On Kingsclere Ranch, the balance between forestry and beef production is mutually beneficial for both its business model and the environment.
“The cows have a role to play in the total balance of the equation, and that’s a pretty significant role,” says Jeff Braisher, who produces high-end timber and raises cattle at Golden, B.C.
Here in the Columbia Valley, Braisher’s operation consists of private forestry land and Crown land. In addition to grazing open grasslands, he uses transitory grazing, which takes place in areas where timber has been harvested.
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“One of the things that we try to manage for is that combination between tree growth and grass growth,” he says.
“Harvesting trees is part of the equation for us because … that’s part of our business model, and so after the trees are harvested, that’s grazing for the cows after that for a period of time.”
With the right management practices, agroforestry can be an important part of maintaining this balance. Agroforestry is “the practice of using trees, shrubs, plants and animals on the same land in an integrated system that benefits all, while potentially providing better economic returns than if the land was used for one purpose alone,” according to the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) website.
Forest grazing is one method of agroforestry, where producers increase their grazing capacity by pasturing cattle in naturally forested rangelands. Another form is silvopasture, a system in which livestock grazing is incorporated with timber production.
“The native plant community is best strategically grazed when the trees are younger and the canopy is more open, which allows more light to reach the forest floor,” BCRC’s resource on agroforestry states. “As the forest matures, the canopy closes, reducing the understory plants, shrubs and browse. Once the canopy cover exceeds 50 per cent, grazing often becomes unfeasible.”
It’s recommended to graze forested rangelands just once per season, only taking 25 per cent of the total forage production. Trees slow snowmelt, delaying forage growth, so it’s best to graze these areas between mid-June and August.
On Braisher’s ranch, the stocking rate depends on the area being grazed. “We run on a rotation here, and so the transitory grazing is part of what we’re doing in these open fields and these pastures. So we never keep our cows in one location for very long,” he says.
“This year, we slowed our rotation right down because of the dry conditions, and that seemed to work okay for us. If we have particularly lush conditions, we can increase the speed of a rotation; the cows tend to do a little better because the grass is at a better stage of growth for them.”
In some regions, such as the Maritimes, forested rangelands and woodlots provide ideal winter shelter for cattle and spots for feeding. However in regions such as B.C., cattle are often brought home from forested rangeland in winter.
Grazing in the Boreal Forest
“We’ll feed in the open ground and they’ll winter in the bush. We use the bush as windbreak; it’s a natural shelter for the cattle,” says Mark Campbell, who ranches with his wife, Bluesette, his parents and brother.
This cow-calf operation, consisting of between 700 and 750 head, uses holistic management principles. The two principles are to avoid overgrazing and to cover bare ground for optimal health and production. The Campbells have found that an 85-day recovery period is optimal for their land, and this extends to forested areas. They tend not to graze these areas in the spring, as the grass isn’t where it needs to be compared to other pastures.
“We don’t get the grazing days in the forest land that you do in the meadows because the grass production’s not there,” says Mark. “The same principles apply in that land that apply in any other land. The better job you can do grazing it, the better it will grow as time goes by.”
They have about 100 pastures on 4,200 acres and generally move their cattle daily. “They’re designed that way so that they can accommodate our entire herd for one day so that we aren’t moving more frequently or don’t have to if we don’t want to,” says Bluesette.
While some of their forested pastures are too dense for feeding cattle and won’t leave the residual impact they want to improve the land, they have one particular forested pasture that has seen incredible improvement over two decades through the use of holistic management.
“When we moved home, we didn’t used to get a day in there — we had less cattle then than we do now, and now we can comfortably put them in. So over 20 years, we probably doubled the carrying capacity on that chunk of ground,” says Mark.
Finding equilibrium
To avoid these risks, Braisher watches for specific areas where the cattle like to congregate. “They can trample the roots of these trees, and especially if the conditions are wet underneath the forest canopy, and so sometimes it invited disease into the trees,” he says. He’s found that mature trees can tolerate trampling by cattle a bit more than younger trees, and some species stand up to this better, too.
The age of the trees dictates how forested areas are grazed. While young trees offer the most forage production, care needs to be taken so they aren’t damaged at this stage.
“Young, juvenile trees that are somewhere between three feet and 10 feet tall, the cows actually really love those trees. They love to go hang out in those because there’s usually a lower canopy in those, and it breaks the wind for them and provides a bit of an environment for them to have some protection,” Braisher explains.
“That’s really hard on them, and so there’s places where, for instance, we would love to be able to feed cattle near a water site in a field where we know that the field would benefit from the nutrients applied, but we’ll sometimes shy away from that just because of what the cows can do to the trees in those particular situations.”
If fall comes early and is particularly frosty, he’s found that the cattle like to bite off the tops of the young trees. “We try to avoid those types of situations in order to facilitate healthy tree growth, but at the same time the landscape without cows can be much more brushy and actually can suppress the evergreen species out of there.”
Similarly, grazing forested areas has allowed the Campbells to prevent the encroachment of willows and invasive species that would otherwise choke out their open pastures. “When I was a kid, they used to burn this country every spring. That was how brush control was done, and we haven’t done that here since probably the mid-’80s,” says Mark. “When we quit doing that, there are places that we used to hay where the willows are now 10 or 15 feet high.”
Another important benefit of this system is fire suppression, as grazing decreases the amount of fuel on the forest floor. “All that fuel load becomes a major fire hazard, and it becomes almost unstoppable in these kinds of conditions that we’ve seen in the last number of years here,” says Braisher.
“As you get to these areas where the cows have been an integral part of the landscape, the ability to be able to control that fire actually increases.”
When determining how to make the most of integrating cattle into forested areas, Braisher recommends narrowing in on what you’re managing for. “We’re not managing strictly for cows, and nor are we managing entirely for trees in this particular case, and what we’re looking for is balance,” he says.
“We need to see good forest regeneration, we need to see those plants healthy, those trees healthy and ideally we need to manage for it in a way that the grass is just healthy. Where we noticed things can go sideways a little bit is when you lose that environmental balance,” he continues, adding that being single-minded about just one aspect can lead to neither area thriving.
“When you look at the balance, then that’s really what contributes to the ultimate profitability of what we’re doing,” he says.
Like Braisher, the Campbells have found balance within their grazing system and holistic management, which encompasses grazing forested areas. This larger system allows them to raise cattle on a landscape where it wouldn’t be possible for three families to make a living ranching otherwise.
“We don’t want all trees everywhere, and we don’t want all open ground everywhere either,” says Mark. “A year like … (2021), where we didn’t get any rain, our best grass was in the trees.” c
BCRC tips for forest grazing
- Learn about best management practices for your area and local or provincial regulations for grazing forested rangeland.
- Assess the area in question for available resources before grazing in forested rangeland.
- Graze a small area at first, monitoring the health of the forest as you go.
- Manage grazing based on preferred ranges and groups of cattle better suited to particular areas (yearlings who can travel greater distances versus cow-calf pairs).
- Always have an alternate forage supply source.
