Associate Resident Director and Professor
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
PO Box 1658
11708 Highway 70 South
Vernon, TX 76384-1658
Office: (940) 552-9941 ext. 235
Curriculum Vitae
Program: Sustainable Rangeland Management
Multi-paddock grazing advantages
Healing Rangeland May Require Both Burning and Multi-Paddock Grazing
Multi-Paddock Grazing Provides Efficiency and Profits for Ranchers
Education
PhD, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 1987 (Botany/Ecology)
BSc (Agric), University of Natal, South Africa, (Grassland Science)
My philosophy is that research and service must provide the linkage that enables managers to base decisions for sustainable land use on the principles of ecosystem function. I have used four key elements to enhance this linkage: a systems research program, resource accounting, long-term assessment and partnering with rancher clientele. My goal is to use a systems approach in developing land and livestock management practices that sustain natural rangeland resources and the people depending on the land.
Project Objectives:
The purpose of the project is to conduct a ranch-scale, multi-county assessment that addresses three related objectives in the context of the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation:
- Determine the extent that grazing strategies influence key ecosystem services (especially soil and vegetation carbon sequestration), soil fertility and stability, water quality, net primary and secondary production, and the economic viability of working ranches that contribute to the retention of open space and rural community health in the Southern Plains of the USA.
- Determine the extent that different grazing management strategies can be used by livestock producers to mitigate and adapt to alternative climate change scenarios.
- Evaluate the long-term economic consequences of using alternative grazing management strategies to achieve rangeland restoration and production goals.