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Pale WolfberryLycium pallidum
Pale wolfberry is a thorny shrub with gray branches. The roots are rhizomatous so that it looks like wolfberry patches across the landscape. It has light green, fleshy ovate leaves. There are large thorns throughout the stems of the plant. The bell-shaped flowers are greenish-white, turning to a paper-like texture as the fruits develop. The plants bloom from April through May. The fruits ripen to a bright red berry.
They are common throughout most of the state along washes and on dry slopes in the desert and semi-desert grasslands from 3,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation. It is the most widespread wolfberry species. With the exception of pale wolfberry, all of the remaining species of wolfberry in the state shed their leaves and become dormant during a drought.
The wolfberry genus is made up of shrubs that were important to Native Americans due to the production of abundant slightly bitter, juicy berries. Wildlife eat the berries.
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Selecting an Optimum Breeding Season Length
Previously released Thursday, April 1, 2021 for the UNL BeefWatch Podcast Joslyn Beard, Livestock Specialist, University of Arizona Kacie McCarthy, UNL Cow-Calf Specialist Travis Mulliniks, UNL Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Range Production Systems
Decisions in livestock production are never simple, but rather complex. Each decision or change in management results in multiple changes or outcomes downstream of the resulting change. One example of this would be changing breeding season length. The duration of breeding season is often discussed with two production goals in mind, 1) creating a consistent calf crop and 2) increasing pounds of weaned calf. Both of which can be done by having a shorter breeding season and then shortened calving period, which is a positive and beneficial goal and change. However, does a shortened breeding season optimize the entire production system?
Maintaining a short breeding season (i.e., 45-day breeding season or less), thus producing a shortened calving season, provides a more concentrated monitoring period during calving, and ultimately produces more uniform and heavier calves. For instance, a cow calving within the first 21 days of a calving season results in heavier weighing calves at weaning and increases her chance to cycle back prior to the next breeding season. On the other hand, a shortened breeding season has its disadvantages related to reproductive performance and potentially selling more open cull cows. Following the traditional weaning time frame of being in the fall, market prices for cull cows are going to be lower when sold in the fall. Therefore, producers may want to take advantage of seasonal market trends and consider holding culls until market prices are higher, which is typically during the spring months. Another option within this model to increase value in cull cows would be rebreeding open cows for a fall calving season. A study done at UNL reported that rebreeding open cows and selling in April rather than open cull cows in November increased profitability of the system (2016 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report, pp 11-13). However, instead of retaining and feeding open cull cows months after preg checking to market later, there may be an additional management decision to consider for producers to make to increase profitability.
Shortened breeding and calving periods may be optimum for one side of the production system; however, it may lead to decreased revenue potential in other parts of the system. In contrast to a shorter breeding/calving period, a longer breeding season provides more opportunities for cows to become pregnant. For instance, previous research at UNL (Deutscher et al., 1991) reported pregnancy rates were 84, 89, and 94% for 30-, 45-, and 70-day breeding season lengths, respectively. This does lead to an increased calving period and increased distribution of calf weights at weaning the subsequent year. However, extending the breeding season creates an opportunity to sell cows that would have potentially been sold as open cull cows as pregnant, later calving cows. Selling late bred cows in the fall may be an option to increase revenue without increasing input expenses while maintaining a tighter calving period the subsequent year. Pregnancy detection can be done as early as 30 days post breeding, but for most herds pregnancy checking is done at weaning which is 3-5 months after the start of the breeding season. By extending the breeding season by another 30 days, cows are given one more estrus cycle to become bred and still be in the window of pregnancy detection at weaning. Additionally, extending the breeding season to rebreeding cull cows for fall markets can offer the additional value without the added feed cost associated with retaining opens for the spring market.
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Monitoring Minute: Repeat Photography
Repeat photography can be useful to help monitor how rangeland vegetation may change across space and/or time. Comparing pictures of the same site taken over a period of years furnishes visual evidence of vegetation and soils changes. All photographs should be taken in color. Each time repeat photographs are taken, follow the same process and photo sequence that was used in taking the initial pictures. This routine will also make labeling the photographs easier once you are back in the office. Make sure your shots include the same area and landmarks/skyline in the repeat pictures that were included in the initial pictures.
An example protocol for repeat photography in southeastern Arizona includes:
- Bring to the field the historical photographs or copies of them to help you find the site and line up your shots.
- Remember to completely fill out the Photograph ID sheet. Use a large, black marker to fill out the sheet, writing as largely and legibly as possible.
- In all, at least five different pictures should be taken. Pictures need to be taken in the direction the transect runs and in each of the four cardinal directions.
- The use of a compass is a good way to ensure that you are taking the photographs in the correct direction. This helps in the future when others come out to read the transect and try to match up the photographs with their direction.
- The transect direction photo should always show the transect marker (T post, angle iron, rock cairn, etc.) and the completed Photograph ID sheet. (Figures 1 and 2)
- Stand on the transect starting point to take each of the photographs for the four cardinal directions. Use the historical photographs to align your photo to match as closely as possible. Try to get as much land view as possible but still get the skyline in your photo frame for reference points. The importance of taking photographs in each of the cardinal directions is that it helps to record the condition of the entire site and not just one view. These additional photographs are very valuable to use in the future to help others see the “bigger picture” and to find the site by identifying landmarks.
- Sometimes looking back at the historical photographs, the photo was taken in a different direction from which the transect was run. In cases such as these go ahead and take a photograph to match the historical photo (make sure you note the direction). Then take another photograph showing the view of the transect direction.
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Figure 1. T postmarks transect location and direction of transect.
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Figure 2. Rock cairnmarks transect location and direction of transect.
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UA RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE 47 RANCH IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA LOOKED AT THE GRAZING BEHAVIOR, DIET SELECTION, AND MEAT CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIOLLO CATTLE. By: Flavie Audoin Supervisor: Dr. George Ruyle
The research was conducted at the 47 Ranch / Cross U Cattle Company, Cochise County, in Southeastern Arizona. The ranch is owned by Deb and Dennis Moroney who raise Criollo cattle and Navajo Churro sheep on rangelands for meat and wool production. They market their meat directly to the consumers as all-natural. Dennis wanted to have research conducted on his ranch to get a better understanding on how his Criollo cattle use the landscape, what they eat, and how it affects the meat quality. In this study, we looked at seasonal grazing behavior (cows, heifers, steers, and bulls), diet selection (cows, heifers, and steers), and meat characteristics (steers) of Criollo cattle.
What is Criollo (Cree-yo-yo) cattle? You might be more familiar with Texas Longhorn or Corriente but Criollo, probably not so much... They are all related! Criollo cattle are a heritage breed that was brought to the western hemisphere by early European explorers. For the past thirty years, drought has strongly affected parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the Southwestern United States; and Sonora, and Chihuahua in Northern Mexico. Climate forecasts out to 2060 suggest that southwestern states will become hotter and drier. Reducing herd size and feeding harvested forage (usually not done in arid regions) are two common drought management techniques used by ranchers. However, these are short-term solutions. Therefore, it may be expedient for ranchers to choose cattle breeds which are better adapted to this dry and drying climate and rugged topography in order to utilize the rangeland forage resources without degrading them. Criollo cattle have been studied to see if they are well-adapted to these more arid conditions because of its smaller frame, grazing behavior, and diet selection. Preliminary research conducted in New Mexico has found that the advantageous fertility, longevity, and low-cost production of Criollo cattle meant that the net economic returns were equal to what could be made from British breeds in the area. They could be part of a long-term solution for persistent drought in the southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, for some ranchers.
Criollo cattle adapt their grazing behavior according to seasons and years Our study showed that Criollo cattle (cows, heifers, and steers) adapt their grazing behavior according to the seasons and years. With our results, we could stipulate that if the year was dry or with average rainfall, cattle had a tendency to spend more time near water during the drier periods than during the wetter periods. If the year was wetter than average, there was no noticeable difference in the time spent near water between dry, and wet periods. They were drinking, resting, ruminating and shading during the hotter hours; and grazing and traveling during the cooler hours. The cattle were not spending much time near water during the night and evening hours. They presented two peaks of grazing per day; one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Our results suggest that the ability of the Criollo cows, heifers and steers to graze widely across the landscape might help reduce land degradation associated with improper spatial distribution.
Criollo cattle adapt their diet according to seasons and years Usually, cattle are considered grazers, while sheep are intermediate feeders and goats are concentrate selectors/browsers. Our study shows that the Criollo cattle might be more intermediate feeders because they consume grasses, shrubs, cacti, and legumes. For instance, they make really good use of Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) during several months. In July 2018, the diet of the finishing steers (steers for slaughter) was 99% of Honey mesquite. However, a lot of ranchers in southeastern Arizona are trying to eradicate Honey mesquite because of its invasive encroachment on the land. This means that if ranchers in the same area, are grubbing out Honey mesquite, they have to make sure that their cattle can find a plant that provides the same nutritional needs as Honey mesquite. Also, field observations showed that adapted Criollo cattle consume a fair amount of Prickly Pear pads (Opuntia phaeacantha) during winter. They also adapt their diet if the conditions are difficult and might try novel foods such as Border Pinyon (Pinus discolor), and Ocotillo flowers (Fouquieria splendens) to survive during a severe drought.
Criollo cattle produce very tender, flavorful, and healthy meat. In our study, the average live weight of the finishing steers was 1,089 lbs with a dressing percentage of 54%. The average yield grade was 2, which meant that their meat had a high cutability. The average quality grade was Standard for the study but 16% were Prime, and 35% were Choice. The meat was graded very tender according to USDA standards. Our study also looked at the fatty acid profile of the meat. Western diets are deficient in omega 3 fatty acids and have excessive amounts of omega 6 fatty acids compared with the diet on which human beings evolved and their genetic patterns were established. Very high omega 6 to omega 3 ratios as found in Western diets promote the pathogenesis of many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases whereas a low omega 6 to omega 3 ratio exerts suppressive effects. A healthy diet should consist of roughly one to four times more omega 6 than omega 3 fatty acids. On average, the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio for grass-fed cattle is 2:1, while the ratio for grain-fed cattle is 9:1 (Practical Farmers of Iowa, 2019; Simopoulos, 2002, 2010). In our study, the average ratio omega 6 to omega 3 was 2.4:1. In addition, because of a high percentage of oleic acid found in the meat, we could stipulate that consumer eating this Criollo range-fed meat should have an increased perception of juiciness, and experience satisfying flavors. Our results showed that the meat produced by the Criollo cattle was also healthy for human consumption.
These results on the grazing behavior, diet selection and meat characteristics of Criollo cattle highlight the potential for raising certain heritage livestock breeds on rangelands for conservation purposes.
EXAMINING FORAGE USE BY HORSES, CATTLE, AND ELK ON THE HEBER WILD HORSE TERRITORY By: Andrew Antaya Supervisor: Dr. George Ruyle
The University of Arizona has been monitoring rangeland use by cattle, free-roaming horses, and elk on the Heber Wild Horse Territory since 2017. The combination of all three grazing species presents unique management challenges for rangeland managers. Managing for acceptable levels of forage utilization can be difficult when horses and elk are present in addition to cattle, as the number of horses and elk are unpredictable, and their presence can vary across the season. This poses a challenge for rangeland managers when planning stocking rates. Free-roaming horses and elk can contribute to forage utilization, but their contribution maybe unknown or highly variable for a given area.
The University of Arizona has been studying how each species contributes to forage utilization, and how site use by each grazing species can vary across years. Results indicate that site use by each species is highly variable between sites, and between years. Where free-roaming horses are present in addition to cattle, they tend to have an additive effect on forage utilization. Elk tend to have a compensatory effect, and tend to use sites only when cattle are not present.
If free-roaming horses are present at a site, we recommend for rangeland managers to anticipate the effect free-roaming horses may have on forage utilization and consider their effect on forage utilization when planning stocking rates for cattle. Conversely, elk seem to contribute little to forage utilization when cattle are present and are likely to only be a major contributor to forage utilization if cattle are not present during the grazing season.
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Artificial Insemination Clinics
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension hosted another AI Clinic on March 25-27, 2022, at the Rimrock Headquarters of UA V Bar V Research Ranch. During this clinic, participants learned about cattle anatomy, estrous synchronization, animal handling, herd health, understanding EPDs, AI equipment, and handling practices. To learn about the AI process participants were able to practice using a bovine simulator, uterine tracts, and live cows.
Those who attended responded in the post-clinic survey they were more likely to implement AI practices they had learned on their own operation, were more likely to perform AI practices themselves for their operation and were more confident in their abilities to perform AI practices.
We are currently planning to host another clinic in the fall of 2022. More information can be found at the link below.
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New Range and Livestock University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Publications
Ranch Scale Drought Monitoring Tools
Summary: Drought can impact ranching operations in numerous ways from directly reducing seasonally available water and forage to increasing wildfire risk and causing long-term impacts to rangelands. Monitoring weather and climate across a ranch can be a useful management tool when coupled with a detailed drought mitigation plan to anticipate impacts and trigger adaptive management decisions such as changing your grazing rotation schedule or in extreme circumstances, culling decisions (Tolleson 2016). Assessing drought conditions in the southwest U.S. is challenging because there are few long-term climate monitoring stations, especially in rural and remote areas, and monsoon rains can be very localized.
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1995-2022.pdf
Rangeland Plant Life Forms
Summary: Allen et al. (2011) defined rangelands as: Arid and semi-arid land on which the indigenous vegetation is predominantly grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shrubs that are grazed or have the potential to be grazed, and which is used as a natural ecosystem for the production of livestock and wildlife. Rangelands may include natural grasslands, savannas, shrub lands, many deserts, steppes, tundras, alpine communities, and marshes.
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1958-2021.pdf
The How and Why of Calf Castration
Summary: An important management decision for ranchers to keep their cattle healthy and productive is castration. This video shows the how and why of calf castration, including equipment needed, anatomy of a testicle, and proper methods to decrease calf morbidity and mortality. Note: Viewer Discretion is Advised.
https://youtu.be/ZCssuTQrxds
Backyard Chickens and Ectoparasites: Introduction and Management
Summary: Keeping backyard chickens is an important socio-cultural activity for many households, especially in rural and fringe communities. There has been an increasing interest in this activity in urban areas in recent times, resulting in a rise in sales of fertilized hatching eggs, young birds and backyard coops from local and online sellers. While keeping chickens may sound easy, it has also led to a surge in reports of ectoparasite and other pest issues related to keeping chickens that novice backyard chicken keepers have not anticipated.
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1878-2021.pdf
Recent Extension BOLO's
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