Livestock Ranching Research Articles

Hijos del Pueblo: Gender, Family, and Community in Rural Mexico, 1730 – 1850

Hijos del Pueblo is a redo with nearly the same title as Deborah Kanter’s 1993 doctoral dissertation. For the book, she has added some 20 years to her study, through the Mexican-American War. Her purpose is to study women and how their lives changed during the post-independence era. She selected Toluca, a sizable region west of Mexico City, which was always too close to the capital to become a distinct, independent entity yet maintained its rural character. It was a district of maize and maguey that shifted somewhat to livestock ranching and then in the nineteenth century to intensive agricultural production. By the Porfiriato, one town in the Toluca basin, Tenango del Valle, was the most populous in the state of Mexico.As expected, Kanter finds great continuity of colonial practices over the period studied, but she also observes increasing disadvantage for some sectors of society. She depends largely on Spanish-language court cases to furnish the most comprehensive account possible of “gender, family, and mentalités” (p. 3). Villages comprised Toluca, and the great majority of their inhabitants were natives, most of whom were Nahuatl speakers who had inhabited the region for centuries. Two recent publications have brought to light information about Toluca’s Nahuas through translation and analysis of a treasure trove of last wills and testaments (Caterina Pizzigoni, Testaments of Toluca, 2007; and Miriam Melton-Villanueva and Caterina Pizzigoni, “Late Nahuatl Testaments from the Toluca Valley: Indigenous-Language Ethnohistory in the Mexican Independence Period,” Ethnohistory 55, no. 3 [2008]: 361 – 91). These documents are exemplary for their insights into community, ethnicity, family, religion, women, and change well into the 1820s, yet Kanter inexplicably and unfortunately omits any reference to these important works.As native populations recovered and the number of Hispanics also grew during the last century of the colonial period, the need for land for subsistence, to say nothing of a market surplus, increased exponentially. Expansive Spanish-owned haciendas tended to control water and grazing rights, and their majordomos not infrequently abused any villagers who protested. But rather than take up arms, individuals and town officials depended on the courts for redress, as they had for centuries. Even when the Indian Court was abolished in the 1820s and political ideology and practice shifted away from the ancient traditions of paternalism and indigenous corporatism, native peoples expected, sought, and often received justice from the local courts.Patriarchy is a prevailing leitmotiv in this work, and Kanter finds it generally to have served Toluca’s community well over the longue durée. The supreme patriarchs, the king and the pope, represented age-old institutions whose reach extended all the way to local cabildo magistrates and parish priests, who influenced the goings-on in the village and beyond. But patriarchy was subject to the vagaries of time, and where once the parish priest used the Spanish institution of depósito, for example, to sequester and protect a woman from abusive relatives, another priest, a willful one, or local official, might lock a women up to punish her, even though she had committed no crime, and most women had a difficult time challenging authorities. The lot of many Toluca women was hard, and especially hard for poor women (and poor men) and widows in general. A Castro and Campillo lithograph on the book jacket makes this point, depicting women on a road to market carrying heavy burdens. But the men in their company are also loaded down, and all are in traditional dress and out and about.Was life really worse for women in Toluca’s countryside? The extended family as household was a sanctuary of sorts, and if women tended to their duties and violated no norms, by and large they managed. Ethnicity, lineage, and legitimacy continued to define the community, and that same community could be inclusive of the disenfranchised as long as there were resources for all. But with a shortage of land and radical political innovations, it may be that poor individuals, and widows in particular, lost all entitlement.This book furnishes important new information about community life in transition in Toluca. It would have benefited greatly, however, from careful copyediting (“being hung nude,” p. 86) and support of assertions such as “Indian men likely felt more impotent than other men” (p. 51), and “The new state . . . became increasingly liberal and less inclined to protect rural women” (p. 108). The appendix fails to list any sources and the index is sorely deficient. That said, Hijos del Pueblo nevertheless contributes significantly to the field of gender studies and Mexican history and will be useful in classrooms and as a research tool.

Reducing microbial contamination in storm runoff from high use areas on California coastal dairies

High use areas are a fundamental part of California coastal dairies and grazing livestock ranches as feeding areas, nurseries, and sick pens. High stocking densities and daily use in these areas lead to soil surfaces devoid of vegetation and covered in manure, with high potential for manure transport during winter rains to receiving waters regulated for shellfish harvesting and recreation. We characterized the association between California's Mediterranean climate and a series of existing and proposed management practices on fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) transport from high use areas on dairies and ranches. Results from 351 storm runoff samples collected below 35 high-use areas indicate that removal of cattle during winter, locating high use areas on level ground, application of straw and seeding, and vegetative buffer strip implementation were significantly associated with FCB concentration and load reductions. These results complement our findings for reductions of specific pathogens in runoff from these areas. These findings have practical significance because they document surface water quality benefits that the studied management practices provide in application on working farms and ranches. This direction is critical and timely for on-farm management efforts seeking to reduce microbial pollution in runoff and comply with indicator bacteria water quality criteria.

Land‐use changes may explain the recent range expansion of the Black‐shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus in southern Europe

Occasional observations of Black‐shouldered Kites Elanus caeruleus in Europe date back to the mid‐19th century, but it was only recorded as a breeding species in the early 1960s in Portugal and a few years later in neighbouring Spain. This recent colonization, possibly from Africa where the species is abundant, may be due to climate change, land‐use changes in southern Europe, or both. As a first step to understanding this range expansion process we have developed a habitat selection model using data from the current strongholds of its European distribution. Comparing the proportion of different habitat types around 46 breeding sites and 45 randomly chosen plots, we have found that the area of cultivated parklands known as dehesas in Spain is a strong predictor of the current distribution range of breeding pairs of Black‐shouldered Kites. Specifically, the percentage of dehesas with planted cereal and a low density of trees (i.e. < 7 trees/ha and thus a savannah‐like habitat) within the study plots explained 44.6% of the residual deviance in our model. The minimal adequate model classified 81.3% of breeding sites and random plots correctly. Our results suggest that Black‐shouldered Kites may have taken advantage of the gradual increase of cultivated dehesas in the second half of the 20th century to expand its range in Europe. This particular type of dehesa is structurally similar to the African savannahs where the species thrives and may offer a higher density of rodents than traditional dehesas, which primarily contain pastureland for livestock ranching.

Is the native deer Mazama gouazoubira threatened by competition for food with the exotic hare Lepus europaeus in the degraded Chaco in Córdoba, Argentina?

Using microhistological analysis of faeces, we studied the diets of the wild Chacoan Brown brocket deer ( Mazama gouazoubira) and the exotic European hare ( Lepus europaeus) by comparing plant species frequency in faeces with plant species availability. Research was conducted in the dry southern portion of South American Chaco, in forests subjected to livestock ranching in the north of Córdoba province, Argentina. The diet of the Brown brocket deer was more closely related to forage availability ( C=0.82195) than the diet of the European hare ( C=0.38565). Dicots comprised 90% of the Brown brocket deer diet and were preferred throughout the year, while gramineous species were consumed in low amount. In the diet of the European hare, gramineous species were frequent (65 to 87%) and preferred in every season but in winter, when dicots were consumed in higher proportions (92%). Differences in feeding habits and in habitat use would allow both herbivores to coexist; however, probable competition for food with the European hare during the dry period, in addition to habitat loss, threatens survival of the Brown brocket deer.

Patch dieback of Colophospermum mopane in a dysfunctional semi-arid African savanna

Abstract Patch dieback occurred in an almost monospecific Colophospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex J. Léonard woodland in the Northern Province, South Africa, following severe droughts in 1988–1989 and 1991–1992. Discrete patches of dieback and adjacent paired areas of ‘healthy’ vegetation lost an average of 87 and 13% of basal area to mortality, respectively. Whole trees mostly died on ‘dead’ plots, while single-stem mortality prevailed on ‘live’ plots. Tree mortality decreased with increasing stem number per tree. Patch dieback did not occur on sandy soils. On fine-textured soils, variation in soil type, topography or slope did not affect dieback. Dieback was influenced by vegetation structure, soil surface condition and soil chemistry. Intense intertree competition, shown by self-thinning occurring prior to dieback, was a precondition for dieback. Intertree competition had heightened during the 30 years prior to dieback because of an increase in woody cover. Dieback patches had changed from functioning as sinks of water and sediment to sources of these as a result of loss of perennial herbaceous cover, decreased water retention on bared surfaces, and accelerated erosion during 50 years of livestock ranching. Vegetation had thus become increasingly drought-prone, exacerbated in places by soils with a high sodium concentration. Dieback had occurred because the water requirements of C. mopane could no longer be met during drought years on the dysfunctional patches.

Conservation implications of prey responses to wild dogs Lycaon pictus during the denning season on wildlife ranches

AbstractThe spread of game ranching in southern Africa provides opportunities for the reestablishment of populations of endangered wild dogs extirpated by livestock ranchers. However, this potential has not been realized, partly because of negative rancher perceptions. Some ranchers believe that wild dogs impart costs by killing wildlife that could be utilized consumptively. Others complain that wild dogs make ungulates ‘skittish’ and cause local reductions in prey densities while denning. We compared the skittishness and density of prey species inside and outside the denning home ranges of nine wild dog packs in Zimbabwe. Wild dogs had no impact on prey skittishness, but prey species did occur at lower densities inside denning home ranges. In some scenarios, and particularly on fenced game ranches, wild dogs could cause prey population declines during denning. On small game ranches, the use of fences as a tool by wild dogs during hunting can increase the proportion of large prey species in their diet by up to 11 times, and thus increase the minimum area required to support that diet. In addition, game fencing is typically permeable to wild dogs but not their prey, preventing the recovery of prey populations through the natural influx of prey animals into the denning area following departure of the dogs. Wild dogs could thus impose significant financial costs to game ranchers hosting denning packs. Our findings emphasize the importance of promoting the formation of conservancies, where neighbouring landowners remove boundary fences to create larger contiguous wildlife areas.

On the cutting edge of the Brazilian frontier: New (and Old) Agrarian questions in the south central Amazon

The focus of this analysis is the zone of the Brazilian Amazon where the greater frontier has arrived from Rondônia and Mato Grosso states, where new productive systems and environmental and land colonisation policies have resulted in a complex agrarian structure. This ranges from traditional riverine peasant farms to agribusiness enterprises, which co-exist or interact economically, but as yet have not become embroiled in conflict. A Leninist model of agrarian transformation prevails in rice-soybeans-beef production in savannah areas, and a Kautskian model in the livestock ranching of the forested areas. The latter trend may develop into a Leninist pattern in the future, due to environmental policy and limits to land concession which generate land ownership concentration, thereby frustrating land reform policy.

Livestock versus Wildlife Ranching in Kenyan Rangelands: A Case Study of Laikipia District Ranches

Past research has shown that livestock ranching per se has failed to sustain economic development in Laikipia district. Exploratory study results of livestock-wildlife mixed ranching in the district over the last two years are discussed. The results reveal a web of interactive factors involving land tenur, livestock development, disease control, marketing and environmental conservation that need to be considered if the newly emerging mixed -livestock ranching system can be feasible. Failure to consider this web of interactions has contributed to constraints in the efforts to develop a viable livestock –wildlife mixed ranching system. Attempts that could lead to amelioration of these constraints are suggested in this paper. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 27 2004: pp. 24-30

Missionization and Economic Change in the Pimería Alta: The Zooarchaeology of San Agustín de Tucson

Spanish missions were important support bases for colonization; Native American labor provided both food and commodities to support regional colonial expansion. Zooarchaeological remains from Mission San Agustin, located in present-day southern Arizona, offer a unique perspective on livestock use at missions, and engagement with regional economic networks through secondary animal products. Despite decades of resistance to livestock, the O’odham became the primary labor force in an economic system based on livestock ranching, particularly of cattle. The transition to cattle ranching was likely influenced by a number of factors including pressure from missionaries, population growth, and, perhaps most importantly, the regional demand for secondary livestock commodities such as hide and tallow.

Determinants of attitudes towards predators in central Kenya and suggestions for increasing tolerance in livestock dominated landscapes

AbstractWhere people and livestock live with predators there is often conflict that can lead to lethal control of predators. We evaluated attitudes of local people towards large predators and developed a novel index of tolerance by quantifying the number of livestock respondents would be willing to lose before killing the predator responsible. We interviewed 416 subsistence livestock farmers (community members) and commercial livestock ranchers in central Kenya. Commercial ranchers had more positive attitudes and higher tolerance than community members. Community members said their tolerance would increase if they were to derive income from ecotourism or trophy hunting. We found that community members with land title deeds were most tolerant of predators, stressing the importance of land security for conservation efforts. Subsistence livestock farming is the primary land use throughout much of Africa and, as a result, identifying strategies to improve tolerance of predators under this land tenure system is of major conservation significance.

Vulture-Cattle Interactions A Survey of Florida Ranchers

Effective management of vertebrate pest populations is enhanced by greater understanding of stakeholder-pest interactions as well as stakeholder attitudes toward control of the problem species. It has long been reported that black vultures are responsible for depredation of livestock, especially newborns. To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, we conducted a survey of 374 Florida cattle ranchers, representing roughly 2% of the total number of Florida cattle ranches. A 3-page questionnaire was used to gather information of ranch characteristics and whether or not the ranchers had experienced vulture attacks. In cases where vulture attacks were reported, respondents were asked to quantify the value of property lost to vultures and preventative measures taken to reduce vulture predation. All respondents were asked a similar set of questions regarding coyotes as well as a series of questions concerning their attitudes toward vulture control and regulations. The survey revealed that 38% of respondents had experienced vulture predation that, on average, resulted in over $2,000 damage. Important predictors of vulture predation were ranch size and number of cattle. Attacks were recorded throughout the year, with the greatest number occurring during the winter months. By gaining better knowledge of stakeholder views and opinions, as well as the extent and characteristics of their depredation problems, we can more efficiently address the needs of livestock ranchers to reduce vulture damage.

Book Review: Pastoral Resource Competition in Uganda, Case Studies into Commercial Livestock Ranching and Pastoral Institutions

Book Review: Pastoral Resource Competition in Uganda, Case Studies into Commercial Livestock Ranching and Pastoral Institutions

Soil quality gradients around water-points under different management systems in a semi-arid savanna, South Africa

Over 70% of South Africa is too arid for crop farming and is used for either commercial livestock ranching, communal livestock ranching, or game ranching. The inherently different management characteristics of these ranching systems and their effects on vegetation dynamics makes rangeland degradation a contentious issue. We used 500-m-long grazing gradients around water-points to evaluate the effects of management type on soil quality. Results showed significant negative effects of management type on soil parameters (i.e. soil pH, nitrogen, and organic carbon) within 0–100 m from the water-point. Commercial livestock ranching had the greatest negative effect on the immediate area around the water-point. Beyond 100 m, no effect of herbivore activity on soil parameters was detected under any management system.

A comparison of the effects of different rangeland management systems on plant species composition, diversity and vegetation structure in a semi-arid savanna

Most of South Africa's land surface is arid or semi-arid rangeland. Three management systems exploit these areas: commercial livestock ranching, communal livestock ranching and game ranching. The ways in which these management systems affect rangeland ecology is contentious due to inherent differences in management characteristics and the controversy surrounding driving forces in rangeland vegetation dynamics. We used 500m-long grazing gradients around water-points in order to evaluate the effects of grazing intensity on plant species composition and diversity, and to compare levels of degradation among management systems. We compared species composition, bare soil frequency, shrub and tree density among management systems. We conclude that grazing has significant negative effects in these rangelands, although differences in degree of degradation could have been confounded by factors other than grazing.

Ranching West of the 100th Meridian: Culture, Ecology, and Economics

Ranching West of the 100th Meridian offers a literary and thought-provoking look at ranching and its role in the changing West. The book's lyrical and deeply felt narratives, combined with fresh information and analysis, offer a poignant and enlightening consideration of ranchers' ecological commitments to the land, their cultural commitments to American society, and the economic role ranching plays in sustainable food production and the protection of biodiversity. The book begins with writings that bring to life the culture of ranching, including the fading reality of families living and working together on their land generation after generation. The middle section offers an understanding of the ecology of ranching, from issues of overgrazing and watershed damage to the concept that grazing animals can actually help restore degraded land. The final section addresses the economics of ranching in the face of declining commodity prices and rising land values brought by the increasing suburbanization of the West. Among the contributors are Paul Starrs, Linda Hasselstrom, Bob Budd, Drummond Hadley, Mark Brunson, Wayne Elmore, Allan Savory, Luther Propst, and Bill Weeks. Livestock ranching in the West has been attacked from all sides - by environmentalists who see cattle as a scourge upon the land, by fiscal conservatives who consider the leasing of grazing rights to be a massive federal handout program, and by developers who covet intact ranches for subdivisions and shopping centers. The authors acknowledge that, if done wrong, ranching clearly has the capacity to hurt the land. But if done right, it has the power to restore ecological integrity to Western lands that have been too-long neglected. Ranching West of the 100th Meridian makes a unique and impassioned contribution to the ongoing debate on the future of the New West.

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:Jairus Banaji, Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity:Gold,Labour and Aristocratic DominanceRichard Franklin Bensel, The Political Economy of American Industrialization,1877 ‐1900Roy Hora, The Landowners of the Argentine Pampas:A Social and Political History 1860 ‐1940Jonathan Unger,The Transformation of Rural ChinaEllen Meiksins, The Origin of Capitalism:A Longer ViewOndine Barrow and Michael Jennings (ed.), The Charitable Impulse: NGOs and Development in East and North‐East AfricaEnrique Mayer, The Articulated Peasant:Household Economies in the AndesFrank Muhereza and Peter Otim, Pastoral Resource Competition in Uganda:Case Studies into Commercial Livestock Ranching and Pastoral InstitutionsCamilla Toulmin, Philippe Lavigne Delville and Samba Traoré (eds.), The Dynamics of Resource Tenure in West Africa

The impact of cattle ranching on large‐scale vegetation patterns in a coastal savanna in Tanzania

Summary The success of large‐scale cattle ranching in African savanna vegetation has often been limited by problems of bush encroachment and disease (in particular trypanosomiasis spread by tsetse flies). Mkwaja Ranch, occupying an area of 462 km2 on the coast of Tanzania, is a recent example of a large ranching enterprise that failed within the savanna environment. It was closed in 2000 after 48 years of operation. In this paper we describe the main vegetation types of the area (excluding closed forest vegetation) and relate their patterns of distribution to the former use of the ranch for cattle. The study area comprised the former ranch and parts of the adjacent Saadani Game Reserve, which had not been grazed by cattle for many years and had never been used for large‐scale ranching. Following field surveys, 15 distinct types of grassland and bush vegetation were defined and a vegetation map was created using a Landsat TM satellite image. A multispectral classification using the maximum likelihood algorithm gave good results and enabled all 15 vegetation types to be distinguished on the map. Two main spatial trends were detected in the vegetation. One was a large‐scale decrease in the cover of bushland from the most intensively used parts of the ranch through more extensively used areas to the game reserve; this trend was attributed to differences in management history as well as to climatic and topographic factors. A second trend was a radial vegetation pattern associated with the enclosures where cattle were herded at night. High amounts of three bushland types [dominated by (i) Acacia zanzibarica, (ii) Dichrostachys cinerea, Acacia nilotica or Acacia mellifera and (iii) Terminalia spinosa] occurred in a zone between 300 and 2500 m from the paddocks, with a peak in bush density at about 900 m (mean value for 18 paddocks). In contrast, bushland dominated by Hyphaene compressa was scarce close to the paddocks and became more abundant with distance. There was also a radial trend in the grassland communities: close to the paddocks there was short grass vegetation containing many ruderals and invasive weedy species, while the tall grassland types with species such as Hyperthelia dissoluta and Cymbopogon caesius occurred further away in the areas less affected by cattle. Synthesis and applications. The intensive modern livestock ranching as practised on Mkwaja Ranch proved to be unsustainable both economically and ecologically. In the end, the biggest problem faced by the ranch managers was not controlling disease, as had originally been feared, but preventing the spread of bush on pasture land. The results of our study demonstrate just how severe the problem of bush encroachment was, especially in areas close to paddocks. An important lesson for management is that grazing patterns need to be taken into consideration when determining the sustainable stocking rate for an area. To reduce the risk of bush encroachment in grazing systems with focal points such as paddocks or watering points, stocking rates need to be lower than in systems with a more uniform grazing distribution.

Serologic survey for diseases in free-ranging coyotes (Canis latrans) from two ecologically distinct areas of Utah.

The influence of habitat and associated prey assemblages on the prevalence of canine diseases in coyotes (Canis latrans) has received scant attention. From December 1997 through December 1999, we captured 67 coyotes in two ecologically distinct areas of Utah (USA): Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch and US Army Dugway Proving Ground. These areas differ in habitat and prey base. We collected blood samples and tested for evidence of various canine diseases. Prevalence of antibodies against canine parvovirus (CPV) was 100% in the Deseret population and 93% in the Dugway population. All juveniles in both populations had been exposed. We found no difference in the prevalence of antibodies against canine distemper virus (CDV) between the two populations (7% versus 12%; P = 0.50). However, we did find an increase in antibodies with age in the Deseret population (P = 0.03). Evidence of exposure to canine adenovirus (CAV) was found in both populations (52% and 72%; P = 0.08). Prevalence of CAV antibodies was influenced by age on both areas (Deseret: P = 0.003; Dugway: P = 0.004). Antibodies to Francisella tularensis were low on both areas (2% and 4%). We found a significant difference (P = 0.001) in the prevalence of exposure to Yersinia pestis between the two populations: 73% in Deseret compared to 11% in Dugway. This difference is most likely due to the prey species available in the two ecologically distinct study areas.

Patch dieback of Colophospermum mopane in a dysfunctional semi‐arid African savanna

Abstract Patch dieback occurred in an almost monospecific Colophospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex J. Léonard woodland in the Northern Province, South Africa, following severe droughts in 1988–1989 and 1991–1992. Discrete patches of dieback and adjacent paired areas of ‘healthy’ vegetation lost an average of 87 and 13% of basal area to mortality, respectively. Whole trees mostly died on ‘dead’ plots, while single‐stem mortality prevailed on ‘live’ plots. Tree mortality decreased with increasing stem number per tree. Patch dieback did not occur on sandy soils. On fine‐textured soils, variation in soil type, topography or slope did not affect dieback. Dieback was influenced by vegetation structure, soil surface condition and soil chemistry. Intense intertree competition, shown by self‐thinning occurring prior to dieback, was a precondition for dieback. Intertree competition had heightened during the 30 years prior to dieback because of an increase in woody cover. Dieback patches had changed from functioning as sinks of water and sediment to sources of these as a result of loss of perennial herbaceous cover, decreased water retention on bared surfaces, and accelerated erosion during 50 years of livestock ranching. Vegetation had thus become increasingly drought‐prone, exacerbated in places by soils with a high sodium concentration. Dieback had occurred because the water requirements of C. mopane could no longer be met during drought years on the dysfunctional patches.

Biodiversity and Land‐Use Change in the American Mountain West

Rural private lands in the Mountain West of the United States are undergoing a profound land‐use conversion, from agriculture to low‐density residential or exurban development, though little scientific study documents the ecological consequences of this change. Nongovernmental conservation organizations are working with ranchers to keep rangeland out of development and in ranching, ostensibly because these organizations believe that biodiversity is better protected on ranches than on exurban developments. We compared plant and wildlife communities across the principal rural land uses in the Mountain West: protection, livestock ranching, and exurban development. Native plant and faunal biodiversity was better maintained on ranches and protected areas than on exurban developments. Exurban developments favored species that were nonnative or adapted to human‐altered environments. The continued conversion of ranches to exurban development suggests a long‐term alteration of the region's natural heritage.