Show I WILL OPERATE GO-OPERATE lITH ITH GOVERNMENT IN N TESTS V Western estern Wool Growers Seek Most Most Efficient S Method of Sheep Culture Utah Uth will operate co-operate with the federal government in jn tests to be held this summer in an effort to decide the most effective Affective method of handling sheep That the new method of open herding and bedding out but are highly advantageous in sheep culture has been proven in tests on the ranges of southern lda Idaho o Wyoming and Montana on oil several occasions in the past This matter will be made the subject of the proposed tests with a view to securing conclusive proof of its efficiency Among mong the wool growers of the intermountain r region gion as in other big big- industries efficiency is rapidly becoming the slogan With I I I the he the term m means ans briefly the g greatest sustained production n of ot wool and mutton at the lowest expense and with the minimum of damage to to- the ranges occupied by byI bythe the flocks During several past seasons experiments experiments experiments ments have been conducted on the ranges of southern Idaho W Wyoming oming and Montana demonstrating clearly the advantages of Cf the open herding and bedding out systems of handling sheep over the old methods of close herding and established regularly used bed grounds Every experiment conducted showed conclusively that the old methods Involved much unnecessary unnecessary un un- un necessary travel Havel t and I restriction of action by the sheep with consequent loss in weight and that the continued use of the same bed ground for several several sev sev- several eral nights in succession was a positive positive tive live detriment to the range Lambs handled under the new methods allowing allowing al al- al- al lowing lg them all possible freedom during during during dur dur- ing the day and bedding th them m down as nearly as possible where night overtook overtook over over- took them gained from three to eight pounds more than lambs of similar age and blood run mn on adjoining and and similar range allotments but under the old methods Further Improvement Possible I The stockmen of this section are arenow arenow I Inow now generally agreed that the stock stock ranges of the country have been great great- greatly ly benefited from the past ten years of regulated use yet everyone concerned con is fully aware of the great pos pos- of further Improvement While the more general problems of regulated grazing particularly with reference to matters of policy have been largely solved those in charge of the vast grazing resources of the national forests are now concerned with the urgent problem of devising methods of managing these ranges in such a way as to make them yield the greatest returns to the surrounding surround surround- ing communities and at the same time insure the range against Injury It is generally recognized that if it the forest forest forest for for- est ranges of Utah or any oth other r state are to be brought up to an increased grazing capacity it must come largely large large- I ly through improvement in the methods methods meth meth- of handling the stock already using these ranges There is no question question ques ques- tion but that there is a great waste in m many ny of the Utah forests under pre pre- prevailing prevailing prevailing methods waste in forage due to uneven utilization and waste in mutton through the use of methods which prevent lambs from making maximum gains On many of these forests a condition condition condi condi- tion don exists commonly termed localized localized lo 10 overgrazing This patchy overgrazing is not due to overstocking overstock overstock- ing and cannot therefore be corrected correct correct- ed by reducing the number of sheep a small per cent The only way to restore restore restore re re- store these areas to a normal state Isby is isby by the adoption of methods wh which ch will result in a uniform utilization of the forage Localized overgrazing is practically practically a thing of the past in southern southern south south- ern Idaho largely due to the fact that the open herding and bedding out systems are generally followed Forest Service Will Demonstrate In an effort to bring about in Utah the splendid results obtained In south in-south south south- em ern n Idaho Wyoming and Montana the forest service in operation co-operation with local local local lo lo- lo- lo cal will conduct several demonstrations of the new methods on the Manti Fillmore Fish Lake and Sevier forests foresta during the coming sea sea- son Four bands of sheep one on each of the forests mentioned in charge of experienced herders will willbe willbe willbe be handled under the improved methods methods methods meth meth- and the results obtained with these bands closely compared by I 1 means of ot frequent with the results secured from four other bands of similar ag age and blood grazed on similar range under the old methods The experiments will be closely supervised supervised supervised su su- by an expert and at the end of the season the compiled results are expected to prove beyond all doubt the advantage of the latest methods The importance of the work planned is very evident when It is considered that about one about one million mature sheep with their lambs are grazed on the Utah forests each season An increase increase in in- in-I in crease of one pound per head on this lamb Iamb crop would with present prices es mean above to the of the state Further the adoption of the new methods according to the lowest estimates of grazing investigators tors would result in a 10 per cent increase increase in in- crease in the grazing capacity of the forest rang ranges s within the state The of the state especially those in its southern half are deeply interested interested interested inter inter- ested in the coming tests and their progress will be carefully followed d. d |