Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/958929
"The stocking rate can increase because you are first accessing feed on the ranch that the animals would not normally graze and then you begin to actually grow more forage when the ecosystem processes improve," says Jones. HSD integrated into a holistic grazing plan – is a specific tool in a rancher's tool box of resources to introduce to land that needs an identified biological change, says Jones. The holistic process includes identifying goals and resources, as well as simultaneously looking at the big picture and "getting down on the ground to look at the soil surface," he explains. "It is a process that is unique to the context of where you are with your ranch – with the social, biological and financial factors." Rick Caquelin has been implementing a modified-HSD grazing plan on his Stanford, Mont., ranch for the past 15 years. "I typically graze four pair per acre," he says. "I use temporary fencing and move them weekly or sooner." Caquelin grazes his dryland range all year, which reduces the amount of hay fed during the winter months. "In the winter, I feed hay at 50 to 75 percent of their feed requirements because I don't have enough winter pasture to get by on grazing alone," he says. Over the years, Caquelin has seen an increase in forage production, as well as animal performance. "It's theoretical, observational and not provable, but my calves have consistently weighed 25 pounds or more than other local ranches' average calf weight," he says. Monitoring forage consumption and animal performance is a key to the success of a HSD grazing plan, according to Danny Pratt, NRCS District Conservationist of Chinook, Mont. "Water is the catalyst of change in the grasslands," says Pratt. "In areas of Montana where you get 10 to 12 inches of precipitation in a year, the forage will not recover as rapidly as in irrigated ground or areas of higher precipitation." farm406 24 Rancher David Sturman moves temporary fencing as his sheep run to the next paddock of his high stock density grazing operation near St. Ignatius, Mt. Sturman uses HSD grazing for both his sheep and cows. NRCS photo.