Page 24 - SJ-Beef-Week-2023_Preview

Stock Journal Beef Week | 2023
Kansas tallgrass prairie -where

butterflies and Angus cattle meet

By SHAN GOODWIN Blythe runs cattle on Blythe
Family Farms near White
HE staggering size, and City.
incredible diversity, “Our farm receives
Tof cattle ranching in between 76 and 100cm (760-
the United States has been 1000mm) rain a year, and
a tremendous challenge we feel blessed,” she said.
as the sustainability “To maintain a cow for a
discussion has moved year it takes 2.5ha.”
forward, those at the To show the diversity,
helm of efforts to drive she outlined ranches run
improvement report. by her friends.
The vastly different In Loving, New Mexico,
climates, conditions, at an elevation of 930m
production systems and and with 25 to 30cm (250-
selection criteria required 300mm) of annual rain,
mean the pathways to the stocking rate was 32ha
making gains across the per cow, with native grass
board have had to be very in summer and irrigated
innovative. annuals and perennials in
Still, significant progress winter.
has been made, Kansas In Spring Ridge, South
beef producer Debbie Carolina, at 193m above Kansas beef producers Duane and Debbie Lyons-Blythe run Angus on
Lyons-Blythe, the chair sea level and with 127cm native pasture - the unique Flint Hills tallgrass prairie.
of the US Roundtable for (1270mm) of rain, the
Sustainable Beef, said. stocking rate was less than “That means getting rid purchases, in both quality
Compared to 1977, one hectare per cow on no of the trees. There were as well as health of the
today’s farmers and native grass, rather a mix no trees on it when the calves,” Ms Lyons-Blythe
ranchers in the US of perennials and annuals pioneers came over in said.
produce the same amount year round. their covered wagons. “After purchase, they are
of beef with 33 per cent In Kim, Colorado, a “We use prescribed burns immediately vaccinated
fewer cattle. ranch at 1734m elevation, as part of our management with our herd’s vaccine
How’d they do it? In a receiving 22 to 35.5cm and the goal is that within protocols and fed a
nutshell, better animal (220-355mm) rain, was days we have regrowth. silage and ground hay
health and welfare, better only able to run one cow “We are also very ration and free choice
nutrition and better per 40ha on native grass involved in wildlife hay. They are moved to
genetics. in summer and irrigated management - we feel it is winter grass and grown
Ms Lyons-Blythe gave a annuals and perennials in an indicator of grassland through the winter until
presentation at the Global winter, plus hay crops. health.”We manage for all 45 days prior to breeding
Roundtable for Sustainable sorts of birds as well as season.”
Beef conference, held in Tallgrass prairie deer. The Flint Hills has a Before being bred, they
Denver, Colorado, which The Blythe farm, at 449m lot of milkweed so we are are vaccinated again and
demonstrated just how elevation, is mostly native on the monarch butterfly put on an increasing plane
varied the cattle game is in grass grazing with only migration route and have of nutrition to ensure high
the States. winter grazing on annuals millions come through.” pregnancy rates.
The country’s average and perenniels. Blythe Family Farms runs “The bulls we breed
herd size is just 43.5 head, The farm is set on the a registered Angus herd to are selected first for
but there are more than Flint Hills tallgrass prairie, of about 250 cows and a high calving ease and
700,000 producers. named because of a rock crossbred commercial cow low birth weight, next
Ninety per cent of farms structure close to the herd of 250. for weaning and yearling
and ranches are family- surface of the ground such The operation also has growth, keeping in mind
owned and more than half of that the top soil is very a heifer development that commercial cow-calf
those are today run by the shallow. program, raising around producers must have a
third generation or more. The Flint Hills are 350 young replacement live calf first then be able
There are 93 million unique - low rolling hills of heifers which are marketed to market the calf either at
head of beef cattle and limestone strata that cover in the fall and spring. weaning or slaughter, or
27pc of all US land - or a layers of sandstone, flint The Blythes purchase at some time in between.
whopping 250m hectares - and chert and the grass commercial Angus and We choose well-balanced
is grazing land. prairie, which turns amber, Angus crossbred heifers sires that are proven
Rainfall averages differ red, rush and purple and from their bull customers, easy calvers,” Ms Lyons-
from 635cm to less than grows up to 2.5m high in a raise them the same Blythe said.
130mm a year. good year. way they raise their own • Shan Goodwin traveled
“It is our responsibility replacement females and to Denver, USA, to cover
Diversity to maintain that prairie in offer them to the market. the Global Roundtable
With her husband Duane its original pristine state,” “Duane has been very for Sustainable Beef
and five children, Ms Lyons- Ms Lyons-Blythe said. selective in the heifers he conference for ACM.
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