Rangelands rebound in Sioux County

Chabella Guzman Author

07/05/2023 Added

50 Plays

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Josh Skavdahl, a fourth-generation rancher and operator, discusses the ranges he and his brother, Jud run their operation on.

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[00:00:00.000]The pasture and rangelands in Sioux County are lush
[00:00:02.867]and green this summer. They made a
[00:00:04.559]beautiful backdrop for the June 29 tour of the Skavdahls’
[00:00:07.932]Cow-Calf Enterprise, Stocker/Feeder Enterprise,
[00:00:11.062]and Feedlots near Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.
[00:00:13.997]Josh Skavdahl, a fourth-generation rancher and operator,
[00:00:17.598]said the ranges are quite different now from last year
[00:00:20.423]when the county and the Panhandle were under a drought.
[00:00:23.574]We’re going to see a lot of beautiful grass,
[00:00:25.497]because we’ve had a wonderful spring up here.
[00:00:27.230]We’ll be making some stops up and down
[00:00:29.777]this valley and we’re going to end up in Harrison
[00:00:31.834]for lunch and we’ll look at some nice hard grass up there in Sioux County.
[00:00:36.247]With the drought came challenges.
[00:00:38.378]Our biggest challenge was just feed.
[00:00:41.362]And getting cattle, retaining the cow herd through the
[00:00:44.479]winter. We were lucky that we hadn’t stocked
[00:00:46.536]super heavy. And the ability to raise, we have a
[00:00:51.831]combination of dryland hay and irrigated hay.
[00:00:54.446]Most all of our feed, except for the corn is
[00:00:57.011]produced on the ground, it’s either owned or leased.
[00:01:00.242]And we were very fortunate to have the
[00:01:03.777]irrigation the last couple of years. Cause there
[00:01:06.417]was absolutely no dryland hay in this area.
[00:01:08.741]The pastures and ranges, the Skavdahls run their cattle
[00:01:12.304]on is threadleaf sedge. The quality of the grass
[00:01:15.266]that we have available up here it’s a hard grass prairie,
[00:01:18.146]and short it never gets very tall but it’s very,
[00:01:21.654]very nutritious. That’s probably the biggest secret to our
[00:01:25.969]success. It looks like there’s not much there
[00:01:29.273]but the grass is really got a good punch in
[00:01:31.618]this part of the region. Skavdahl said stalking rates are
[00:01:35.330]important in their range management. Stocking rate is about
[00:01:38.257]all you have to keep an eye on. It’s a pretty
[00:01:40.573]forgiving area, if you keep your stocking
[00:01:43.240]rate manageable. You’ll have grass even in the dry years.
[00:01:49.129]We were fortunate, we could still utilize the
[00:01:52.232]pastures cause we hadn’t overstocked or over-grazed them.
[00:01:55.630]Skavdahl said for those starting out in the business,
[00:01:58.143]they should know the area, local climate and pick
[00:02:00.999]a calving date that’s going to minimize feed cost
[00:02:03.603]and maximize pounds produced.

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Rangelands rebound in Sioux County

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