WHITMAN, Neb. — The Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory is a living science centre for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Located in the north-central Nebraska Sandhills, the facility is a 12,800 acre ranch of mixed-grass prairie dedicated to long-term studies on ecology, forage and nutrition, fertility, water, wildlife and insects. There is no cropland because of the fragility of the sand hills.
Elmer and Abbie Gudmundsen donated the former Rafter C Ranch to the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1978. Twenty-seven kilometres of fence, 24 watering locations, sorting pens, scales, a calving barn and a ranch home were built during the first six years, and endowments and other donations have added employee housing and preparation laboratories.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“The ranch is run on a revolving account through the foundation,” said ranch manager Andy Applegarth, who works with three technicians, graduate students and professors.
“All payroll, expenses are paid out of that account whether it be from the sale of cattle or hay.”
An advisory board that includes 15 producers helps set research targets.
“We need to do what the producers would like as much as you can and try and keep it on the cutting edge of what they would like,” Applegarth told a tour sponsored by the Saskatchewan agriculture ministry.
“It can be hard to do because you have to make money to keep the ranch going.”
Heifers were bought from a feedlot to start a cow herd when the university moved to the ranch in 1981. The herd eventually became a more refined composite called Husker Reds, which comprises Red Angus, Gelbvieh, and/or Simmental.
“Right now we run about 750 head of cows that will have a calf and about 200 head of yearlings,” said Applegarth.
One project is looking for ways to cut winter feed costs as well as studying the adaptability of cattle in a harsh environment.
Calving was traditionally in February or March in this region. However, it was also expensive because producers had to feed the cattle 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of hay over the winter when temperatures might drop to -40 C and snow covered the grass.
The ranch set up cow herd groups in which some calved in March and others moved to June calving to see if the winter feeding program could be trimmed. Researchers have reduced hay requirements to about 500 lb. per cow over winter. The rest of the feed is derived from grazing winter pastures.
“We took feeding hay plumb out of the June herd,” he said.
However, the June calving herd was switched back to May calving three years ago and the calves are weaned in January. The results are still under study.
The centre is just getting its first crop of replacement heifers from that group and needs to learn how well these late born calves fit into a breeding program with altered nutrition platforms.
The March calving herd includes heifers that start at the beginning of the month and cows that follow two weeks later.
“From the time the cows are totally weaned in December, they are run with the least amount of hay possible,” Applegarth said.
“With the March herd, we graze them unless there is too much storm.”
The herd needs to be monitored to make sure it is not left without forage when the snow is too deep or temperatures are too cold.
The cattle are also divided into groups to test various amounts of supplementation. One herd receives no winter supplementation, two groups receive one lb. of 32 percent supplement and another two groups receive two lb. of supplement.
Late December weaned calves without supplementation seem to stay healthy within the system, and the heifers have no problem getting bred.
The second calf heifers seemed to have trouble rebreeding, but this appeared to be a problem throughout the region this year. Heifers that fail to get pregnant in this program are shipped to a feedlot to provide income for the ranch.
The cattle are also part of a fetal development project to learn if the fetus adapts to the environment before the cow calves.
Graduate students collect forage samples during the summer by clipping grasses and monitoring cow intake.
Some of the sampling is done with an esophageal fistula. A hole is made in the animal’s neck and the apparatus is inserted and plugged. The plug is removed after the cattle eat and samples can be taken to examine what plants they are picking up.
