Highly variable precipitation in western U.S. rangelands makes it challenging for ranchers to mat... more Highly variable precipitation in western U.S. rangelands makes it challenging for ranchers to match animal demand to forage supply. Flexible stocking can enhance matching, thereby reducing losses during drought and increasing profit during wet years. Yet the benefits of flexible stocking depend on the availability of highly accurate and applicable seasonal climate outlooks. The availability and skill of seasonal climate outlooks is summarized, revealing shortcomings that make flexible stocking less practical and less beneficial. A new grassland productivity forecast, Grass-Cast, can facilitate flexible stocking by translating climate outlooks into more applicable summer forage outlooks, and its strengths and limitations are described.
Journal of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, 2016
One alternative to a cow-calf-yearling operation is a stocker operation. Relative profitability o... more One alternative to a cow-calf-yearling operation is a stocker operation. Relative profitability of cow-calf-yearling versus stockers is well documented. Little is known, however, about the economics of the transition process itself. We analyze benefits, costs, and risks of switching from cow-calf-yearling to stockers over a one-year versus seven-year transition period. Results show a gradual transition is superior to an abrupt transition. A gradual transition to stockers generates more net present value than cowcalf-yearlings, given a sufficiently high discount rate or short planning horizon. Farm managers and consultants should include transition-period benefits and costs when analyzing alternative enterprises.
PART 1. ADOPTING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH - Taking a Landscape Approach to Integrating Nature and Cul... more PART 1. ADOPTING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH - Taking a Landscape Approach to Integrating Nature and Culture /// In the US Great Plains, multigenerational ranching livelihoods and grassland biodiversity are threatened by dynamic and uncertain climatic, economic, and land use processes. Working apart, agricultural and conservation communities face doubtful prospects of reaching their individual goals for multispecies sustainability. This study documents the journey of a group of public lands managers, conservationists, ranchers and researchers re-imagining and practicing a different future for the rangelands of the US Western Great Plains. Formed in 2012, the team manages an experimental cattle ranch on the shortgrass steppe (the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado) via collaborative adaptive rangeland management (CARM). We examine the processes used for a series of meetings to revise management objectives (2016-2018). We do so through the lens of the natureculture concept. ...
... 2004; Taylor and Young 1995; Turner and Perry 1997), and 4) uncertainty with inter-year dynam... more ... 2004; Taylor and Young 1995; Turner and Perry 1997), and 4) uncertainty with inter-year dynamics (and in some cases intra-year dynamics as well) (Toft and O ... Economic parameters, such as the interest and discount rates, play an important role in the solution?s characteristics. ...
Survey instruments were developed to collect information from sheep and goat producers in four we... more Survey instruments were developed to collect information from sheep and goat producers in four western states (Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming) about their livestock production, marketing, transportation, and disease management practices. Resulting information is intended for use by USDA-APHIS to update a national model of potential disease spread during a hypothetical outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) or other highly contagious animal diseases. Beyond the primary purpose, the survey data can be used to paint a more nuanced picture of current sheep and goat production and marketing practices in the region. Markets for meat, fiber, dairy as well as grazing services are evolving and the information provided by producers is a valuable resource for understanding these changes in the region.
Highly variable precipitation in western U.S. rangelands makes it challenging for ranchers to mat... more Highly variable precipitation in western U.S. rangelands makes it challenging for ranchers to match animal demand to forage supply. Flexible stocking can enhance matching, thereby reducing losses during drought and increasing profit during wet years. Yet the benefits of flexible stocking depend on the availability of highly accurate and applicable seasonal climate outlooks. The availability and skill of seasonal climate outlooks is summarized, revealing shortcomings that make flexible stocking less practical and less beneficial. A new grassland productivity forecast, Grass-Cast, can facilitate flexible stocking by translating climate outlooks into more applicable summer forage outlooks, and its strengths and limitations are described.
Journal of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, 2016
One alternative to a cow-calf-yearling operation is a stocker operation. Relative profitability o... more One alternative to a cow-calf-yearling operation is a stocker operation. Relative profitability of cow-calf-yearling versus stockers is well documented. Little is known, however, about the economics of the transition process itself. We analyze benefits, costs, and risks of switching from cow-calf-yearling to stockers over a one-year versus seven-year transition period. Results show a gradual transition is superior to an abrupt transition. A gradual transition to stockers generates more net present value than cowcalf-yearlings, given a sufficiently high discount rate or short planning horizon. Farm managers and consultants should include transition-period benefits and costs when analyzing alternative enterprises.
PART 1. ADOPTING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH - Taking a Landscape Approach to Integrating Nature and Cul... more PART 1. ADOPTING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH - Taking a Landscape Approach to Integrating Nature and Culture /// In the US Great Plains, multigenerational ranching livelihoods and grassland biodiversity are threatened by dynamic and uncertain climatic, economic, and land use processes. Working apart, agricultural and conservation communities face doubtful prospects of reaching their individual goals for multispecies sustainability. This study documents the journey of a group of public lands managers, conservationists, ranchers and researchers re-imagining and practicing a different future for the rangelands of the US Western Great Plains. Formed in 2012, the team manages an experimental cattle ranch on the shortgrass steppe (the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado) via collaborative adaptive rangeland management (CARM). We examine the processes used for a series of meetings to revise management objectives (2016-2018). We do so through the lens of the natureculture concept. ...
... 2004; Taylor and Young 1995; Turner and Perry 1997), and 4) uncertainty with inter-year dynam... more ... 2004; Taylor and Young 1995; Turner and Perry 1997), and 4) uncertainty with inter-year dynamics (and in some cases intra-year dynamics as well) (Toft and O ... Economic parameters, such as the interest and discount rates, play an important role in the solution?s characteristics. ...
Survey instruments were developed to collect information from sheep and goat producers in four we... more Survey instruments were developed to collect information from sheep and goat producers in four western states (Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming) about their livestock production, marketing, transportation, and disease management practices. Resulting information is intended for use by USDA-APHIS to update a national model of potential disease spread during a hypothetical outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) or other highly contagious animal diseases. Beyond the primary purpose, the survey data can be used to paint a more nuanced picture of current sheep and goat production and marketing practices in the region. Markets for meat, fiber, dairy as well as grazing services are evolving and the information provided by producers is a valuable resource for understanding these changes in the region.
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