Fall & Winter 2012: Volume 33, Numbers 3 & 4 - Missouri Prairie ...

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Native Warm-Season Grass News Teachable Moment: Time for “Naturally Drought- Resistant Pastures” to Reconnect Cows and Quail By Don McKenzie, NBCI Director “This is a chance to make things better.” —Hardware-store wisdom following a tornado touch-down near Ward, AR, February, 2001 Extreme droughts offer a head start in overcoming the three biggest impediments to reconnecting cows and quail on eastern grazing lands: lack of motivation, lack of money, and difficulty of eradication. Landscape-scale habitat restoration as envisioned by the North American Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) generally is a slow-moving, long-term slog. But occasional opportunities for a leap forward pop up; some are foreseeable, a few are even actionable in advance. The inevitable government response to the current drought presents just such an opportunity to help cattle producers and restore quail habitat on a large scale. Since the mid 20th century, some 120 million acres of grazing lands across bobwhite range have been “improved” by conversion—usually with USDA subsidies and encouragement—from native grasses and forbs to aggressive, introduced grasses that provide poor wildlife habitat. Prior to this landscape conversion, cows and quail shared the land—but not afterward. The nearly complete conversion of native grazing lands in the eastern US coincides with the long-term decline of many grassland birds. Reconnecting cows and quail is a major goal of the NBCI. On native rangelands of west Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, that goal is relatively simple, by improved management of the existing forage base, the cattle and the brush. For the rest of the U.S. grazing lands across the humid majority of bobwhite range, much more exertion and cost are needed to return a portion of the “improved” pasture back to native forages with quail habitat potential. The NBCI [and other conservation partners] has been working many years with only modest success to begin changing USDA’s deeply ingrained reliance on exotic vegetation. History repeats itself. We know, for example, that Congress and USDA miss few chances to provide taxpayer-funded relief to producers following drought, typically helping replant ravaged pastures with more of the same droughtsusceptible, introduced forages. While all parties (except maybe the taxpaying public and the quail) are temporarily satisfied with that habit, the reality is that producers are merely set up, once again, to fall victim to the next drought. On a drive through the Arkansas Ozarks last week, observing many thousands of acres of brown, bare “improved” pastures inhabited by cows apparently eating dirt and rocks, it became evident that a major window of opportunity is opening. Conservationists, producers and resource managers face what educators refer to as a “teachable moment.” Extreme droughts offer a head start in overcoming the three biggest impediments to reconnecting cows and quail on eastern grazing lands: lack of motivation, lack of money, and difficulty of eradication. Producers are motivated to immediate action by their ravaged pastures; the problematic aggressive introduced forages already are weakened and diminished; and federal money for replanting seems inevitable. The predictable historic cycle already has begun. The only way to prevent history from repeating itself is to learn from it, and apply what we learn. From past experience and research we have learned that: 1. Tens of millions of acres of aggressive, introduced forages: - are susceptible to drought; and - provide very poor habitat for quail and most other grassland birds; 2. Native, warm-season forage grasses: - are very drought-tolerant; - provide quality forages for cows; and - provide suitable habitat for quail and other grassland birds of conservation concern MDC 26 Missouri Prairie Journal Vol. 33 Nos. 3 & 4
Cattle producers can benefit both cattle and quail by eradicating tall fescue on part of their land and establishing native warm-season grasses and forbs. Native prairie plants are nutritious for livestock and create ideal structure for quail and other grassland, ground-nesting bird species. Conservationists, producers, resource managers, USDA, and Congress have a clear choice: 1. Repeat history—continue the cyclic pattern of drought disaster/public aid/drought disaster/public aid/etc., with public money thrown at short-term band-aids that set producers up to fail again, while providing sub-par public benefits; OR 2. Learn from history and apply those lessons—use public money to provide meaningful, long-term assistance to cattle producers, in a way that helps insulate them from future droughts while providing multiple public benefits, including suitable quail and grassland bird habitats. In other words, we have a chance right now for solutions rather than bandages. The NBCI has already begun promoting our ideas for a native plant policy for USDA that we call “Natives First.” Maybe it’s time to take the idea another step, with a new disaster relief program for “Naturally Drought-proof Pastures” (idea borrowed from Chuck Kowaleski), that would cost-share the replacement of a portion of vulnerable introduced-grass pastures with drought-proof native forage grasses, which would become an integral part of producers’ risk management plans. We know Congress and USDA likely will act soon to provide public aid to cattle producers. What we don’t know is whether the public’s money actually will provide real, longterm benefits to the producers, the public and the public’s wildlife resources … or if it will be just another band-aid. Reprinted with permission from Don McKenzie’s NBCI-In the News, July 24, 2012 Frank Oberle Steve CLubine Ask Steve Question: I read that nitrates can build up in grasses, like sudangrass, and hurt or kill cattle. Is this true for warm-season grasses like big bluestem and Indiangrass? Also, how should native warm-season grasses be cared for in a drought? I am considering haying the fields even though everything is stunted, but I hate to do that if it would permanently damage the grasses. —Jeanne Heuser, Jamestown. Answer: An article recently made the rounds about cattle dying in Texas from nitrate poisoning on bermudagrass. It is uncommon in bermudagrass, but when it is heavily fertilized with chemical fertilizer or chicken litter, there is potential for nitrate poisoning. The risk is significantly greater for corn, forage sorghum, sudangrass, and Johnson grass because of heavy nitrogen fertilization especially when coupled with drought. Prairies and native warm-season grasses aren’t normally fertilized with nitrogen, but if so, with no more than 30–50 lb/ acre, I’ve never heard of anyone ever experiencing nitrate or prussic acid poisoning on native grasses. Monocultures pose a greater risk than mixtures of grasses and forbs, which allow the grazing animal to mix the diet and dilute any negative compounds and avoid toxic plants. Whether you fertilize your native grass may depend on whether you’re haying or grazing it. Haying mines soil nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), gradually depleting the soil. A 1,000-pound bale removes 8 pounds of P and 22 lb of K whereas grazing only removes about .04 lb. of either. You should replace the P and K removed by haying, but hay rarely pays for the P and K it removes. Nitrogen (N) is produced naturally by legumes and soil micro-organisms. Adding N will increase production, but you can’t store it in the soil, and removing it in a hay bale doesn’t deplete the nutrient in the soil. Nitrogen will usually pay for itself in increased hay production or increased animal gain or gain/acre by allowing a higher stocking rate. Remember, however, adding N acidifies the soil so watch the soil pH and lime every few years. J.E Weaver, University of Nebraska professor who studied prairies extensively, especially during the 1930s drought, and author of North American Prairie, addressed the effect of drought on prairie plants. He wrote that prairies that were hayed or grazed during the drought recovered more quickly when rains returned than those that were idle. Removing the leaves reduces moisture loss from the roots and soil. The plants merely go into dormancy or semi-dormancy until conditions improve later in the growing season or the next season. Vol. 33 Nos. 3 & 4 Missouri Prairie Journal 27
Page 1 and 2: Fall/winter 2012 Volume 33 Numbers
Page 3 and 4: Contents Fall/Winter 2012 Volume 33
Page 5 and 6: MPF’s Third Annual Prairie BioBli
Page 7 and 8: Carol Davit Carol Davit carol davit
Page 9 and 10: Brian Edmond ATCHISON HOLT NODAWAY
Page 11 and 12: 2012 Campaign for Prairies Please k
Page 13 and 14: allow mosquitoes to swarm. We used
Page 15 and 16: Fate of 67 nests of radio-collared
Page 17 and 18: Max ALleger For the rest of our ann
Page 19 and 20: “The purpose of the park is to ma
Page 21 and 22: DNR FILE PRAIRIE STATE PARK JUSTIN
Page 23 and 24: SCOTT WOODBURY Carol Davit SCOTT WO
Page 25: Susan Hilty Moving Forward from the
Page 29 and 30: Prairie Postings Cécile Lagandré
Page 31 and 32: tion Lifetime Members Don Lowry Kay

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