CARM 3.0 Grazing Management Plan

2026

This is the second year of CARM 3.0; let’s recap what changes occurred in this season’s management planning.

The stakeholder group met back in the fall of 2025 and landed on the stocking rate of 6.8 AUD/ac (180-247 yearlings, depending on paired-pasture sizes) then the stakeholders met in April 2026 for the stocking rate decision.

However, in April the station was looking dire after a historic winter, highest average winter temperature, 8th driest on record, and lowest SPEI ever. The stakeholder group decided to push the grazing season out until June 1st with a few caveats. 1) If it rained less than 2 inches, they’d run no cattle. 2) If it rained more than 2 inches, they’d meet again to discuss the final stocking rate.

May 28th, Stakeholders voted for a stocking rate of 3.4 AUD/ac.

Stocking Rate

Stocking Rate is defined by Animal Unit Days per acre (AUD/ac).

Reminder, the steers were allocated to the paired pastures in each CARM rep (1, 2, & 3) by proportion of stocking rate and here’s our cattle math. 

Number of Head = ((SR * Acres)/Days Grazing)/Animal.Unit.Steer.Equivalent

HighHawk = ((6.8 AUD/ac * 1429 ac)/ 112 days)/0.8 = 108 steers

Triggers

  1. Animal Behavior

    Happy steers Time to move
    If cattle are “content” If cattle are “pushing fences”
    If soil moisture or greenness values are increasing If soil moisture or greenness values are decreasing
    If it has rained recently and/or predictions are high in near-term If it has not rained recently and predictions are low in near-term

  2. NEW: Weekly assessment of standing biomass in Longspur zone(s) and the addition of using pasture-scale mean calculated from the CPER Viewer

    1. If both of these values transitioned from above to below one of the thresholds in the table below, then cattle will be moved.

    2. If only one of these metrics has dropped below the threshold, no rotation will occur.

    3. If pasture-scale mean remains above 350 lbs while the Longspur zone drops below 350 lbs/ac then all steers move into the Tall pasture.

Biomass (pounds/acre) [Drought Thresholds] Short Grass Tall Grass
≤ 350 [≤ 300] No steers All steers
350 - 450 [300 - 400] 30% 70%
450 - 600 [400 - 550] 50% 50%
600 - 750 [550 - 700] 80% 20%
> 750 [> 700] All steers No steers