Transcript if landowners are operating livestock

TAMU – Capstone Course in
Grazingland Planning : An Overview
Wayne Hamilton, Doug Tolleson and Richard Conner
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
Texas A&M University
Context of Class
•
Senior capstone course
•
15 weeks content with major field trip and use of DSS
•
Teams which work as consulting company
•
All teams use one property as their client’s ranch
•
Each Team has a unique client with different
ownership desires and goals
Students are assigned a specialist role
to play for their company
•
Rangeland resource assessment
•
Livestock and grazing management
•
Nature-based enterprises & wildlife
management
•
Integrated vegetation manipulation &
restoration
•
Economics and finance
Student performance
• In person meeting with client to introduce team members
and explain proposed study to client including cost
estimate
• Oral presentation of preliminary findings to client by each
specialist
• Written presentation of each company’s report to client
• Peer assessment of fellow team members contribution
Identifying Goals and Objective
•
Who are the landowners ?
•
Goals – what do they want to do and
what is important to them
•
Hierarchy of Needs – financial, family and
legal constraints
•
Landscape Vision – what do they want this land
to look like in x years
•
What do they want you to help them do?
•
Assessment of educational needs of landowner
in early stages of planning
Setting Modality of Relationships With Client
• Points of contact, who speaks for who
• Nature of deliverables
• Time allowed to complete plan
• Developing cost estimates for the client
hours, $/hr, estimated expenses
• Agreement with landowners on costs, timing and deliverables
• Keeping the client in the planning loop
Obtaining sensitive information
Assessing goals/capabilities/educational needs
Progress reports/obtaining feedback
Resource Assessment
Assembling Necessary Tools:
GPS
ARCVIEW
Mr. Sid Viewer, Arcpad Scripting for cutting
DOQQ to worldfiles
NUTBAL
Pestman
Spreadsheet, Word processor
Gathering of Spatial Data
•
DOQQ or other aerial digital photographs
•
DEM – elevation
•
Long/Lat of Water, Fence Corners, Gates, Roads
•
Soils, Ecological Site, Suitability Group Data
Determine Need for Plant Community Transects
Will stocking rate assessments require a forage inventory?
If so, what technique will be used in the timeframe?
•
Production transects
•
Estimated usable forage production – rapid appraisal
•
Preference based stocking
•
Modeling plant growth
Will brush / weed management be required?
• If so determine the problem species …and
• How to measure those (density, size, cover)
Will wildlife habitat measurements be required?
If so, what species will be targeted
•
Endangered species
•
Diversity of species
•
Huntable, revenue generating species
Wildlife Population Assessments Required?
•
Determine need for population counts
– what methods, when, who and how?
•
Communicating the error in the data and need
for timing of data collection
What facilities will be required in the project plan ?
•
Home location /septic systems
•
Outbuilding locations
•
Well or water pond development
•
Electric utility service
•
Roads
•
Current fences and other facilities
-functionality? repair? replace?
Animal Husbandry Plan
(if landowners are operating livestock)
•
Breeding, replacement and culling program
- Breeds and product to be produced
- Retain/purchase policy
- Age at breeding
•
Health Program
- Vaccination program
-
Parasite program
Pregnancy testing
Male semen testing and soundness
Biosecurity practices
Nutritional Management Plan
(if landowners are operating livestock)
•
Establish and recommend performance goals of each major
class of animals on the ranch
•
Provide recommendations for practices to insure performance
goals are met
Grazing Management Plan
• Determine whether landowners will operate livestock enterprises or
will lease out grazing rights.
• Review stocking rates with land owner
• Explore potential grazing systems
-pasture arrangements
-management skills
-desired speed of range improvement
-conflicts with other enterprises.
• Determine where support animals will be grazed
• What changes you recommend in pasture configurations – link to economics
• Design a upper and lower rotation days in each pasture for the system
Livestock Marketing Plan
(if landowners are operating livestock)
• Method of sales (local auction, private treaty, forward contract, video)
• Setting performance goals and slides for stockers
Nature-based Enterprise Assessment
• Review potential for resources to support
alternative nature based enterprises with
landowners and assess interest
• Lease hunting –Species?
• Other - Hiking, camping, wildlife
viewing/photography, etc.
Wildlife Hunting Management Plan
(if desired by landowners)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lease agreements
Legal/liability arrangements/access limitations
Marketing and pricing considerations
Harvest goals/limits
Hunter education program
Hunter facilities maintenance and services to
be provided
• Habitat maintenance requirements
• Population monitoring - Methods,
frequency,etc.
Other Nature-based Enterprise
Management Plan
(if desired by landowners)
• Topics as required by nature of the selected
enterprise(s)
Vegetation manipulation/rangeland
restoration
• Recommend goals within a systems approach
• Allow time for biological processes and economic
results to manifest (5-15 years)
• Recommend objectives consistent with resource
inventory
• Use ecological site descriptions (S/T models.)
Identify appropriate improvement technologies to
cause the desired changes.
 Keep focused on objectives and base technology
selection on the strategic plan.
 Evaluate treatment sets that offer synergistic benefits.
 Use DSS (Pestman) to select control technologies.
 Include grazing management strategies and expected
response magnitudes and timing.
 Determine how well the system will accommodate
other improvement plans.
Identify appropriate improvement
technologies to cause the desired changes
(Continued)
• Identify technologies that provide unique
requirements (eg. VRP)
• Recognize landscape differences that contribute to
internal rates of return on investments.
• Consider technologies that will provide greatest
flexibility for future decisions.
Economic/financial Considerations and
Deliverables
• Determine desired annual cash flow
requirements and investment limits –
sequence investments over time
• Develop/adapt enterprise budgets for all
relevant enterprises
• Develop annual cash flow estimates for each
year during which improvements are
being implemented
• Develop proforma income statement relevant
to first year after planned improvements
are implemented
Investment Analysis for Resource
Improvements
(brush control, facilities, etc)
• Create Reports
– Annual revenue and variable costs by
enterprise with/without improvements
– Annual net cash flow with and without
improvements
– Improvement investment summary
• Net present value, internal rate of return,
years to breakeven, etc.