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Getting Along with Landowners :10 ways to make landowners happy and get invited back
By Russell A. Graves
More than 94 percent of Texas’ 171 million acres is privately owned. Because of the minuscule amount of public land in Texas, most hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities take place on private land. Users pay a trespass fee—usually referred to as a lease—for the privilege of access. Protecting that privilege and maintaining a good relationship with the landowner takes effort. The following tips can help keep your landowner happy.
Respect the land as if it were your own.
When you invite people into your home, you expect them to treat it with respect. Let that concept be your guide as you tread upon land that belongs to someone else. Garry Mills owns a spread in northeast Texas that he season-leases for duck and hog hunting. “The cattle, people, wildlife and land are all tied together on my ranch, and I like people who recognize that relationship and respect it,” she said.
The golden rule of leasing is not to do anything on someone else’s property you wouldn’t want done on yours.
Stay on established roads. Ranchers spend thousands of dollars to build and maintain roads throughout their ranches. The reason for roads is twofold: to give ranchers access to remote parts of their ranch and to maintain the integrity of the pastures they carefully manage.
Royce Siebman, a retired conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Childress County, often day-leases his land to hunters from all over the country. Siebman looks with disdain on people who drive off his established roads, and he has the professional expertise to recognize the impact. “Grasslands are fragile ecosystems, and soil conditions affect how grass grows,” says Siebman. “I have seen tire tracks made on a pasture that still exist several years later.”
Ranchers such as Siebman who raise beef cattle on their land are basically grass farmers. Their goal is to maintain healthy stands of forage so that their cattle can eat the grass and convert it into beef. Ultimately, the profit they make from their cattle depends on the health of their grass.
Driving your pickup or all-terrain vehicle off-road can be deadly to grass. During dry weather, simply driving on grass can kill vegetation by crushing it beneath the tires. Soil compaction compounds the problem. When soil becomes packed hard from the weight of vehicles, roots can’t penetrate the soil, and rain can’t soak into the soil. Water that runs off creates erosion.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM
In January, I attended the Oklahoma Veterinary Conference. While waiting for one of the sessions to start, a classmate of mine commented how many of the attendees walk with a limp, used a cane, and/or have damaged hands. We all agreed that working with animals is hard on the body. In general, anything associated with farming and ranching is dangerous.
Most farmers and ranchers know that agriculture is a dangerous occupation. According to United States Bureau of Statistics, workers involved in agriculture, forestry, and fishing had the highest occupational fatality rate in 2022. The fatality rate of 23.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers for this group is much higher when compared to the overall occupation fatality rate of 3.7 per 100,000 FTE. Most of the agriculture-related fatalities are associated with transportation, such as tractor overturns, and vehicle crashes, but a fair number involve livestock.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Jesse Kader
Comfy and keep it western. That’s the name of the game this month. It’s hot and who wants clingy clothing? This jumpsuit is perfectly comfortable and relaxed without forfeiting the fashion. Dress it up or keep it casual. See this and more at www.jessesjewelz.com.
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Noble Research Institute Expands New Program Offering Farmers and Ranchers the Essentials of Regenerative Ranch Management
The educational program has been expanded to three new locations, empowering ranchers and farmers to monitor and improve the health of their land, livestock and livelihood through regenerative principles.
ARDMORE, OK–September 12, 2023 – Noble Research Institute announced the expansion of Essentials of Regenerative Ranching, a new educational program designed to help ranchers enhance and restore the land, making it more resilient and reaching livestock grazing goals through regenerative management. Essentials of Regenerative Ranching provides producers with practical tools, hands-on experience and guidance to make data-driven decisions to decrease costs and improve profit.
The Essentials of Regenerative Ranching course has been expanded to three new locations in Texas and Oklahoma. Registration is open now at www.noble.org/essentials. Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended.
Texas A&M
College Station, Texas
October 17 – 18
O.D. Butler, Jr. Animal Science Complex
Noble Research Institute
Ardmore, Oklahoma
October 31 – November 1
Pavilion Center
Texas A&M
Kingsville, Texas
November 7-8
Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Center
“Program participants gain working knowledge and experience of monitoring and improving the health of their soil, grazing livestock more strategically and making informed financial decisions,” said Hugh Aljoe, Noble Research Institute’s director of ranches, outreach and partnerships. “We use a mix of classroom and field work to send producers home with the tools they need to begin making changes on their ranch.”
Farmers and ranchers navigate uncertainty from weather, fluctuating market prices and escalating costs of inputs. Many producers are seeking new tools that offer greater control and reduce their operational uncertainty. Through this course, ranchers and farmers will calculate their financial situations, determine initial stocking rates, carrying capacity and grazing goals.
“The course is well-suited for ranchers of all experience levels and all types and sizes of operations,” Aljoe added. “No matter your situation, this program will transform the way you think about your ranch.”
The Essentials of Regenerative Ranching program allows producers to overcome obstacles, become more informed problem-solvers and increase the productivity of their grazing lands. By participating in this program, ranchers join a community of like-minded producers who are shaping the future of ranching and leaving a lasting impact on their land and families. “If I had known what I learned in this course when I started my regenerative journey, I could have avoided some key mistakes,” said Tana McCarter, a rancher, and Essentials attendee. “I left with the tools I needed to monitor my soil health and financial progress. I’ll now have the right data to make informed decisions on how to meet my regenerative goals.”
Noble Research Institute is an independent nonprofit agricultural research organization dedicated to guiding farmers and ranchers in applying regenerative principles that yield healthier soil, more productive grazing land, and business success.
At Noble, researchers, facilitators and ranch staff work together to share with farmers and ranchers the skills and tools to regenerate the land in a profitable manner. Noble is focused on the regenerative management of the nation’s grazing acres, which directly impacts pasture and range environments, wildlife, pecan production, and livestock production. Regenerative management recognizes that each decision made on the ranch impacts the interactions of the soil, plants, water, animals, economics and people. Noble’s 14,000 acres of working ranch lands provide a living laboratory on which to demonstrate and practice regenerative principles and ideas to deliver value to farmers and ranchers across the U.S.
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