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Re: D.B.Sullivan prairie



Stephen Louis Winter wrote:

> Mr. Sullivan:
>         Sounds like you will have a lot of fun with your restoration
> project.  You asked about grazers, so I thought I would offer some info
> that I've gleaned form various Range Management folk.
> plants) in their diets, similar to deer. Bison should be more similar to

> horses than they would be to cattle, but all three are primarily grass

> consumers.  What type of herbivore you choose for your project may depend

Bison are to the right of horses in that they consume more grass thanother
plants. During warm-season growth, they will eat > 99% of theirintake from
grass.

> appropriate amount of time.  With an appropriate stocking rate and grazing
> season, you should be able to have both voles and domestic grazers.  I'm
> doing graduate work in biology at Kansas State University and something I
> have gained while here is a real appreciation for the role of large

On just 17 acres, any large grazing animal will be a problem - cows, horses,or
bison - there is just not enough land to support a "herd" which is 5-6
animals with bison, or 2-3 with cows or horses. I would discourage anyone
getting bison as they are very difficult to handle and you will need special
facilities
and a real fence. ( We have bison.) Because of the smal acreage, you would
have to hay
them many months of the year, and if your hay is not native, you will
introduce exotics back into your prarie. Goats are small enough for you
to buy 5 or 6 in May then pull them off in August, but you will need to
have a stout mesh fence. And reliable water. A mineral block. If predators are

a problem, then you will need a guard dog, etc. The goats will browse out the
forbs first, then eat the grass. You migh tbe able to find a goat farmer near
you
who will loan you the goat in exchange for the free grazing.

If the land is CRP, then I doubt if you can graze it, or even burn it. In any
case,
you will not want to graze it for the first year at least.

As for planting, roundup and all the extra effort is in my opinion a waste of
time and money, just burn the day before you plant and mow at 8-12 inches
once a month the first year. If you have a lot of fescue, then spot spray it
after you burn.

Hand weeding works, even on large lands - you just have to stay after it.
You must pull the whole plant up - hoeing just selects for plants that can
return from their roots. Be sure to have amethodical method of traversing
the land when you weed.

-Austin Moseley


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