Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-03-06
AID STOCK GROWERS
Range Improvement viii In.
crease Meat Supply.

shown That the Forage Resources o.
ths National Forests Represent Val
liable Asset Upon Which the Wei :
fare Of stoekmsn Depends.
Washingt on.-Albert r. Potter, -
sociate forester. United States forest
service. made An address before ths
National Woolgrovers' association q
Salt Lake City recently. and said thai
the question OF meat supply 10 In
volved In the methods of grazing used
on the national forests. He also made
the, abatement that oyergrazed ranges
can be improved quicker through use
than they could be II they were LEFT
Idle. E -
He pointed out that the forage re
sources on the national forests rep
resent valuable asset upon which
not only the welfare OF the stockmen
depends, but that of large proper
ton OF the people. The task OF the
government has been to work out
plan which would develop this re-
source and promote its use to the
fullest extent without harming tree
growth. --.='-
During the first three years OF ad
ministration, from 1867. the problem
Of the service was to take care OF
areas which had been badly, over
grazed, and material reduction had
to be made In the number Of stock
grazed before the damage could be
stopped. From the very beginning,
: the forest service invited the coop
GRAFTON OF the stockmen and consulted
with them regarding the practicability
of the plans which were to be adopt
cd. This cooperation was secured
through tho various stockgrowers' as
oociations and It was so successful
that similar associations have grown
up among other users Of the national
forests.
Before range control was put into
effect, the feed belonged to the man
who got his stock on the land first.
though there was no way by which
he could hold 1t except by physical
force. Under such a system, might
made right, and the only thought was
to get what feed there was while 1t
lasted. This condition led to serious
controversy and out OF it grew the
range wars which often resulted In
loss OF life and property. Under the
present control, right prevails. and
had nothing else been accomplished
Mr.. Potter said, the removal Of this
one evil alone would have made the
work worth while.
But he went still further and stated
that the systematic use of the ranges
has stopped loss Of forage and that
the feed formerly wasted has been
putting the stock in better condition.
with the result that, In many cases,
the stockmen have been able to sell
beef and mutton direct from the
ranges where they were before pro
ducing only animals which had to be
fed and conditioned before they could
be put on the market.
He called attention to the expert
ments Of the government in artificial
ly reseeding the. grazing areas to cul'
tivated grasses, and showed that in
some cases the forage crop has been
increased as much as 400 per cent.
He maintained, however, that this
method is both slow and expensive
and said that the great part OF the
range lands must be improved by pro-
lection and natural reseeding, for the
next 20 years at least. He said, too,
that investigations have established
beyond q doubt that natural reseeding
can be accomplished best by rota-
ton system Of grazing based upon the
simple principle that grazing aids in
scattering and planting the seed after
the seed has been given an opportu.
nifty to mature. Reports show that
areas protected until after. seed ma.
turity and then grazed, as compared
with areas absolutely protected for
the whole year against grazing are
approximately so per cent. better, and
probably 200 per cent. better than
range which has not been protected
at all. This means that ranges can
be improved faster in use than they
can be in idleness and the principle
is being adopted on many Of the for
ests.
He also spoke Of the new open sys
tenn Of handling sheep, which is sim.
ply quieter herding during the day
and bedding the sheep where night
overtakes them. He contrasts this
with the old. plan of ~herding sheer
close by the use OF dogs and return.
ing them each night to fixed bed
ground. The old plan, of course, rem.
dered certain areas absolutely bare
and the going from and returning to
the bed grounds trampled great
deal of forage. He estimates that an
increase Of 10 to Is per cent has
been added to the carrying capacity
of the ranges and that five pounds
weight has been added per lamb, be.
cause they have not been harassed by
herding or forced to trail long dis.
tances to and from bed grounds. On
100000 lambs this means 25,000,O0O
pounds added to the sheepmens sal.
able product. and to the country s
meat supply.
He gave an amusing instance of q
government experiment in which II
was attempted to try out the old
alongside Of the new system, but it
was found impossible to secure a
sheep owner who would return to the
old method, except through bonus
The change In handling has been III
large part responsible for the hui)d.