A Bit About Water Rights and Herd Management

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

This past week I learned about doctoring cows and calves, mainly calves, once I got back from my educational event. While I was at my educational event, my coworkers moved cattle, so once I was back, one of the jobs was to go out each day and look through at the heard. There were two calves that had a swollen eye, leading us to inject antibiotics under the eyelid to help with the inflammation.

I am still looking to understand the water in the county. With the summer days getting hotter, water dries up, meaning we can’t have all of the irrigation systems running on all of the fields, even with the head-gate all the way open. Speaking with my host and the ranch manager, I have used my recourses to understand how ordering water happens and water right work in the area I’m in currently.

At this point, I have questions still about the water rights. Mainly, if I were to by a ranch in the county I’m working in, would the original plot keep its place, or would I be at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to water rights? Continuing with irrigation, I would like to understand the benefits of wheel lines compared to a water pivot or even flood irrigation.

During this past week I have learned a lot from the educational event that helps my understanding of management of cattle, and I can put that towards my studies in school as I continue to study advanced farm and ranch managment. As well, I can take what I have learned from the educational event and show my coworkers. What stuck with me the most was how to determine how many animals can graze a pasture for a certain number of months or days.

Submitted by: Cody Long
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team