AUM's

[Nicky]

What do you consider an animal unit month? We and most everyone we know consider a cow calf pair as an animal unit. Bruce (the guy we lease from) is in the process of rewriting our grazing lease (and is very involved in govt. programs). He says a cow calf pair is 1.35 animal units. Just curious what you all think.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Did the E mail I sent you get through?

 

[cure]

I have always been told to figure an aum is = to a 1000 pounds of animal don't know if right or wrong but that is our rule of thumb down here.

 

[Anonymous]

What do you consider an animal unit month? We and most everyone we know consider a cow calf pair as an animal unit. Bruce (the guy we lease from) is in the process of rewriting our grazing lease (and is very involved in govt. programs). He says a cow calf pair is 1.35 animal units. Just curious what you all think.

I've seen it both ways- with BLM figuring 1.25- and local grazing districts figuring 1 --- with .75 for a yearling.....

 

[rem_243]

An AUM is the amount of forage required for an animal unit for one month, and an animal unit is a 1000 pound cow with or without calf (only a calf up to 6 months of age). It comes out to about 740 lbs of oven dried forage or 913 lbs. of air dried forage.

 

[Anonymous]

An AUM is the amount of forage required for an animal unit for one month, and an animal unit is a 1000 pound cow with or without calf (only a calf up to 6 months of age). It comes out to about 740 lbs of oven dried forage or 913 lbs. of air dried forage.

Aren't too many 1000 lb cows running the range anymore :wink:
That may be the reason the BLM and some grazing districts were talking about and looking at figuring and alloting AUM's on individuals average cow sizes... They were discussing and looking at using the average of the fall cull cow weights to figure AUM allotments for each ranch.... Make it fair between the ranchs that run 1200 lb cows and the ones that run 1600 lb cows.....
I haven't heard anything much about it lately...

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1201

 

[Nicky]

Yes it did BMR, thanks

 

[Cedarcreek]

What do you consider an animal unit month? We and most everyone we know consider a cow calf pair as an animal unit. Bruce (the guy we lease from) is in the process of rewriting our grazing lease (and is very involved in govt. programs). He says a cow calf pair is 1.35 animal units. Just curious what you all think.

I've seen it both ways- with BLM figuring 1.25- and local grazing districts figuring 1 --- with .75 for a yearling.....

I'd make the BLM employee show me the 1.25 in their regs, I don't think its there. I've seen the .75 for yearlings and have seen them do it for one person and not another in the same county.

 

[leanin' H]

It has been my experience that the BLM makes up the rules depending on their mood and the day of the week. An AUM was always a cow/calf pair or one bull. As far as using pounds of cow, we all know every cow utilizes feed differently and a smaller cow may eat more pounds than a larger cow.

 

[LazyWP]

When I was a member of the International Society of Range management... years ago, an AU was 1 pair. A month being 30 days. Au also equaled 1 bull.. I can dig it all out if you want. They were the ones that were making all the recommendations to the BLM, at that time.

 

[rem_243]

It has been my experience that the BLM makes up the rules depending on their mood and the day of the week. An AUM was always a cow/calf pair or one bull. As far as using pounds of cow, we all know every cow utilizes feed differently and a smaller cow may eat more pounds than a larger cow.

An AUM has to be based on cow weight or else it won't be a universal definiton. A pasture that has a 600 AUM capacity, could support 100 1,000 lb cows for 6 months. If you have 1200 lb cows, the same pasture could support approximately 87, 1200 pound cows for 6 months, but the capacity of the pasture still remains 600 AUMs. 600 AUMs is 600 AUMs, whether you put 1000 lb. cows in the pasture or 1200 lb. cows.

 

[Anonymous]

It has been my experience that the BLM makes up the rules depending on their mood and the day of the week. An AUM was always a cow/calf pair or one bull. As far as using pounds of cow, we all know every cow utilizes feed differently and a smaller cow may eat more pounds than a larger cow.

An AUM has to be based on cow weight or else it won't be a universal definiton. A pasture that has a 600 AUM capacity, could support 100 1,000 lb cows for 6 months. If you have 1200 lb cows, the same pasture could support approximately 87, 1200 pound cows for 6 months, but the capacity of the pasture still remains 600 AUMs. 600 AUMs is 600 AUMs, whether you put 1000 lb. cows in the pasture or 1200 lb. cows.

Yep- that is what the herd district/grazing association folks told me a few years ago that were being looked at-- but I haven't seen it instituted yet- anyway not in this area .... Too me that seemed fair for those that run in in community pasture /grazing associations situations where you have folks having so many AUM allotments- but some running 1000-1200 lb cows and others running 1600-1700 lb cows...
In talking to some grazing folks- they figure they need to get some handle on the big differences of the cattle/breeds now being ran....

 

[leanin' H]

It has been my experience that the BLM makes up the rules depending on their mood and the day of the week. An AUM was always a cow/calf pair or one bull. As far as using pounds of cow, we all know every cow utilizes feed differently and a smaller cow may eat more pounds than a larger cow.

An AUM has to be based on cow weight or else it won't be a universal definiton. A pasture that has a 600 AUM capacity, could support 100 1,000 lb cows for 6 months. If you have 1200 lb cows, the same pasture could support approximately 87, 1200 pound cows for 6 months, but the capacity of the pasture still remains 600 AUMs. 600 AUMs is 600 AUMs, whether you put 1000 lb. cows in the pasture or 1200 lb. cows.

An AUM is a universal definition. 1 AUM equals 1 pair. Prove to me EVERY 1200 pound cow eats more than EVERY 1000 pound cow and i will agree with you. I've watched skinny college kids bankrupt more than one buffet and know of portly folks who fill up on coffee and toast. Just because we clip, dry and weigh a 3 foot circle thrown over our shoulder and have a fancy formula that tells us a subjective number of cows can get turned out, doesn't mean each individual bovine fits the system. A pasture's capacity depends on where water is, how you salt and mineral, season. climate and many other "Non-numerical data" inputs. The AUM system should give us a rough estimate and instead has become gospel to the federal bureacrats who claim the land with a sweep of a pen. My opinion and not meant to offend. I just wish the successful ranchers using generations of experience and stewardship had a tenth the power of a fresh college grad from Delaware who intends to correct the wrongs inflicted by grazing! If a AUM is based soley on weight how can a 2200 pound bull equal the same AUM as a first calf heifer and her calf? :???: :wink:

 

[eatbeef]

AUM and AU seem to confuse people. rem_243 definition is about the simpliest way to explain it. Best way is to stock appropriatly for your area. It varies so much depending on how intense your grazing it and depending on rotation. Got one landlord that follows AUMs and dont care cow size and others that just tell me x amount of acres per pair for x months. You have to break it down to daily or monthly cost/pair to compare. No matter what my landlords say an aum is or the stocking rate i usually shake my head yes and do what they want if i am not overgrazing and the price is right.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

"If a AUM is based soley on weight how can a 2200 pound bull equal the same AUM as a first calf heifer and her calf? Say what? Wink"

They don't.
Animal live weight(lbs) Animal unit equivalent yx 0.75(% of 1,000 lbs)
600

0.682
650

0.724
700

0.765
750

0.806
800

0.846
850

0.885
900

0.924
950

0.962
1,000

1.000
1,100

1.074
1,200

1.147
1,300

1.217
1,400

1.287
1,500

1.355
1,600

1.423
1,700

1.489
1,800

1.554
1,900

1.618
2,000

1.682
2,200

1.806
2,400

1.928
2,600

2.048
2,800

2.165
3,000

2.280

 

[leanin' H]

Don't confuse me with facts! Or numbers! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[rem_243]

It has been my experience that the BLM makes up the rules depending on their mood and the day of the week. An AUM was always a cow/calf pair or one bull. As far as using pounds of cow, we all know every cow utilizes feed differently and a smaller cow may eat more pounds than a larger cow.

An AUM has to be based on cow weight or else it won't be a universal definiton. A pasture that has a 600 AUM capacity, could support 100 1,000 lb cows for 6 months. If you have 1200 lb cows, the same pasture could support approximately 87, 1200 pound cows for 6 months, but the capacity of the pasture still remains 600 AUMs. 600 AUMs is 600 AUMs, whether you put 1000 lb. cows in the pasture or 1200 lb. cows.

An AUM is a universal definition. 1 AUM equals 1 pair. Prove to me EVERY 1200 pound cow eats more than EVERY 1000 pound cow and i will agree with you. I've watched skinny college kids bankrupt more than one buffet and know of portly folks who fill up on coffee and toast. Just because we clip, dry and weigh a 3 foot circle thrown over our shoulder and have a fancy formula that tells us a subjective number of cows can get turned out, doesn't mean each individual bovine fits the system. A pasture's capacity depends on where water is, how you salt and mineral, season. climate and many other "Non-numerical data" inputs. The AUM system should give us a rough estimate and instead has become gospel to the federal bureacrats who claim the land with a sweep of a pen. My opinion and not meant to offend. I just wish the successful ranchers using generations of experience and stewardship had a tenth the power of a fresh college grad from Delaware who intends to correct the wrongs inflicted by grazing! If a AUM is based soley on weight how can a 2200 pound bull equal the same AUM as a first calf heifer and her calf? :???: :wink:

I can't prove that every 1200 lb cow eats more than a 1000 lb cow, but the definition of an AUM is based on animal weight of 1000 lbs. A 2200 lb bull would not be equal to 1 AUM. Maybe whatever federal agency you are dealing with may figure it that way, but I don't think any scientific definition of an AUM says, "one pair or one breeding bull." I agree that it is easy for the feds to try to handle everything on paper and not get out on the ground and see what is actually going on. I dont' disagree with there being inedequacies with the federal grazing program, I'm just saying what the true definition of an AUM is.

 

[leanin' H]

Got ya!

 

[Silver]

Around here an AUM on crown grazing tenure is for one cow or one cow calf pair. Yrlgs are .75, Bulls are 1.5, which in my mind isn't really fair, since for during breeding season I doubt they eat much of anything at all!