     need to match the nutritional needs of the cattle.   The key concept is
>     not to allow them to only eat their favorite grasses and ignore other
>     grasses - since that favors the less liked forage. Doing such a rotation
>     is claimed to have several benefits, including reduced parasites since no
>     one field is grazed often, more even manure distribution, etc. 
>     Temporarily electric fencing is used to subdivide main fields into daily
>     pastures.
>
>     Thoughts?  Hints?  Books to read?  Weblinks to visit?
>
>     Cheers!
>
>     Kevin
>
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