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Natural Resources Extension Program
Winter Grazing Successes in Montana
By Gene Surber, Natural Resources
Specialist, MSU Extension Service
"The
use of the Crested Wheatgrass in the spring allows
him to minimize the amount of supplemental hay
he feeds plus saves the native range for later
use. " |
Maintaining an economic viable livestock operation
is what keeps the beef industry number one in Montana.
Every ranch has their individual goals and objectives
to accomplish this task. However, as public opinions
influence how ranchers care for the environment and
the costs of doing business compared to ranch income
gets tighter, it is more important than ever for ranchers
to share what techniques are producing successful results
on their operations. "Winter Grazing Successes
in Montana" a Southwestern Montana GLCI publication,
features sixteen ranchers across Montana who share some
of their management techniques. These management techniques
include the implementation of practices to protect water
quality, enhance ranch productivity and sustain or improve
their vegetative resources.
One of these ranches, Lon Reukauf's, Cherry Creek Ranch,
in eastern Montana north of Terry, operates with the
objective of balancing the environmental feed source
with the animals needs. Lon relates, “My goal
is to avoid the deadly three I's: Interest, Iron, and
Input costs and to maximize the two P’s: Profit
and Product quality.” According to Lon, “When
high input operations on naturally high productive lands
can barely work, high inputs on low productive land
results in a net financial loss.”
Lon has a lifetime of experiences on this ranch he
grew up on, which helps him understand the environment
and resources he has to operate with. He manages his
cows so their reproductive cycle and nutritional needs
can be more closely balance with the environment. He
uses weather data to help make management decisions.
One hundred and fifteen years of weather data shows
his ranch location has a high chance of cold weather
in early March and severe equinox storms around the
end of March. Avoiding calving during these weather
conditions reduces feed needs and the cost of disease
control, which are both good reasons why he adjusted
his calving season.
He moved his calving season to start later in the year
so he can take advantage of the high level of nutrition
provided by spring forage growth. He may not entirely
avoid spring storms, but the use of the early growing
Crested Wheatgrass fields in the spring helps him match
the higher nutritional needs of the cows during post-parteum
lactation through breed back time. Calving in larger
pastures later in the spring has minimized the cost
of disease control because Lon says, “Calf scours
and diptheria are nonexistent.”
Eighty percent of the cows calve as a result of exposure
to the first heat cycle. The later calving date has
increased the number of cows bred during the first heat
cycle and gives him the opportunity to cull cows that
don't calve in two heat cycles. He does however, run
an eighty-day breeding season that allows him to sell
bred cull cows, which provides more profit than dry
cows. Calves are weaned early, the middle to end of
October, which lowers the nutritional requirements of
the cows for 60 days prior to the third trimester of
gestation, again decreasing costs. Lon sees improved
profit from early weaned, lighter calves that sell for
more dollars per pound and are cheaper to raise.
Lon minimizes the cost of wintering by also extending
the grazing season and using corn gluten as a protein
supplement. Corn gluten is cheaper source of protein
and very low in starch that makes it a very good supplement
that can be fed effectively every other day. To do this
he makes use of three separate summer grazing systems,
a six-pasture rest-rotation system and two different
three-pasture deferred rotations. The use of the Crested
Wheatgrass in the spring allows him to minimize the
amount of supplemental hay he feeds plus saves the native
range for later use. To get better use of fall and winter
forages he strategically locates “bait stations”
of mineral, salt and protein blocks in areas with extra
forage and away from critical areas. None of these “bait
stations” are placed within one-half mile of water
during the winter. Lon says, “The condition of
riparian areas are enhanced when grazed in the winter
because cattle spend less time in the low riparian areas
where the cold air stays.”
Watch for other featured ranches in future Beef Q&A
newsletters or contact your County Extension or NRCS
office for a copy.
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