Grazing Craze

Grade Level:
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Time Required:
50 minutes

Objectives/Goals:
1. Students will be able to name the key features of a grassland habitat.
2. Students will understand grazing and the benefits of rotational grazing.
3. Students will be able to name at least three ground-nesting birds.
4. Students will be able to record data and create bar graphs.

Curricular Areas:
listening, speaking, addition and subtraction, graphing, social studies, assessing changes in an environment, comparing and contrasting

Overview:
1. A teacher lecture will introduce the concepts of grassland habitats, ranching, grazing, and the practice of rotational grazing.
2. Students role-play as ranchers, land managers, or cows during the grazing simulations.
3. Students graph the outcome of each round of play.
4. A discussion will help students evaluate the results of the simulations.

Lesson's Concepts:
1. If animals are allowed to graze freely in a confined area for long periods of time the animals can eat the plants until there is nothing but bare soil.
2. Unprotected bare soil can erode easily, either by wind or rain.
3. Overgrazing allows "invasive weeds" to take over an area and exclude native grasses and other plants.
4. Rotational grazing increases the wildlife habitat values of ranchlands.

Materials Needed for Each Group of 10 Students:

• 24" x 18" sheet of butcher paper
• 160 mini marshmallows, gumdrops, gummy bears, or snacks that won't roll off the table
• 16 straws and 8 rubber bands (to make chopsticks)
• 4 small cups
• 30 sheets of graph paper (three for each student)
• 10 half sheets of paper
• 10 pencils
• masking tape

Preparation:
1. To prepare the activity area for each group, use the tape to mark off four equal sections on one side of the butcher paper. Label the sections A, B, C, and D. Place 40 food items in each of the four cups and place one cup on each section. The sections represent pastures on a ranch, and the food items are grass units that the animals will eat (be creative and get all green marshmallows or green gumdrops so they look like grass).
2. Review the Grazing Craze Player Roles:
Rancher: The rancher is responsible for choosing which pasture the "cows" will graze during each round of the game. The rancher decides when the "cows" START grazing and when they STOP grazing.
Cows: Each cow uses a set of "chopsticks" to feed in the pasture. The "cows" listen to the rancher to know when to START and STOP grazing. "Cows" take grass units one at a time from the pasture at a slow pace. At the end of each round each "cow" counts up the total number of grass units he/she took during the round and records the number.
Land Manager: At the end of each round of play the land manager adds grass units (see procedures) to each pasture to account for grass that grew during the round. Then he/she counts the total number of grass units remaining on each pasture and records the numbers. In rounds three and four the land manager also calculates and records the number of waterfowl nests that each pasture can support.
3. Use the straws and rubber bands to construct tweezer-like chopsticks for each "cow." Or, let the "cows" create their own chopsticks before beginning the game (see below).

Procedure:
1. Use the teacher lecture to introduce grazing and rotational grazing to the students. Show the students the "pastures" they will use during the game. Explain that they will be role-playing as cows, ranchers, or land managers. Describe each role in the game.
2. Divide the class into groups of ten. Each group is made up of 1 rancher, 1 land manager, and 8 cows. Make the appropriate assignments.
3. Pass out two straws and a rubber band to each "cow," and have them construct tweezer-like chopsticks (or see above). Give each student a half sheet of paper and a pencil. Have the "cows" stand in a circle around the table. Have the land manager sit at the table and have the rancher stand just outside the circle of animals. Hand out the graph paper to all the students when the game is over.
4. Play the game (see below).

To Play Grazing Craze:
1. The game is played in four rounds.
2. To begin, the rancher chooses one pasture to graze his/her animals. Pour one cup of food onto each of the four pastures.
3. When everyone is ready the rancher says START, and the cows begin grazing in the selected pasture. The "cows" use their chopsticks to take one food item at a time, collecting the food items in front of them (do not eat the food items until the end of the game). The animals should graze the pasture at a slow and steady pace, just like real cows (using the chopsticks helps slow the pace).
4. When the rancher thinks that it is necessary to move the animals to another pasture he/she calls STOP. Each "cow" counts the number of grass units he/she collects during the round and records the number on the half sheet of paper. Set these grass units aside. Then each cow reports the number of grass units he/she collected to the rancher, and the rancher records them.
5. The land manager examines each pasture. He/she places five grass units onto each pasture that was not grazed during the round, and one grass unit onto the pasture that was grazed (the new grass units represent the grass that grew during the round). Then the land manager counts the number of grass units on each pasture and records them.

Round 1 and 2
1. Play the first two rounds as described above.

Round 3
1. Play the round as described above. In addition, the land manager must also assess each pasture for suitable waterfowl nesting habitat.
2. For every three grass units on a pasture, one waterfowl nest can be supported. Add up the number of nests that each pasture can support and record them.

Discussion: Which pasture produced the most waterfowl nests? Does that mean that the same pasture produced the most ducks? What factors might determine whether an egg hatches and a duckling grows into an adult? (If the vegetation around the nesting area is thick enough it provides protective cover to hide the eggs from predators. If a hen has to travel long distances to take her newly hatched ducklings to water, she and her brood might encounter more hazards such as predators.)

Round 4
1. Collect all food items and flip the butcher paper over. Use the entire sheet as one large pasture.
2. Fill each of the four cups with 40 food items. Have the land manager pour the food items from each cup onto the pasture, making sure that they are distributed evenly.
3. Gather the cattle around the board, with chopsticks in hand. In this round the rancher cannot rotate the animals to another pasture. The animals are allowed to graze freely anywhere on the entire sheet of paper, but each cow must collect the same number of grass units he/she collected during the first three rounds. For instance, if he/she collected 5 in round one, 6 in round two, and 4 in round three (15 total), then he/she must collect a total of 15 grass units during this round.
4. Once the "cows" are done grazing the land manager adds four grass units to the pasture to account for grass that grew during the round. He/she then counts the total number of grass units on the pasture. Next, calculate the number of waterfowl nests that the pasture can support (three grass units = one waterfowl nest).

Conclusion: At the end of the game the land manager reads off the total number of grass units counted on each pasture after each round of play. Each player records the information and creates six bar graphs (in class or assign as homework.) Create one bar graph for each round, showing the number of grass units on each pasture at the end of the round (four graphs). Then create one bar graph for round three and one for round four, showing the number of waterfowl nests that each pasture can support (two graphs). Create the graphs with pastures A to D on the x-axis and the number of grass units or waterfowl nests on the y-axis.

Grazing Craze Graph Example

Discussion: Which grazing method produced more waterfowl nests, rotational grazing or free grazing? When a rancher allows animals to graze freely, what will happen when the pasture is grazed down too far? Does the number of cattle grazing in a pasture affect the rate at which the grass is eaten?

Assessment:
1. Grade the graphs using the Bar Graph Evaluation Rubric.
2. Points may also be assigned for listening, following directions, participation, and teamwork.

Follow-up/Extensions:
1. Have students write a report on a bird that builds its nest in the grasslands. For a list of grassland birds visit http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/grass/actlist.htm. Provide specific instructions about length, graphics, deadlines, typing instructions, etc.

2. About 99% of the native grasslands that once existed in California are now gone. They have been lost to development of the land or to invasion of non-native plants. Some studies show that managed rotational grazing can help native grasses and inhibit the growth of non-native grasses. Learn to identify some native California grasses and some of the non-natives that have been introduced to California. Assign students one of the many grasses or forbs (a leafy plant other than grass) that grow in California today. Don't tell the students if their plant is a native or non-native species. Let them discover their plants' origins as they do their research. Here are some questions to help students with their research:

• Is the plant native or non-native to California?
• If the plant is non-native, how and when was it brought to California?
• Do any animals use the plant? If so, for what?
• Have humans ever used the plant? If so, for what?

For information about native and non-native grasses visit the California Native Plant Society web site at http://www.cnps.org/, or the California Native Grass Association web site at http://www.cnga.org/index.php.

3. Become a virtual rancher using one of several agricultural software programs designed for professional rotational grazing operations. GrazePro, BisonPro, and ProCow are record keeping, reporting, and planning software programs for professional ranchers. Although these programs are designed for professionals in the grazing industry, they can also be used to examine virtual grazing scenarios created by students. The free demonstration software allows students to explore the basics of rotational grazing, but if a more in-depth study is desired the complete software package can be purchased. Visit http://www.softpro.ab.ca/Grazepro.html for more information.

4. Discover 60 ways, including rotational grazing, that farmers can protect surface water on their land by visiting http://www.thisland.uiuc.edu/60ways/60ways_10.html. Have each student research one of the 60 land management ideas and then create an informative poster. Have students present their posters to the class, and display the posters in the classroom when they are done.

5. Study the nutrient cycle of a pasture or grassland. Create a classroom poster showing how nutrients are cycled between livestock, grass or other plants, and the soil. For information on nutrient cycles as well as additional soil activities visit http://www.wtamu.edu/~crobinson/DrDirt.htm. Additional information on nutrient cycles can be found at http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/nutcycle.html and http://www.ppi-far.org/ppiweb/ppibase.nsf/$webindex/article=5203CB87852569B50057E346C0116272.

Vocabulary:
brood, grassland, graze, habitat, pasture, rancher, rotational grazing

Teacher Lecture:
Grasslands are habitats dominated by grasses. There are very few, if any, trees or shrubs in a grassland habitat. California has lost about 99% of its native grassland habitats to land development and to the invasion of non-native grasses and other plants. During the winter and spring, grasses in California are green and lush. During summer and fall the grasses turn golden brown in color.

Grazing means to feed on grass in a field or pasture. If ranchers leave their cattle in a pasture too long the animals will eat the plants until there is nothing left but bare soil. In many cases the plants cannot grow back, and ranchers have to spend money to replant the entire field.

Ranchers have learned that moving their animals from pasture to pasture gives plants time to rest and grow back. Ranchers rotate their animals from pasture to pasture, paying close attention to the total number of animals in each pasture, as well as the length of time that the animals graze in each pasture. This practice helps keep pastureland healthy and less vulnerable to "invasive weeds" and provides valuable wildlife habitat at the same time. The practice of moving animals between pastures to graze is called rotational grazing.

Properly managed grazing can provide grassland habitat for ground nesting birds such as mallards, gadwalls, cinnamon teal, western meadowlarks, northern harriers, and Savannah sparrows. Leaving certain pastures ungrazed or only lightly grazed during the nesting season allows birds to lay their eggs in the shelter of the grasses without disturbance. When the eggs hatch the adult birds can lead their broods to nearby wetlands, and ranchers can once again use the pastures for grazing. Ranchers that consider the needs of local nesting birds can help increase the nesting success of local waterfowl. See how rotational grazing works by managing your own ranch in the Grazing Craze game.

Handouts/Visual Aids:
1. Graphing Rubric