IluvABbeef
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Has any of you noticed something in the latest posts with Ed's claims about Non-traditional ranchers vs. Traditional ranchers?
Unless my guess is incorrect, what to me "Traditional Ranching" means is the ranching done before feeding grain to livestock was popular. "Non-traditional" is after the fact.
Now here's the thing I noticed.
One of our self-proclaimed "knowledgable" posters on grass-fed beef said that the Traditional rancher had better knowledge on forage management than the Non-traditional rancher, or between yesterday's cowboy and today's cattleman. But, did the traditional rancher really have a better idea of forage management?
According to some research I had been reading up on, from my Beef Cattle Science book and my Range Management classes a year or so ago, the traditional ranchers had a poorer sense of grazing management than today's cattleman. This is because of the historical record of the winter of 1886 when thousands and thousands of cattle died due to lack of winter feed supplies and overgrazing. The traditional rancher didn't have knowledge of stocking rate or carrying capacity then; when he saw lots of grass, it was natural impulse to put lots of cattle on. It was later on after this really difficult winter did forage management start to change. Now I don't know the exact history of when Stocking Rates and Carrying Capacity was developed, but I'm sure it was sometime in the early 1900s, but probably not a common thing until later.
Now, to say that the "non-traditional rancher" has a poorer sense than the traditional rancher to me is somewhat true, yet mostly false. I mean, to go to lengths to explain the differences would be like writing a whole book on the subject. For instance, what's false about it is that today's cattlemen know about stocking rates and the need to store forage for the winter, and also rotating pastures every so often. What's true about it, however, is that there are a few producers that do supplement with grain if the pasture isn't enough to sustain the herd, especially with the calves (creep feeding). But to supplement the cows? I've yet to see that on here.
I've said what needed to be said, so I'll get off my soap box here.
Unless my guess is incorrect, what to me "Traditional Ranching" means is the ranching done before feeding grain to livestock was popular. "Non-traditional" is after the fact.
Now here's the thing I noticed.
One of our self-proclaimed "knowledgable" posters on grass-fed beef said that the Traditional rancher had better knowledge on forage management than the Non-traditional rancher, or between yesterday's cowboy and today's cattleman. But, did the traditional rancher really have a better idea of forage management?
According to some research I had been reading up on, from my Beef Cattle Science book and my Range Management classes a year or so ago, the traditional ranchers had a poorer sense of grazing management than today's cattleman. This is because of the historical record of the winter of 1886 when thousands and thousands of cattle died due to lack of winter feed supplies and overgrazing. The traditional rancher didn't have knowledge of stocking rate or carrying capacity then; when he saw lots of grass, it was natural impulse to put lots of cattle on. It was later on after this really difficult winter did forage management start to change. Now I don't know the exact history of when Stocking Rates and Carrying Capacity was developed, but I'm sure it was sometime in the early 1900s, but probably not a common thing until later.
Now, to say that the "non-traditional rancher" has a poorer sense than the traditional rancher to me is somewhat true, yet mostly false. I mean, to go to lengths to explain the differences would be like writing a whole book on the subject. For instance, what's false about it is that today's cattlemen know about stocking rates and the need to store forage for the winter, and also rotating pastures every so often. What's true about it, however, is that there are a few producers that do supplement with grain if the pasture isn't enough to sustain the herd, especially with the calves (creep feeding). But to supplement the cows? I've yet to see that on here.
I've said what needed to be said, so I'll get off my soap box here.