WILBERT B. HARVEY
Formerly Assistant Editor, Western Farm Life, Denver, Colorado
S
TOCKMEN in Colorado and else- where throughout the West have a story to tell-one of increasingly intelli- gent efforts to manage grazing for the most efficient use of native grass ranges, of improving these ranges by reseeding, weed and erosion control and water diversion, of protecting them from over- grazing and soil damage. The Range- Livestock Championship, now in its second year, is designed to tell that story. Stockmen have been acutely conscious of the unfavorable impression of their activities held by many. Too often those who do not understand the importance of the cattle and sheep industries to the economy of the nation picture western stockmen as “cattle. barons,” greedily reaching for every dollar possible, eagerly denuding the range to make current profits to the permanent damage of both private and public lands.Early in 1950 two Colorado extension service workers, Charles L. Terrell, Extension Conservationist, and Ford C. Daugherty, Extension Animal Husband- man, were discussing this problem and the efforts of stockmen to present a true story of their operations as they returned from a meeting in southern Colorado. As a result of that conversation, they talked to others about the need of a range and livestock recognition program for Colorado.
At about the same time, Jim White, Editor of Western Farm Life magazine, and Don Peach, Agricultural Director of radio station KOA, also discussed the need for such a competition. After nine months of planning by a committee
representing a dozen private and public agencies interested in furthering the Colorado range livestock industry, the Range-Livestock Championship was an- nounced in January, 1951.
Some 80 contestants for the title of Top Hand were nominated throughout the state by 30 or more local stockmen’s associations. Enthusiastic cooperation of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Colorado Wool Growers’ Association and their local affiliates, representatives of Colorado A & M College, the Soil Conservation Service and many other public-spirited individuals made the RLC program a success the first year.
For 1951, the RLC program spotlighted the range and livestock operations of eight ranchers, many of whom had never been so recognized before. These were Frank Fehling of Nathrop, Harvey Harris of Sterling, Calvin Hixson of Ordway, Chester Mayer of Eagle, Wade Peterson of La Jara, Jim Price of Byers, G. N. Winder of Craig, and Wallace Wineinger of Ordway.
Fehling, widely known and respected stockman, received the title of Top Hand of the RLC for 1951, and he and Mrs. Fehling were guests of the sponsoring Western Farm Life and KOA at Denver’s National Western Stock Show.
Top Hand Fehling supplements his own holdings with 7,040 of Taylor grazing land in Park county, and in the neigh- borhood of 13,760 acres of land in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests. What he was doing to stop erosion on his own land with heavy earth-moving equip- ment to divert runoff water by terracing
and filling gullies caught the eye of government engineers faced with similar problems on the public domain.
The success of the contest was largely due to the efforts of the 12 men who worked with Jim White, Editor of Western Farm Life, and Don Peach, Mile High Farmer at KOA. They devised the rules of the contest, developed the score card, and outlined the working plan for judging on county, district, and state levels.
The group included Dave Rice, Sec- retary of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association; Brett Gray, Secretary of the Colorado Wool Growers’ Association ;
Kenneth W. Chalmers, Colorado State Conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service; Charles L. Terrell, Extension Conservationist, and Ford Daugherty, Livestock Specialist, both of the Colorado A & M College extension service; Paul Swisher, Commissioner, Colorado state Department of Agriculture; Don Daily, Secretary of the National Association of Soil Conservation Districts; John T. Caine III, representing the National Western Stock Show and the Denver Union Stock Yards; W. G. McGinnies, Director of the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station; H. J. Burback, Regional Conservationist of the United States Bureau of Land Management ; Edward Cliff, then Re-
gional Forester of the United States Forest Service; and Frank Temple of Hayden, Colorado, representing the Colo- rado Association of Soil Conservation Districts.
By April 1 local stockmen’s associations made the nominations for Top Hand with the help of extension agents, soil con- servation technicians, forest rangers, and district graziers.
By August 1 three-man judging teams consisting, usually, of an extension agent, a soil conservationist, and a rancher had picked 31 county Top Hands. Men from
one county judged contestants in another county. District or regional judging was completed on a similar basis by the first of September, limiting the field to eight contestants for the title of Top Hand in Colorado.
The three specialists selected as finalist- judges were chosen with great care by the steering committee. They were D. A. Savage, Superintendent, United States Southern Great Plains Field Station at Woodward, Oklahoma; Tony Fellhauer, Extension Livestock Specialist, Univer- sity of Wyoming; and Ivan Watson, Extension Animal Husbandman, New Mexico A & M College.
The writer accompanied the finalist judges on their trek around the state and was impressed with their studied delibera- tion as they independently weighed and evaluated each operation. The enthusiasm of the contestants, all of whom were substantial ranchers, was a surprise to the judges. Invariably they were as eager as 4-H club ,members to show their handiwork and to pick up suggestions for improving their projects.
The success of the Range-Livestock Championship program, after it had run its course for a year, has been evaluated by a number of range and livestock specialists. Their views reflect the opinion that the arrangement and content of the score card account in a good measure for the favorable reception of the project.
The score card (Fig. 1) has a break- down of points under four main headings :
it a usable tool to aid in impartial, ob- ranches according to the accompanying jective evaluation. It had to be inclusive score card are purposely rather general enough in subject matter to cover a wide to give all judges wide latitude in con- variety of conditions encountered due sidering the various natural differences to varying terrain, size and type of opera- in ranches.”
tions, elevation, and normal rainfall. A high proportion of the entrants use Here are excerpts from the judging both deeded and public land in their tips : operations. As a guide to judging their
RANGE-LIVESTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE SHEET
Address
VEGETATION: Pt. N.F. 8.L.Y. L.U.
Forage condition ... ... .... ...
Ikpree of we and utiliration.. ... ... ... Improvement ... . ... ... ...
Total.. ...
SOIL:
Accumulation of litter.. .. ... ... ... ... Soil stabilization ... ...
Soil improvement ... . . ... I ... I ... I ... 1 ...
Total.. ... Ll\‘ESTOCK: Livestock production ... I Quality and grade of animals ... Balanced feed program.. ... . . . . . . . . . . .._.... _. MA ,NACEMENT ASD LEADERSHIP: Feed reserves . . . Health and parasite control . . . Management : Ranch headquarters . . . Ranch buildings and corrals . . . Fences . . . , . . . W&or supply . . . , . . . .Management . . . * . . . h&l-ship . . . 500 375 375 -- 1250 250 250 250 i50
...
...
1
...
...
---
...
.
.
. . . 9 . . . * . . .I
100I . . .
... 100 ...... 200 ...
... 200 ...
... 300
7 ... ... 100 ...
Total.. ... i&ij ... Grand Total.. ... 5000 ...
FIGURE 1. Score card for selection of Top Hands, Colorado Range-Livestock Championship, sponsored by the Western Farm Life magazine and radio station K 0 A, Denver.
“The success of a contestant cannot be based solely on the manner in which he operates and cares for his grass,. his soil, his livestock, or the physical plant alone. It includes all these, plus the over- all management of the entire ranch and the leadership of the stockman himself.
“Items to be considered in judging
contribution to the improvement of government land, the following was suggested :
be scored separately. After land of each ownership being used by the stockman has been rated, the total score will be based on the proportionate time each is used by the rancher. Multiple scoring will be done for vegetation and soils sections only.
“For example : Suppose a stockman
uses private land 6 months of the year, national forest for 3 months and a bureau of land management allotment for 3 months. His score on private land would be multiplied by six; the national forest score by three, and the BLM score by three. These three scores would be added, and the sum would be divided by 12 (for the full 12 months of use) to obtain the final score.”
The score card likewise has a definite educative value. Remember, it is sent to each nominated applicant for the title of Top Hand. Last year there were 83 nominees. They and their neighbors studied the descriptive data as to how the point evaluation is related to good range practices.
In addition the score card went to presidents of more than 100 livestock associations, and to all extension, Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service workers in the state, and was distributed at many livestock and conservation meetings. This material was also made the subject of radio broadcasts and articles in Western Farm Life magazine.
The subject of vegetation is treated in these words :
“Forage condition (500 points) : Forage
condition describes the general health and vitality of the vegetation and is considered in terms of the present con- dition in relation to potential forage- production capacity. It is measured in terms of the kinds of grasses and weeds present and their abundance, density, and vigor. A range in excellent condition will have a maximum cover of valuable
forage plants and a minimum of noxious, worthless, and poisonous plants.
“Degree of use and utilization (375 points): Degree of use describes the amount of forage used in comparison with the amount needed by the forage plants to maintain their productiveness and vigor. Stubble remaining at the end of the grazing season is the basis for judging. Attention will be given to uniformity of utilization over the unit. For best utilization, the goal is neither too light, resulting in inefficiency of forage use, nor too heavy, resulting in loss of pro- ductivity.
“Improvement (375 points) : Forage
improvement on land used for grazing livestock is brought about by natural or artificial means, such as: Improved grazing practices ; reseeding ; eradication
of noxious, worthless, and poisonous plants ; renovation ; irrigation ; soil con-
servation. A definite plan of use should include proper use of seasonal pastures, timely use, rotation grazing, resting pastures periodically during the growing season, and provision for obtaining good livestock distribution.”
To guide judges in rating the work of each entry on soil stabilization and improvement, the following suggestions were made :
“Accumulation of litter (250 points) :
Accumulation of litter, such as dry grass, leaves and other living or dead organic matter, on the surface of the soil is favored. This litter serves as small dams to reduce water run-off, thereby in- creasing water penetration into the soil. It also acts as a mulch to reduce water evaporation and lowers soil surface tem- perature, which in turn protects seedlings. “Soil stabilization (250 points) : Effec-
liabilities. Such eroded areas can be corrected by: Diversions taking off water, drainage-ways, gully plugs, bank sloping and seeding, contour furrows, reseeding, etc.
“Soil improvement (250 points): Soil improvement describes the betterment of the productive capacity of soils. It is brought about by such as : Use of com-
mercial fertilizer, use of barnyard manure, planting adapted legumes, plowing under green-manure crops and organic matter, drainage and correction of alkali spots.”
Similar detailed instructions were given on rating of livestock, and management and leadership.
Judges who used the card last year were questioned as to suggestions for improving its usefulness. They pro- nounced it to be so satisfactory that few changes have been made for 1952.
Conducted :“show me” tours of the
district Top Hand operations, arranged by the local stockmen’s associations, are being well attended. A recent one was composed of nearly 50 cars full of visiting ranchers. Such enthusiastic interest in the program bespeaks its lasting value.
John T. Caine III predicted as much when he said :
“These awards will bring wide publicity to the men who have taken intelligent care of their ranges and ranches and who have followed the best practices in the improvement of their livestock. The Top Hands will be known as outstanding managers, and their places will be demon- stration ranches where students of the industry can study and find real down-to- earth information. This worthwhile proj- ect of selecting the Top Hand in Colorado will ultimately result in improvements which should effect the economic stability of the state.”
THE IWBLICATION OF RESEARCH-5
Schopenhauer divided writers into three groups. The first and largest group wrote without thinking; the second thought and wrote at the same time; and the third group, a very small one, thought before they even began to write.
There can not be clear writing without clear thinking, and when one learns to write clearly, he will in the process learn to think clearly. Indeed it may be doubted whether thought and its expression can be separated. Vagueness or turbidity of language usually indicates similar qualities in the thinking. The attempt to express a matter clearly in writing thus helps in the process of clear thinking.
