Are you looking to successfully transition your ranching operation to the next generation, manage grazing resources more efficiently, or learn about how Nebraska ranchers are accomplishing both these things?

On June 11-12, the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition (NGLC) and Nebraska Extension are hosting a Generational Transition Session and 2019 Summer Grazing Tour in southwest Nebraska.

The Generational Transition Session will be Tuesday, June 11, at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center near North Platte. It will feature ranch estate planning attorney Pam Olsen and a panel discussion by ranchers that have successfully made the transition to the next generation.

The 2019 Summer Grazing Tour will be Wednesday, June 12, and feature three southwest Nebraska ranches that manage different grazing resources, including intensively managed native range and range rescued from invasive eastern red cedar trees.

The three ranches on the tour include:

Shamrock Ranches

Owned and operated by Marlene Moore and Dwight Maseberg, Shamrock Ranches has been in Moore's family since 1949. Since Moore took over in 1982, the ranch has transitioned from traditional grazing management with minimal pastures to intensive internal subdivision and water development.

Today, the ranch includes 15 miles of pipeline, 37 watering points, 55 miles of electric fence and 73 paddocks ranging in size from 40 to 140 acres. Moore and Maseberg have seen improvement in the balance of cool- and warm-season grasses, increased percentage of forage harvested, uniformity and quality of forages available to cattle, and a 150% increase in carrying capacity.

As active participants in Ranching for Profit and the Executive Link for many years, Moore and Maseberg operate under the premise that "the cow works for us; we do not work for the cow."

Deatrich Cattle Co.

Todd and Tell Deatrich operate a small cow-calf operation in the Loess Canyons south of North Platte. The main portion of the ranch is contiguous acres leased from several landowners. Several parcels of extra summer grass also are leased for grazing yearlings.

The cows are run on grass from April until cornstalks are available in fall. A moderately intensive grazing system is used to manage forage for the cow herd. Cows calve in May and June, and weaned calves are run on cornstalks and rangeland, supplemented with hay and cake. Steers and replacement heifers are retained and run on grass as yearlings.

Deatrich Cattle Co. has used prescribed fire and mechanical means to control invasive eastern red cedar through cooperation with the Loess Canyons Rangeland Alliance (LCRA) — helping to start the group and conducting one of the first prescribed burns on the ranch.

Although challenges associated with multiple landowners and prescribed fire are numerous, Deatrich Cattle Co. is committed to working together, continually looking for more opportunities to expand efforts to restore the rangeland back to its productive state.

Mortensen Farm and Ranch

Mortensen Farm and Ranch is a family-owned and operated ranch that was established in 1892. It is now operated by the fourth and fifth generation. The Mortensens have been involved in the LCRA burn group since the early 2000s.

They run about 300 cows, and on some of their land, they are in the process of conducting their second and third controlled burns since the LCRA originated.

Registration for the Generational Transition Session starts at 9:30 a.m. June 11, and sessions will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A $15 registration fee includes lunch and is payable upon arrival.

Registration for the grazing tours will be from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. June 12 at Shamrock Ranches. To get to the ranch from Highway 25 between Wallace and Hayes Center, turn west on County Road 748 at mile marker 50, continue west 4 miles, and do not follow the county road as it curves north. Instead, continue west, cross an autogate and drive into the Shamrock Ranch headquarters. A $20 registration fee includes a boxed lunch and evening steak fry at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.

Preregistration for each event is required no later than Friday, June 7. To preregister, call Randy Saner, Nebraska Beef Systems Extension educator, at 308-532- 2683 or email [email protected]. Specify which activities you plan to attend. For information, call Ron Bolze, NGLC coordinator, at 402-321-0067.

Source: Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.