Rotation on the ranch

Insights with Tracking Y Ranch

Effective fall pasture management is a top priority for livestock ranchers. Heading into cooler temperatures and shorter daylight hours, it becomes essential to optimize pasture practices for the health and productivity of your cattle. Correctly allocating pastures can prevent the need to purchase excess additional grain feed, saving valuable resource cost.

Jake Yancey, an innovative first-generation rancher from Washington State, employs a holistic approach to cattle grazing, focusing not only on livestock performance but also on practices that enhance the soil, water, and wildlife.

Jake and his family are often seen working together on various tasks such as rotating pastures, building fences, managing invasive weeds, seeding native grasses, and caring for their cattle.

Since 2015, Tracking Y Ranch has expanded from managing a small back-of-home pasture to overseeing properties across four counties in Western Washington. Approximately half of their properties are privately or municipally owned, while the rest are managed through long-term Conservation Easements. These easements ensure that these lands remain open for agricultural purposes, wildlife conservation, and enjoyment by future generations.

Jake shares his insights on adaptive grazing, a method crucial for optimizing land use and improving livestock management. This practice, Jake says, helps maintain pasture quality while promoting animal health and performance during changing seasons.

“It's been great because the small paddock moves allow us to increase daily gains on our cattle over the whole grazing season. Keeping them in smaller paddocks allows us to keep a closer eye on those animals as they go along, and because we're controlling when the cattle end up moving and coming off areas, we can make sure that our cattle target and graze different species that they may not like such as rushes and sedges in our Wetland areas as they dry out.”

Jake tells us that adaptive conservation grazing isn't as complicated as it seems. Once you get a handle on the basics, it's straightforward. He highlights the importance of adjusting pasture allocation according to animals' nutritional needs and seasonal conditions to ensure both pasture longevity and livestock well-being.

“As the season progresses, adaptive grazing is really the basis of our whole entire operation, pretty much the reason why I can sleep well at night. If my system's set up right, I can test my fence properly when I get there and know if the whole entire thing is secure.

Tracking Y also focus on pasture types and growth cycles to maximize their livestock productivity gains. Yancey and his family prioritize removal of noxious weeds, keeping their Prairie pastures clean. He says, fall is an excellent time of year for livestock nutrition, the balance of new fall growth and the remaining dry, high-fiber summer grass slows animal digestion, maximizing nutritional absorption.

Jake says at times his cattle need a little encouragement shifting in fall, using alfalfa cubes to help provide a little motivation. Alfalfa provides an added protein dietary bonus and helps get their cows and calves to understand that pasture moves are in their best interest and go stress free.

“I 100% encourage all ranchers to get into some sort of prescribed conservation grazing or holistic grazing, it increases the benefits so much for your livestock, their daily gains, and really the soil health; that’s what it comes down to.”

If you'd like to learn more about pasture management strategies to improve productivity on your ranch, don't hesitate to reach out to your local Gallagher expert to unlock the potential of your land.

Watch the full video with Jake Yancey