1-15 IAT Cheatgrass

  I recently did a story where  the Idaho Cattle Association heavily endorsed the practice of having cattle graze public lands and is a method of containing cheat grass. I got back an e-mail that was very informative. This is...Cheatgrass has followed domestic cattle around the world. It's appearance in the western US coincides with the introduction of domesticated cattle. Cheatgrass thrives in grazed areas. Increased grazing is directly correlated with increased cheatgrass density and cover. 

Cheatgrass is only palatable for an 4-6 weeks in the spring and cannot be grazed any other time of the year. This makes the logistics of grazing cheatgrass incredibly difficult. Cows must be brought in from elsewhere because the intense grazing needed to eat a significant portion of the cheatgrass in an 4-6 week peroid is much more than the area can support for the rest of the year. When asked by land managers to participate in directed grazing efforts, most western ranchers are unwilling to commit to trucking in animals and hiring the people needed to direct their herd onto the proper sites for the proper time periods. The operators just want to turn out cows on  fully fenced allotments and pick them up months later because it is easier. In the instances where it has been tried, cheatgrass reduction has not met objectives, and often increases the next year.