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West Texas RangelandsWe hope to provide a variety of science-based rangeland information and current research on prescribed fire, wildfires, brush management, and grazing management!
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Why I Ranch…Dr. Jake Landers

July 11, 2018 by morgan.treadwell

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 at the Texas A & M Research and Extension Center, San Angelo in 1979.  He developed techniques and procedure for individual plant treatment of brush and prickly pear cactus for ranchers in 17 counties.  He initiated prescribed burning as a procedure for managing rangeland to reduce undesirable species and stimulate grasses.  He wrote short articles for newspapers and magazines and continued writing after his retirement from the Extension Service.  He was recognized as the outstanding person in Range by the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management in 1990 and Sustained Lifetime Achievement Award by the parent society in 2016.

Jake described himself as a gentleman rancher at best, but I beg to differ.  His Dad was in full charge until Jake was 60, and his brother Fritz assumed the duties until they divided up 20 years later. Since then Dr. Landers has helped decide when and where to graze and when and where to burn, control mesquite and pricklypear. Dr. Landers is not trying to make a profit, but he is still learning and operating by experiment.  Most of which I am convinced is adaptive management, but Jake makes it look so dang easy, fun, and effortless that it is more stewardship than anything.

How did you get your start in ranching?  I learned a lot about raising sheep, goats and cattle growing up on the ranch until I was 18. I had intended to get a degree and come home to ranch. But the drought and other interests kept me in school until I was independent of making a living  on the ranch.

How important is agriculture to your family?  Agriculture was important growing up because it was 95% of our income. Now it is important as an enjoyable experimental hobby.

What makes ranching in West Texas so unique? Speaking more of the Edwards Plateau, the mix of vegetation allows raising of cattle sheep and goats while keeping a viable white tailed deer herd for hunting.

Do you feel like there is enough emphasis on agriculture in K-12 education? Not in the least. My experience with teachers in conservation workshops indicates that most do not have an adequate background in agriculture to provide the information.

Who did you learn the most from along the way? I learned about plants mostly on my own. I learned a lot working on programs with county agents and a lot about burning from Larry White, Range Extension Specialist at Uvalde.

Filed Under: 4-H Range Contests, Brush Management, Grazing Management, Prescribed Burn Associations, Prescribed Burning, Why I Ranch, Youth Range Workshop Tagged With: Rangeland, SRM, TSSRM, West Texas

Meet a CEA…Lisa Brown

October 24, 2017 by morgan.treadwell

Meet Lisa Brown – Menard County Extension Agent!  Lisa recently won the top Professional Category Award for Plant ID at the Texas Section Society for Range Management meeting in San Angelo earlier this month!

Why did you become a County Extension Agent? Growing up in a ranching family here in Menard the local ranchers are close to my heart so the opportunity to work with them was exciting. I also knew working with the youth here in Menard…bringing agriculture into the classrooms of the hallways in which I used to walk myself would be rewarding.   In addition I found great comfort in knowing I had 3 retired county agents and a retired range specialist living in Menard  to help show me the ropes. 

What are some concerns specific to agriculture in your county? Increased amounts of invasive brush and lack of water are the main concerns here in Menard County. 

What is the most rewarding part of your position? Working with the ranchers and landowners would by far be my favorite part of this job.  I have great respect for them as stewards of the land. 

What is the weirdest request you have ever received as a CEA and how did you solve it? I received a phone call that went something like this:  “My daughter just bought some goldfish.  Can you sex them for me?”  would definitely be my weirdest request.  While I scrambled to figure out which specialist I should call to find out the answer to this question, the caller finally identified himself as a fellow agent playing a joke on me….we still laugh about this.

If you could be anything else, what would you be? A FULLTIME rancher…no doubt. 

Filed Under: Meet A County Extension Agent Tagged With: 4H, AgriLife, Extension, ranching, Rangeland

Why I Ranch…

October 24, 2017 by morgan.treadwell

Frank and Sims Price Ranch

In 2012, Price Ranch was recognized for their range management when they were presented the Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award by the Texas Section, Society for Range Management and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. And it was recognized as a 2013 regional Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) winner during the 2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference.

How did you get your start in ranching? The Price family began ranching in 1876. Frank Price has managed his family’s ranch for 40 years, first in partnership with his father, and then in partnership with his son Sims in 2011. Together, they run their cow-calf operation on 68,000 acres. Sims and his wife Krista are the fifth generations of Prices on the ranch, which they operate in four counties. The ranch operates with three primary income enterprises including sheep, cattle, and hunting. 

How important is agriculture to your family?  The Price family has two primary goals. First, the ranch is operated as a separate business, self-sustaining, and is expected to show an annual profit. Second, but equal, their goal is to leave their natural resources in the best possible condition for the next generations.The family is dedicated to these goals. They have recently started using Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) dollars to make continuous improvements to the ranch, and they also use controlled and prescribed burning to their benefit by adjusting their livestock grazing charts to include speed of moves, flash grazing, animal density and total deferment.

What makes ranching in West Texas so unique? In a normal year, they receive 18 inches of rainfall. These last two years have been abnormal, with exceptional drought and devastating wildfires, particularly in their area,” said Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association President Joe Parker, Jr. “Even though they had to reduce their herd to protect their land, they still found lessons in flexibility during the adversities. The Price family’s experiences with wildfire lead them to be a leading voice in Texas on inter-agency cooperation in fighting wildfires. We are glad to have his practical and sound leadership in such an important area.” The father-son partnership at Price Ranch represents the fourth and fifth generations of Prices to ranch in west Texas.

Filed Under: Brush Management, Grazing Management, Prescribed Burning, Why I Ranch Tagged With: ESAP, family, ranching, Rangeland, West Texas

Dr. Jake Landers’ Thoughts on Mesquite

November 9, 2016 by morgan.treadwell

Dr. Jake 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 at the Texas A & M Research and Extension Center, San Angelo in 1979.  He developed techniques and procedure for individual plant treatment of brush and prickly pear cactus for ranchers in 17 counties.  He initiated prescribed burning as a procedure for managing rangeland to reduce undesirable species and stimulate grasses.  He wrote short articles for newspapers and magazines and continued writing after his retirement from the Extension Service.  He was recognized as the outstanding person in Range by the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management in 1990 and Sustained Lifetime Achievement Award by the parent society in 2016.

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Below, are Dr. Lander’s thoughts on mesquite.  Have a laugh, enjoy the irony, and appreciate the life-long hobby of brush management 🙂

“SOME OF MY DEEPEST THOUGHTS, SOME ON MESQUITE

  1. People who have a kind feeling toward Mesquite, by and large, have not had to make a living on Mesquite-covered rangeland.
  2. Mesquite trees, like West Texas ranchers, have roots deep in the land where we tend to admire and respect tenacity.
  3. Mesquite on rangeland reminds me of athlete’s foot; you can live without treating it for a long time, even a lifetime, but it is aggravating, and it tends to get worse if ignored.
  4. Mesquite shade is a poor excuse for shade.
  5. In a forest of Mesquite trees, none of them grow straight.
  6. The inside of a Mesquite tree when polished is prettier than the outside, unless it’s rotten.
  7. The smell of meat cooking over Mesquite wood coals is as pleasurable as opening a fresh can of your favorite coffee.
  8. I’ve never chewed on a Mesquite bean that I really liked, but it gives you something to do if you don’t have tobacco.
  9. Mesquite doesn’t seem to have any enemies except humans.
  10. A wooden nickel made of Mesquite is worth a lot in China, I’ll bet on it.
  11. If we came up with a sure-fire, cheap method of killing Mesquite, there would be at least one rancher who would complain about losing the beans for his cows during the next drought.
  12. I started making wooden nickels out of Mesquite to get rid of it, now I might have to replant some or borrow from my neighbors.
  13. I keep a few old Mesquite trees just to grow beautiful Mistletoe for Christmas decorations.
  14. Goats have been bred up to consume Cedar, why not breed up a llama to eat Mesquite leaves.
  15. There’s no thorn like a Mesquite thorn; it even hurts when you pull it out.
  16. When Algerita berries don’t make a crop, the Mockingbirds have to depend on Mistletoe berries on Mesquite and Hackberry.
  17. I almost disabled my pickup hitting a Mesquite stump hidden in the grass that grew after the tree was cut down.
  18. If you cut down a Mesquite and don’t paint the stump to keep it from sprouting, you are not going to Heaven when you die.
  19. Real old Mesquite are as rare as real old people, a tiny percent of the whole population.
  20. You would think there would be a disease like Oak wilt that could wipe out Mesquite.”

Thank you Dr. Landers!

Filed Under: Brush Management, Grazing Management, Plant ID Tagged With: AgriLife Extension, brush control, Dr. Jake Landers, Rangeland

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