Approximately 20% of the earth's surface is already desert;
1/3 is considered arid or semiarid. Deserts generaly receive
less than 10 inches of annual rainfall. Livestock grazing, however,
can transform grasslands into desert-like wastelands. During
the cattle industry's boom years (1880-1920), great areas of
rangeland were devastated by huge herds, few controls and periodic
droughts. Overgrazing soon decimated vegetation, creating large
swathes of virtually unusable shrublands.
Restoring America's rangelands to their former productivity
has been a top priority of environmental specialists ever since
Teddy Roosevelt's presidency. Research in the past fe w years
has focused intensively on Criollo cattle, trying to understand
how these cattle use their environment so effectively to gain
and thrive, yet leave little mark of their presence.
Research efforts have revealed many interesting differences
between Criollos and other beef breeds. First of all, Criollo
cattle range significantly farther afield to find food than
their European counterparts. With their small, athletic frames,
they don't have any difficulty navigating steep, rough ground,
so can reach even the most inaccessible areas. Criollo cattle
naturally self-rotate through a pasture, utilizing every square
foot of acreage, rather than concentrating on any one area.
They will readily eat vegetation other breeds wouldn't touch,
such as prickly pear cactus, mesquite, thistles, and numerous
other weeds. Interestingly, Criollos graze fewer hours per
day and remain active in hotter temperatures than their European
counterparts.
The most interesting fact gleaned from the research is the
Criollo's efficiency. They require only 1/2 to 3/4 the amount
of feed and pasture necessary to maintain ordinary beef cattle.
The net effect is beneficial for our rangelands: wherever
Criollo have been, there are fewer weeds, prickly pear, and
mesquite. Wherever Criollo have been, the native bunch grasses
have been beneficially grazed (critical to its evolution with
roaming herd of bison), but not nibbled down to dirt. Wherever
Criollo have been, brush gets pushed back and beaten down in
their aggressive pursuit of food. With their small frames (800
lbs compared to 1200 lbs with European beef breeds), Criollos
don't wreak havoc with soft or muddy areas, such as around
water holes. Overall, Criollos have a positive, improving effect
wherever they are pastured.
A study done by the USDA concluded the following:
"The
breeds we examined differed in their use of the landscapes
we studied. Criollo cows tended to be generalists spending
more time exploring the landscape, traveling longer distances,
and spending less time near water. In addition to other
possible adaptations, the smaller body size of criollo
cows lowers forage demand, which may partially explain
the shorter time devoted to grazing when compared to the
larger British breeds. Criollo cattle demonstrated behavior
characteristics that may improve profitability while having
more favorable environmental impacts than British breeds.
It is noteworthy that our study was conducted during a
year of average to above average rainfall and forage production
following an extended drought. While differences were found
during our study we believe the magnitude of these differences
may be greater during periods of drought, a condition that
typifies these sites. Based on this work we believe there
maybe benefits to using criollo cattle that are worth exploring
further."
Click
here to see the published results of this study.
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