Latest Grazing Stories

According to an AFP report, Kenya's drought is having an impact on the country's wildlife, causing the Kenya Wildlife Service to feed hippos to keep them alive. In Tsavo West national park hippos are dying in large numbers, and other species are being forced to change their diet. About 15 hippos have been found dead in the park within the last few weeks due to the lack of grass to graze on around the pools they submerge themselves in. "For the past one month, the research team has...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Rangeland Trust has partnered with Panorama Meats, Inc. of Vina, Calif. in a joint effort to support the long-term conservation of California's rangelands. Beginning this week, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Beef sold in California will be contributed to the California Rangeland Trust to assist ongoing work to place conservation easements on working cattle ranches. "The...

In an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions, scientists in Canada are attempting to breed cows that will burp less.Stephen Moore, professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is leading a team of scientists with the goal of pinpointing specific genes that account for a cow's burps. His study is found in the Journal of Animal Science.Cows are a major producer of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas with the 20 times the polluting strength...

According to conservationists, livestock grazing poses a threat to a variety of fish and other wildlife across over three-fourths of their dwindling habitats on federal land in the Western U.S.WildEarth Guardians began a study last year, using satellite mapping and federal records, matching wildlife habitat and U.S. grazing allotments across over 260 million acres of federal land in the West.The study includes most of the remaining habitat of the Greater sage grouse, a hen-sized game bird...

Researchers reported on Wednesday that numbers of wild grazing animals in Kenya's world-renowned Masai Mara National Reserve have fallen substantially in 15 years as wildlife competes with neighboring human settlements, Reuters reported.In 2006, a U.S. TV network and newspaper named the Masai Mara, best known for its spectacular annual wildebeest migration, the seventh "New Wonder" of the world as hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the reserve annually.However, six species --...

CENTENNIAL, Colo., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- New survey data show that America's cattle farmers and ranchers are raising a lot more than just cattle on their ranches. From endangered species to native trees and grasses, America's farms and ranches are hosting, and often actively supporting, wildlife, natural ecosystems and the environment. Eighty-eight percent of cattle farmers and ranchers surveyed said their land includes areas that support wildlife. More than half report wildlife...

Much of Texas' wheat may be grazed as a part of a dual-use crop. But many fields are still prepared using conventional tillage, which may not efficiently capture rainfall "“ a key to economic success in a semi-arid environment, said a Texas AgriLife Research scientist.Dr. Paul DeLaune, environmental soil scientist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Vernon, said tillage operations can increase soil compaction, thereby increasing runoff.Each year, depending on market...

An English sheep badger has been deprived of his birthright of grazing his flock in his village for using the sheep to scare his neighbors. Jeremy Awdry, 60, was spared prison Friday by a judge who imposed a 16-week sentence and then suspended it, The Daily Telegraph reported. But the judge imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. for two months and took away Awdry's grazing privileges. Awdry, like others born in the Forest of Dean and known as sheep badgers, had the privilege of grazing...

A scientist with the World Agroforestry Center called for new grazing practices among farmers as an effective way to fight global climate change while improving farm productivity. Andreas Wilkes told Reuters that simple changes could help soak up millions of tons of carbon each year, adding that they should be adopted by the United Nations as part of a way for farmers to earn carbon credits as incentives to pay for a needed change in practices. Wilkes said new methods, including replanting...

Cattle and sheep grazed on natural grasslands help maintain biodiversity and produce tastier, healthier meat, according to a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The research, part of the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) program which draws together the social and natural science, concluded that pasture-based farming is good for the environment, the consumer and the producer but needs stronger support from British policy makers if it is to realize its full...