Research Log 1

In the article, “Sharing One Skin”, by Jeanette Armstron. She makes connections between our human selfs to all living things in the world. She also gets her readers to understand that we are all one and when you look around, whether you see it or not, everything and everyone living has something in common. This article also gives us examples on what it means and feels to be a human being and some of the attributes within ourselves. It is also a reminder to protect and care for the land as it is a living being because in reality it is. 

Memories and stories are connected to our land as described by, B. Toastie in the article, “How Place Names Impact The Way We See Landscape”. She talks about how all places have a name due to its history or the landscape around it. The stories that go with the location hold significance to Native Americans whether the names are changed or not, because the history will always be carried on. The article also talks about how white people name locations and how some of their choices of names are a no go in most, if not all, Native American communities. She also keeps talking and expresses a lot about how “Stories define how we perceive and connect to the landscape”.

In this article, “And Then I went to School” By Joe Suina. He talks about the experience of growing up within the pueblo. It also gives you a perspective on how and what it's like to grow up within a pueblo. It’s also a reminder on why we should keep our core memories close to your heart. Also to remember where you come from, and that home will always be there no matter what. 

I have always had interest in the cowboy/ranch lifestyle since I was a little kid being that my uncles would always go to the ranch every weekend and ride the horses almost everyday. My family on my moms side has generations of cowboys and has ran in the family throughout many years. I’ve chosen Land and Cattle Management because I’ve always been one to always look out for the land. With all the droughts and lack of rain, some areas have really become really overgrazed, which then leads to others animals to go searching for other food resources. With the lack of rain to help plants reproduce, cattle management is something that should really be talked about.

Research Log 2

Ranchers Greens on edge as BLM rewrites grazing rule

In the article It talks about the concerns and worries on the grazing regulations that the BLM changed. Both the land and livestock are highly being talked about and how they would be impacted. Their concerns they had and how they would be impacted. Their concerns they had for the land was all mentioned in this article which made it interesting, especially with the recommendations and feedback from certain individuals that got to have a say on some of the acts and leases that were being made and some that were still in the making. The one thing that caught my eye were the actions that were being done to try and help the land and the livestock health. Some people were very eager to do whatever it took to make sure the land was tended to with proper care, while others could care less about what happens the the environment. 

Managing Cattle Distribution: It's Not As Simple As It Sound's 

In the article it gets you to realize just how complex it is to manage cattle, as well as getting readers to understand that you need a healthy environment to make sure your livestock are healthy. It also talks about how the advancements in our technology have helped improve the cattle industry in today's modern era. GPS (Global Positioning System) is one of the advanced technologies that has become very helpful to set up grazing patterns to help prevent overgrazing as well as it being used to get an overview of the land. The article focused a lot about how and why cattle distribution is important for our environment, and how technology  has played a big role in today's cattle businesses. 

How Birth Control Is Saving Wild Horses

Drought Forces New Mexico to Better Manage the Land

In this article  it talks about the issues of overgrazing when dealing with drought. In todays day, grasslands have been rapidly replaced by desert. This issue can cause ranchers to own fewer cattke as well as having ranchers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to install pipes to get water from wells. Although at times it may seem like we are getting enough rain but in all reality it does nothing for the land because it is too dry and has been for over a decade and even months of rain can't end this drought New Mexico is in. Ranchers are now having to let their patures rest for longer periods to insure their will be enough resources to support their cattle. "New Mexico ranchers who haven't adapted to drought are out of business. Those who are left are better land managers. They have to be. Otherwise they'll have no grassland left to graze". Jornada is a location of grasslands, mountains, and desert the size of New York and is managed by New Mexico State University, Here they use the land to observe the effects of ranching practices and climate change. In the 1930's and 50's, the drought was at it's peak and most of the grasslands almost permenantly changes to desert. Being that the land is less covered, more of the surfface is being exposed and this can really have a big impact on rainfall. Researchers have found that dust in the atmosphere can cut the chances of rain, and it won't only make an impact in one specific location because dust spreads throughout the whole atmosphere all over the world. 

The Thorn

In this Film it talks about a ranch in New Mexico and how they are dealing with drought. They also have problems with jackrabbits in which they eat the grass down to the root and then the plants are unable to regrow. It also talked bout the process of branding and what all happens. You round up, you seperate, you rope, you flank, you tie, you caturate, you ear tag/earmark and you give vaccines.

Research log 4

Drought makes me a better manager

In this article it talks about the problems Steve Wilmeth (Ranch owner in NM) has and is dealing with alongside drought. Without the rain not falling enough to produce grass for the livestock, he has had to start buying a lot more alfalfa, hay in order for his animals to eat. A lot of broom weeds have been growing rapidly in these dry conditions and has been becoming a problem for his ranch because it is very toxic for cattle and could even cause death. Drought is seen as a “Natural Cycle” and a “Alternative to fumigation” which makes them better managers. Climatic patterns were talked about and how they are likely to increase extreme weathers due to greenhouse gasses and could cause droughts to extend for longer periods of time. Dealing with this is not only “Financially but emotionally challenging” especially when you put more money in then what you receive but the more cattle you have, the better off your financial position is. 

New Grazing Strategies Improve NM Cattle and Land Production

In this it talks about a ranch in Newkirk, NM that is called JT Land and Cattle and how they’ve adapted to drought using resources that were available. The NRCS EQIP Contracts help them with increasing their fencing and water development. They now have 33 pastures which increased from 15 and each varies from 20 to 1,460 acres and this has helped them to make sure each pasture has enough time to reproduce. They have used “The Grazing Manager” which is a planning software that was developed by Mort Kothman but it is unfortunately no longer available, but it tracks the forage growth curves, forage demand, and pasture productivity. Using as many resources that were available helped them out a lot, they had many knowledgeable local NRCS, Educational opportunities at NMSU (New Mexico State University), NMCGA (New Mexico Cattle Growers Association), National Grazing Land Coalition (NGLC), NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association), Holistic Management International (HMI), meetings, publications, and networks. With their increase in fencing they were able to increase their bredback from 60% to 90% being that there weren't so many cows in one pasture. Knowing when to move your cows was also something that kept getting brought up because it is important “If you want to get the most benefit from the land and the animal”. They have been motivated over the years by seeing the improvements in their land and the cattle because their goal is to “leave this piece of the planet in a better place than when they came to it”.

Ranchers Are Selling Their Cattle to Deal with Drought

In this video they interacted with different ranchers in Texas and got to hear and ask questions on how they were dealing with drought. Brandon Richburg has had to sell some of his cows due to the lack of resources because his cows could easily die in the dry Texas weather. They’ve had to start buying alfalfa and hay to spread out for the cattle in August because it just hadn’t rained enough for the grass to reproduce. Pamela Strawe said “ you can only put so much into a business before the business goes bankrupt” and this is very much true because having to buy feed, get gas, make multiple trips to make sure you animals are fed can set you back a lot of money very quickly because cows are no small animals and they will eat all day of they could. Julius O Grimes Jr. has had to sell 18 cows due to the lack of grass and although he has 2 ponds, both are dry. Paul Craycraft who runs the auction said he has indeed noticed a big increase in sales as well as the decrease of buyers. 75% of these cows that are sold are being sent to slaughter houses with only about 25% going to new ranchers. Brandon and Rachel Cutrer the Co-Owners of BRC Ranch in Texas have adapted to drought by raising Brahman Cattle. These types of cows are native to India and are better for hotter and dry climates due to them having a lot of extra skin and in which they can produce 4x more sweat than a hereford or angus cow, and having a little coat of hair also helps them out a lot. The BRC Ranch makes their income by selling sperm from their full bred Brahmans which can cost anywhere from $70 to $100,000. There they have successfully crossbred Brahman and Hereford cows to better suit them for the drier and hotter climates. With this drought most likely to keep extending, you have to know what you are doing and take care of the land and animals because “If you don’t take care of the land, your land won’t take care of your cattle, and your cattle can’t take care of you.”

Action plan I

My first action plan I was planning on giving out dewormers for horses but unfortunately they did not come in on time but I still took the opportunity to talk a little about how it is used and what it is used for. 

Action Plan II

For my second action plan I was planning on having a roping session here on campus but the date I had it scheduled for the weather took a turn. 

My Hero