Download The Southern Great Plains: Characteristics, Agriculture, and Livestock and more Study notes Geographic Data and Information in PDF only on Docsity!
The Southern Great Plains
THE REGION AND ITS NEEDS
D. A. SAVAGE, D. F. COSTELLO
THE Southern Great Plains is a big expanse of range country, dry-land farms, and some irri- gated areas. Unintentional but wide- spread misuse of its soils in the past and a cataclysmic drought depleted the ranges, destroyed land and property, upset community stability, and brought a need for subsidies, relief, and other outside aid. People then called a part of it the Dust Bowl. It has now regained some of its prominence as a leading cattle-pro- ducing and livestock-farming area; to maintain and improve this position re- quires a grassland agriculture geared to climate and the nature of the soil. This hopeful trend is still in its in- fancy. Much remains to be done. Mil- lions of acres of the t^rosive, less fertile areas need to be returned to grass; farming needs to be restricted to the better lands. Extremely alarming is the tendency in some sections to repeat the serious mistake made in the First World War by plowing up the native pas- ture land and placing it under cultiva- tion. The great drought of the 1930's emphasized the fallacy of straight wheat production in the region, pointed up the importance of a more diversified grassland agriculture, and focused public attention upon the crit- ical need for expanding, improving, and conserving the acreage of good
range grasses. The lesson was a costly one. It must be remembered. Severe droughts are certain to recur. We must be ready for them. The Southern Great Plains includes about 130 million acres south of the Nebraska-Kansas and Wyoming-Colo- rado borders. It extends from the east- ern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and New Mexico to about the 98th meridian in Kansas and Okla- homa. The boundary swings southwest in Texas to the southern border of New Mexico and includes the Texas Pan- handle and adjacent areas of western Texas and eastern New Mexico. The region represents about a third of the total area of the ñvc States. Wide variations occur in surface fea- tures, soils, and plant cover. The gen- eral aspect is a fairly level plain with shallow drainage channels often inter- spersed with rolling lands or steep broken areas. The principal rivers flow eastward. Only two of them, the South Platte and the Arkansas, furnish much water for irrigation. Most of the re- gion slopes gently from elevations of 5,000 to 6,000 feet on the west to 2, feet or less on the east and south. The climate is highly variable from month to month and year to year. Rainfall is comparatively light and in- frequent; humidity is low; there are high winds and quick evaporation. 503
504
The yearly precipitation ranges from 10 to 17 inches in the west to 20 inches or more in the east ; about two-thirds of it falls during the active growing sea- son, April to September. Much of the rainfall occurs as torrents or light, in- effective showers; often hot weather and high winds further reduce its ef- fectiveness. Drought periods, which oc- cur nearly every year and occasionally last for several seasons or years, make dry-land farming hazardous. The winters here arc generally mild, open, and fairly dry, with an infre- quent shower or severe snowstorm and sharp fluctuations in temperature. Wind velocities reach a peak late in winter or early in the spring and are usually higher throughout the year than elsewhere in the United States. Plants to be fully adapted to the en- tire region must be able to withstand these conditions and temperature ex- tremes from 118° to -30° F. The average yearly temperature ranges from about 50° in the north to 65° in the south, with a summer mean usually above 70°. The daily range is high. The frost-free season varies from 125 days on the higher slopes of Colorado to 200 days at the lower elevations in the southeastern part. The soils range in texture from dune sand to heavy clay. Most of them are well supplied with minerals and other essential elements in available form. They were developed mainly from materials originally washed from the Rocky Mountains, and contain a vari- ety of minerals that have not been leached below the depth of plant roots, except in some sandy soils. Farmers recognize tw^o broad classes
YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 19 48
of soils in the region: The hard lands, that can grow wheat and cotton, and the sandy lands, where sorghums or corn are best suited. Two other broad distinctions are made in considering proper land use: The heavy, semiheavy, and sandy soils adapted to cultivation; and the loose sandy soils, heavy clays, and rough broken lands suitable for range. The heavier and more fertile soils consist of a fine-grained layer of topsoil composed of silt or clay loam and underlain wâth a clay or clay loam subsoil. These soils absorb water slowly but retain it well. On January 1, 1947, the five States that include the Southern Great Plains had about 18 million cattle, 13 million sheep, and V/z- million horses and mules. The five States had 22 percent of the Nation's cattle, 35 percent of the sheep, and 16 percent of the horses and mules—or 25 percent of the total animal population and 17 percent of the valuation of these classes of grass- eating livestock. Sheep numbers in the five States were 75 percent of the cattle numbers in the area, but the valuation of sheep was a tenth of that of cattle. Texas led the United States in num- ber and valuation of cattle and sheep and in number of horses. Kansas ranked second in the region and fifth in the country in number of cattle; Colorado ranked correspondingly in number of sheep. New Mexico had fewer cattle than any State within the region but more than 11 other States. The importance of the region as a cattle-producing area is much greater than the figures indicate; they were recorded after millions of feeder cattle had left the region for finishing in the Corn Belt. The cattle population in the region on January 1, 1947, was 4 percent be- low that for the same date in 1946 but 8 percent above the previous 10-year average. This large population is cer- tain to result in damage to range re- sources in the event of another severe drought unless adequate supplies of extra forage and other supplements are provided.
5o
grazed on the range, the general prac- tice is to use a herder and to provide night corrals and some shelter. Supple- mental feeding in winter is the com- mon practice. A few small operators cater to the spring lamb market, but the bulk of production goes to the fall slaughter and feeder lamb markets. Range sheep production is of minor importance in the region. This ac- counts for the fact that range lands of the Southern Great Plains have suf- fered somewhat less from overgrazing than many other ranges in the West. The beef cattle industry in the Southern Great Plains can be placed and maintained on a much more stable basis through the adoption of im- proved practices for the care and man- agement of both the range and the cat- tle. These possibilities are indicated by the results of range studies and grazing tests conducted in the region. Stockmen are urged to make annual appraisals of the condition of their range lands and determine the trend for better or w^orse. Accurate inven- tories of this kind are dependent upon a thorough knowledge of, and ability to recognize, the desirable and unde- sirable plants. Every stockman needs a practical working knowledge of the production capacity of his grasslands. He needs to know what degree of for- age utilization will result in optimum returns from his livestock and at the same time allow sustained maximum production of grass. If this knowledge were generally available, the evil effects of "grass in- flation" and "grass depression" could be diminished. In good years, a large volume of vegetation^ much of which
YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 19 48
consists of low-value weeds, springs up and gives false hopes of prosperity. The tendency under such conditions is to graze more livestock than is proper or profitable. The result is over- grazing in dry years and enforced sale of a portion of the breeding herd la- boriously built up over a period of time. This lowers the herd quality and fre- quently causes the operator to con- clude that purchase of high-grade ani- mals is hazardous and uneconomical. Stockmen need guides for judging con- dition of the range, yearly forage pro- duction, and current use of the grass. An occasional overhaul job of the ranch is just as important as a motor tune-up on the family automobile. There are very few farms and ranches where the efficiency of operation can- not be improved. Higher income can usually be obtained after a little trouble-shooting, usually without an expansion of facilities. This can be ac- complished by giving proper attention to forage, livestock, and equipment. The forage should receive attention at all times. It is the crop which the livestock operator has for sale; the ani- mals are merely a means of harvesting and processing it. In the long run, con- servative use of the grass pays the best dividends in grass and livestock pro- duction. It provides assurance of a sustained forage supply and results in optimum weight gains. An understand- ing of range conditions is necessary be- fore correct use can be attained. An examination of different ranges in any locality will show that the forage is better on some than others. An ex- change of ideas among stockmen fre- quently reveals the cause.
DRY-LAND PASTURES ON THE PLAINS
D. A. SAVAGE, JAMES E. SMITH, D. F. COSTELLO
IN THE Southern Great Plains a steadily increasing acreage of pastures is being established by seeding native or introduced grasses on cultivated and
abandoned farm land. Other grazing lands include small areas of irrigated pasture and extensive native range. Millions of acres of the more erosive
