AoR 61: Cooper & Chase Hibbard, Part 2--Grazing Principles

Gus Hormay worked with the Sieben Live Stock Company in the 1970s and 80s to help him understand rotation grazing principles. Chase and Cooper have adapted these ideas, centered on extended rest, to their context and needs. This approach has worked especially well on public lands managed for elk habitat. They received the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Stewardship Award in 2003 in recognition of these efforts and results. In this second half of the interview, Cooper and Chase describe their blend of rest-rotation and short-duration, high intensity grazing, methods for winter grazing, and putting this all together in some mixed-ownership landscape grazing projects.

Mentioned Resources

Working Cows podcast interview with Cooper: workingcows.net/?s=hibbard

Kiss the Ground, documentary on regenerative agriculture: kisstheground.com/

Scott Chase's (Cooper's dad) new book, Beyond the Rio Gila: www.amazon.com/Beyond-Rio-Gila-S…Caps%2C300&sr=8-1

Angus Beef Bulletin article: www.angusbeefbulletin.com/ArticlePDF/0…b_Sieben.pdf

2021 Rangelands journal article "Potential to improve winter grazing pastures: Sieben Land and Livestock study": www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…9005282100002X. Authors estimate that It is estimated that grazing instead of feeding cattle during the winter can save 42% to 70% of the yearly input costs in the western United States and Saskatchewan, Canada.

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