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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Rangeland Resources & Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #430247
Research Project: Developing Precision Management Strategies to Enhance Productivity, Biodiversity, and Climate Resilience in Rangeland Social-ecological Systems

Location: Rangeland Resources & Systems Research

Title: Co-producing range beef cow reserach with ranchers: Lessons learned and future opportunities

Author
item Derner, Justin
item EISELE, R - Collaborator
item EISELE, KENDALL - Collaborator
item EISELE, KAYCEE - Collaborator

Submitted to: Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2025
Publication Date: 11/9/2025
Citation: Derner, J.D., Eisele, R.M., Eisele, K., Eisele, K. 2025. Co-producing range beef cow reserach with ranchers: Lessons learned and future opportunities. Range Beef Cow Symposium XXIX. p. 6-14

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Integrating ranchers and scientists into co-production range cow beef research within a management-science partnership is difficult given the substantial variability associated with the commitment, ability, goals, and opportunities of ranchers and scientists to collaborate in such partnerships. Ranchers and scientists bring different, and sometimes conflicting, attributes to the table for partnering in co-production research. Conducting co-production range cow beef research between the King Ranch and the USDA-Agricultural Research in multi-decadal management-science partnership has addressed challenges and embraced opportunities from this novel approach to science. Lessons learned included how to effectively incorporate attributes brought to the range beef cow co-production research table by ranchers and scientists in a long-term (multi-decadal) management-science partnership. The co-produced research on early vs. late grazing seasons and adaptive multi-paddock grazing provided results highly applicable and relevant to ranchers in the region. Future opportunities with co-production research are addressing the emerging precision livestock technologies for use by ranchers to address key priorities and solve problems at the ranch-scale in the northern mixed-grass prairie rangeland ecosystem.