The EPCCD Board meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month
@ 1:00 pm at the High Prairie Library in Calhan, CO. Please email us if you are interested in attending @ epcdistrict@yahoo.com
WELCOME TO 5610 INDUSTRIAL PLACE!!!
We are gearing up once again for our annual Local Work Group workshop on July 28th and annual Agricultural Exposition on October 9, 2021. Meanwhile, we are busy selling rain barrels and grass seed during planting seasons, and conducting watershed dam inspections this summer.
We hope you enjoy this quarter’s newsletter and we hope to see you at our AG EXPO as well!!!!
EPCCD has an outstanding partnership with educated soil conservationists, technicians, rangeland management specialists, biologists and engineers who are dedicated to helping landowners with conservation programs, conservation practices and other opportunities available to landowners and land users regarding soil health, water issues, high tunnels and other land concerns in El Paso County.
Please call us at 719-600-4706 to find out more about the programs available.
We had a good turnout for the Local Work Group Workshop on July 28th, and would like to thank NRCS Staff Deric Clemons, Hailey O’Neil and Sara Koeppel for facilitating and all the andowners that came out that day and participated. THANK YOU! TRANSITION
Moving Into a Season of Dormancy
Article courtesy of Ranchlands newsletter.
Transitions, cycles of transitions punctuate the calendar of work and life here on the ranch. They are the familiar notes that anchor our daily labor to the rhythm of the prairie’s seasonal changes in mood and appearance. When we make our schedule for each day, each week, each month of the year, it is always an attempt to strike a balance: a balance of the logistical needs of the cattle operations we control with the ecological needs of a natural system we can only hope to understand, but never control. Just as we must balance and harmonize the life cycle of our cattle with the reproductive cycle of our grass.
Here at the Chico, we are now on the cusp of one of the great transitions to occur each year on the shortgrass prairie: the shift from the growing season to the dormant season, when life becomes subdued by the threat of winter. This recurring transition to dormancy is how grasses have learned to cope with the climatic stresses of fall and winter on the prairie–stress in the form of drought as the monsoon season fades, less light as the days shorten, and, of course, the cold. Rather than waste the precious energy they have produced over the spring and summer trying to grow when it is dark, dry, and cold, the grasses senesce: the nutrients in their once-green leaves and stems begin their obligatory migration down below the soil surface, into the root system, where valuable proteins and carbohydrates will be stored to keep the plant alive through the winter, reserving just enough energy to send up a few green leaves when the next spring’s sun warms the soil.
The Art of the Cattle Move: Grazing Plans
The most important tool we use in management of the land is being able to control the amount of time that cattle graze a particular pasture. Too long in a pasture and the grass will have to work too hard to recuperate from grazing; too short and the grass will overgrow, oxidizing in the air and blocking younger seedlings from sunlight. The sweet spot is somewhere in between, so it’s up to us as land stewards to figure out how to manage our cattle to provide what the land needs. Our holistic approach, as advanced by Allan Savory, looks at the grass, ecological processes, the cattle’s needs, wildlife, habitat and personnel capacity in preparing our grazing plans. Done correctly, this model of managed intensive grazing will mimic the pruning and disruption that bison and other migratory ungulates have historically provided to grassland ecosystems.
EPCCD sells native wildflower mix, our own custom El Paso County Conservation District “Native Shotgun grass seed mix”, Our “Cool Season Sod Forming” grass seed mix, and other custom mixes. Call 719-600-4706 or email us at epcdistrict@yahoo.com if you would like to purchase our native custom mix or special request grass seed mix for a quote. Always make sure you are actually using a “Colorado Native” grass seed mix. Some business offer a native mix that
do not have any native seed in it. Do your homework~! You will be glad you did!
Please call for seed prices. We do offer a discount on large grass seed purchases.
We also provide grass seed to other conservation districts, please email us at epcdistrict@yahoo.com to talk about your options for purchase.
EPCCD has 55 gallon chemical free high quality plastic Rain Barrels available. These rain barrels were pre-purposed for olives and are clean and safe for rain water harvesting. Our board creates the Colorado Statute approved barrels by adding a lid with a removable screen to keep out insects and debris, with three spigots, one for overflow, one for linking another barrel and one for the garden hose.
For more information on any of our products or to get the Colorado Statutes regarding rain water harvesting please call the office @ 719-600-4706. You can also email us at epcdistrict@yahoo.com
Please check out our Website @http://www.epccd.org for more information
Harding Nursery locally grown trees and shrubs
Deciduous trees
We are proud to partner with Harding Nursery to provide our stakeholders and community with locally grown native trees and shrubs. Not only do they provide our customers with great service and LOTS of knowledge, (as well as wonderful vegetation) they give you a discount by purchasing your trees through us. Thank you Harding Nursery!
