Multi-Paddock Grazing

A collection of 113 posts

"Invasion Biology"

Early Summer 2016 - Game Cameras

Healthy ranges need: (1) Big nomadic grazers (bison or cows under planned grazing), (2) abundant predators and (3) lots of prey numbers and kinds. Take any one of these out and the system collapses.  The systems’ need for biodiversity is a physiological fact, not a social concept.   For 10-years in

"Invasion Biology"

Desert Grassland Restoration: Creosote Bush

CREOSOTE BUSH (Larrea tridentata) is generally misunderstood as an invader plant.  In fact creosote is a symptom –  but not the cause –  of dying desert grasslands. Creosote will predominate as grasslands decline but eventually it also dies. 1. Creosote bush flowers and fruits Creosote bush is one of the most common

Animal Development

Where Cow Pies Really Matter

Grass fed livestock works better for the land because plants need animals as much as animals need plants. NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on June 11, 2016 Proponents of grass-fed cattle, such as the ones here on Doug Havemann’s Mesquite Field Farm, say their cattle don’

"Invasion Biology"

Book Review: The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters

The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters by Sean B. Carroll is a great book about nature’s basic rules and contains many valuable insights on desert grasslands. While Carroll didn’t intend to write a book about holistic management, The Serengeti Rules

"Invasion Biology"

Jim Howell – Conserving and Restoring the World’s Grasslands

Take the time to listen to this great interview with our friend Jim Howell, in which he explains how cattle ranching can restore rangeland viability. NOTE: post initially appeared on MountainPrarie.com Jim Howell is the CEO of Grasslands LLC, which is the land management arm of the Savory Institute,

"Invasion Biology"

HMI Open Gate Day - August 26 2016

HMI Open Gate: Circle Ranch Day Helping Water Flow Where it Needs to Go – August 26, 2016. Circle Ranch, Van Horn, TX Our Circle Ranch Day is part of HMI’s Open Gate Learning Series. Open Gates are on-the-ground learning days for producers and consumers who care about land health

Bio-Diversity

Restoring Desert Grasslands with Intensive Grazing

There are lots of ways to get animal impact onto ranges. Australia: Same idea, smaller scale at Circle Ranch, in the high-desert mountains of far-West Texas: Animal Impact Made Easy #1 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo. Animal Impact Made Easy #2 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.

"Invasion Biology"

Circle Ranch Game Cameras - Winter 2015

Below you will see many wildlife photos showing our mixed species sharing range and water. Note the areas frequented by different species. Elk do well everywhere, particularly in the desert, which means elk are potential rescue species for empty deserts. Bulls would be worth $10,000 – $15,000 if allowed

Cattle

Animal Impact Made Easy #2: Treating Deadspots and Headcuts with Cattle

It takes lots and lots of animals to restore desert grasslands. This 4-minute video is #2 in a series on “animal impact”. It shows how, at Circle Ranch in the high-desert mountains of far-West Texas, we are using cows to re-grow grass in dead-spots, and cattle trampling to control erosion.

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Grasslands with Planned Grazing: Soil Carbon Curious

Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing (AMP grazing) is regenerating soils around the world, producing healthy grass-finished beef. But the science on AMP grazing is sparse, to say the least. Now, a group of leading soil, rangeland, bug and social scientists are setting out to fill the science gap. Led by Dr. Richard

"Invasion Biology"

Animal Impact Made Easy #1

Join a  a “pasture walk” at Circle Ranch in far-West Texas to observe how we use cattle to restore grasslands in our high-desert mountains. Animal Impact Made Easy #1 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.

Animal Development

Is Feedlot Beef Bad for the Environment?

Although this debate contains statistical data that may be accurate, it is missing holistic thinking, including the fact that our grasslands are in decline as a result of animal removals. This fact has profound implications for our society.   NOTE: post originally appeared on WSJ.com · July 12, 2015   Feedlots play

Allan Savory

The Grasslands: Nice to Visit, Critical to Save

Excellent videos from the Savory Center Project posted to IndieGogGo at: https://goo.gl/fWVzLY Help us save the grasslands, stop climate change, fight desertification, and end world poverty.   It’s true. The grasslands may not seem like the world’s hottest eco destination. They’re not as colorful as

"Invasion Biology"

Bison, Cattle, and the Shortgrass Prairie of West Texas and New Mexico

Cattle herds managed under “holistic planned grazing” can replace the animal impact of missing bison herds. As explained below, grazing by large animals is necessary for grassland health. NOTE: article originally appeared in the Hudspeth County Herald on November 6th, 2015 Though the American bison, or buffalo, is now a

Bio-Diversity

Circle Ranch's New Heifers October 2015

This winter we are running 500 heifers at Circle Ranch. Here is the first bunch to arrive Circle Ranch’s New Heifers October 2015 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.

"Invasion Biology"

Circle Ranch Game Cameras: Using Biodiversity to Restore Desert Grasslands

Many wildlife “managers” try to eliminate most of the species pictured below to increase bighorn, or some other favored species like deer or pronghorn. Their actions harm the animals they intend to help because biodiversity is necessary for healthy wild animals and habitat. Until our practices are based on this

"Invasion Biology"

Cows Can Save the World

I write to offer a constructive way forward in the tragic cultural genocide unfolding in America’s wonderful western ranching culture that is embedded in the nation’s culture. I do so knowing the risk of trying to help a lion by operating on a back molar in its jaw.

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Desert Grasslands or Creating Desert Badlands?

For 60 years, this National Park Service land has been “protected” from cattle, unintentionally accelerating its desertification. Here is a typical Big Wildlife program being pursued at Big Bend National Park to “protect” degrading habitat.   (ABOVE PDF can be viewed here -> ) I don’t doubt the sincerity or

"Invasion Biology"

Cows and Keyline: Restoring Desert Grasslands

This 17-minute video, “Cows and Keyline” discusses the use of cattle and the Yeomans Keyline plow as the quickest, cheapest, and safest way to restore desert grasslands. It also documents a project to repair a gully formed by an old road. Aerial photography provides graphic comparisons of the result of

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Desert Grasslands: A New Book by Allan Savory

It is hard to believe that the common sense contained in this little book has generated such anger and controversy. Holistic planned grazing uses domestic animals as replacements for the great wild herds that once roamed our grasslands. Beginning with a simple explanation of the physiological need of grasslands for

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Desert Grasslands with Livestock

Last week we posted a brief explanation of Keyline theory.  This week, we share a concise explanation of holistic planned grazing, which uses animal impact to restore grasslands.   By Carol Dreibelbis In this series, we interview inspiring people that our readers have nominated. These individuals are working on the front

"Invasion Biology"

Planned Grazing Restoring Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands in Mexico

As you travel south from far West Texas, crossing the Rio Grande, you encounter the huge grasslands of the Northern Mexico area of the Great Chihuahuan Desert. This country is very similar to the Circle Ranch, and has experienced the same degradation from human impact that we see across the

"Invasion Biology"

Actually Raising Beef Is Good for the Planet

Despite environmentalists’ worries, cattle don’t guzzle water or cause hunger—and can help fight climate change.   People who advocate eating less beef often argue that producing it hurts the environment. Cattle, we are told, have an outsize ecological footprint: They guzzle water, trample plants and soils, and consume precious

"Invasion Biology"

Invasive Species Eradications: "The Rest of the Story"

If you have bought into Big Wildlife’s ‘invasive species crisis,’ and believe that eradicating and poisoning of  ‘invasive’ species of plants and wild animals are based on science, or benefit ecosystems including wildlife and habitat, you need to hear “The Rest of the Story.”   David I. Theodoropoulos directs the

"Invasion Biology"

Aoudad, The Bogus Boogeyman

Eradication Science or Eradication Snake Oil?   This piece asks common sense questions about the increasing use of wild animal eradication as a primary conservation tool, and about the foundations on which these practices rest: Why have eradications become so prevalent? Do eradications advance conservation? Are eradications based on science or