Nebraska Ranch Practicum

After understanding the relative importance of grazing date, level of defoliation, hydrological condition, and precipitation on rangeland forage production, you will be able to optimize your grazing management by using grazing response indices.   This is a simple decision support system designed to enhance water use efficiency and drought tolerance of rangeland vegetation.   Precipitation and grazing records are also used to critically evaluate the effects of grazing management decisions on livestock performance and vegetation response.

While evaluating cow and calf performance over a range of calving and weaning dates, you’ll learn to accurately estimate individual and herd-average cow condition scores. Participants will predict animal performance and determine nutritional requirements for obtaining target cow condition scores at future points in the reproductive schedule.

After personally examining cow and calf diets collected by fistulated animals you will learn to use the NRC beef cattle nutrition system to determine pre- and post-calving nutrient requirements based on laboratory analysis of collected diets and/or hay samples. It soon becomes apparent that manipulating milk production is often the most important livestock nutritional management alternative in range cow-calf enterprises.

Natural resource management, livestock management, and economics are integrated throughout the Practicum. You’ll track inventory changes for livestock and feed through three seasons and learn to manage market risk by monitoring local cash prices and tracking the basis.   Participants learn how to determine owner equity and net prices/cwt by using accounting systems that accurately reflect income earned and costs incurred during a given fiscal year.

Take-home assignments address issues such as whether steers should be fed or sold and determining the net value of different classes of livestock.   Additionally, the economics of hay quantity and quality are addressed by routinely looking at the effects of harvest dates and fertilizer management on subirrigated meadows June through September.

Participants will evaluate financial and biological outcomes of livestock and natural resource management decisions during June 2007 through January 2008.   Classroom instruction on fundamental principles of monitoring and management processes will precede hands-on training.

By attending the Practicum, you will:

• Improve your decision-making skills to manage more efficiently
• Enhance stewardship of natural resources

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