   Ranching is Sustainable - January 8, 2014 Jeff Schalau, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County In my work, I often encounter people supportive of local agriculture. Sometimes, these same people are unenthusiastic about Yavapai County’s number one agricultural endeavor: range livestock grazing. However, grazing/browsing animals can sustainably harvest stored solar energy in the form of grasses, forbs, and shrubs and convert these plants into animal protein and other products we use every day. As an educator that promotes both agriculture and science, I challenge northern Arizona residents to learn more about range livestock grazing to see how it produces food, benefits wildlife, maintains open space, fuels local economies, and provides many other benefits. Soils, climate, elevation, topography, perennial water availability and vegetation interact to create diverse ecosystems that help support sustainable livestock grazing in the Verde Valley. The Mogollon Rim borders the Verde Valley to the north and east. This 2,000 foot high escarpment was formed largely through erosional processes along with other geological events. The Mogollon Rim also separates two major geographic regions of Arizona: the Colorado Plateau and the Central Highlands (also called the Transition Zone). The west side of the Verde Valley is bounded by a range called the Black Hills. Mingus Mountain is the highest point in the range and is approximately 7,500 feet. The Verde River actually begins its perennial flow just north of Chino Valley but the basin itself drains from a much larger watershed area. Camp Verde lies at 3,100 feet on the south end of the Verde Valley. Diverse vegetation types growing at various elevations provide grazing animals with a host of forages available at different times of year. On the valley floor, riparian forests of cottonwood, sycamore and willow are found near the river and desert grasslands while desert scrub dominate the nearby uplands. As elevation increases, the vegetation transitions from chaparral to pinyon-juniper woodlands to mixed hardwoods to Ponderosa pine. Above the Ponderosa pine, are some mixed conifer stands where you may see Douglas-fir, white fir and limber pine. Grasses, forbs, and shrubs in these communities provide forage for livestock and grazing/browsing wildlife. We can see large expanses of “open land” in and all around the Verde Valley. Land ownership throughout Arizona (and the west) is divided between private individuals, federal government, state government, and Indian reservations. For example, Yavapai County land ownership is 26% privately owned, 38% Forest Service (Federal) administered, 9% Bureau of Land Management (Federal) administered, 27% State Trust Lands, and 0.5% Indian reservation. Much of the federal and state lands may be leased by cattle ranchers. Ranching is one way to produce commodities (food and consumer goods) on lands not suitable for farming. The typical ranch in Yavapai County may have a relatively small portion of deeded (private) land that houses the ranch headquarters and a relatively large portion of leased Federal and/or State land to provide pasture for livestock. Many ranches in the Verde Valley are strategically located to include winter pasture at the lower elevations, late summer pastures on top of the rim or Mingus Mountain, and transitional areas for spring and fall grazing. For example, the University of Arizona’s V Bar V Ranch Experiment Station is located between Lake Montezuma and Clint’s Well and covers 71,000 acres of which 44 acres are deeded property. The V Bar V Ranch has ongoing research projects looking at cattle breeds and range management in addition to opportunities for the public to learn more about ranching. Grazing rights are leased from the Forest Service. The V Bar V Ranch is divided into 57 pastures to control access by cattle. Elk, deer, pronghorn, and other wildlife go where they please and share the habitat with cattle. Ranchers provide water and share available forage with wildlife. Most ranchers are truly stewards of the land and care deeply about the environment. It's their livelihood and it is in their best interest to use sustainable management practices. To learn more about ranching and range management, visit the V Bar V Ranch website (http://cals.arizona.edu/vbarv/). There, you can learn about current projects, subscribe to the Rimrock Report: a quarterly newsletter, view educational YouTube videos, become a friend on Facebook, and access many other valuable resources. I have linked many of these resources to the on-line version of this column – see the web address below. Also, you may want to attend the V Bar V Ranch Explorers Field Day which is held each year in late August. Follow the Backyard Gardener on Twitter – use the link on the BYG website. If you're not quite ready to buy a cattle ranch but still have gardening questions, call the Master Gardener help line in the Camp Verde office at 928-554-8999 Ext. 3 or e-mail us at verdevalleymg@gmail.com and be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or provide feedback at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. Additional Resources V Bar V Ranch Website, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences http://cals.arizona.edu/vbarv/ V Bar V Ranch Range Program, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, includes research, curriculum, video instruction, and links to range-related sites. http://cals.arizona.edu/vbarv/rangeprogram/ V Bar V Ranch Range Program Newsletter - The Rimrock Report, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences http://cals.arizona.edu/vbarv/rangeprogram/rimrock-report Note: you may subscribe electronically by sending Doug Tolleson, V Bar V Range Management Specialist, an e-mail request at: dougt@cals.arizona.edu  |