STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Wyatt Prescott looks the part of a traditional cowboy with his Stetson hat, jeans and cowboy boots.
But his tools of choice are a GPS collar, an accelerometer, a computer and a spreadsheet.
In the patter of the modern major-general of “The Pirates of Penzance,” Prescott is “the very model of a modern ranchero with information vegetable, animal and mineral….He’s very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical--he understand equations, both the simple and quadratical….”
“I don’t view myself as a cowboy. I’m a cattle business manager who’s look at grazing as a conservation tool,” said Prescott, who manages the 10,400-acre Rock Creek Ranch west of Hailey. “I don’t just chase cows on the range. There’s an art and science to this as we try to figure out how to improve production and feed efficiency.”
You can get a feel for the 21st century equivalent of home on the range Saturday when The University of Idaho Rangeland Center serves up a free helping of burgers, potato salad, chips and soda for the community.
Members of the University of Idaho, Central Idaho Rangeland Network, Wood River Land Trust and Prescott Cattle will discuss topics of interest, including ranching operations, using drones to advance research, range plants and stream restoration.
The event—from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 16, at the Rock Creek Ranch barn--will kick off this summer’s Sagebrush Saturdays, which last year focused on such topics as wildflowers and pollinators, beavers and raptors and wildfire.
During last year’s presentation on cowboys, Prescott talked about how he uses GPS collars and accelerometers to track how his cattle use the range, how much they eat, how much they travel and how much they rest. The GPS gives their location every five minutes. And the accelerometer shows their movement.
Prescott and his cowhands, for instance, look at the head movement that’s recorded by the accelerometer to determine if the cows are dropping their head to graze, or if they’re resting or walking.
They also collect cow patties to determine how efficient cows are when it comes to digesting the food they forage.
So far, they’ve determined that the average cow walks 4.5 miles a day and spends 17 percent of its time on slopes greater than 15 percent at average elevations between 5,060-feet to 5,080 feet.
By seeing what a cow is doing all day long, Prescott said, they’ve been able to determine that the more efficient cows don’t need as much to eat and they tend to graze in upland areas, which is what ranchers want.
Less efficient, lazier cows stay in creek bottoms where they can impact streams used by wildlife.
Why is that important?
Sustainability is about producing more with less, about using fewer resources and about leaving more for wildlife, Prescott said. Efficient cows that use the range more sustainably can be used when more endangered species are in the area because they impact riparian areas less.
Research has indicated that there’s no difference in cow weight and fat or weaning rates and milk production between efficient and inefficient cattle so running an operation with efficient cattle is a win-win.
“The more efficient the cows eat 15 percent less—which means less impact on the range and a considerable savings if you’re buying hay,” said Jim Sprinkle, beef extension specialist with the University of Idaho. “And that would merit breeding.”
SAGEBRUSH SATURDAYS
To date one additional Sagebrush Saturday has been scheduled.
That program, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 8, will cover “Wildfires: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly.”
To get to the Rock Creek Ranch barn from Hailey, go west on Bullion Street and continue to follow the road for about 4.5 miles. Turn left onto Rock Creek Road and follow Sagebrush Saturday signs 6.5 miles to the barn.