A Grazing Plan, by Stan Tixier

A Grazing Plan
By Stan Tixier, SRM Utah Section Member

A rancher saved to help his son

Enroll in their State College,

He reckoned he could use some help

And educated knowledge

On how to utilize his range

And feed his cattle better,

And so he sent his boy to school

And then wrote him this letter:

"When you get home, I want you to

Devise A GRAZING PLAN,

And calculate the way that we

Might run the most we can,

Our cow herd's looking sorta' poor,

I think they should be fatter,

So your assignment once you're back

Is figure what's the matter."

The lad came home, degree in hand,

Computer programs too,

It shouldn't take him very long

To ponder what to do.

He rode the range for several day

To see what he could see,

He left his saddle horse at home

And drove an ATV.

He drew a map that clearly showed

ONE wind-mill in the middle,

The grass was GONE for several miles

Around, it was a rideel

Just how those cows could find a thing

To eat, he wasn't sure,

Repulsive as it was, he saw

They grazed on -- horse manure.

It seemed the horses ranged beyond

The radius of cows,

To where the grass was tall and green,

So Son told Pappy how

"There's more than one way to resolve

This problem, several courses,

It's my professional advice,

We've got to get more horses!"

From the book:
A Good Lookin' Horse: Cowboy Poetry and Other Verse (1993) by Stan Tixier
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Want more cowboy poetry?  Poetry books and CDs by Stan Tixier are available for purchase from Western Heritage Company, 1-800-303-5703.  And don't worry, Cowboy Poet's Corner will continue to post to the SRM blog in coming months.

SRM Annual Meeting - Top Events You Don't Want to Miss

As you know, the SRM Annual Meeting is the Society's premier event each year.  The conference and meeting consists of a solid week of sessions, seminars, trainings and networking.  In particular, the upcoming 65th Annual Meeting in Spokane, Washington January 29 - February 3, 2012, is concentrated on providing training opportunities at the Meeting.

Below are some of the highlight events at the Annual Meeting.  Note that some of these require pre-registration, so sign up now.  Check them out and visit the Meeting website for many more events: www.rangelands.org/spokane2012 and click HERE for a list of special sessions.

Click HERE to register for the Spokane Annual Meeting

Workshop: Ecological Site Description (ESD) and State-and-Transition Model (STM) Development Saturday, Jan. 28, 8:00am - 5:00pm.  Registration required.

• Provide examples of both successful STM development using a variety of data sources, and practical management applications of ESDs and STMs. Offer training and tools necessary for accurate and accelerated ESD development.
• Facilitate communication among professionals involved in ESD and STM development, and increase the accuracy and efficiency of ESDs by sharing ideas and building relationships.

Workshop: Using Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) as a Decision Making Tool Monday & Wednesday Jan. 30 - Feb. 2, Monday & Wednesday 1:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday & Thursday 8:00am - 12:00pm.  Registration required.

• Beginning ESD workshop targeting professionals with three to ten years experience, whose job responsibilities include identifying and using ESD to make management alternatives and/or decisions. The 4-session workshop will include basic concepts of ecological sites and identifying sites; what are ESDs and how are they developed; and using ESD as a decision-making tool, as a standard to evaluate status/success, and as a risk assessment tool.

Rancher's Forum Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:45am - 4:50pm.

• Keeping the Family Ranch in the Family
• Crooked Calf Syndrome in the Channeled Scablands and Beyond
• Sage Grouse: could this be the Ranchers’ “Spotted Owl”?

Workshop: Technical Service Provider Training (TSP) Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:00am - 5:00pm

• Provide required training and assistance in the registration process to become a certified NRCS Technical Service Provider. An agreement between SRM and NRCS allows TSP candidates who are SRM members to receive basic certification training. Workshop will include instruction for registration process, conservation planning training, TSP orientation, and Grazing Management and Fish and Wildlife Management Conservation Activity Plans. Completing this workshop, candidate applications are ready for certification review with NRCS. Prior to the session, interested participants must obtain an eAuth Level 2 account by visiting the NRCS booth at the trade show.

Forum: Native American Range: Tribal Perspectives and Native American Range Initiative

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:00am - 5:00pm

• Provide interaction among the tribes to identify what does and does not work, and work to common solutions. One half day will present PNW local issues, and one half day will be breakout sessions to identify problems and solutions.

Workshop: Effective Communication for Rangeland Management and other Natural Resource Management Specialists Sunday, Jan. 29, 1:00pm - 5:00pm

• Provide information to help all federal employees in the natural resource fields communicate more effectively with supervisors, co-workers and external customers, with the focus on BLM resource specialists.
• Pre-register through DOI Learn. BLM participants will receive training credits for completing the course Topics: verbal and written communication with internal and external customers, including what livestock operators who graze on public lands expect when communicating with BLM employees.

Symposium: Climate Change and North American Rangelands: Evidence, Implications, and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies

Thursday, Feb. 2, 8:00am - 12:00pm

• Provide a clear, concise summary of the vast climate change literature that is of direct relevance to rangelands to inform management and policy decisions and guide future research programs. Specific objectives are to: 1) present evidence for recent and projected climatic change, 2) outline potential ecological consequences, and 3) identify probable mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Forum: Rangeland Collaboration: Ranch and Landscape Scale Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:00am - 5:00pm

• Demonstrate and discuss the benefits and challenges of working with multiple stakeholders and partners to improve rangeland management. Increasingly, rangeland decisions are being made by groups of stakeholders using a variety of processes to manage public land grazing allotments, an entire state or an ecosystem. Case studies will feature a variety of collaborative efforts and will highlight lessons learned from a variety of perspectives. Discuss benefits and challenges of working together to improve management and resolve thorny issues.

Symposium: Free Roaming Wild and Feral Horses: Current Knowledge in Ecology, Habitat Use, and Management Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:00am - 5:00pm

• Present current research, in a neutral and unbiased forum, on free roaming, wild, and feral horse ecology, including horse evolution and behavior, horse and wildlife interactions, impacts on vegetation, diet selection, population control, and habitat use and movement patterns.
• This will be valuable for all rangeland professionals tasked with managing rangelands and the animals they support. In the United States, where the horses are federally protected, the BLM estimates over 38,000 horses and burros are roaming on BLM lands. Appropriate management levels are 26,582. Populations are estimated to double every four years. BLM states that, “the ecosystems of public rangelands are not able to withstand the impacts from overpopulated herds which include soil erosion, sedimentation of streams, and damage to wildlife habitat. These numbers do not include horses on state-owned or Native American lands, nor the domestic horses being released into the “wild” due to the current economic recession. Canadian feral horse populations, mostly concentrated in British Columbia and Alberta, have been increasing since the early 1900s. Though not protected by law, the management of the horses and their habitat is a sensitive and 28 SRM 65th Annual Meeting Spokane, Washington important issue. Australia has the largest population of feral horses (brumbies) in the world, estimated at over 400,000, increasing annually at about 20%. The brumbies have cultural and potential economic value, making their management a complex issue.

And many more!  Click here for a full list and visit the Annual Meeting website for other events and opportunities.

Click HERE to register for the Spokane Annual Meeting

Interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor at the Spokane Annual Meeting?  The Annual Meeting and Trade Show offers extensive opportunities to promote your organization and gain exposure to more than 2,000 rangeland professionals.  Click here to access the sponsorship prospectus and here for the exhibitor prospectus.