406 Grazing Academy

The educational approach of the 406 Grazing Academy (406) is a mix of in-classroom presentations and discussions paired with field-based, hands-on activities to expand the knowledge, skills and abilities of attendees; the overall goal is for attendees to leave the 406 and strive to implement the grazing practices learned on the lands they own and manage. This course is a collaborative effort between the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Rangeland Resources Program (RRP) and MSU’s Dan Scott Ranch Management Program with guest presenters including local ranchers, MSU professors, and Extension professionals.  

406 is taught over three days and heavily focuses on encouraging attendees to take what they have learned and incorporate those tools, practices and theories into their own management practices. Teaching topics include: 

• Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Adaptive Management Principles-emphasis is placed on encouraging attendees to look at their operations’ vision, goals, objectives and adaptive management principles to see where they currently are and to evaluate where they would like to go, charting a path forward for improvements. 

• Ecosystem processes & soil health- Focus is spent on ecosystem processes and soil health to broaden participants’ understanding of the importance that grazing decisions have on both ecosystem processes and soil health. 

• Range Ecology 101- This section provides a hands-on rangeland plant clipping exercise to determine the amount of available forage. Soil pits are dug, and the group works through the process of figuring out soil type with a soil texturing exercise coupled with emphasis on deciphering and recognizing stressed plant characteristics and how to adjust management strategy to improve range conditions.  

• Stocking rate & stock density- Time is spent on calculating stocking rate and stocking density focusing on teaching participants how to calculate the stocking density on their own operations.  

• Reading the range: ID of 10 indicator plants & range health checklist- Reading the range focuses on teaching the identification characteristics of ten indicator plants and what their growth stages indicate. This section is meant to help participants learn to identify plants in various life stages and grazed stages in order to adjust management techniques if stressors are indicated to prevent range and pasture degradation.  

• Intro to range monitoring, Utilization Monitoring, and Photo Monitoring- These sections teach participants a broad overview of the importance of assessing ranch- and pasture-level conditions and using these assessments, data, and photographs to shape their management decisions. Focus is also spent on repetition of these processes year after year so that comparison can be made and management decisions can be adjusted if outcomes are not favorable. Participants are taught that a variety of methods exist to collect rangeland monitoring data, but many are complex and labor-intensive. As an introduction, participants are guided to conduct hands-on clipping exercises to evaluate and record their findings in the field of surface cover, species composition, stubble height, and available forage, utilizing transects and photo plot monitoring techniques. 

• Grazing & animal nutrition- A healthy herd is an economically rewarding herd, which starts with animal nutrition. Emphasis is placed on the fact that good grazing practices increase animal nutrition and is economically beneficial and rewarding through increased animal performance and financial return at sale time. 

• Poisonous plants- An overview of common poisonous plants is provided along with the detrimental impacts of livestock consumption of these plants to provide awareness of the consequences and economic impacts these plants have on livestock in an effort to prevent poisonous plant ingestion losses. 

• Economics of grazing systems- This section of the course focuses on emphasizing that changes in grazing management should be evaluated for their effect on land health, animal performance and economic returns. While providing the understanding that accounting for hidden costs and understanding the true value of increased forage production is essential when estimating return on investment in infrastructure or capacity. 

• Monitoring in action and results- Emphasis during this section of the course conveys that annual monitoring helps land managers determine if current grazing strategy is accomplishing the desired goals for the land, livestock and business and how to switch gears and “tweak” management to fine tune management goals and objectives.  

• Online grazing and mapping tools- Technological tools such as Rangeland Analysis Program (RAP), Web Soil Survey, Vegetation Condition Explorer, and Crop & Soil Moisture Analytics offer producers and land managers powerful, science-based tools to make informed grazing decisions by tracking vegetation trends, forage production, soil health metrics. Time is spent discussing these tools and how producers and land managers can use them in as beneficial tools on lands they own and manage.