TAMU – Capstone Course in Grazingland Planning : An Overview

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Resource Assessment Assembling Necessary Tools: GPS ARCVIEW Mr. Sid Viewer, Arcpad Scripting for cutting DOQQ to worldfiles NUTBAL Pestman Spreadsheet, Word processor

8. 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

9. 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

10. Will brush / weed management be required? • If so determine the problem species …and • How to measure those (density, size, cover)

11. Will wildlife habitat measurements be required? • If so, what species will be targeted • Endangered species • Diversity of species • Huntable, revenue generating species

12. 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

13. 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?

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Other Nature-based Enterprise Management Plan (if desired by landowners) • Topics as required by nature of the selected enterprise(s)

21. 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.)

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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

25. 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.