Karlen Grassland Management Project

2003 Project Report Karlen Grassland Management Project
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The three permanent transects were monitored on the demonstration site May 19, 2003. The grass looked green and was off to a good start.
Merill Karlen decided to make two rotations through the pasture this season. Karlen turned 166 cow/calf pairs onto the pasture on May 20th. The first rotation took 46 days to move through 8 pastures; the second 54 days through 10 pastures. Two pastures in a clay pan area were skipped during the first rotation to allow the grass to grow and come in thicker. The majority of the cool season grass in this area is western wheat. The deferred grazing paid off. During the second rotation, which began July 7th, the grass was plentiful.
Many of the cattle were in the rotation during previous years so they know what to expect when moved to a new pasture. As a result, it takes Karlen about 45 - 60 minutes to move the herd.
Seven Black Angus bulls were turned out June 20th. June 3rd, Wayne Bachman and Justin Jessop took soil samples and used an infiltration ring to measure infiltration rates on the permanent transects.

Karlen has one tank full of water in the new paddock before moving the herd. This is crucial to the producer/cattle relationship. The cattle gain trust and learn that everything will be taken care of; if you lose that trust it will take time to regain it.	Karlen has two 110 gallon water tanks with 1-1/2 miles of black PE pipe that is laid above ground under the fence. The pipe has quick connectors every 500 feet. This allows the tanks to be placed in various locations throughout the grazing system. The pipe is sturdy and can withstand a trailer full of bulls driving over it.
The spring rains supplied much needed moisture. Total precipitation for the grazing season was 9 inches. Water samples were collected from runoff three different times throughout the season. The grazing season ended on August 28th.
The annual site tour was held July 16, 2003 in conjunction with the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition tour.
Approximately 75 people attended the tour. Tour participants commented on how good the grazing system looked this year.	Dan Rasmussen (left), SD Grasslands Coalition Director and Laverne Koch (right), SD Grasslands Coalition Chairman address tour participants.



Other speakers included Karlen; Justin Jessop, Grasslands Management and Planning Specialist; and Wendy Uherka, Grasslands Intern. After the tour lunch was provided by Farm Credit Services of Pierre, SD.
Thanks to our project sponsors: American Creek Conservation District USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service SD Dept. of Agriculture South Dakota State University US Fish & Wildlife Service SD Grasslands Coalition SD Dept. of Environmental & Natural Resources SD Association of Conservation Districts SD Game Fish & Parks Farm Credit Services of America