Range Grazing Practices (1958, sound)

[Music] a there is a place where man can do well on the land yet it is a place where the wind can blow all his work away if man misuses this Good Earth the wind can blow his life away the Great Plains of North America were once one vast natural pasture French explorers gave it the name Prairie which was their word for grassland the Great Plains extend from the Eastern hardwood forest to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico far into Canada about one half of this area is still natural pasture the native grasses found here can be driven out by continuous close cropping or by the plow where the Stockman has been zealous in meeting growth requirements of his grasses as well as of his stock these natural natural pastures have raised our livestock for a century a century without benefit of cultivation seeding fertilization or irrigation and this has been accomplished in a rigorous climate the yield is not so great as from grasses introduced to our pastures from other regions but when the costs of producing a pound of beef are compared it is obvious why all the tillable range has not been converted to planted grass much of our great PLS was suitable for cultivation some was not one thing we can never forget is the droughts are normal in the Great Plains but in good years it is all too human to push this unpleasant fact from our minds we have learned how to reestablish native grasses on lands found un suitable for cultivation but this ought to be done in the good years just when it may seem least necessary when prospects for cash grain crops look best let's listen to some remarks on this subject by an experienced Rancher Mr AP Atkins of Gman Oklahoma I see you've had that Northwest pasture empty up there all summer how about rening it to me no I can't afford to rent grass even though I don't happen to be using it right at the moment I may not even use that grass this year but I figure that that's a reserve that in case next year's dry I won't run out of grass and besides to keep a cover on this land that helps This Grass to reced and helps it to absorb what little moisture we do get even in the dry years native grasslands both pastures and Meadows vary greatly in productivity from year to year this Meadow Cuts up to a ton of hay in good years and less than half a ton in poor years the kinds of native perennial plants you see being harvested have been here for centuries they have adjusted their growth to meet the changeable weather of the Great Plains while many kinds of cultivated plants die in droughts most native grasses simply become dormant the varieties of perennial plants on a native range will vary with grazing treatments the composition of the mixture is changed for better or worse by the time of year when it is grazed this pasture was rested in the spring and grazed in the summer there is an abundance of Western wheat grass a cool season grower another pasture on the same Ranch was grazed each spring but rested in summer this one has an abundance of Blue grma a warm season grower the closeness of grazing affects the growth relationship between short and long grasses Kenneth Conrad a successful Rancher near Ray Colorado explains it this way cattle are lazy by Nature and prefer the tall Lush grasses this lets the Gramma increase in dry climate or on dry sites we should expect a high percentage of short grasses on the other hand in areas of higher rainfall or on moist sites the short grasses are out of place under good management of grazing they'll be crowded back to the proper amounts by taller higher producing grasses it takes grass to make grass however you harvest it leave half and take a bigger half next year a good range grazing program should be based on four cardinal principles first no more livestock should be put on any pasture than it will support Second grazing should take place in most favorable Seasons third animals should be kept as evenly distributed as possible fourth the kind of livestock should be adapted to the type of grass and the region in which the farmer or Rancher lives there is no more economical conservation practice for Native pastures than management of grazing when moderately grazed the soil is protected the year round the plains have been truly named great in all conscience let us see to it that they shall never cease to deserve that [Music] name