Universities surveying Texas cattlemen on grazing decisions

Some 4,500 livestock operators in North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas will be receiving a survey letter in mid-January to help gauge grazing practices through the past decade. Researchers at South Dakota State University, Michigan State University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research are working to better understand the economic, environmental and land use consequences of different grazing management practices in the Northern and Southern Great Plains.
Survey questions will cover basic ranch and operator information, ranch management and land use practices, projected changes in the next 10 years and the use of continuous, rotational and management intensive grazing.
This is the first such survey of its kind in this region in at least 10 years, according to faculty members Tong Wang, SDSU; David Hennessy, Michigan State; and Srinivasulu Ale, Texas A&M, who are directing the project.
Producers in most counties of South Dakota and North Dakota, and the Panhandle, Rolling Plains, West Central and Central regions of Texas have been randomly selected to complete the survey.
The voluntary survey is estimated to take 20 to 25 minutes to complete and results will only be reported in summary form.
The survey will be mailed from South Dakota State University Printing Lab, which also will manage survey follow-ups and returns.
Source: SDSU