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Category Archives: Grazing Management
Thinking like a grassland…means thinking BIG!
Thinking like a grassland. What does this mean to you? Well, to Dr. David Augustine from the USDA-ARS Station in Fort Collins, CO and others, it means large-scale movement of many species. This large-scale movement enables the Great Plains evolved strategies to contend with drought, floods, and even wildfires…in a nutshell….extreme variability in weather resulting in low forage production. Currently, our pattern of land ownership and use of Great Plains grasslands challenges native species conservation. For example, too much management is focused at the scale of individual pastures or… Read More →
Published to Pasture…Soil Health!
Soil Health…kind of catchy, right?! I agree. And, so do thousands of other range managers and landowners. It’s the buzz word of the century and it’s here to stay. So what do we know about soil health and how the heck can our ranchers use it? Today, we will be looking at 2 relatively recent articles on soil health. First, “Usable Science: Soil Health” written by Justin Derner, Chuck Stanley, and Chad Ellis. Secondly, we will look at “Soil Health as a Transformational Change Agent for US Grazing… Read More →
Published to Pasture…Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management
In 2018, Wilmer and others published “Collaborative adaptive rangeland management foster management-science partnerships” in Rangeland Ecology and Management (check it out here). I really valued this paper, because fostering management-science relationships is what Extension is all about! This paper is a case study, based on qualitative social data collected from meeting notes and interview transcripts recorded from ranchers and agency representatives in a Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management (CARM) study. In this synthetic assessment, they explored to what extent participation in the CARM experiment enabled adaptive decision making by… Read More →
Outside the Fire…Justin Penick Acorn Forestry
Acorn Forestry is a full service forestry company specializing in reforestation, wildland firefighting, forest management and mid-rotation services in Lufkin, Texas. All services are provided to private landowners, consultants and companies with an emphasis on quality and accountability. Basically, they are experts in prescribed burning! I first met owner/operator Justin Penick at the Texas Department of Agriculture Prescribed Burn Board meeting and instantly respected him for his many talents and abilities. Justin is one of the very best in the state and in the nation when it comes to… Read More →
Outside the Fire…Dr. Bill Rogers
Do you remember a certain professor/teacher/mentor that just naturally pushed you to think differently or harder? Someone that encouraged you to see beyond the data and critically look at theories, ideas, and concepts, and not that you had to or were forced to, but because you were actually excited to? Meet Dr. Bill Rogers, a Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Texas A&M University. Dr. Rogers’ and his research team recently received funding from the Joint Fire Sciences Program to analyze resprouting characteristics of… Read More →
Outside the Fire…Marcy Epperson
I am a huge fan of ranching women, because I know that a woman who ranches also raises a family, keeps the books, cooks, cleans, and is just as busy in her community as she is checking livestock and tending to horses. George Strait said it best, “how bout them cowgirls”! This month, I want to introduce you to an exceptional lady – Marcy Epperson. Marcy and her family ranch outside of Rocksprings and she recently successfully completed her Texas Department of Agriculture Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn… Read More →
Why I Ranch…Ray Pfeuffer
I dedicated a series on West Texas ranchers called “Why I Ranch.” Each month I will highlight a rancher in West Texas and ask them to share their story about the ranch life. Ray Pfeuffer Ray and Sandra Pfeuffer make Ranch Life look easy. They have raised a beautiful family. They work hard. They are active in 4H. And, oh yea, they ranch in West Texas. Here is the other half to Ms. Sandra’s answers 🙂 How did you get your start in ranching? My family has always… Read More →
Outside the Fire…Dr. Doug Tolleson
Dr. Butch Taylor loves the Sonora Experiment Station dearly, and another person who loves it just as much is Dr. Doug Tolleson. It seems only appropriate that we follow Dr. Taylor’s words of wisdom with Dr. Tolleson’s. How did you get introduced to fire? Early in life, we would burn pastures periodically to “clean them up” and at scout camp we would help dig line to contain small forest fires. Professionally, I would help Keith Owens and his crew at the Uvalde Experiment Station and then Jim Ansley… Read More →
Outside the Fire…Dr. Butch Taylor
If you have ever heard of prescribed burning in Texas, then I am sure you have heard of thee Dr. Butch Taylor. He goes by Dr. Charles A. Taylor, Jr. on his numerous publications (I’m telling you folks, he wrote the book, literally). Butch is a tremendous friend, mentor, and colleague and I hope you enjoy his story as much as I have. We could all learn something from Butch. How did you get introduced to fire? Fire was first presented to me as a viable range management option… Read More →
Why I Ranch…Dr. Jake Landers
Dr. Jake Landers After a 30-year career with Extension, I hope I have half the brains, sanity, and passion that my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Jake Landers possesses. Dr. Landers set the bar pretty dang high and it is an honor to learn from him in the pasture and in the classroom. As I said in an earlier post, Dr. Landers morphed into a Range Father of mine overnight. The second I met him he was my hero. Dr. Jake Landers served as an Extension Range Specialist… Read More →