Real Wealth Ranching

Last blog I tried to explain how Total grazing creates more humus and how too much litter impairs new seedlings. 

Now, I am going to talk about how the higher leaf to stem ratio following a Total grazing creates a better solar panel which allows for higher forage production every year if done correctly.

Leaves produce energy through photosynthesis, stems consume energy by respiring.  The ratio of leaf to stem determines forage production and humus buildup.  Cattle also do better on a leafy pasture.

This increase in harvest efficiency means we can take more cow days from each grazing and give longer rest periods to every paddock.  What happens with longer rest periods? Higher total forage production!

What happens to better species composition? The best species are not grazed selectively and have a longer period to establish, grow and reproduce!

This means that, under Total grazing, we not only get more cow/days harvested per acre but also increase the following:

• Humus buildup
...

Lately I have observed that many grazers confuse Total grazing with overgrazing or taking all and coming back sooner.

This is NOT Total grazing, and we would not get the huge response we are getting from the land and animals in terms of biodiversity, higher forage production, better leaf to stem ratio, higher humus buildup, better desirable species composition and much higher number of growing points per square yard.

First let’s talk about how most humus is formed: it is not from decaying litter. Now we know that at least 70 percent of humus is formed from digested microorganisms that feed on root exudates.

What are the implications of this? This means that the better the leaf to stem ratio we get after Total grazing gives us a much better photosynthesis rate and more root exudates to feed these microorganisms.

Remember, these microorganisms need to be fat to efficiently be converted to humus with humus being the stable fraction of organic matter that cannot be further degraded a...

Please remember, I will talk about the best grass management under high to very high stocking rates, the number of productive animals carried on your ranch per year.  Everything will revolve around this.

Under selective grazing, because harvest efficiency is much lower, either a much lower stocking rate is needed, or you will need to graze the whole property and call the leftovers stockpile.  But it is NOT.

The leftovers after selective grazing are much lower in quality, as the cows select the best and leave what they do not like (much lower quality in leftovers!), especially as the Winter or dry season advances. This makes the protein supplement costs MUCH higher and your cows body condition much lower which is NOT in your best interest.

Under Total grazing, at the very high stocking rates needed for profitability and to improve your land the fastest, we leave a portion of the ranch to stockpile, in the growing season, with NO grazing there; in this area the roots grow strong and f...

Please remember, I will write about grass management under high to very high stocking rates, the number of productive animals carried on your ranch per year.  Everything will revolve around this.

Because the seedlings of your best species are more palatable and take a long time to put out strong enough roots to resist the pulling action of a cow wrapping her tongue on the seedling when your herd is doing selective grazing, the rest time, under selective grazing, is NOT long enough for them to establish; especially on a drought year and bare patches start to appear (in brittle environments) or undesirable species take over (in more humid environments).

If we want strong and fat roots of our best forage species the rest period needs to be long enough to allow for this.  This means when the basal leaves start to turn yellow; at this point the root reserves allow for another grazing without damage to the roots.

Besides this, the very harmful recommendation to incorrectly name selective ...

Watch the video above for the full interview with Ryan Boyd from South Glanton Farms in Manitoba, Canada or read the transcript highlights below:

Question 1 - Years in Total Grazing vs Selective Grazing

[2:26] Jim: How many years have you been doing Total Grazing vs Selective Grazing?

[3:02] Ryan: We've been selective rotationally grazing for 15 years now so it has been about one year since we really started Total Grazing. It took seeing it, witnessing it in person at your experienced ranch there [Florida] to really for the light bulb to go on and really show us the potential. So when we came home we started in the Total Grazing. We were totally believers after trying it for one summer. We would never switch back now. We still have a lot to learn but it's so much potential with Total Grazing.

Question 2 - Nuffield scholarship. Total Grazing vs other grazing operations

[3:45] Jim: I remember you visited me on February of 2020 and then you left on a Nuffield scholarship to visit oth...

First let me tell you. All I will talk about is related to grazing under high to very high stocking rates, stocking rate being the number of productive animals maintained on a ranch per year, as this is what determines profitability on a ranch.

Selective grazing, by definition, harvests only a portion of the available forage before the cows move on to the next paddock. This means that they move faster around your ranch AND return faster than if their harvest were more Total, high harvest efficiency, which would mean it takes longer for them to finish it before moving on to the next paddock giving a much longer time to return, a longer rest period under Total Grazing.

Under selective grazing the best species get severely grazed while the less desirable or undesirable species get grazed less or not at all!.
This leads to desertification in brittle environments, or to undesirable species or brush taking over in more humid environments, unless serious destocking takes place, and we know t...

For ease of management, the less cattle groups the better.

I am often asked how many groups of cattle we need to have for optimum results.

My answer is always: less groups is easier for you and achieves better animal impact.

I have the large group with mature cows, first and second calf heifers.

The weaned heifer group until they get bred, once they are bred, they go with the large group.

The Bulls group, where the weaned intact Bull calves go, 3 months after weaning.

Some months there is only one group, breeding season, and the rest of the year we may have two to three groups.

The only groups we move daily, 4 times per day, are the weaned heifer group and the large group, the Bulls are moved only once every 3-7 days to reduce the workload on us.

To make this easier we use a Kubota side by side where the temporary electric fences are put out and taken off without dismounting.

A word of warning: This is possible, at very high stocking rate, only with adapted genetics that have ...

1.- Conventional genetics have been selected under very high input situation where the goal is maximum production and animals are fed to potential.  This means that when in a real ranch situation at very high stocking rates they would require so much supplement to remain in good body condition that it would be uneconomical.  Besides, they would only harvest around 60% of available forage per graze cycle without losing body condition, even with protein supplement, compared to around 85% achieved with adapted animals selected correctly.  These differences can be what separates a profitable appreciating ranch from a losing money degrading ranch.

2.- At very high stocking rates individual animals cannot select the best parts and move on to a new paddock as that would become overgrazing, re grazing the same plant before it has fully recovered its energy reserves.  This means your cattle require nutritional adaptation to maintain good body condition at very high stocking rates, good body co...

If we start with the end in mind, we need to project our future number of cattle, and water needs, considering that we have increased 3 times the normal stocking rate in the first years.  After that stocking rates can increase further.

1.- Always plan for a much higher number of animals, as your land improves your stocking rate MUST increase to keep conditioning your grass for maximum photosynthesis.  This is important to repeat: as the cow needs the grass the grass needs the cow.  If your ranch demands more cattle to keep up with the extra grass being produced and you do not increase your stocking rate the improvement of your soil may go back.

2.- Build resiliency into your system, pressurized systems can fail, especially in the weekends.  You do not want thirsty cows which would lead to depressed individual performance.

3.- Allow enough water trough space so that all animals can consume water unimpeded, consider timid and dominant animals.  Having the cattle competing for water du...

While EPDs can be used in some instances, trying to achieve maximum in any trait will not help but hinder reaching our goal of maximum profitability.

As we know now, too much milk goes against reproduction or on the ranch fertility, too large a frame goes against practical fertility and conversion efficiency by reducing relative intake which is defined as the amount of grass a cow can consume per hundred pounds of weight.

The most important trait in a cow is her ability to wean a good calf every year, to do this she needs to be in top body condition with smaller frame animals the ones with best body condition, all other factors being equal.  Observe your herd of cows at same reproductive stage and age, and you will find out this is true as a rule with very few exceptions.

A larger framed animal results from chasing high daily gain, high weaning weight, maximum yearling weight, as the larger frame animal will win in those categories.  These larger frame animals also mean they are lat...