Managed Grazing
Browse by Topic
Browse by Resource Type
Kansas Grasslands Issue Brief
The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts are pleased to share a new foundational report on Kansas Grasslands that highlights the importance of grasslands to the state and identifies action steps to continue and enhance the conservation of those grasslands for the future of Kansas.
KDA has been working in partnership with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, with the support of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, on a joint project to determine action steps to encourage and support efforts to assist Kansans in the conservation of their working grasslands. The initiative included a series of in-person discussions around the state and a public survey. The input received from ranchers, landowners and other interested Kansans was compiled into a final Issue Brief which was shared with project participants and posted on the KDA website.
Native grasslands make up more than 15 million acres of agricultural land in Kansas. In addition to other ecological and economic benefits, these grasslands serve a critical role as grazing land for cattle. As the state’s largest agricultural industry, the beef industry provides income and economic prosperity to thousands of Kansas ranchers, businesses, and workers throughout the state.
The Kansas Grasslands Issue Brief outlines actionable steps to keep this valuable natural resource in healthy working condition. It includes information to help educate a broad audience about the importance of working grasslands, as well as action steps that could be taken to improve and conserve working grasslands for future generations. The final product has been reviewed by a technical team of researchers to make sure the science is strong, and it has been informed and reviewed by ranchers to make sure it is accurate and reflects their work and experience.
“This Issue Brief will be an important resource to make sure we can continue to help ranchers and landowners with their work to ensure the long-term sustainability of rangelands,” said Dan Meyerhoff, executive director of the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts. “It is a great example of what can happen when ranchers, researchers, state and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations come together to pursue long-term change.”
The contributors of this project encourage all Kansans to read the report and learn how we can all work together to ensure that grasslands continue to be a productive, valuable resource for generations of Kansans to come. Find the Issue Brief and other materials related to the Kansas Grasslands project at www.agriculture.ks.gov/grasslands.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts are pleased to share a new foundational report on Kansas Grasslands that highlights the importance of grasslands to the state and identifies action…
Prescribed Fire Online Course
Want to learn how to plan and conduct a prescribed fire? Check out the Prescribed Fire Online Course! Learning Objectives – Fire for a healthy ecosystem – Considerations for a fire plan – Safe practices…
Livestock Pasture Use & Plant Preferences
Does your livestock match your pasture?
Cattle, sheep and goats use pastures differently.
– Terrain: Goats and sheep tend to use steeper areas than cattle.
– Plant Types: Cattle eat mainly grasses while goats browse more shrubs and trees. Sheep are intermediate and have less preference for a specific plant type.
– Selection for Plant Parts: Cattle have large broad mouths and cannot select specific plant parts well, instead they typically take large bites of plants. Sheep and goats have small mouths with prehensile lips which allow them to select specific plant parts
Grazing multiple species can often be complementary, resulting in broader use of available plant types and pasture terrain.
Illustration: John McQuaig
Source: The Prairie Project The Prairie Project
Data:
McDaniel & Tiedeman (1981). Sheep use on mountain winter range in New Mexico.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3898122
Pinchak et al. (1991). Beef cattle distribution patterns on foothill range.
https://doi.org/10.2307/4002956
Does your livestock match your pasture? Cattle, sheep and goats use pastures differently. – Terrain: Goats and sheep tend to use steeper areas than cattle. – Plant Types: Cattle eat mainly grasses while goats browse…
Grazing Cover Crop Calculator
This tool can be used to assist in determining the number of days or acres animals can graze cover crops. https://www.jotform.com/app/221745338623861
Winter Grazing of Cover Crops
Question: How many acres of cover crop does a cow-calf pair need to make it through a typical winter? -From South-Central Kansas Answers: Assuming a fall calving operation, a 1300 lb cow and about 3600…
Cover Crop Challenges
A mix of spring forage barely, Indian mustard, black oats, winter peas, and crimson clover was planted on April 1. Cows were put on it May 7 and pulled around June 21. At that time,…
New ground: Where to start the regeneration process?
If you were getting a new piece of ground that had been conventionally tilled the last 16 years, where would you start the regeneration process? I can’t soil test yet, but know that it hasn’t…
Grazing Cover Crops: Winter Wheat vs Rye?
How can we work in cover crops following corn and soybean harvest that will get enough growth to be worthwhile? Is winter wheat better than rye? Question submitted from southeast Nebraska.
Managed Grazing Helpful Links
Visit these links for more information:
- Studies Show Minimal Soil Compaction With Winter Grazing | CropWatch | University of Nebraska–Lincoln (unl.edu)
- Student Research: Does the Grazing of Cover Crops by Cattle Compact Soil? | CropWatch | University of Nebraska–Lincoln (unl.edu)
- Cover Crop Grazing: Impacts on Soils and Crop Yields | CropWatch | University of Nebraska–Lincoln (unl.edu)