Oh My Montana
Post by Clemson Undergraduate Sara Jayne Wint
Additionally, I learned from the symposium about another threat to Montana grazing: high rates of woody plant encroachment. According to research from students at Montana State University, the rangelands are the most threatened biomes, and woody plant encroachment could potentially wipe out native grasses. This would also reduce the cows’ ability to graze. They explained that the encroachment is most likely due to high and intense grazing, leading to less grass and fuel for fire, and an opportunity for the woody plants to proliferate. It not only affects ranching but causes a decrease in grassland birds as well. However, I was happy to hear that conservation policies are emerging in response to the intensification of farming and ranching. For example, species conservation practices and grazing lease buyouts are becoming increasingly popular.
Another interesting topic from the symposium was the increasing technology related to drones. It was amazing to me that we are now developing software that can detect not only species of plants and animals, but their sex, populations, and biomass. This could revolutionize conservation by providing a standardized data collection process across the United States. It could even alter the way ranchers manage their land by detecting plant species, water levels in troughs, and even more. This relates to when John Pfister, extension agent, told us that ranchers are fantastic stewards of the land, but simply decide that they do not have time to record what they observe. He said, “ranchers seem to have developed this mindset of ‘I’ll do it later.’” But if they were able to let the drones do the work for them, the data collected for conservation and other research efforts could be much more accurate.
From
my animal science classes at Clemson, I thought I knew a good bit about beef
cattle practices. One thing that I never thought about was the harsh winter and
snow that would prevent the cattle from being able to graze. In South Carolina,
cattle are able to graze about eight to nine months of the year. In contrast,
quality grazing in Montana is only available to ranchers during the summer
months. During 150 days of the year, ranchers solely depend on hay to provide
forage for their cows. Under abnormal circumstances when winter lasts longer
than expected, it can lead to a lot of trouble for a rancher. Seeing pictures
of snow in Montana reminds me of the chapter of Breaking Clean in which
an extreme winter wipes out half of Judy Blunt’s family’s cows. With regards to
forage, ranchers may not be able to afford purchasing more hay for the rest of
the winter, or it may not be easily accessible to purchase more hay.
Additionally, I learned from the symposium about another threat to Montana grazing: high rates of woody plant encroachment. According to research from students at Montana State University, the rangelands are the most threatened biomes, and woody plant encroachment could potentially wipe out native grasses. This would also reduce the cows’ ability to graze. They explained that the encroachment is most likely due to high and intense grazing, leading to less grass and fuel for fire, and an opportunity for the woody plants to proliferate. It not only affects ranching but causes a decrease in grassland birds as well. However, I was happy to hear that conservation policies are emerging in response to the intensification of farming and ranching. For example, species conservation practices and grazing lease buyouts are becoming increasingly popular.
Another interesting topic from the symposium was the increasing technology related to drones. It was amazing to me that we are now developing software that can detect not only species of plants and animals, but their sex, populations, and biomass. This could revolutionize conservation by providing a standardized data collection process across the United States. It could even alter the way ranchers manage their land by detecting plant species, water levels in troughs, and even more. This relates to when John Pfister, extension agent, told us that ranchers are fantastic stewards of the land, but simply decide that they do not have time to record what they observe. He said, “ranchers seem to have developed this mindset of ‘I’ll do it later.’” But if they were able to let the drones do the work for them, the data collected for conservation and other research efforts could be much more accurate.
Furthermore, I was very interested in learning
about grassbanking at the symposium. From the way we talked about it in class,
I thought grassbanking was a widespread concept. However, the Matador Ranch is
the only grassbanking ranch in the United States. The idea seems like a perfect
solution to the difficulty of ranching and the issue of the dying culture. We
were told that the grassbanking program would be a great start for new
ranchers, and later allow them to buy their own ranches. Another advantage to
grassbanking was its ability to give discounts to ranchers that follow wildlife
friendly practices For example, there is a discount if you have prairie dogs on
your property or use pronghorn-tolerant fencing. However, I was shocked to
learn that the only grassbanking community was the Matador Ranch. Although it
seems like a wonderful solution to the dying ranching culture and the conflict
between ranching and conservation, I wonder if it is too late, since there are
not other ones like it yet. I definitely look forward to hearing the American
Prairie Reserve’s point of view and hearing what they have to say.
