Latest Rangeland Stories

An Australian technology company is close to commercializing the world’s first fully automated system for mustering and managing cattle in the rangelands. Alice Springs-based Precision Pastoral Pty Ltd has developed the Remote Livestock Management System (RLMS), which can save cattle producers around $68 a head in annual cattle operational costs and help them ensure their businesses have a strong economic future The Australian Government has announced it will provide a $350,000 grant...

DAVIS, Calif., Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is partnering with California's tribal nations, for a second year in a row, to make $1 million available to help tribal farmers and ranchers put additional conservation on the ground. Applications will be accepted through November 16, 2012, for consideration pending Congressional approval of Farm Bill conservation funding. Funding is being made available...

  Grazing by wild animals like zebra doesn't always harm, and may help, livestock like cattle African ranchers often prefer to keep wild grazers like zebras off the grass that fattens their cattle. But a new study by Kenyan and University of California at Davis researchers shows that grazing by wild animals doesn't always harm, and may sometimes benefit, cattle. The results are published in this week's issue of the journal Science. "Although savanna rangelands worldwide are...

By Don Comis, ARSRising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can reverse the drying effects of predicted higher temperatures on semi-arid rangelands, according to a study published Aug 3 in the scientific journal Nature by a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and university scientists.Warmer temperatures increase water loss to the atmosphere, leading to drier soils. In contrast, higher CO2 levels cause leaf stomatal pores to partly close, lessening the amount of water vapor that escapes and...

Ranchers in the central Great Plains may be using some of their winter downtime in the future to rehearse the upcoming production season, all from the warmth of their homes, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil scientists.The ranchers would use the GPFARM (Great Plains Framework for Agricultural Resource Management)-Range computer model to see which cattle or sheep stocking rate scenarios are sustainable. Soil scientists Gale Dunn and Laj Ahuja with USDA's Agricultural...

Fire, cattle and even prairie dogs all could play a role in sustaining the biodiversity of the western Great Plains, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researcher.As large grazers, cattle now perform the historical role of buffalo on the Great Plains. Ecologist David Augustine and his colleagues-in collaboration with state, federal, and university researchers-have results from several studies over the past 13 years showing that fire, cattle and prairie dogs together maintain...

Accreditation Awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced that the California Rangeland Trust has been awarded accredited status. "Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever," said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. "The accreditation...

See this family on new YouTube video! SACAMENTO, Calif., July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tim Koopmann and his family were honored in June at the annual fundraiser for the California Rangeland Trust with the third annual Conservationist of the Year Award for their life-long commitment to ranching, the environment and rangeland conservation. Tim, his wife Melinda and children Clayton and Carrisa, operate a family-run beef cattle ranch in Sunol, a small community in Alameda County. They...

NAPA, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Rangeland Trust is pleased to announce the permanent conservation of the 1,275-acre Running Deer Ranch, owned by John and Judy Ahmann in Napa County. The Rangeland Trust worked with the California Department of Conservation, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), and the Napa Land Trust to place an agricultural conservation easement on the property, ensuring that it will remain a...

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, Ore., are taking a careful look at how grazing cattle affect sage-grouse habitat on high desert rangelands.Cattle share this habitat with sage-grouse, which are chicken-sized birds that are notorious for the showy commotion they create during mating season. But the sage-grouse numbers have declined throughout their range, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has added the...