Faulstich Grassland Management Project

2006 Report Faulstich Grassland Management Project
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Fall Burn 2005 (outlined in Blue)	Square white boxes indicate location of enclosures (Set up by Sandy Smart)
2006 Grazing System
	The Daybreak Ranch entered the 2006 grazing season under less than optimal conditions. A tragic fire in the fall of 2005 had burned nearly half of the grazing management pastures. Of the 320 acres within the 21 pastures managed by the Faulstich family, only 180 acres within 14 pastures were available for the 2006 season.
The burn is now being studied by Sandy Smart, Associate Professor at SDSU. Smart set up enclosures that are divided by the burn line – half of each enclosure is in the burn area, the other half is in the unburned area. He then measured forage clippings from the enclosures to compare against future growth and evaluate how the pasture recovers from a wild fire. Despite the knowledge that may be gained from Professor Smart’s study, the detrimental effects of the fire on the Daybreak ranch were immediately significant and then compounded by continuing drought conditions. The preceding months had produced low precipitation and, consequently, reduced forage production. While the ranch had seen an average available forage level of 2,400 lbs./acre in 2000, the 2006 season offered 30 percent less – 1,700 lbs./acre.
	Faced with a difficult situation, Faulstich reduced his herd to 55 crossbred Red Angus, South Devon and Hereford replacement heifers. Then, as the dry conditions continued to prevail, he made a decision to only graze the paddocks once, and removed the heifers from the demonstration site on July 17th. Faulstich is able to move the heifers quickly and easily. He simply hooks a mineral feeder up to his four-wheeler, and the cattle follow him. An additional innovation has been applied to his four-wheeler, which has been modified by fastening PVC pipe to the front of the vehicle. The pipe allows Faulstich to drive directly over fences without the need to remove wire or deal with gates.
Even though precipitation was less than adequate, providing water to the heifers was not an issue. Because previous droughts had made it clear to Faulstich that the ranch could not rely on precipitation to provide a water source for the herd, Jim pipes water to tanks he has placed in the paddock corners. The heifers in any of four surrounding paddocks are able to drink out of a central tank, and the cattle have a steady flow of water available at all times.
Daybreak Ranch Precipitation in Inches by Year/Month