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JX Cattle Co. LLC
Tom & Mimi Sidwell
6237 Hwy 209
Tucumcari
New Mexico 88401
575-487-2419
or type this in your
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vacation @ jxranch.com
July 03, 2008
Website
development
& web master:
Mimi sidell
copyright©jxranch
2000 - 2006
JX RANCH
ranch stewardship
"If you don't live on the edge, you are taking up way too much room"
In managing all the resources that make up the ranch, we realize that the decisions we make have a rippling effect on all resources on the ranch. Our goal is to improve the ecological health of the land, including water, vegetation, and animals, while at the same time making a living for ourselves and being able to share this unique lifestyle with others.
As of writing, this new ranch does not yet have the reliable large-capacity water delivery to allow for one-herd rotation. However, our immediate range improvement plans include replacing most of the drinking troughs on the ranch, installing large capacity storage tanks (4 30,000 gallon tanks), and inter-connect all wells with under-ground pipelines so water can be moved anywhere on the ranch. You cannot rotate a large number of cattle in one herd unless you have a large amount of water readily available to them as they come in to drink on a hot day.
Once we have the water situation improved, we can start the grazing planning process. When the grasses grow fast we rotate the cattle fast through the pastures so the grasses are lightly grazed and when the growth rate of the grass is slow, we rotate the cattle slower through the pastures. This allows time for the grazed plant to recover before the herd eventually returns to the previously grazed pasture, thereby allowing the grass time to grow, produce seed, and mature. In rotating all the cattle together in one large herd, they, in effect, mimic the large buffalo herds that once roamed the plains, constantly on the move.
Once we have the water distribution done, on any given day during the summer, approximately 92% of the ranch will be rested. After being grazed, a pasture will receive approximately 90 days rest before being grazed again for a short duration depending on the size, condition and productivity of each pasture. This also allows the wildlife undisturbed access to most of the ranch at any given time. When the cattle graze in one herd, the cattle's hooves will impact the soil by breaking up the compacted and crusted soil surface, while aerating and mixing organic matter into the soil, and thus allowing for rain to soak in into the soil instead of running off and creating eroded areas. This process provides a healthy plant vigor, increases the chances of survival of the desirable plant species which will eventually crowd out the invasive, non-desirable plants. This, of course, benefits the wildlife as much as the cattle.