Planning and Managing to Minimize the Impact of Droughts

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Improving Life through Science and Technology Planning and Managing to Minimize the Impact of Droughts Holistic Management International Addison Ranch Bowie, TX 2014 Richard Teague, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Vernon

Overview Need to restore ecosystem function Landscape impact of continuous grazing What to aim for when managing The 4 Ecosystem processes The planning tools Using the management tools Managing adaptively for desirable results Research results Summary

Restore Ecosystem Function To sustain livelihoods and the delivery of ecosystem goods and services, Managers should aim to enhance the health and socio-ecological resilience of ecosystems Healthy rangelands are considerably more productive, stable and resilient than those in poorer condition

Importance of Ecological Condition Average Forage Production on different Range Sites, Wilbarger Co. Range Condition Range Site Bottom land Clay flat Shallow clay Lb/Acre Excellent 3500 1750 1500 Good 2500 1250 1250 Fair 1500 500 750 Poor 1000 250 250

Importance of Ecological Condition 30-year NPV for different goals Initial Range Condition 30-year NPV ($ * 1000) NPV max RC maint RC Increase Excellent 1350 990 990 Good 819 783 614 Fair 583 531 428 Poor 311 238 207

Infiltration with Vegetation Composition Thurow 1991

90% of Soil function is mediated by microbes Microbes depend on plants So how we manage plants is critical

Indicator: Soil Temperature At 70 o F, 100% of Soil moisture is used for growth. At 100 o F, 85% of Soil moisture is lost and 15% is used for growth. At 115 o F, microbes begin to breakdown, and At 140 o F they die.

To improve Soil Health Improve soil microbe population by: Keeping the 4 ecosystem processes functioning Improving plant cover Perennial plants rather than annuals Manage for most productive plants Leave adequate plant residue Minimizing bare ground Grow plants for as many months each year as possible

Landscape impact of continuous grazing Edwards Plateau Ranch 3-D View w/ GPS Locations 1. 39% area used 2. 41% GPS points on 9% area 3. SR: 21 ac/cow 4. Effective SR: 9 ac/cow

Landscape impact of continuous grazing Planned multi-paddock grazing Ranch road Existing fence Electric fence Water point

Landscape impact of continuous grazing Planned multi-paddock grazing Animals: Graze more of the whole landscape Select a wider variety of plant species Manager can control: How much is grazed The period of grazing, and The length and time of recovery

Restoration using Holistic grazing Noble Foundation, Coffey Ranch Go-back field 18 paddocks + water points Managed to IMPROVE plant species

Restoration using multi-paddock grazing Restoration using Holistic grazing Noble Foundation, Coffey Ranch Charles Griffith, Hugh Aljoe, Russell Stevens

Managing for Desired Outcomes Match animal numbers to available forage Spread grazing over whole ranch Defoliate moderately in growing season Short grazing periods Adequate recovery before regrazing Graze again before forage too mature

Managing proactively for best results % Leaf Volume Removed % Root Growth Stoppage Range Condition Excellent Good Poor 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2-4% 50% 78% 100% 100%

Length of recovery periods With moderate use in the growing season: In wetter tallgrass areas (30+ inches of rain) Recovery of 45 in wetter years to 90 days in drier years In mixed grass prairie(18-25 inches of rain) Recovery of 50 in wetter years to 120 days in drier years In short grass prairie (12-15 inches of rain) Recovery of 90 in wetter years to 150 days in drier years In arid rangelands (< 15 inches of rain) Recovery of full growing season or more NB. This is only a guide NOT a recipe

Continuous grazing at Light stocking Over- and under-grazing side-by-side

Continuous grazing at Light stocking Patch selection and overgrazing

Planned multi-paddock grazing Richard s Ranch Jacksboro, TX 48 Paddocks grazed according to grass growth

Cattle are moved to a fresh paddock.

High-density grazing Light continuous grazing

Managing during drought Remember to learn from ranchers who manage successfully in much drier areas such as: Bert Madera SW New Mexico Jim Howell SW New Mexico (previously) Chris Gill Van Horn, W Texas Guy Glosson Snyder, W Texas

Planning is Essential Mean annual precipitation 40 3545 3040 2535 2030 1525 1020 515 010 1942 5 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 0 1942 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992

The Four Ecosystem Processes 1. Energy flow - Maximize the flow of solar energy through plants and soil. 2. Water cycle - Maximize capture and cycling of water through plants and soil. Reduce export and import. 3. Mineral cycle - Maximize cycling of nutrients through plants and soil. 4. Community dynamics - High ecosystem biodiversity with more complex mixtures and combinations of desirable plant species leads to increased stability and productivity

Planning Process Attend ranch business consultant courses to become an expert business manager Learn from ranchers who are successful at business and conservation ranching Structure your business to remove excessive overheads and inefficiencies

Annual plan to cover likely contingencies At the beginning of every year consider what you will do in the event of: An average precipitation year Which paddocks need to be grazed first and which to graze last A drier than average year Which will be the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd groups of animals to go A wetter than average year Which paddocks need to be grazed first and which to not graze at all Write down your plan and file it so it is easy to access and use

Stocking/destocking strategies to survive drought Adjust animal numbers to available forage amount Supplement to correct for forage nutrient/quality shortfall Do NOT supplement for forage biomass shortfall Organize before hand to have a herd composition that has no more breeding animals than: 50% of herd biomass in wetter rangeland 25-30% herd biomass in semi-arid rangeland 90-100% herd biomass in arid rangeland

Herd management strategies to survive drought Get rid of 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd removal groups early Increase recovery periods as much as you can Combine herds Keep rotating as it: Keeps animal nutrition more constant Keeps animals looking for feed Follow your written drought plan

Critical monitoring to survive drought Know which are the 2 3 months that result in most forage production in your area Keep a running 12 month precipitation total to indicate early of approaching forage shortfall Estimate forage amount at: key forage planning periods, and when your 12 month precipitation total indicates you need to Monitor animal nutrition status frequently to adjust for nutritional quality shortfalls

Planning Process Understand all the steps to complete a Grazing Chart growing season and dormant season plans Learn how to calculate standard animal units, animal days per acre available, stocking rate and stock density Learn what comprises under grazing, over grazing, growth rates and recovery periods Learn how to monitor, adjust and control the grazing plan

Influence of multi-paddock grazing on soil and vegetation Neighbouring ranches in each county: Planned multi-camp @ heavy SR (± 10 ac/au) Continuous graze @ heavy SR (± 10 ac/au) Continuous graze @ light SR (± 20 ac/au) Grazing treatment at least 10 years

Continuously grazed tallgrass prairie at high SR

Rotationally grazed tallgrass prairie at high SR

Light Continuous Heavy Rotation

Bare ground (%) Bare Ground 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 a b Heavy Continuous Heavy Heavy Rotation Multi-camp P = 0.0006 b Light Continuous

Soil microbes Parameter Heavy continuous Grazing Management Light continuous Multipaddock Grazing exclosure Total bacteria (g m -2 ) 82a 74a 78a 98a Total fungi (g m -2 ) 97b 98b 174a 105ab Fungi to Bacteria ratio 1.2b 1.1b 3.1a 0.7b

Importance of Fungi Fungi provide: Access and transport nutrients Extend root volume and depth Exude glomalin to enhance soil C Increase water and nutrient retention Increase drought resistance Plant growth highest with highest fungal-bacterial ratio Killham 1994; Leake et al. 2004; Averill et al. 2014

Soil carbon and Water Relationship between soil organic carbon and soil water holding capacity (0-30 cm) Change in SOC concentration Change in OC stock (kg/m 2 ) Extra water holding (litres/ha) CO 2 sequestered (t/ha) 1% 4.2 168,000 154 2% 8.4 336,000 308 3% 12.6 504,000 462 4% 16.8 672,000 616 From Christine Jones 2006 Australia

Soil carbon, Nutrients and Water From north Texas, tallgrass prairie project (Teague et al. 2011) Parameter Heavy Continuous Light Continuous Multipaddock Organic Matter 3.1b 4.4b 4.86a Cation Exchange Capacity 24.6b 23.7b 27.4a Water holding (Gal/acre) 55,700 79,059 87,324

Biomass (kg ha -1 ) Tall Grasses 3000 2500 a P = 0.003 2000 1500 b 1000 500 b 0 Heavy Continuous Heavy Heavy Rotation Light Continuous Multi-camp

Biomass (kg ha -1 ) Mid Grasses 2500 2000 P = 0.188 ab a 1500 1000 500 0 b Heavy Continuous Heavy Heavy Rotation Light Continuous Multi-camp

Biomass (kg ha -1 ) Annual Forbs 600 500 a P = 0.014 400 300 200 100 0 b Heavy Continuous Heavy Heavy Rotation Multi-camp b Light Continuous

Conclusions Successful multi-paddocks managers use: Flexible stocking to match forage availability and animal numbers Spread grazing over whole ranch Moderate grazing during growing season Short graze periods Allow recovery before regrazing Graze again before forage too mature Use multiple livestock species

We must focus on: Restoring Ecosystem Function To sustain livelihoods and the delivery of ecosystem goods and services, Managers should aim to enhance the health and socio-ecological resilience of ecosystems Healthy rangelands are considerably more productive, stable and resilient than those in poorer condition

Management Principles Plan and execute the plan Manage for what you want Manage to create where you want to be Adjust with changes Be flexible and proactive Treat causes not symptoms

Many Grass farmers use MP grazing successfully Most conservation award winners use MP grazing END