Polyland - Topics

Grazing at Walters and Escuela Ranch

Our mission for this website is to relate information concerning grazing management on Cal Poly's thousands of acres of land.

Areas of interest in grazing management are:

how animals impact the land
- Cattle are used to harvest the nutrients in grass that humans can't consume. While cattle are mowing over the land they are breaking up the capped top soil and allowing new seeds from plants to be deposited into the soil. In grazing operations where cattle are managed properly there are different ways to control their movements.
how enclosures, exclosures and riparian pastures control animals
- A few ways animals are controlled.
how grazing affects mineral resources
- When cattle move from one place to another they deposit many things behind them. Cattle are some of the best transporters of minerals, seeds, and nutrients.
how grazing affects the water supply
- Cattle can be used to reshape the environment around creeks to bring them back to life.
how principles of holistic grazing are applied
- timing, freguency, severity
where these principles are applied at Cal Poly
- Walters Ranch and Escuela Ranch are home to the cow-calf operation and the grazing managment project of Cal Poly's Animal Science Department.

By Alice Hopkins, Anya Kajlich, and Michelle Pires