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The ranching industry’s toxic grass problem

Food Environment and Reporting Network

Fescue toxicity is the most devastating livestock disorder east of the Mississippi,” said Craig Roberts, a forage specialist at the University of Missouri (MU) Extension and an expert on fescue. Instead, in 2012, they converted 90 acres of pasture to native warm-season grasses, using their own money and cost-share funding from the U.S.

Ranching 101
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Can Point Reyes National Seashore Support Wildlife and Ranching Amid Climate Change?

Civil Eats

Half the largest herd—which lives in a 2,900-acre reserve with a fence that protects nearby ranches—died mostly due to insufficient forage. A spokeswoman said the Park Service will ultimately consider the effect of fence removal on the ranches and dairies in the new plan—but it has yet to provide that information.

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Meet the 4th Generation Rancher Driving a Regenerative Cattle Collective Forward

Modern Farmer

“Driving the I-5 between LA and San Francisco, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what people think cattle ranching is.’” Carman didn’t intend to stay on the ranch on which she grew up. She witnessed how difficult it was for them to work the ranch alone. Carman uses the principles of regenerative soil management on the ranch.

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The Solution to Water Woes Could Lie With Beavers

Modern Farmer

It’s late October and Jon Griggs, manager of Maggie Creek Ranch in Elko, Nevada, still has more than a thousand Angus-cross calves left to wean. It’s been a decent year at the 200,000-acre spread, with enough forage for the 2,000 mother cows and their calves. A beaver is released at Maggie Creek Ranch.

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In Fire-Stricken Maui, Sustainable Land Management Is Key

Modern Farmer

Surveying the aftermath of the Kula Upcountry Fire—one of three devastating wildfires that raged across Maui last month—Brendan Balthazar noticed a striking pattern emerge across his cattle ranch. Peppered throughout some 500 acres of charred pastureland, he found sizable patches of grass left unscathed by the blaze.

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Champions of conservation

Todays Farmer Magazine

Focus on forage earns Cope Grass Farms 2023 Missouri Leopold Award Cope Grass Farms of Truxton, Mo., Cope Grass Farms is one of seven farms in Missouri certified by the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program as producing grassland bird-friendly beef. 17 during the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture in Osage Beach.

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USDA to Begin Issuing $1.75 Billion to Agricultural Producers Through Critical Emergency Relief Programs

ProAg

These much-needed payments are helping farming and ranching operations recover following natural disasters in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Ranchers who lost grazing acres due to drought and wildfire and received assistance through ELRP Phase One will soon receive an additional payment through ELRP Phase Two.