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June 1, 2001

Intensive grazing system
benefits Iola rancher

By Blair Fannin
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station

IOLA — Grazing 100 head of cattle on just 54 acres might raise the eyebrows of a few ranchers, but Gene Sollock is proving it can be done, thanks to an intensive grazing management program.

"I actually started this grazing system about 25 years ago after having read a whole lot of materials on rotational grazing," Sollock said. "(After extensive study) I began to think, `Well, that looks like there might be some advantages in doing it.'"

Born and raised just a few miles from his Iola farm, the 75-year-old Sollock retired in 1982 after 22 years of teaching agriculture in Pasadena and Conroe. He and his wife, Ruth, used the farm as a weekend endeavor but made it their permanent home after he retired.

Prior to starting his intensive grazing management system, Sollock began experimenting with several different clover varieties, according to Dr. David Bade, a forage specialist with the Texas Cooperative Extension.

"What we did was we gave (Gene) a bunch of different clover varieties and he planted those," Bade said. "That was about 15 years ago and of those clover varieties, one variety was able to make seed and come back year in and year out."

The Ball clover variety gave Sollock the best results, and was established on his acreage approximately 13 years ago.

"It has a very hard seed content and has just done a wonderful job for him," Bade said.

Sollock's managed intensive grazing system utilizes 54 acres, divided into two-acre paddocks. Currently, 100 head of cattle graze these paddocks on a rotational basis. The paddocks include water troughs supplied with fresh water from a private well.

"Where a lot of people in the range business on native pastures get about a 25 percent utilization, Gene is getting about a 90 percent utilization, which means 90 percent of the grass and clover he grows goes into the cow itself," Bade said.

Jim Sartwelle, an extension risk management economist, said most cattle producers are looking to cut costs and "drought-proof" their operations after experiencing five years worth of little rainfall.

"When you pro-rate your establishment costs over a 10-year period that includes your forage and fence expenses, then add your water expenses over a 15-year period, we're talking about less than $15 an acre per year of getting this system established," Sartwelle said.

"That number is really going to jump out at people. The reason Gene has been able to keep these costs low is that only in 1995 and in 2000 did he apply a commercial fertilizer."

The cattle feces and urine recycles the high nitrogen content found in the clover back into the soil. The high quality clover eliminates hay feeding and provides a herd of heifers with about three pounds of gain per head per day.

Sollock shares his learning experiences as part of an annual Clover Forage Field Day held in Iola, sponsored by the Extension Service and the Bedias Soil and Water Conservation District.

"Anybody can have this type of system whether you're large or small," Sollock said. "It may require some modification, but it can be done and work for you."