Feeding What Feeds Us
Post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Caroline Guerry
During the spring semester, as we were learning more and more about the details of this course, I was confident in my knowledge of beef cattle and the beef industry. I have since been proven wrong because I have learned more these past few days about beef cattle and their production than I have in years of working on my family’s small cattle operation in South Carolina. I’ve learned that a cow’s dietary needs are a lot greater than just grass, there are management techniques that can be applied specifically for cattle, and that it takes a lot of hard work to go from the pasture to the plate.
Our first day with Dr. Lascano was spent learning the basics of rangeland management and herbivore nutrition. We learned that grasses, forbs, and shrubs all have different qualities of nutrients that are necessary for a cow’s healthy diet. To completely understand the details of ruminant nutrition, one must have a background in fields such as microbiology, botany, chemistry, and the beef cattle industry. Cattle nutrition goes through several changes from the time they are born, to their arrival at a processor. Calves start off by drinking the milk from their mothers until their rumens are completely developed and they can begin the weaning process and begin a diet based solely on vegetation. When the cow’s time at the ranch has come to an end, they must transition to a diet of silage and hay. Theses are both higher in protein than the grasses they are used to. These also increase the amount of intramuscular fat, which makes the meat a higher quality. I had never witnessed the latter stages of a cow’s nutrition. It was eye opening to see just how complex their digestive system is, and how modern technology is allowing us to closely monitor ruminant nutrition so that they can be as efficient as possible.
The next morning a forester and rangeland management specialist from the Bureau of Land Management visited us and talked to us about their careers and their daily responsibilities. They also took us around the ranch so that we could see the management techniques that had been put in place to increase the ranch’s grazing area while still keeping some of the mature trees for wildlife purposes. On the High Meadow’s ranch, most of the meadows where the cattle graze is surrounded by dense Ponderosa Pine stands. These stands not only limit the grazing area, but they’re also a potential fire hazard. Since most years are extremely dry, a single lightning strike could potential cause a massive crown fire that could destroy thousands of acres in a single day. It was interesting to see the management techniques that were in use and the thought behind those prescriptions. That afternoon we met with Terry Frost who runs the Segar’s ranch as well as his own which is right beside the High Meadows Ranch. He shared with us the details about his ranch and all that he does in order to have the healthiest herd possible. I was amazed at the amount of work that the Forests put into their cattle. It helped me to understand why the ranchers and farmers in this part of the country feel the way they do about wildlife. When raising beef cattle is your livelihood and you put so much time and effort into them, any potential threat to their wellbeing negatively affects you as well. I can also understand how it can be frustrating when so many people automatically side with wildlife without looking from the rancher’s perspective. So much of a rancher’s work goes without recognition.
The next afternoon we put those management prescriptions to the test. We went to six different sites where trees had been cut the previous year and collected vegetation samples. The samples will be shipped back to Clemson and compared to those from last year to see if the forage quality and quantity have changed since. I had never been apart of a study like this one before and we were able to see how it was created and the steps that were taken in order to replicate it as closely as possible to last year.
Our last day with Dr. Lascano, we traveled to one of the largest feedlots in the state of Montana. On our tour we saw the massive amounts of silage and the complex system that was used to make sure that all the cows were fed the proper sustenance that we had learned about over the past few days. Since most of the feedlots in out country are in the Midwest, I had never seen one before and it was enlightening to witness the final stages of beef cattle production. I knew that once or cows were sold they went somewhere like this but it was a great experience to actually be there and see it.
These past few days I’ve learned so much about beef cattle and the beef industry in the United States. I’ve been fortunate to see the process of how our beef is raised and produced. So many people don’t realize that there are people like Terry Frost that work day in and day out to make sure that we can have the highest quality meat possible. I now understand that the relationship between ranchers and wildlife is more complicated than I originally thought. When something can affect your livelihood, its difficult not to have a negative attitude towards it.
During the spring semester, as we were learning more and more about the details of this course, I was confident in my knowledge of beef cattle and the beef industry. I have since been proven wrong because I have learned more these past few days about beef cattle and their production than I have in years of working on my family’s small cattle operation in South Carolina. I’ve learned that a cow’s dietary needs are a lot greater than just grass, there are management techniques that can be applied specifically for cattle, and that it takes a lot of hard work to go from the pasture to the plate.
Our first day with Dr. Lascano was spent learning the basics of rangeland management and herbivore nutrition. We learned that grasses, forbs, and shrubs all have different qualities of nutrients that are necessary for a cow’s healthy diet. To completely understand the details of ruminant nutrition, one must have a background in fields such as microbiology, botany, chemistry, and the beef cattle industry. Cattle nutrition goes through several changes from the time they are born, to their arrival at a processor. Calves start off by drinking the milk from their mothers until their rumens are completely developed and they can begin the weaning process and begin a diet based solely on vegetation. When the cow’s time at the ranch has come to an end, they must transition to a diet of silage and hay. Theses are both higher in protein than the grasses they are used to. These also increase the amount of intramuscular fat, which makes the meat a higher quality. I had never witnessed the latter stages of a cow’s nutrition. It was eye opening to see just how complex their digestive system is, and how modern technology is allowing us to closely monitor ruminant nutrition so that they can be as efficient as possible.The next morning a forester and rangeland management specialist from the Bureau of Land Management visited us and talked to us about their careers and their daily responsibilities. They also took us around the ranch so that we could see the management techniques that had been put in place to increase the ranch’s grazing area while still keeping some of the mature trees for wildlife purposes. On the High Meadow’s ranch, most of the meadows where the cattle graze is surrounded by dense Ponderosa Pine stands. These stands not only limit the grazing area, but they’re also a potential fire hazard. Since most years are extremely dry, a single lightning strike could potential cause a massive crown fire that could destroy thousands of acres in a single day. It was interesting to see the management techniques that were in use and the thought behind those prescriptions. That afternoon we met with Terry Frost who runs the Segar’s ranch as well as his own which is right beside the High Meadows Ranch. He shared with us the details about his ranch and all that he does in order to have the healthiest herd possible. I was amazed at the amount of work that the Forests put into their cattle. It helped me to understand why the ranchers and farmers in this part of the country feel the way they do about wildlife. When raising beef cattle is your livelihood and you put so much time and effort into them, any potential threat to their wellbeing negatively affects you as well. I can also understand how it can be frustrating when so many people automatically side with wildlife without looking from the rancher’s perspective. So much of a rancher’s work goes without recognition.
The next afternoon we put those management prescriptions to the test. We went to six different sites where trees had been cut the previous year and collected vegetation samples. The samples will be shipped back to Clemson and compared to those from last year to see if the forage quality and quantity have changed since. I had never been apart of a study like this one before and we were able to see how it was created and the steps that were taken in order to replicate it as closely as possible to last year.
Our last day with Dr. Lascano, we traveled to one of the largest feedlots in the state of Montana. On our tour we saw the massive amounts of silage and the complex system that was used to make sure that all the cows were fed the proper sustenance that we had learned about over the past few days. Since most of the feedlots in out country are in the Midwest, I had never seen one before and it was enlightening to witness the final stages of beef cattle production. I knew that once or cows were sold they went somewhere like this but it was a great experience to actually be there and see it.These past few days I’ve learned so much about beef cattle and the beef industry in the United States. I’ve been fortunate to see the process of how our beef is raised and produced. So many people don’t realize that there are people like Terry Frost that work day in and day out to make sure that we can have the highest quality meat possible. I now understand that the relationship between ranchers and wildlife is more complicated than I originally thought. When something can affect your livelihood, its difficult not to have a negative attitude towards it.
