That food is more plentiful in May and June, when grass greens up, so May-June is a sensible time for cows to produce maximum quantities of milk for their calves. Thus, calves may benefit more if ranchers move the traditional, early calving season to a time later in the year. Calving in late spring means they're born in better weather and are easier to manage, and cows require less supplement. The result is that many ranchers often aren't making a profit at all. To address these issues, The Western Center for Integrated Resource Management offers a bachelor's degree with majors in animal science, agricultural and resource economics and rangeland ecosystem science.
All students share a common core curriculum.
A master's degree in agriculture also is being developed, and the center offers short courses for working ranchers and ranch managers who can't take long periods of time away from the job. We place an emphasis on short courses for current land managers so that they can take advantage of the program as well. The program is designed in part to preserve the heritage of the West and to maintain the beauty of Western ranchland. Niswender said the emphasis is on resource management, not ranching, because many ranchers can take advantage of the traditional stewardship of wildlife, wetlands and other habitats to supplement ranch income. The program has generated interest among wildlife and forest managers.