Farmer and rancher mental health has been in the news the past few years, with farmer suicide rates alarmingly high. Farmers and ranchers are often seen as the embodiment of the American ideal -- the rugged individualist who is self-sufficient, doesn't need help, lives on the land, doesn't have problems . . . but the stresses of modern farming, especially financial stresses, leave many feeling hopeless and helpless. Don McMoran and Kristen Hinton-Vanvalkenburg discuss programs to help farmers and their families deal productively with the stressors and with mental health challenges unique to farming. 

There are several signs or symptoms to look for when stress has begun to take an effect on you or someone you know. If you see something, say something!
Thoughts of hurting oneself
Care of Livestock Declines
Increase in Agriculture-Related Accidents
Appearance of Farmstead Declines
Children Show Signs of Stress
Lack of energy/motivation to do usual tasks
Loss of interest in favorite activities
Alcohol and/or substance abuse/addiction
Withdrawal from others
Relational tension

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE 
WSU Extension Suicide Prevention. https://extension.wsu.edu/skagit/suicide-prevention/. WSU and the Agricultural Suicide Prevention Program is not a crisis center. IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention line, 1(800) 273-TALK (8255).

Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Center. https://farmstress.us/

National AgrAbility Project. http://www.agrability.org/

Hanna Ranch, the movie: https://www.amdoc.org/watch/hanna-ranch/
and here: https://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Ranch-Mitch-Dickman/dp/B00KIGQLEK

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/3qTwZ9x

AoR 59: Don McMoran and Kristen Vanvalkenburg, Total Farmer Health

Americans often refer to electric fence as "New Zealand" fence, and many other grazing innovations seem to have origins in this relative small island in the southern hemisphere. Thomas Maxwell, a pasture scholar from Lincoln University in NZ, provides an overview of the history of indigenous land use, European settlement, and domesticated grazing animal use in New Zealand.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Recent article "Functional diversity vs monotony: The effect of a multi-forage diet as opposed to a single forage diet on animal intake, performance, welfare, and urinary nitrogen excretion". https://academic.oup.com/jas/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jas/skab058/6148868

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/30ZzjkM

AoR 58: Thomas Maxwell, New Zealand Grazing Geography in Brief

"Big ranches mean big risks", says Chase Hibbard. Large lands and lots of cattle doesn't equal guaranteed success in the economically unforgiving world of family ranching. The Sieben Live Stock Company has been around for 6 generations and has both awards and scars to show for their perseverance. All good stories have tension and dark threads in the weaving. Join Tip in a conversation with Chase and Cooper Hibbard about navigating the ups and downs of keeping a big ranch together. They discuss the fascinating history of this iconic Montana ranch, hard succession planning decisions, and how management is sustained today.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Sieben Live Stock Company website: https://www.siebenlivestock.com/

Charlie Russell painting, "Waiting for a Chinook", aka "Last of the 5,000": https://www.charlesmarionrussell.org/Waiting-For-A-Chinook.html

Montana Land Reliance: https://mtlandreliance.org/

Land Trust Alliance: https://www.landtrustalliance.org/. The Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that represents more than 1,000 member land trusts and is a good source for more information about land trusts and conservation easements. https://www.landtrustalliance.org/ 

Ties to the Land succession planning: http://tiestotheland.org/

TRANSCRIPT
Coming soon . . .

AoR 60: Ranch Succession and True Grit at Sieben Live Stock Co. with Cooper & Chase Hibbard

Guest Dr. Karen Launchbaugh and host Tip Hudson discuss grazing management philosophies, changes in scientific understanding of plant community dynamics over the last 50 years, and grazing terminology.

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TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2DLNd1q 

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
State and transition modeling: an ecological process approach. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_050801.pdf

Land EKG Grazing Response Index: http://www.landekg.com/newsletter-200909/

Original Grazing Response Index: https://www.blm.gov/or/programs/nrst/files/Grazing%20_Response_Index.pdf

Targeted Grazing Handbook, by Univ. of Idaho: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/Handbook.htm

Politics of Scale, by Nathan Sayre. https://amzn.to/2Qif7DA

AoR 1: Karen Launchbaugh, Grazing Philosophy

Guest Karen Launchbaugh and host Tip Hudson discuss grazing management principles that apply everywhere, coordinating grazing management across multiple ownerships, stocking rate planning for long-term rangeland health, and the pros and cons of common grazing rules of thumb.

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TRANSCRIPT
A full transcript is available at: https://bit.ly/2NfeCIq 

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Land EKG Grazing Response Index: http://www.landekg.com/newsletter-200909/

Original Grazing Response Index: https://www.blm.gov/or/programs/nrst/files/Grazing%20_Response_Index.pdf

Journal article "Practical Grazing Management to Meet Riparian Objectives", by Sherman Swanson: https://journals.lib.uidaho.edu/index.php/jra/article/view/16

Burkhardt & Sanders paper, "Management of Growing Season Grazing in the Sagebrush Steppe": https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/view/19540/19175 

Targeted Grazing Handbook website and publications: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/handbook.htm

AoR 2: Karen Launchbaugh, Grazing Management Fundamentals

Guest Fred Provenza and Tip talk about how animals and environment affect each other in what Dr. Provenza calls a dance—a dance he’s written about in his brand-new book “Nourishment”. Tip and Fred discuss the 40 years of research that led to the writing of this capstone book. Along the way, they discuss how domestic animals can be selected or trained to match their environment and how this intersects with ecological, economic, and social resilience of rangeland-based livestock operations.

Art of Range podcast show notes (www.artofrange.com)
Episode 4: Dr. Fred Provenza, matching animal to environment
Guest Fred Provenza, professor emeritus, Utah State University, and host Tip Hudson discuss Dr. Provenza’s lifetime of research on the complex relationships among animals and their environments, particularly with regard to diet and animal health. 

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TRANSCRIPT
A full transcript is available at: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Art%20of%20Range%20transcripts?preview=AoR_004_Fred_Provenza.clean.txt 

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
BEHAVE project. www.behave.net. (Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation, and Ecosystem Management)
WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources: Northwest rangelands and climate resiliency. http://csanr.wsu.edu/northwest-rangelands/
2013 Provenza paper "Complex Creative Systems". https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/download/19605/19238
Dr. Provenza's new book, "Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom". https://www.amazon.com/Nourishment-Animals-Rediscovering-Nutritional-Wisdom-ebook/dp/B07KJH3FQD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543443718&sr=8-1&keywords=books+by+fred+provenza
Dr. Provenza's book, The Art & Science of Shepherding". https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Shepherding-Michel-Meuret/dp/1601730691/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543443776&sr=8-2&keywords=books+by+fred+provenza
Recipe for rose hip tea: https://www.earthfoodandfire.com/wild-rose-hip-tea/



WSU publications on fetal programming in beef cattle
Feeding Beef Cattle I: The Realities of Low-Quality Forages. https://pubs.wsu.edu/ItemDetail.aspx?ProductID=15519&SeriesCode=&CategoryID=&Keyword=Beef
Feeding Beef Cattle II: Fetal Programming--Rethinking Cow/Calf Feeding Programs.  https://pubs.wsu.edu/ItemDetail.aspx?ProductID=15547&SeriesCode=&CategoryID=&Keyword=Beef

Articles on cow body size
Article by John Scasta, Univ. of Wyoming range specialist. https://www.westernfarmerstockman.com/beef/finding-sweet-spot-cow-size
Article by Kris Ringwall, NDSU beef specialist. https://www.drovers.com/article/beeftalk-finding-right-cow-size-not-simple
Article by Dillon Feuz and Jesse Russell, Colorado State University. http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/agriculture/the-optimal-cow-size-for-intermountain-cow-calf-operations-3-767/
University of Florida article, Relationship of Cow Size to Nutrient Requirements and Production Management Issues. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an226

AoR 4: Fred Provenza, Matching Animal to Environment

Range forage production can vary widely from year to year. What if you could get a production prediction 3 months ahead of the growing season and make management decisions from it? Tip's guest today, Matt Reeves (USFS) is part of a group of researchers who have developed the Rangeland Production Monitoring Service, a backward-looking prediction tool that is not meteorological forecasting, but a machine-learning approach to a seasonal outlook based on historical climate data. This episode includes an interview with Matt followed by Matt's talk at the Society for Range Management conference a couple weeks ago.

The slides referred to in Matt’s talk are available at the show notes link: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Art%20of%20Range%20show%20notes

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TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2C9kT5Z

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Rangeland Production Monitoring Service (RPMS): https://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs/projects/development-rangeland-production-monitoring-service-could-improve-rangeland-management 

Grasscast
GRASSCAST: http://grasscast.agsci.colostate.edu 
Although Grass-Cast doesn’t currently extend into the Pacific Northwest, it might inspire ideas for adapting it to that region. 

The Drought Monitor, along with NDMC’s “Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch” handbook: https://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan/Overview.aspx.

USDA’s revamped farmers.gov website, where ranchers can now more easily find information about weather-related safety-nets such as the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/2018/livestock_forage_disaster_program-july2018.pdf; Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/2018/livestock_indemnity_program_fact_sheet-may_2018.pdf; and Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) insurance product https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/Fact-Sheets/National-Fact-Sheets/Pasture-Rangeland-Forage-Pilot-Insurance-Program. These programs were renewed in the 2018 Farm Bill (here’s a great Farm Bill overview by one of my (Reeves’) trusted AgEcon colleagues at OK State) https://news.okstate.edu/articles/agricultural-sciences-natural-resources/2018/stotts_2018-farm-bill-passage.html.

Three other climate/ag tools developed by our friends at the Northwest and Southwest Climate Hubs:        
1.	Seedlot Selection Tool for forest landowners throughout the northwest and beyond: https://seedlotselectiontool.org/sst/
2.	Orchard Crop Suitability Mapping Tool for the northwest: https://climate.northwestknowledge.net/NWTOOLBOX/cropSuitability.php  
3.	AgRisk Viewer (from the SW Hub) -- an online tool for viewing historical causes of insured crop loss at the county level throughout the US: https://swclimatehub.info/rma/rma-data-viewer.html

AoR 10: Matt Reeves, Rangeland Forage Prediction Tools

Regenerative agriculture has gained popularity in response to concerns about the long-term effects of various agrochemical inputs we use on a variety of landscapes as well as the growing recognition of the complexity and sheer volume of microbial life in the soil-plant interface and below. Nicole discusses the origins of her book For the Love of Soil and some possible conclusions for building up soil health on rangelands. 

Her book can be purchased on Amazon or at her website https://www.integritysoils.co.nz/

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TRANSCRIPT

The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2tw4I0W

AoR 27: Nicole Masters, For the Love of Soil

"Six patches make you six times less likely to be entirely wrong". Diversity and variability drive rangeland health. Healthy rangelands provide an array of ecological and social goods and services. Resiliency describes the robustness of natural mechanisms that allow land to continue providing those EGS over time with and through disturbance. Disturbances are necessary processes to create botanical diversity, but also changing diversity, across space and time. Human-caused disturbances should avoid pushing ecosystems over thresholds, tipping points, into new degraded stable states. Dr. Fuhlendorf says scientists and managers should "embrace ecological humility" and assume we know less than we think we do.

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Resources

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/36uoQ28

AoR 28: Sam Fuhlendorf Part 1, Managing Rangelands for Heterogeneity

Restoring desirable native species and ecosystem function after wildfire is challenging and frequently unsuccessful. Land managers increasingly recognize the need to practice adaptive management of burned areas at both the project and regional scales. Acting on this recognition will require managers and scientists to develop a shared understanding of their roles and the challenges and opportunities they experience at each step in the adaptive management process. This symposium focused on how science for informing adaptive management of public lands is being co-produced by scientists and managers regarding the objectives of reducing exotic annual grasses, increasing desirable perennial plant communities, and reducing unhealthy fire frequency or fire size in sagebrush steppe. This symposium was part of the Society for Range Management's Annual Meeting in Denver in February 2020.

Laura Van Rieper, BLM Social Scientist at National Riparian Service Team, begins the symposium.
Matt Germino on post-fire rehabilitation research at 26:55.
David Pilliod on the Land Treatment Exploration Tool at 51:41.
Paul Steblein facilitating Q&A begins at 1:14:03. 

Soda Fire research published by USGS is available at https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/matthew-j-germino?qt-staff_profile_science_products=0#qt-staff_profile_science_products. 

The Land Treatment Exploration Tool is at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/fresc/science/land-treatment-exploration-tool?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects. 

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For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit globalrangelands.org/. 
To learn more about the Society for Range Management, visit https://rangelands.org/.

AoR 44: SRM Symposium, Adaptive Management of Burned Rangeland

This is a presentation from the Society for Range Management's annual meeting in February 2020 in a symposium titled "Stakeholder Engagement to Improve Federal Rangeland Wildfire Mitigation and Response".

Rangeland wildfires have grown in size, frequency, and length of season due to factors that include increasing human use of rangelands, vegetation state change (e.g., cheatgrass invasion), drought, and climate change. Because western U.S. rangelands are largely managed by the federal government for multiple uses, and because wildfires frequently cross jurisdictional boundaries, implementing successful strategies to reduce wildfire risk and impact or to improve post-wildfire recovery is likely to require involvement by multiple actors beyond the federal rangeland management agencies. This symposium presents results of new research exploring options for engagement between land management agencies and multiple stakeholders to improve federal wildfire mitigation and response. Katherine Wollstein will present results from three BLM field offices showing how formal and informal arrangements and processes affect learning, interpretation, and subsequent implementation of management designed to reduce wildfire risk in Idaho.

Find out more about Katie Wollstein at https://www.uidaho.edu/cnr/policy-analysis-group/about/wollstein

Recent publications by Katie
--Davis, E. J., Abrams, J., & Wollstein, K. (2019). Rangeland Fire Protection Associations as disaster response organisations. Disasters. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12389. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/disa.12389 

--Abrams, J.A., K. Wollstein, and E.J. Davis. 2018. State Lines, Fire Lines, and Lines of Authority: Rangeland Fire Management and Bottom-Up Cooperative Federalism. Land Use Policy 75:252-259. Abstract at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837718300103

--Abrams, J.A., E.J. Davis, and K. Wollstein. 2017. Rangeland Fire Protection Associations in Great Basin Rangelands: A Model for Adaptive Community Relationships with Wildfire? Human Ecology 45(6):773-785. Abstract at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-017-9945-y. 

University of Idaho Policy Analysis Group publications are available at https://www.uidaho.edu/cnr/policy-analysis-group/research/publications.

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Transcript: https://bit.ly/39h1or6

For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit globalrangelands.org/

AoR 39: Katie Wollstein, Outcome-Based Grazing to Address Wildfire Risk on Idaho Rangelands

When rangeland scientists question why those who manage ecosystems do not implement the information developed into action, the manager's concern is not centrally about the quality of data or information but rather the processes of knowledge production and implementation. Knowledge is a result of human reflection and experience, and it is most often found within an individual or collective routine or process that results in an increased capacity for decision-making and action to achieve some purpose. This definition stands in meaningful contrast to data, which refers to unedited descriptions or results of observations about states of past, present or future domains, or information about patterns that observers find or impose onto data that has been generated through experimentation.
Speaker is Neal Wilkins (East Foundation). https://eastfoundation.net/the-foundation/our-team/east-foundation-team/neal-wilkins-phd/


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Transcript: https://bit.ly/3jnk7pN

For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit globalrangelands.org/

AoR 38: Neal Wilkins, Science to Action--Communication Needs of the 21st-C Range Manager

This forum highlighting leading women in ranching operations was recorded Feb 20, 2020 at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado as part of the Society for Range Management annual meeting. The speakers included women from non-traditional ranching backgrounds as well as women whose families have been in the ranching business for several generations. The speakers provide a breadth of perspective as to what ranching is and why women are critical to the mission of sustainable ranches. This list is certainly not comprehensive of all the qualified women, but a group who carry the flag for all those who are instrumental in their ranch operations.

Speakers were:
Mary Budd Flitner, Wyoming rancher-- "Betting It All "
Ashley Hibbard, Montana rancher--"Impostor syndrome". Starts at 19:25.
Julie Sullivan, Colorado rancher--"Hippie Meets Rancher". Starts at 40:30.
Nancy Ranney, New Mexico rancher--"Regenerative Ranching in Mesa Country". Starts at 1:04:35.
Mimi Hillenbrand, South Dakota bison rancher. (With apologies to Mimi, we’ve not included this talk because recording quality was poor and listening would depend on seeing the accompanying video).
The session was coordinated and facilitated by Pat Pfeil, a Florida rancher.

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Transcript: https://bit.ly/3fLZO3h

For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit https://globalrangelands.org/

The forum was sponsored by:
National Grazing Lands Coalition
Colorado Cattlemen's Assn
Western Landowners Alliance
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado Dept. of Agriculture
AgRisk Advisors
Colorado Sheep and Wool Authority
Bamert Seed Company

AoR 36: Women In Ranching, SRM Forum

Ranching and rangelands are undergoing rapid and intertwined changes. Changes include ecological transitions due to climate and invasive species; land use transitions associated with urbanization and shifting priorities for public lands; demographic transitions reflected in the increasing average age and decreasing number of ranchers; and market transitions associated with changing consumer attitudes and globalized markets. Dr. Place discusses the importance of reconnecting consumers and food producers. Sara Place was recently a science advisor for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. This talk was recorded at the Society for Range Management annual meeting in February 2020 in a symposium titled: Strategies for sustainability transformations in western rangelands.

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Transcript: https://bit.ly/39m4eeM

For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit globalrangelands.org/

AoR 40: Sara Place, Connections Between Rural Producers and Urban Consumers

Stewart Breck is a research carnivore ecologist with the USDA-APHIS-WS National Wildlife Research Center and a member of the new Colorado State University Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence in Fort Collins. He has been focused on carnivore ecology and behavior and minimizing conflict between carnivores and people many years. The interview also includes Matt Barnes, a grazing consultant out of Colorado who works with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative and has a long history in the middle ground between ranchers and wildlife advocates. 

Resources mentioned in the interview
CSU-Center for Human & Carnivore Coexistence series on wolves in Colorado:
https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/centerforhumancarnivorecoexistence/projects/people-predators/  

Colorado State University fact sheet, Wolves and Livestock:
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/people-predators/wolves-and-livestock-8-010/  

Barnes paper on links between grazing management and preventing predation:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290434755_Livestock_Management_for_Coexistence_with_Large_Carnivores_Healthy_Land_and_Productive_Ranches

Guidebook by Western Landowners Assn.:
https://westernlandowners.org/publication/reducing-conflict-with-grizzly-bears-wolves-and-elk/

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TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2CZTiaq

For more information on rangelands and rangeland science, visit globalrangelands.org/

AoR 41: Stewart Breck & Matt Barnes, Livestock-Predator Interactions

Dr. Leslie Roche is a UC Cooperative Extension Specialist in Rangeland Science and Management with the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. She earned a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis, and was a USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow and Project Scientist before joining the faculty in September 2015. Her research and extension program is at the intersection of agricultural, environmental, and social issues of ranching and livestock production on California’s grazinglands. She works across diverse systems and uses interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to evaluate adaptive decision-making and management strategies to address key challenges and connect solution-oriented research with the needs of local communities, natural resource managers, and policymakers. This is a re-presentation of the plenary address she delivered at the SRM annual meeting in February 2020.

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Transcription: https://bit.ly/3jmoRMn

AoR 42: Dr. Leslie Roche, socio-ecological systems--emphasizing the human dimensions

Dr. Lauren Porensky is an ecologist interested in plant communities, herbivores, and spatial complexity. Her research focuses on balancing livestock production with conservation and restoration in semi-arid rangelands. Porensky got her PhD at UC Davis working on livestock management and wildlife conservation in central Kenya. She currently investigates the interactive effects of grazing, fire, prairie dogs, and variable weather on plants, livestock, and humans in the northern Great Plains.
This is a re-presentation of the plenary address Dr. Porensky delivered at the SRM annual meeting in February 2020. The accompanying PowerPoint slides are available as a PDF document at https://www.dropbox.com/s/kqkhypna7zupqtb/Porensky_plenary_handout.pdf?dl=0. 
More information about Lauren's research can be found at https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/fort-collins-co/center-for-agricultural-resources-research/rangeland-resources-systems-research/people/lauren-porensky/. 

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AoR 43: Dr. Lauren Porensky, Embracing Complexity and Humility in Rangeland Science

"We've overdone management and undervalued leadership." James Rogers is the manager of the Winecup Gamble Ranch in northeastern Nevada, one of the largest ranches in the country, spanning an area larger than Rhode Island. Tip and James discuss the history of the Winecup Gamble, pros and cons of large corporate ranches, their role in ranching and conservation communities, and unique challenges at the Winecup.  James also talks about his management philosophy of taking care of people in order to get results on the land and in the commercial enterprise of cow-calf production. The conversation includes a large-scale outcomes-based grazing pilot permit with the Bureau of Land Management.

Learn more about the Winecup Gamble Ranch at https://winecupgambleranch.com/. 

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TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at: COMING SOON!

AoR 45: James Rogers, Leadership in Managing Rangelands for People

The Western U.S. has experienced catastrophic fire frequency and extent in 2020. Matt Reeves, USFS, shares some wildfire prediction tools that may help landowners and agencies prepare in the future for both wildfire and grazing decisions that may help mitigate the effects of fire. He introduces a new monthly webinar for the growing season called “Reading the Tea Leaves”. https://www.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/events/tealeaves

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
Fuelcast app, https://www.fuelcast.net/ 
Rangeland Production Monitoring Service, https://www.lankstonconsulting.com/rpms. 
Wildfire Decision Support System, https://wfdss.usgs.gov/wfdss/WFDSS_Home.shtml

Transcript: https://bit.ly/33NOWNl

AoR 46: Matt Reeves, Fuelcasting: A West-Wide Rangeland Fuel Assessment

The last few decades have brought significant technological transitions in rangeland science and animals, specifically with advances in wireless and sensor technologies and access to “big data”. Dr. Cibils answers a few key questions: How can we direct inevitable change in desirable ways? Through these transitions, which can sometimes be disruptive economically or socially, how can we sustain the flow of rangeland products to consumers and improve environmental conditions in order to maintain or increase the well-being of those who live, work, and recreate on rangelands? Dr. Cibils and Tip discuss using technology to reduce ranch operational costs, GPS-enabled animal trackers that provide real-time location data, renewed interest in heritage breeds such as Criollo and Raramuri, and more.

Learn more about Dr. Cibils' work at https://southwestbeef.org/

Recently published papers are available here: https://jornada.nmsu.edu/user/10211/biblio. 

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3cgfYRq

AoR 48: Andres Cibils on Heritage Breeds, Animal Sensors, and Optimizing Livestock Production

It is cliche but true that most range grazing problems are animal distribution problems. And no one's name is more closely tied to distribution than Derek Bailey. Dr. Bailey and Tip discuss frontiers in understanding and manipulating livestock distribution to conserve rangeland health. The conversation includes animal selection, attractant placement, herding, and technologies for range livestock management. 

Learn more about Dr. Bailey's work at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Derek_Bailey 

Transcript available at: https://bit.ly/2FOO7Mb

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AoR 47: Derek Bailey, The Holy Grail of Grazing--Livestock Distribution Principles and Practices

Did you think of dormant-season grazing as grazing standing hay--not much to worry about? There's more going on in the plant than you think. Dr. Steve Fransen sheds some light on multiple dormancy and root shedding periods in grasses as well as eight other growth phases where there is more than meets the eye. Knowledge of these phases should change how we think about grazing grass throughout the year. Dr. Fransen is leading a Pacific Northwest Inland Pasture Calendar project designed to guide grazing management through detailed understanding of plant physiology and phenology. This project will help ranchers and other varieties of 'grass farmers' optimize pasture and rangeland and hay productivity for maximum profitability. Dr. Fransen, Washington State University's forage specialist, has a team of experts offering a 3-day training that is available to anyone interested. This material is applicable to anyone anywhere who is growing cool-season forage species. 

Register for the November 3-6, 2020 online conference and training at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pnw-inland-pasture-calendar-training-tickets-118686349065. 
After the event, we will post the conference materials webpage in this same space. That website will host ongoing training opportunities.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Pasture calendar for Western Oregon and Washington: https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/the-western-oregon-and-washington-pasture-calendar

PNW Publication, PASTURE AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTHWEST
https://www.extension.uidaho.edu/publishing/pdf/pnw/pnw0614.pdf 

TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at:  https://bit.ly/3m6jNfJ

AoR 49: Steve Fransen, How Grass Grows is More Exciting Than You Think

Climate influences vegetation, and a variable climate challenges land management. Cliff Mass, University of Washington atmospheric scientist, discusses climate drivers in the Pacific Northwest, how topography affects weather, whether 2020 wildfires can be attributed to global warming, and state-of-the-science approaches to modeling future climate. This tight episode finishes with Dr. Mass's recent analysis of climate out to 2050.

RESOURCES MENTIONED 
Cliff Mass's popular blog is at cliffmass.blogspot.com.
And his book "The Weather of the Pacific Northwest" is available at https://www.amazon.com/Weather-Pacific-Northwest-Cliff-Mass/dp/0295988479.

TRANSCRIPT
The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/35ezhII

AoR 50: Cliff Mass, 2050 Climate in the Northwest

To fertilize or not to fertilize? That is NOT the question. Nitrogen is a driver of plant growth but its complex relationship with soil carbon and soil microorganisms makes fertilizing rangelands a complicated subject. Simple solutions often miss the mark, and adding nitrogen to natural plant communities as opposed to agricultural monocultures is usually not a good way to boost forage production. Tip and Matt Germino probe the depths of this fertile question.

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
Nutrient Network (NUTNET) -- https://nutnet.org/home 

The textbook Matt referred to is "Exotic Brome-Grasses in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems of the Western US: Causes, Consequences, and Management Implications (Springer Series on Environmental Management)". Some chapters are available for download without a fee at https://greatbasinfirescience.org/research-publications/exotic-brome-grasses-arid-semiarid-ecosystems-western-us-available-chapters-causes-consequences-management-implications/. See Chapter 3 for impacts of exotic invaders on range ecosystems.

Hard copies are available for purchase here https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319249285 or here https://www.amazon.com/Exotic-Brome-Grasses-Semiarid-Ecosystems-Western/dp/3319249282.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2Kkn1yC

AoR 51: Matt Germino, Nitrogen and Carbon Cycling on Rangelands

The relationship between grazing and fire is complex. And the national conversation about using livestock grazing as a control measure is sometimes controversial. Wildfire in general is a difficult topic because of the higher fire potential of many altered plant communities, the recognition that periodic fire is probably necessary in fire-adapted plant communities, and the economic consequences of catastrophic wildfire in suppression costs and direct property damage. Using fire to fight fire and to create fire-resistant or fire-resilient plant communities, is important because it reduces the likelihood of megafires. But grazing is a more controllable tool than even prescribed fire but accomplishes different results than fire. And it's much cheaper than chemical or mechanical treatments on acreage of any size. Join Tip's conversation with  Devii Rao (Univ. of California Davis Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor), Felix Ratcliff (LD Ford Consultants in Rangeland Conservation Science), and Sheila Barry (UC-Davis Extension Advisor) about recent fire and grazing research and the idea of maximum residual dry matter as a management tool.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Blog article on results of grazing and fire research. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=43618 
For more information, contact Devii Rao, http://cemonterey.ucanr.edu/about/contact/?facultyid=28070. 

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/3fpCGrW

AoR 52: Fire Risk Reduction Through Grazing -- UC-Davis Research Roundtable

Decisions about how and whether to suppress fire on semi-arid rangelands are full of "if, then" statements. Altered plant communities, the absence of historic fire regimes, costs of restoration, and risks of human property or life are just the beginning of considerations necessary for sound wildfire management. Tip and Matt Germino discuss the big picture of how to think about fire on rangelands and fill in a few of the questions that are always answered with "It depends . . . " 

For more on wildland fire management, listen to episodes 34, 39, 44, 52.
For more on invasive grass management, listen to episodes 5, 11, 31, 24, 52.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2LJZeZr

AoR 53: Matt Germino, Rangeland Fire Ecological Risks & Benefits

Some people are called to work at the intersection of theory and practice and to challenge unchallenged ideas about what we do and why we do what we do. Clay Conry is one of those people. His Working Cows podcast is occupying a niche in livestock agriculture. As both a practicing rancher and a thinker, Clay is influencing sustainable agriculture for the good, for healthy land and animals as well as human flourishing. Join Clay and Tip for a discussion about what Clay has learned through three years of recording a weekly podcast on cows. 

Subscribe today to the Working Cows podcast. Go to https://workingcows.net/podcasts/ and click on your favorite podcasting app. 

TRANSCRIPT:  https://bit.ly/2M74aYT

AoR 55: Clay Conry, Regenerative Agriculture and the Working Cows podcast

The Society for Range Management's annual meeting will be held virtually Feb 15-18, and the keynote speakers for the plenary sessions will address three 'wicked problems' in range. Drs. Lynn Huntsinger and Nathan Sayre, who are moderating two of the plenary sessions, discuss the outline of these wicked problems to introduce the important subject matter for this year's conference. 

SHOW NOTES
Register for the conference at http://annualmeeting2021.rangelands.org/. 
Establish a membership for reduced registration at https://rangelands.org/. 

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2Y0Mcd5

AoR 54: Conservation Ranching, Wildland Fire, & Climate Change--The Wicked Problem SRM Plenaries

Maurice and Beth are a father-daughter team who raise and sell farm-finished beef in Eastern Washington and are perhaps the first two-generation pair trained in holistic management. They have experienced the highs and lows of making a family ranch run well: for people, for land, for animals, for consumers. They reflect in this interview on decades of practice and adaptive learning and offer entrepreneurial lessons for others interested in doing direct meat sales and identifying other profit centers connected to a truly sustainable ranching operation.
Beth operates a Cowgirl Camp (http://pnchm.org/educational-opportunities/new-cowgirl-camp/) for women in ranching, and the ranch website offers a good example for others working to promote their meat sales: https://www.lazyrbeef.com/. 

WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
https://www.lazyrbeef.com/
http://pnchm.org/educational-opportunities/new-cowgirl-camp/
https://csanr.wsu.edu/case-studies/

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2OTpYbI

AoR 56: Beth & Maurice Robinette, Practicing and Promoting Holistic Management

Americans are vaguely aware of pastoralism as a term connoting a lifestyle that revolves around animal raising, but most of us don't have much more understanding than a loose attempt at a definition. Fiona Flintan has spent much of her career with the International Livestock Research Institute working with pastoralist cultures in Africa, helping secure rights to land and address conflicts, and communicating this way of life to the outside world. Listen in on her conversation with Tip about livestock as a way of life rather than a means of obtaining money, about unique features of pastoralist peoples, of the nature of conflicts over abundance rather than shortage.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
https://www.ilri.org/
Guidelines for participatory rangeland management: https://www.ilri.org/publications/mapping-guidelines-participatory-rangeland-management-pastoral-and-agro-pastoral-0

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/37BWYvB

AoR 57: Fiona Flintan, Pastoralism and People of African Rangelands

The Art of Range is a podcast about rangelands for people who manage rangelands.  Our goal is education and conservation through conversation.  Find us online at www.artofrange.com.

Art of Range

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