Information & Articles
Demography & Economy of the San Luis Valley
As part of a continuing series of educational and informational programs about this place we chose to live and work – the San Luis Valley – the San Luis Valley Council of Governments, through the San Luis Valley Development Resources Group, presents an educational session [...]
How Grass Grows is Only Part of the Secret to Better Management
Grass Growth & Regrowth for Improved Management In addition to differences in life cycle, grasses differ in their growth habit and response to climatic variables such as day length and temperature. Grasses may be referred [...]
Do You Have a Drought Plan?
By Cassidy Woolsey As beef producers you are often instructed to have a plan: a grazing plan, marketing plan, succession plan, nutrition plan – you name it, there’s probably a recommendation to plan for it. [...]
Nutritional Value & Toxins in Various Noxious Weeds
By Beth Burritt and Rae Ann Hart Why don’t livestock eat most noxious weeds? Often weeds contain some level of toxins but most weeds are not so toxic that they cause health problems or death provided livestock [...]
Feed Nutrient Table
This report contains information on the composition and nutrients of feeds. To view the report, click here.
Changes in Unconfined Aquifer Storage
Year 2002 - 2015 Change in unconfined aquifer storage has been calculated for a defined area which is shown on the below map and graph. The changes in the aquifer storage were based on [...]
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust
By RiGHT Founded in 1999, the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) is a local non-profit organization that works with private landowners, public agencies and other conservation organizations to protect and support working ranches [...]
Boyce Filing Water Application Soon
By RUTH HEIDI, Courior Editor ALAMOSA Saguache County rancher Gary Boyce's plans for a water export project are imminent. "This is not a forever process," Boyce said during a recent interview. "This is something [...]
The Link Between Livestock Grazing Management & Hydrology
Water is a finite resource which cycles from the atmosphere to the soil and back again to the atmosphere. Water falls from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, or hail and is intercepted [...]
Preserving Nature’s Gift
By J. Webb. There you sit, relaxing in the cool yet warm gaze of the autumn sun. You're aimlessly looking out at the changing leaves of the matured cottonwood trees. The smell of fresh [...]
Creating New Topsoil
By Dr. Christine Jones Summary: Several centimeters of topsoil per year can form under favorable conditions, which good management can create. This article explains how. "The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself" (Roosevelt [...]
Nitrogen: The Doubled Edged Sword
Christine Jones, PhD www.amazingcarbon.com Nitrogen is a component of protein and DNA and as such, is essential to all living things. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, around 97% of the nitrogen supporting life on earth [...]
Liquid Carbon Pathway
At cropping conferences when soil carbon is discussed, a conclusion usually drawn is that it is not possible to lift levels to a significant extent in a short timeframe. Most scientists contend carbon is a useful factor [...]
Integrated Land Reclamation in Coal Basin, Colorado
by Brian McMullen, White River National Forest Soil Scientist Download the PDF Presentation, Click here.
Can Pasture Really Compete with Row Crops?
By Jim Gerrish Earlier this year I had a ranch client in the San Hills region of Nebraska who was contemplating buying a couple of pivots for pasture-finishing his cattle and was wondering if [...]
Is Pumping a Moral Act?
Several weeks ago as I was contemplating the water situation here in the Valley, I found myself in the middle of a rant about how pumping water is a moral issue. I normally have [...]
What Kind of Example are We, as Water Users?
Sincerely, Tom Culler Antonito I read an article in a religious magazine once, which told of a young man who had to suddenly take over his father's business upon the unexpected death of his [...]
More Transparency Needed with Closed Basin Project
Sincerely Hugh L. Fuchs Del Norte With the 2015 irrigation season starting this week with a couple of start early exceptions, water to irrigate fields and pastures is of vital importance. This interest is [...]
The Key to Increasing Profit No One Talks About
By Dave Pratt At a recent workshop, I told the audience that if they looked in any farming or ranching publication, they would find articles about cutting feed costs and improving production efficiency, but [...]
Grazing Management in a Dry Climate
By Heather Smith Thomas Most stockmen using intensive grazing systems are in relatively humid climates or us irrigated pastures, but a few are trying these methods on arid rangelands. It has to be done [...]
9 Things to Stop Doing
By Wayne Burleson In 1995 the Quirk Cattle Company, a century-old family ranch near Eureka, Montana, was concerned about the future. the owners, Faye and Leland Driggs, strived each day to take good care [...]
Land Planning for Diet Selection
By Jim Howell I love stock density. Apart from the aesthetic pleasure of watching huge numbers of herbivores grazing in a tight, cohesive herd, just the way nature intended, high stock density is associated [...]
Wherever Water Runs
Wherever water runs in an arid world, it leaves a mark. If a ditch leaks, even for a short time, onto a fallow corner there will be a narrow streak of green weeds recording on [...]