Animal unit: Commonly defines the average amount of forage consumed by a cow/calf production unit during a year as equal to 26 pounds of dry matter per day. Warning Signs of Overgrazing: Abundance of unpalatable plants Distinct browse lines on woody plants Pedestaled plants Steep gully banks Low plant vigor Increased need for supplementation Increased livestock use of unpalatable plants Losses of livestock to toxic plants Grazing Management Rules of Thumb: With proper grazing only 25 percent of each year’s annual forage production is consumed by livestock. Insects,… Read More →

Brush Busters Brush Busters is a cooperative program of the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center to expedite the adoption of Tactical Brush Management Systems (TBMS) technology. Brush Sculptors Successful ways to landscape rangeland for the purpose of conservation, wildlife management, livestock production or aesthetics. Pestman Pestman provides sound pest management options associated with weed and brush control, as well as the economic impact of the options considered. This tool allows managers to analyze the economic and environmental risk associated with controlling pests invading Americas forage lands. Predator… Read More →

Some Common Brush and Weed Management Mistakes Made By Rangeland Owners and Managers Risk Management for Texans Series RLEM No. 3 August 1999 Allan McGinty, Larry D. White and Lindi Clayton Professors and Extension Range Specialists and Extension Graduate Assistant Texas AgriLife Extension Service Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management Introduction Texas rangelands support many species of brush and weeds. The continual increase over years in the number and distribution of brush and weed species is primarily the result of natural succession, suppression of wildfires, and overgrazing by… Read More →

CHARLES A. TAYLOR, JR. Texas A&M University Research Station, Sonora, Texas Abstract: Management of woody plants with the purpose of increasing herbaceous production is a goal of many resource managers. Biological control of brush through the use of goats has been a common management practice over much of west-central Texas for many years. However, refinement of “goating” is needed to provide the level of “sculpting” desired for wildlife habitat (i.e., deer) needs. Properly managed, the goat is an excellent tool for vegetation manipulation. The invasion and increase of… Read More →

BEN H. KOERTH, Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX 75962. Abstract: Density of brush cover sometimes limits management of rangeland animals. Herbicides have been shown to be an effective tool to manipulate brushland habitats for both wildlife and livestock as long as appropriate herbicides, patterns and rates of application are observed. That woody plants dominate the vegetation cover of most rangelands is axiomatic. It has been estimated that more than 88% of Texas rangelands support brush densities severe enough to… Read More →

M. KEITH OWENS, Research Scientist, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Uvalde. Abstract: Some 21 million acres of south Texas are dominated by brush. The changes in the vegetation are usually attributed to increased grazing pressure by domestic livestock, the suppression of natural fires to protect man-made improvements, and possibly from a shifts in climatic factors. Once shrub communities are established on a site, it is extremely unlikely that the site will convert to a grassland without sustained cultural inputs. Simply adding back the factors missing in savanna maintenance (increased… Read More →

DARRELL N. UECKERT, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, San Angelo 76901. Abstract: Brush Busters was developed in 1995 as a cooperative program of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at San Angelo to expedite the adoption by landowners of “select” individual plant treatments for controlling brush. The program stresses the ecological and economic benefits of controlling brush before it matures, thickens and causes a debilitation of the forage resource and soil loss. The Brush Busters’ technical guides are designed to be “layman friendly” so… Read More →

Karen Launchbaugh, Charles A. Taylor, Erika Straka and Robert Pritz Introduction In livestock management on rangelands we are often reminded that forage availability ” runs the show”. It seems we are always short of “forage”. Forage shortages can be solved by trucking in forage from somewhere else or converting the juniper hills into productive grasslands and shrublands by machine, fire, or chemical. These are expensive alternatives! Another solution might lie in our own back yards. Perhaps all that juniper could be converted into forage. To convert juniper from… Read More →

Charles A. Taylor, Jr., Karen Launchbaugh, Ed Huston and Erika Straka Introduction Juniper infestation of Texas rangelands is an important dilemma because of its impact on forage and livestock production, water yield and quality, wildlife habitats, and rapidly increasing costs of conventional control methods. Fire suppression and long-term overgrazing have caused range deterioration and a significant increase in juniper on millions of acres of Texas rangelands. This increase in juniper has caused a significant reduction in the carrying capacity for both livestock and wildlife as well as a… Read More →

Steve Nelle Introduction People sometimes have tunnel vision on controversial or complicated subjects. Tunnel vision means viewing something with a close-up lens, looking at the object in detail, but being unable or unwilling to see the surroundings and associated parts. A holistic perspective means viewing something with a wide-angle lens, looking at an object and all of its parts in context with its surroundings. Many people view juniper with tunnel vision, looking closely at some aspects while ignoring others. The purpose of this paper is to take a… Read More →