As I've described in an earlier post, my job for the Montana Stockgrowers Association is to visit our member ranches and take photos/videos to promote the cattle industry. My first...and second stop (loved it so much that I had to go back the next day)...was at Ehlke Herefords in Townsend, MT. Day One, which is posted below, I talked about how lively calves are and how ranching families care about the animals, their families, and the safety of the end product. Day Two, I spent with the Ehlke's hired help, Ryan Hamilton, who took me around in the tractor to feed. Boy, when those cows see that big, round bale coming, it's a race to see who can start chomping first. Ryan talked about how he likes doing things on the ranch "the cowboy way." He would much rather be on horseback or on foot while in the herd as to keep the cows' stress down. When he started talking about his job, I could really tell this is something he is passionate about. Keeping the cattle safe and calm is his number one priority - and he loves it. Ryan also said that he hopes to have his own ranch someday.

Last December I attended and gave a presentation at the 4th National Conference on Grazing Lands.  One of the hot topics was “Ultra High Density Grazing” or “Mob Grazing”.  The basic idea behind this concept is that it’s a method of grazing that mimics the way animals graze in nature.  Like the large herds of grazers in Africa or the bison herds that once roamed this country, animals graze one area intensely before moving along.  The same area is visited again much later, maybe even a year later.  Predators keep the herd tightly grouped which tramples brush and vegetation.  This can be simulated today with herders or electric fence paddocks.  Cattle are packed into an area for a very short grazing period and then moved off.  The area is given a long recovery period before being grazed again.  This type of grazing has shown impressive results in Africa and many parts of the US.

Calves line up for their morning move

We have a permanently electric fenced area in one pasture that creates an area seventy feet wide by three quarters of a mile long.  This fence was installed to keep cattle from lounging on the irrigation ditch banks.  This enclosure is a perfect place to experiment with mob grazing.  Temporary electric fences are erected to create small paddocks.  After some basic calculations I packed in 25 seven weight feeder calves.  I moved them twice daily.  Modifications were made to the paddock sizes after observing how much forage remained after each graze.

Once the electric fence is opened the calves move themselves to the next paddock

I found that the cattle did an excellent job grazing each paddock.  I will need at least 45 days recovery before I can accurately assess the success/failure of this experiment.  One thing I really like is how quickly the cattle figured out that anytime I came around it meant a move to fresh feed.  It is a lot more work than our planned rotational grazing system we currently use, but I really enjoyed seeing the results.  I haven’t weighed the group yet, but I can probably expect gains equal to the calves grazing a more lightly stocked paddock.  I really like how this way of grazing completely eliminates overgrazing as the cattle have moved on before they get a chance to graze the same plant twice. 

Happy to be in fresh feed, the cattle graze happily

Last week I attended GLCI’s conference on grazing lands.  I was one of many presenters; my topic was on management intensive grazing on native meadows in Eastern California and Western Nevada.  I met a lot of people from around the country and am brimming with optimism about the future of cattle and grazing in the United States.  I’m always optimistic to some degree.  I figure there are enough pessimistic people in the cattle world already, I’d rather not be one of them.  One of the things that really caught my attention was Nathan Mudd’s presentation about cattle ranching on the island of Sitkinak in Alaska.

Nathan Mudd owns and runs Alaska Meat Company

 Wild Cattle in Alaska

Nathan Mudd gave his presentation right before I went.  He talked about his family that leases the island of Sitkinak from the state of Alaska.  There are around 650 head of wild cattle on the island, they were introduced a long time ago and turned into a totally wild herd.  To me, it was fascinating to hear what domestic cattle will evolve if they are left to fend for themselves.  The cattle graze the hills in the summer and winter on the beaches.  Like most large prey species, More...