By Reanna Santos

When managing for healthy, resilient rangelands, you start from the ground up —quite literally. The concept of “health” pertains to living and breathing things —like yourself, your livestock, and even your soil! Soil is a vital ecosystem. It serves as a medium for plant growth, a habitat for microorganisms, and plays a key factor in enhancing water retention.

The key to healthy soil in North Texas and all rangelands is to focus on principles before practices, such as ecological processes. These processes occur naturally in our rangelands and croplands but can be greatly affected by human interactions. Maximizing the benefits of these processes depends on landowner goals and land use.

Three main ecological processes are the water, energy, and nutrient cycles.

The objective of the water cycle is to maximize water capture in the soil while maintaining ground cover with plants to enhance drought resiliency and recharge groundwater sources. Ground cover and plant litter minimize surface run-off, allowing water to infiltrate the soil. This moderates soil temperature and reduces moisture loss due to evaporation (Girgis and Moseley, 2024).

The energy cycle is a group effort between producers, consumers, and decomposers. Year-round plant growth including cool and warm-season species and various functional groups (grasses, forbs, and woody plants), contribute to photosynthesis. Plants capture solar energy through photosynthesis, which is then consumed by livestock. Decomposers, such as microorganisms, break down plant and animal material, releasing energy into the ecosystem (Crane, 2019). If livestock are foraging these rangelands, avoiding overgrazing and leaving ample plant surface area is important so the process can continue to work effectively.

The exchange of nutrients between biotic and abiotic materials is called nutrient cycling. Most nutrient cycling happens in the soil at the root level, where microorganisms exist (Girgis and Moseley, 2024). Nutrients such as carbon, phosphorous, and nitrogen are moved, exchanged, and made available for plants, animals, and other organisms to thrive (Conradin, 2019). This is another reason why maintaining continuous root and plant growth throughout the year promotes healthy soils. The rate of nutrient cycling can depend on factors such as plant diversity, soil cover, and management practices.

Creating and managing a healthy, resilient rangeland begins with understanding and prioritizing the health of the soil. By focusing on ecological processes— water, energy, and nutrient cycles— landowners can ensure their rangelands are both productive and ecologically sustainable. Recognizing the benefits of these principles and implementing them on rangelands may seem like a small gesture, but it’s a mark of a good steward. It’s about leaving the land better than we found it, ensuring its vitality for future generations to enjoy.

Works Cited:

Conradin, K. (2019, June 29). The Nutrient Cycle. SSWM. https://sswm.info/arctic-wash/module-2-environment-pollution-levels-implications/further-resources-environment-and/the-nutrient-cycle

Crane, K. (2019, March 7). Community Agriculture Alliance: Rangelands are a renewable resource. SteamboatToday.com. https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/community-agriculture-alliance-rangelands-are-a-renewable-resource/

Girgis, C. L., & Moseley, W. (2024, September 23). What are ecosystem processes, and why do they matter on the ranch?. Noble Research Institute. https://www.noble.org/regenerative-agriculture/what-are-ecosystem-processes/

By: Martha Crump

Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.

A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.

Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”

In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.

When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.

To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

Overweight cattle and cattle turned out on lush legumes with high concentration are at risk as well. In this case, an epidural anesthetic is usually necessary. The tissue will need to be replaced and sutured in place. Vaginal sutures will need to be removed prior to calving.

Toxemia happens when cattle are exposed to low nutrition during the last two months of pregnancy. Cows that are overly fat and/or carrying twins are at higher risk. Cows with toxemia become depressed, stop eating and often stand off away from the herd. You will notice some have the scent of acetone on their breath. As the condition worsens, the cow may develop muscle tremors. Treatment for toxemia is IV glucose, B vitamins or propylene glycol given by oral drench.

During calving there are a number of problems that could occur. Those include dystocia, bruises and lacerations to the birth canal, uterine prolapse, milk fever, retained placenta and grass tetany.

            According to the Beef Cattle Handbook, a product of Extension Beef Cattle Resource Committee Adapted from the Cattle Producer’s Library, at any time a cow is unable to deliver her calf, a dystocia has occurred. There are many things a producer can do to reduce this incidence. With heifers, lot those with small pelvic areas before breeding. Select bulls based on their birth weight, not on their relative size. Ultimately use bulls that will produce small birth-weight calves. When calving first-calf heifers separate them from cows, at best into small groups. Producers will want to provide surveillance over the heifers on a 24 hour basis. Some tips include restricting the calving to 42 to 60 days. That will enable personal focus for a short, intense calving period. Also feeding at night between 9 and 11 p.m. will cause more animals to calve during daylight hours.

            If problems arise and a cow hasn’t shown progress in 60 to 90 minutes, it’s time for the producers to step in. Signs of an abnormal delivery are the head only, the head and one leg, one leg alone or the tail. At this point it is best to contain the animal in a squeeze chute or small pen. A calf can only deliver one of two ways: both front feet followed by the head or both back feet out together. Once constrained, using ample lubrication, a producer can reach in and move the calf to one of the two correct positions. If unable to do so, a veterinarian should be called. The top problems include not getting the head out with front feet, having a calf too big to deliver through the mother’s birth canal resulting in hip lock and abnormal breach in which the tail is the only part of the calf visible through the vulva. If all goes well and pulling the calf is suggested, direct traction down and away from the birth canal. Do not pull straight out behind the cow. If two men are unable to pull the calf using the OB chains or when using the calf puller, do not use excessive force. It will not deliver the calf. Odds are the cows birth canal is too small for the calf and will result in a c-section.

            Keep in mind bruises, lacerations and rupture of the birth canal are possible during a difficult birth. Rough handling of the calf or maternal tissues and careless use of obstetrical instruments during calving add danger. This is typical when a cow is in labor several hours with a dry, non-lubricated birth canal.

Cows with difficult delivery and trauma to the tissue and birth canal may have damage to the nerves and spinal cord or hips that supply the legs. This results in abnormal leg function. In some cases, while pulling a calf, excessive force was used and the middle lower pelvis bones were fractured. At this point steroids are administered to help with swelling and nerve healing. In bad cases were the cows are unable to stand, they need to be hoisted to their feet twice a day.

            In older cows producers may see difficulty in birth injury or irritation of the external birth canal and severe straining, retained placenta and loose uterine attachment in the abdominal cavity called uterine prolapse. When noticed, this condition needs immediate action. Apply material to uterine wall to saturate fluid ASAP. You can use sulfaurea powder, urea powder or even sugar. Replace the uterus immediately or call your veterinarian. Without properly replacing the uterine horns, prolapse will reoccur.

            Usually the placenta is passed in three to eight hours. If the placenta hasn’t passed in eight to 12 hours of calving, the placenta is retained and the cows must be treated. A number of reasons lead to retained placenta: dystocia, c-sections, fetotomy, twinning or abortion along with other infectious diseases. Even feed deficiencies, malnutrition, low carotene, vitamin A, iodine, selenium and vitamin E can be to blame. To treat, use slight, manual force and gently pull on the placenta. If it resists, stop and pack the uterus with boluses or fluid douches to keep antibiotics in the uterus. As with prolapse, be sure to use proper hygiene when treating the uterus or worse problems will occur.

            Another condition parallel with cows with age, number of calves and dairy or mixed breeds is milk fever. This condition happens when a cow starting to produce milk is unable to remove calcium from her bones quickly enough. If blood levels of calcium fall below the minimal level, the muscles of the body are unable to function. This leaves the cow almost crippled, comatose and dead. High blood levels of estrogen inhibit calcium mobilization; this may be a factor on pastures that are high in legumes. Usually a slow administer of IV calcium is given. 300 to 500 ml of a commercial calcium solution is given over 20 to 30 minutes.

             Lastly, grass tetany poses as an issue to cows calving. It is similar to milk fever, but in this instance cattle have heavy post-calving lactation and lose large amounts of magnesium in their milk. Most types of mixed pasture grasses are low in magnesium. If cows are exposed to cold weather or stress during early lactation, their blood levels may drop low enough to cause grass tetany. At that point an IV of magnesium is given with calcium. Treatment is not as effective as with milk fever and in many cases, animals do not respond.  

This article was originally published in the January 2016 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.