Oral Presentation Problem

Oral Problem

2013 Oral ProblemUpdated 4/2/13 10:00 a.m.

NYS Envirothon

2013 Oral Presentation Grazing

Problem Scenario

You are the Neemore Cattle Company with a 525 Angus cow-calf farm that grazes cattle on your own pastures and you would like to graze cattle on the neighboring National Forest. In addition to the 525 Angus cows there are 30 bulls and 290 yearling heifers and steers. The farm has a 94% calf crop raising 494 calves by fall. The average weight of the cows is 1050 lbs, the bulls average 1800 lbs and the yearlings will have a season long average weight of 700 lbs. The 90 day calving season starts on April 1st, and the calves are sold to a cattle buyer typically in the fall. The calves weigh an average of 475 lbs each when sold. The farm starts grazing pastures on April 20th and the animals remain on pasture until November 10th. The available Forest Service (FS) permit is not large enough to include all the cattle so some cattle will remain on private land throughout the grazing season. The FS grazing permit also doesn't start at the beginning of the grazing season and it ends before the end of the grazing season.

You are to develop a Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP) for Grazing to present to a Forest Service Land Management Board of Review for potential approval to obtain the necessary permit. The CRMP is to be developed for a rotational grazing system for a three year period for the entire length of the growing season (April 20th through November 10th) and should include both privately held land and the National Forest land. The Forest Service Grazing Permit that you are seeking is for 1440 Animal Unit Months (AUM) and starts on June 1th and goes through October 28th.

You use the Rotational Stocking Method to determine when and for how long to use each pasture on deeded land while the Forest Service utilizes the Animal Unit Month (AUM) method to determine the stocking rate on National Forest land. You will need to present this information in your CRMP as well as determine the amount of forage produced in each pasture and the amount of forage the livestock will consume in each pasture, the residency period for each pasture as well as the stocking rate. Some of these pastures may be cut for hay during periods of the growing season when there is excess forage production; the acreage for hay production is not needed to be included in the CRMP. All of these pastures are to be subdivided into smaller pastures to be used in the rotational grazing system.

The Forest Service objectives for the land to be grazed are for multiple use and include wildlife, timber production, recreation, and possible mining and oil/gas exploration. The livestock is being utilized to improve the early succession habitat for song birds and migratory birds other than waterfowl. The CRMP must take into account the environmental impacts of how the grazing system will impact the multiple use objective of the Forest Service.

The National Forest pastures have not been grazed or mowed for several years. The pastures have started to revert back to their typical plant community of hardwood forest. The pastures now consist of 20% shrub and tree seedling, and broadleaf forbs with goldenrod high on the list, though the pastures still have a fair amount of orchardgrass and Kentucky bluegrass and some timothy growing. The subdivision of pasture may be needed and additional conservation practices may be used to protect sensitive areas, such as riparian areas, and to prevent contamination of natural resources.

Big Pond Pasture is the National Forest land and includes 340 acres of land suited for grazing as shown on the attached soils map.

Private Deeded Land

The privately owned farmland includes Trail Pasture of 163 acres, the Little Pond Pasture of 557 acres and North Pasture of 264 acres.

The majority of your pastures are in good condition with white clover, smooth brome, orchardgrass and timothy. The exception is the Trail Pasture which you determine to be the most suited for reseeding with a warm season grass. The CRMP will need to address how and when the pasture will be reseeded and when to start grazing.

***You will need to open the pdf. format below to see the

maps needed for the OP problem.

References:

www.cnr.uidaho.edu/what-is-range/curriculum

Grassland Birds

Management of Grazing Lands

National Range & Pasture Handbook

Pastures & Grassland Bird Habitat

Plant Identification

Range Management

Rangeland Management Strategies

Rangeland Glossary

Rangeland Resources of North America

Warm Grass

GRAZING PRESENTATION

Grazing Management - Washington State University

(may have to save & open to be able to see the information)

Cornell University Forages Species Selection Tool

(under Tools, select species for pasture, choose a county in question 1 and choose “choose a soil type from a list found in this county” then click choose parameters. Fill out the questions and click finish.)