PUKWANA, S.D. — For 32 years Larry Wagner has focused on implementing rotational grazing practices on his ranch near Pukwana, South Dakota.
As a board member of the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, Wagner shared some of his knowledge by hosting a pasture walk on May 21. Wagner has around 135 head of cattle and uses direct-marketing to sell his grass-fed, grass-finished beef. He runs his cattle on land that was once used as crop ground but has since been converted back to native warm season grass, a transition he said took around five years.
“My favorite combination is big bluestem, Indian grass and sideoats, I think it’s a great mix,” he said. Another change Wagner implemented that is considered unusual for many ranchers across the state was switching his calving season from early March to May. “It’s just unbelievable what it changes.
You don't realize when you get into warm weather how much it changes, how much you cut down your workload,” he said. “One thing you never really think about is, you got so much more daylight that you're not out there in the dark.” ADVERTISEMENT Jenita Derga, a private consultant from Wild Prairie Solutions, helped coordinate the pasture walk and works closely with ranchers on grazing management and strategies to increase profitability while not depleting their grass resource.
“I get to be out here and talk about plants, soil and get to meet with ranchers and just kind of foster conversations, which is really what the pasture.
