Grass! The Rancher’s Crop

by Thomas L. Flowers, District Conservationist
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS)
Meade, Kansas

Grass? The rancher’s crop? Wait a minute! Isn’t beef the rancher’s crop?

Any rancher worth his salt will tell you that even though beef pays the bills, grass produces the beef, so indeed, grass is the rancher’s crop.

Ranchers have to look at the long run if they want to stay in business. Abuse the grass crop this year, and you may pay the price for several years to come. The rancher must look at how many pounds of grass are being produced on his land and then use no more than half of that production to raise his cattle. To use more than half, may hurt the grass production for several years.

Grass must be cared for every bit as much as livestock. Neglect it, and it suffers every bit as much as a live animal.

So how do you go about raising grass instead of beef? One way is to develop a conservation plan with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Conservationists will come to your rangeland and develop a site specific plan for your land. Individual range sites produce differently. In Meade County, grass production can vary from 1,000 to over 6,000 pounds per acre per year depending on the range site. Obviously, management and stocking rate would be different on these sites.

A conservation plan will help you determine a stocking rate suitable for your land that either improves the grass condition or keeps it in its current condition. Stocking rates will be based upon grass production and livestock requirements. A steer will require less grass than a mature cow and calf. Likewise, a horse has different needs from a goat.

Ranchers need to think about the pounds of gain per animal as well as pounds of beef per acre. There needs to be a compromise here. As the stocking rate increases, pounds of gain per animal will decrease, but pounds of beef per acre will increase…to a point. At a certain point the pounds per acre concept begins to hurt the grass production as well as animal performance. This is where a conservation plan can help by establishing recommended stocking rates for individual pastures.

The first thing ranchers will notice when following a conservation plan is that there will be grass left at the end of the season. Some look at this as lost beef production. Others, perhaps wiser ranchers, look at this as money in the bank. This leftover grass, which should be about 50 percent of the annual production on the site, shades the ground, catches snow, and prevents runoff from spring rains. It also ensures a healthy root system for regrowth next season. This standing grass also keeps invader weeds, such as cactus or ragweed, from getting a start in the field. It may also serve as emergency feed during times of drought.

A conservation plan may also include a rotational grazing system. These simple systems ensure that all grasses are given the chance to grow and reproduce. Graze a pasture the same time every year, and the plant composition will eventually change. This, in turn, will affect livestock performance and net profit. Under rotation grazing, grass production will increase and in turn, animal production will increase.

Now is a great time to begin your conservation plan. Why not stop by your local NRCS office or conservation district office located at your local county USDA Service Center for more information.

For more information about NRCS programs, visit the Kansas NRCS Web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Last Modified: 09/08/2008