Montana is a Beef State
Guest post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Amber Moore
As the days of being in Montana are flying by, we land at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, being led by Dr. Scott. Montana State University is a land-grant university, just like Clemson University, and is the largest university in Montana. Upon arrival, we were able to meet with Dr. Tim DelCurto who is over Range Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management, as well as Dr. Bok Sowell, who teaches about Rangeland Ecology. It was particularly nice to have someone from both the Animal Science department, as well as the Range Science department, since they ultimately should work together. It was fascinating because they both exclaimed how vital it was for them to be in the same department since people working with animals should be able to know what the animal is eating, how much it is eating, and other range necessities, and vice versa. Touring Montana State made me want to transfer because I loved the campus and the people there so much!
Dr. Sowell’s first words were that we need to start quantifying the areas we live in to give us a better understanding of, for example, something like how much land is available for 100 head of cattle to graze, so that overgrazing doesn’t occur and that there is enough resources around for the livestock as well as the wildlife. Montana is roughly 94 million acres and is considered a rural state, with roughly six people per acre. Of those acres, Montana has 59.8 acres of land invested in farms and ranches. Just like South Carolina, Montana differs in precipitation levels, resulting in different levels of vegetation throughout the state. The eastern and western regions of the state is separated by the Continental Divide, which causes them to experience different climates; the western region is influenced strongly by mild air from the Pacific coast and the east has much harsher weather. Dr. Sowell exclaimed that the west will have a milder climate, warmer winters, cooler summers, lighter winds, and rainfall that will be evenly distributed through the course of the year than the east. The eastern region of Montana tends to have hotter summers and colder winters, but will have less humidity and typically more sunny days. Precipitation is key in determining the amount of forage that is going to be present for the animals to graze, and how many can graze that specific area. The time frame for rainfall in the state is between May and July, but is generally light; the east will get around 10 to 15 inches a year, while the western part will receive 18 inches of rainfall.
Carrying capacity is heavily influenced by precipitation. Carrying capacity is the number of animals that are allowed to graze a piece of land that can support them long term while maintaining or improving the rangeland resources. Carrying capacity is determined by: the characteristics of the land being used, what vegetation the land has, and the type of soil that is present. As Dr. Sowell stated, roughly 2/3 of the state has a carrying capacity of a 1,000 pound cow per three acres, with it equaling 35-40 acres per year, with exceptions to areas that contain more or less resources. One key point that was mentioned was that all resources are finite, which is very important due to overgrazing occurring or a weather accident that could happen at any time. Ranchers know for a fact that climate change is occurring because they continually see their carrying capacity change over the years due to it, so they are always on their toes in managing their resources, while looking for ways to save them. According to Dr. Sowell, the number one land use in Montana is grazing use; which I believe is accurate since there are more cows than people (roughly 2 to 3 cows per person) and millions of wildlife that are required to graze, such as elk or bison.
As if it wasn’t clear to us already, Montana is considered to be a beef state, with over 2.6 million head of beef cattle present. Just beef cattle. The majority of the cattle that are present have a British origin since they produce less milk, which is needed since they need to wean their young off quickly to contain more nutrients for themselves. Dr. DelCurto stated that roughly 80% of cattle are culled because they don’t have enough nutrients to breed back. It is important to the ranching operations in Montana to have a calf per cow per year, and if that cow is not performing and doing what it needs to do, then it is time for it to be culled so that the rancher won’t be wasting his money that could be going towards other important things. I learned so much in the short hour and a half about Montana and Montana State University, and was even taught how to calculate carrying capacity. But one thing that stuck out the most in the talk is how both professor kept referring back to how important and rare it is that they are able to have wildlife, animal science, and rangeland all under the same department called, Animal and Range Science. They reiterated how one profession will not be successful without the other; just someone studying animal science and the workings of an animal, will be more successful in the long run if they know the plants on the range, the wildlife that will be coexisting with the livestock, and how to manage the resources provided by the range. This made me even happier to be taking this course because I would not be able to learn about what the wildlife and environmental students need to know and how what they are learning will also be important in my line of work, working with animals.
Just when I thought that I couldn’t fall even more in love with Montana State University, we visited the Montana State Wool Lab. Sheep are by far my favorite animal to work with, but Clemson only has meat-breed sheep, so this experience was new and exciting to learn about the other byproduct of sheep. The lab was established by the sheep producers of Montana to serve the sheep industry. Andrew Williams, the manager of the lab, had said that it all began in the winter of 1886-1887, when 500,000 steers perished, while the sheep persevered. The sheep population increased to roughly six million at this time in Montana since people realized how resilient they were; the population is now around 200,000. The neighboring states of Montana collectively have one million head of sheep, making up 20% of the sheep in the United States. Another fascinating fact about the Wool Lab is that it is one of only two research wool labs in the United States, with the other being at Texas A&M. Where MSU has an upper hand is that it has the most advanced technological equipment for measuring fiber diameter of the wool. The lab has made a huge impact in improving Montana’s wool quality and educating the public on how beneficial sheep are economically, as well as environmentally since they will typically graze what others won’t. Andrew stated that a mature ewe will have about 18 pounds of fleece, changing with the breed of sheep. Targhee and Rambouillet are a couple of the breeds that are housed at Montana State, and they are considered dual-purpose since they are able to provide both wool and meat. One cool project that the Wool Lab is currently working on is with the USDA on a Fine Wool Project to find products that feel better next to the skin, with sheep breeds like the Rambouillet or Merino that produce fine wool; they want customers to purchase more wool products, but most shy away from wool because it feel itchy against the skin. They are also working with the Department of Defense and Under Armour to produce products that go under soldiers clothing that reduces the heat if they were to get shot; wool has to be put into 1300 degree Celsius heat to burn, making it a fantastic product to be used. One major challenge that the lab is seeing is that there are not enough ewes, which I thought was strange seeing as to how they have a higher carrying capacity and are able to withstand so much. Another fascinating part of the tour of the lab was Andrew showing us the process of getting wool from a producer to getting them their test results back, which takes a good bit of work, but is vital to the producer so that they know how to improve and get the most out of their sheep and wool. I never realized how much work goes into wool products, but the tour of the lab showed me the time and effort that goes into making the customer happy when they purchase a wool product, all of the way from the breed of the sheep, to it being formed into a product.
The day of touring the beautiful campus and facilities of Montana State University was still not over. We were able to tour their meat science lab, which was on a much smaller scale than the one that Clemson has, which meant that they were only able to process finished meat animals to items like sausage or ham. Clemson is able to process whole animals and allows students to see the process from life to death to it being someone’s meal. From there, we went and toured the amazing Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm or BART Farm. The farm consists of 430 acres and houses the Horseshoeing School, Equine Center, Beef Center, and much more. While here, we were able to experience their rumen-cannulated cows, which are used in the research of mainly forage nutrition and microbe production, because cows will only eat forage that is high quality, when humans cannot tell what is high quality to ruminants or what isn’t. Ruminants are one stomach animals that contain four separate compartments; they have a digestive system that allows them to digest plant material by a process called rumination, which is where they regurgitate and chew their food again as cud. Cattle and sheep are both considered ruminants, but there are many other animals that are also under that category. To conclude the tour, we transitioned over to another facility called Fort Ellis Research Farm. The research farm is situated on a historic U.S. Calvary fort, and has roughly 640 acres that are dedicated to range sheep studies. They are also conducting range forage research in several plots that the sheep are able to graze over when they are done with the research aspect; the plots show different growing scenarios while also trying to provide more organic forage for animals.
Touring Montana State’s Department of Animal and Range Science facilities and comparing it to Clemson’s animal facilities, showed how different the east does and has different animals than the west, which I would have never been able to experience in such vast detail and talk with the professors and managers to learn their views. My final thought when leaving and heading back to Roundup was, “Is it too late for me to transfer schools?” I just loved how they emphasized all aspects of animals and the range as one cohesive part of production and management, as well as the amount of research that the department does; where else can you hear a natural resource student say that they are doing research on grizzly bears with an animal science student who is looking to see if they have an effect on resources for livestock? I am treasuring everything that I learned and experienced while visiting the school, and am eager for what the rest of this Montana escapade entails and what other captivating information I will learn!
Dr. Sowell’s first words were that we need to start quantifying the areas we live in to give us a better understanding of, for example, something like how much land is available for 100 head of cattle to graze, so that overgrazing doesn’t occur and that there is enough resources around for the livestock as well as the wildlife. Montana is roughly 94 million acres and is considered a rural state, with roughly six people per acre. Of those acres, Montana has 59.8 acres of land invested in farms and ranches. Just like South Carolina, Montana differs in precipitation levels, resulting in different levels of vegetation throughout the state. The eastern and western regions of the state is separated by the Continental Divide, which causes them to experience different climates; the western region is influenced strongly by mild air from the Pacific coast and the east has much harsher weather. Dr. Sowell exclaimed that the west will have a milder climate, warmer winters, cooler summers, lighter winds, and rainfall that will be evenly distributed through the course of the year than the east. The eastern region of Montana tends to have hotter summers and colder winters, but will have less humidity and typically more sunny days. Precipitation is key in determining the amount of forage that is going to be present for the animals to graze, and how many can graze that specific area. The time frame for rainfall in the state is between May and July, but is generally light; the east will get around 10 to 15 inches a year, while the western part will receive 18 inches of rainfall.
Carrying capacity is heavily influenced by precipitation. Carrying capacity is the number of animals that are allowed to graze a piece of land that can support them long term while maintaining or improving the rangeland resources. Carrying capacity is determined by: the characteristics of the land being used, what vegetation the land has, and the type of soil that is present. As Dr. Sowell stated, roughly 2/3 of the state has a carrying capacity of a 1,000 pound cow per three acres, with it equaling 35-40 acres per year, with exceptions to areas that contain more or less resources. One key point that was mentioned was that all resources are finite, which is very important due to overgrazing occurring or a weather accident that could happen at any time. Ranchers know for a fact that climate change is occurring because they continually see their carrying capacity change over the years due to it, so they are always on their toes in managing their resources, while looking for ways to save them. According to Dr. Sowell, the number one land use in Montana is grazing use; which I believe is accurate since there are more cows than people (roughly 2 to 3 cows per person) and millions of wildlife that are required to graze, such as elk or bison.
As if it wasn’t clear to us already, Montana is considered to be a beef state, with over 2.6 million head of beef cattle present. Just beef cattle. The majority of the cattle that are present have a British origin since they produce less milk, which is needed since they need to wean their young off quickly to contain more nutrients for themselves. Dr. DelCurto stated that roughly 80% of cattle are culled because they don’t have enough nutrients to breed back. It is important to the ranching operations in Montana to have a calf per cow per year, and if that cow is not performing and doing what it needs to do, then it is time for it to be culled so that the rancher won’t be wasting his money that could be going towards other important things. I learned so much in the short hour and a half about Montana and Montana State University, and was even taught how to calculate carrying capacity. But one thing that stuck out the most in the talk is how both professor kept referring back to how important and rare it is that they are able to have wildlife, animal science, and rangeland all under the same department called, Animal and Range Science. They reiterated how one profession will not be successful without the other; just someone studying animal science and the workings of an animal, will be more successful in the long run if they know the plants on the range, the wildlife that will be coexisting with the livestock, and how to manage the resources provided by the range. This made me even happier to be taking this course because I would not be able to learn about what the wildlife and environmental students need to know and how what they are learning will also be important in my line of work, working with animals.
Just when I thought that I couldn’t fall even more in love with Montana State University, we visited the Montana State Wool Lab. Sheep are by far my favorite animal to work with, but Clemson only has meat-breed sheep, so this experience was new and exciting to learn about the other byproduct of sheep. The lab was established by the sheep producers of Montana to serve the sheep industry. Andrew Williams, the manager of the lab, had said that it all began in the winter of 1886-1887, when 500,000 steers perished, while the sheep persevered. The sheep population increased to roughly six million at this time in Montana since people realized how resilient they were; the population is now around 200,000. The neighboring states of Montana collectively have one million head of sheep, making up 20% of the sheep in the United States. Another fascinating fact about the Wool Lab is that it is one of only two research wool labs in the United States, with the other being at Texas A&M. Where MSU has an upper hand is that it has the most advanced technological equipment for measuring fiber diameter of the wool. The lab has made a huge impact in improving Montana’s wool quality and educating the public on how beneficial sheep are economically, as well as environmentally since they will typically graze what others won’t. Andrew stated that a mature ewe will have about 18 pounds of fleece, changing with the breed of sheep. Targhee and Rambouillet are a couple of the breeds that are housed at Montana State, and they are considered dual-purpose since they are able to provide both wool and meat. One cool project that the Wool Lab is currently working on is with the USDA on a Fine Wool Project to find products that feel better next to the skin, with sheep breeds like the Rambouillet or Merino that produce fine wool; they want customers to purchase more wool products, but most shy away from wool because it feel itchy against the skin. They are also working with the Department of Defense and Under Armour to produce products that go under soldiers clothing that reduces the heat if they were to get shot; wool has to be put into 1300 degree Celsius heat to burn, making it a fantastic product to be used. One major challenge that the lab is seeing is that there are not enough ewes, which I thought was strange seeing as to how they have a higher carrying capacity and are able to withstand so much. Another fascinating part of the tour of the lab was Andrew showing us the process of getting wool from a producer to getting them their test results back, which takes a good bit of work, but is vital to the producer so that they know how to improve and get the most out of their sheep and wool. I never realized how much work goes into wool products, but the tour of the lab showed me the time and effort that goes into making the customer happy when they purchase a wool product, all of the way from the breed of the sheep, to it being formed into a product.
Touring Montana State’s Department of Animal and Range Science facilities and comparing it to Clemson’s animal facilities, showed how different the east does and has different animals than the west, which I would have never been able to experience in such vast detail and talk with the professors and managers to learn their views. My final thought when leaving and heading back to Roundup was, “Is it too late for me to transfer schools?” I just loved how they emphasized all aspects of animals and the range as one cohesive part of production and management, as well as the amount of research that the department does; where else can you hear a natural resource student say that they are doing research on grizzly bears with an animal science student who is looking to see if they have an effect on resources for livestock? I am treasuring everything that I learned and experienced while visiting the school, and am eager for what the rest of this Montana escapade entails and what other captivating information I will learn!
