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New grazing system called success
TURTLE LAKE N.D. (AP)--In the early 1980s, Gene Goven noticed his cattle spent all of their time in one place, grazing on the tender regrowth of their favorite plant species and ignoring the rest.
The favored plants eventually dwindled and nonnative species thrived, resulting in less plant diversity and unhealthy soil.
After studying the land and the cattle, Goven came up with a new grazing system. He divided his two pastures into 18 smaller plots and gave the cattle only 10 to 15 days in each pasture. As a result, he was able to boost the grazing season by nearly 100 days.
Goven is one of a few ranchers in the state who employs a technique called intensive rotational grazing, which scientists say is better for the land, cattle and wildlife.
Rotational grazing puts more livestock in smaller areas for shorter periods of time than the traditional season-long method. It emulates the grazing pattern of bison herds, which was a proven winner on the plains, Goven said.
"It's a system of high intensity for short periods of time," said Jim Richardson, soil scientist at North Dakota State University. "You go like crazy, then let (the pasture) sit and allow the plants to regenerate. Ranchers can actually do very well with this kind of system."
Richardson traveled from Fargo to Turtle Lake in 1990 to see the results firsthand. It was during a drought, he said, and Goven's neighbors had dry wetlands and brown pastures. The Goven ranch, however, retained its green and soaked up water more efficiently when rain did come.
A study of Goven's land showed root depth improved from 3 to 4 inches to between 12 and 40 inches. The native plants thrived, going from one species of grass to 11.
Gary Sandness, an environmental scientist with the state health department, said rotational grazing also has beneficial hydrological effects.
On undergrazed or overgrazed pasture, he said, water runs off the surface unimpeded. But with well-managed grazing, more water infiltrates the land.
That helps plant growth and lessens flooding on creeks and rivers, thereby decreasing erosion. When the water does make it through the soil to the waterways, it is filtered and cleaner.
Though the rotational system is catching on, it's doing so slowly. Of the 13.5 million acres of rangeland in North Dakota, only about 10 percent to 20 percent are actively involved in rotational grazing, said Jeff Printz, a state range conservationist.
But ranchers such as Goven and Gabe Brown, who has cattle east of Bismarck, are helping to spread the word.
They're involved in the Grazing Management Mentoring Network, part of the state Private Grazing Lands Coalition. Mentors provide advice based on what they've seen work on their own land.
Date: 9/23/04
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