Items Tagged With Grazing

There is so much talk about our dependence on foreign oil right now. The debate on Tuesday really showed how Americans, regardless of party affiliation, are not comfortable with our dependence on oil. Being green is not about being trendy any longer; it is a matter of national security, not to mention preserving our planet. One statistic really speaks to me: the fact that we consume 25% of the world’s oil and we only make up 8% of the world’s population. Many nations aspire to be like us, and with developing nations like China and India nipping at our heels, we need to present better solutions, ones that use less oil and are more sustainable.

Grass-fed farming is such a solution. Meat production in the United States is a fuel- hungry enterprise, reliant on fossil fuel at every point in its industrial process. Granted there are many industries that use oil in our country, but our agricultural sector is one of the worst and accounts for 25% of our oil consumption.  We subsidize both oil and food, so it is difficult to see the real cost that goes into “growing” food in this country.  We have been immune to the real cost for decades, but with rising oil prices, we are starting to get a glimpse of how much oil goes into producing food, and particularly meat.  Mark Bitman really brought this point home with an article that asks us to rethink how we produce meat.

Why is grass-fed farming such a smart solution? Because grass-fed farming at its core is about converting the sun’s energy into food.  There is minimal need for fossil fuels because under the farmer’s stewardship his pastures or rangelands convert sun into grass, and the cow converts the grass into healthy, high quality protein. In this process, we all benefit: the pasture and rangeland eat up CO2’s and the cows do not require antibiotics, nor do the fields need fertilizers (which require alarming amounts of fossil fuels to make).  The system is just smart.  Another benefit of grass-fed farming is its frugality.  Because the grass-fed farmer uses the sun for energy, his cost is far less then a conventional farmer’s, whose whole process is dependent on fossil fuels.  Grass-fed farming translates into financial independence for farmers, and a chance to compete in our commodity- driven agricultural sector. 

What are your thoughts?  Do you think that America is ready for grass-fed change?

From my personal experience as a farmer’s daughter and one who has seen family farms disappear in my beloved upstate New York, I say, YES, we are!  Farmers want to take their money back; they need to make a profit. They do not want to spend thousands on fertilizer and GMO corn patents. I really think this nation is RIPE for change. It is just a matter of getting our politicians on board and empowering farmers to make the change. 

Race King is the hard-working ranch manager at the La Cense Ranch.  When I talked to him today, he had just come in from getting more straw bales out to the cows for shelter from the wind.  He said that it had been below zero last weekend, getting down to 30 below at night, and they were preparing the best windbreaks and strawbale shelter for the cows and calves in the lowlands.   In this interview, Race talks about the La Cense Ranch, the value of rotational grazing, how grass-fed practices preserve the heritage of ranching, and the quality of character found in the ranching community.

What makes the La Cense Ranch unique?

I think it’s a combination of many things that make us unique.  It’s the landscape, the size of our operation, the managed intensive grazing, the high quality forages found in our area, the low-stress animal handling, the natural resources available for the wildlife that provide a natural well-balanced system, the Angus genetics, the time honored ranching practices we utilize.  One of the big things we have is the strong commitment from the people here at the ranch, from the management to the people out doing the every day things.  We have an operation where we can raise the animals, and package them and send them on, and that’s very unique.

How is grazing necessary to maintaining a healthy ecosystem on the La Cense Ranch?

Well first of all, we’ve been able to use managed rotational grazing to increase plant health and plant density while increasing grass production on the ranch and additionally have a positive impact on the creeks and streams.  It’s just not realistic to not rotational graze.  It’s totally necessary.  Otherwise we’d have rampant wildfires.  Grazing needs to be managed and we do that by allowing rest periods between grazing.  We believe grazing is important for the overall health of the landscape.  If we can ensure a good quality pasture to where it stays healthy, we will also help the wildlife as they pass though.  They’ll have good quality forage, with our warm and cools season grasses.  With the managed grazing, we’re also able to put more pressure on noxious weeds.

How did you know you wanted to go into the ranching profession?  Did you grow-up on a ranch?

I did.  I grew up on a family farm and ranch operation.  From a very early age I knew that my passion lied in ranching.  I liked working with livestock.  I admire the strong moral character and work ethic of ranching.  I enjoy it, and it allows me to raise my family in the midst of that, and it’s something they can share as well.

What barriers may prevent other Montana ranchers from being able to produce or sell grass-fed beef?

I think the biggest thing is the marketing side of it.  I think many of the ranchers in the state could produce the product.  The costs are a little higher, but we could get more out of it.  As the market grows I think there will be more who could step up and produce it.

When we talked recently, you said the La Cense Ranch is “preserving the heritage of ranching.”   What wealth lies in the heritage of ranching?

Well it’s part of our lifestyle.  My family has been involved in agriculture as have a lot of us in this country.  When you step back and look at how to do things in a more sustainable manner, and then you do research on the history, you’ll find out you’re doing it a lot like they did fifty, or a hundred years ago.  We’re focusing more on the range and the pasture.  We really have become grass-farmers, if you will.  If you look back, they had a little bit of hay put up for feed in the winter and that was all.  I think this is how we’ll be able to preserve the heritage.  It’s allowed us to come back to the roots of ranching.

There have been technological developments that have allowed us to blend old and new and come up with a sustainable concept.  And with that, we’re able to lower costs, we have less inputs, and we can increase animal health and performance.  There have been some good technologies to build on the roots of our heritage.  I think the bottom line is that ranchers and farmers in this country are good people; we care about our animals and the quality of our products.  As we produce more of these sustainably raised products, people will be board and more family farmers will be able to switch over to sustainable production.   People will have to pay a little more to get this, but for now we’re satisfied to reach a few folks who share our philosophy.

What do ranchers bring to a community?

Well first of all, ethics, values, they’re just strong people.  If you live in a small town it’s nice to have the scenery, but it’s the people around us who affect who we are.  It really takes a whole community to raise a child and the kids who come out of these communities do a great job wherever they go.  There’s a strong work ethic they come out with. 

 The number one industry in Dillon and Montana is still agriculture.  Not only is it the heart of the economy, but it's also socially who we are.  I guess you’d say it’s the backbone.  I don’t want to see us getting to the point where all our food is imported.  I know the people who are making our food and I think that it’s important to keep that industry here in America.

La Cense Ranch cowboys and kids at the recent Ranch Christmas Party, photo by Armelle Buvron 

The Great Plains of the United States are majestic.  They also represent one of the most unique and interesting ecosystems in America.   The American Prairie might not get as much attention as the Rocky Mountains or the Pacific Ocean but they are just as spectacular.  Traditionally, the Great Plains’ prairie sustained millions of roving buffalo that grazed and kept the prairies healthy and vibrant; in turn a thick blanket of grass protected the plains from desertification, soil erosion and drought. In fact grassland can survive drought for decades while traditional crops perish.  The great Dust Bowl of the 1930’s was a catastrophic example of how tillage crops and drought can result in whole scale environmental exhaustion. This is not the case when prairie land  is covered with grass, and grazed by animals like cattle or bison; the grass creates a thick protective barrier against the grueling sun and keeps the valuable topsoil and water in the ground. 

This is what is so exciting about grass-fed farming, not just is it sustainable but when it is done in places like the prairie of the great plains it is far better for the environment then the growth of soybeans or grains. Not only does grass-covered prairie eat up more than double the amount of CO2 than cropland does they also stave of soil erosion and desertification---which is something cropland exacerbates.  In fact, when environmentalists talk about the toll meat takes on the environment, and the amount of CO2 that are produced in the process, they are speaking about the amount of fossil fuels that go into growing grain to feed livestock. Grass-fed farming is about harnessing the power of the sun and turning the sun into meat.  Not only that, the cattle that graze the prairie are actually helping the ecosystem that they graze: they are part of the ecosystem.

The Great Plains were made for grazing and that is why it is such a perfect sustainable story. Rotational grazing, when done right, can bring the prairie back to its former glory all the while producing high quality protein that is not only healthy for us, it is healthy for the heartland!

There is a movement in ranching called Holistic Resource Management or HRM which could be the key to saving the American west's rangeland. Erosion and desertification has become a huge threat and happens when land is overgrazed, over tilled or generally mismanaged. In America alone, 223 million acres have turned to dessert with almost 500 million acres in danger.  American range land  has become a point of contention between ranchers and environmentalists and yet HRM offers a way to satisfy both groups. Ranchers do not want their land to turn to desert and the same is true of environmentalists--- the key is proper grazing.  Intensive grazing of large ruminants, like cattle, is essential to combating desertification. Many scientists warn that the west is becoming drier, with many drier years ahead which makes rethinking and rebuilding our range land even more important. Historically, Bison used to roam the west and were an integral part grassland health.  By employing the holistic resource management method we can use the same principles to ensure that the American grasslands are preserved all the while helping ranchers raise cattle.

The secret to this whole system is movement--- the movement of hooves to be exact.  Allan Savory, a holistic resource management pioneer and African native, was fascinated by the decay process in what he coined “brittle” and “non-brittle” environments. Our northeast, with its lush pastures and cold winters, would be considered a non-brittle environment where the decay process is quick, a cow pie is rapidly absorbed into the eco system, and the pasture is robust.  In the Northeast, a pasture will turn to forest if a farmer does not manage it but in the west it will turn to dessert. The American west is a brittle system where decay is slow and laborious and grassland, without the help of large hoved ruminants, is almost impossible. However, with proper management whether it be with cattle or bison, grasslands can not only prosper, they can withstand prolonged drought. Properly managed grassland are natures defense against erosion and desertification.  The American west was home to bison before the western cattle was introduced, there were severe droughts and wild fires but the grasslands persisted and sustained millions of bison. The reason was that they bison would eat only 75 percent of the grass, and leave fertilizer in the form of bison pies and then  break up  topsoil with their weighty hooves.  In there wake an ideal seedbed was left and the grass flourished. They were helping the “brittle” environment to decay, making the grasslands more productive and staving off the desert. The HRM method of ranching relies on these same principles instead of predators moving the large herds of bison, the rancher does, using fencing and rotational grazing practices that help the decay processes.  It is a beautiful system, one that is based on balance.