Data on Pregnancy rates, calf weaning weights, and sale prices on the University of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station’s Gund Ranch from 2008-2020
The University of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station’s Gund Ranch near Austin, Nevada is approximately 100,000 acres with grazing by 325 cow-calf pairs. Cows are mostly Angus (80%) and Hereford (20%). Bulls are Angus X Hereford. Calves are mostly Angus with some black baldies. Cattle graze a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing permit from April through July. Calving starts about mid-April. Branding is planned for 90-100 days after birth with bull calves castrated as this time. Privately-owned meadows are grazed July-September with weaning starting on September 15. Cows are grazed on BLM low elevation shrublands and weaned calves are kept in meadows with supplemental hay feeding on the Gund Ranch from October 1st through January 1st. The calves not kept for replacements are gathered and weighed for a total herd weight and shipped approximately the 1st of November. The larger end of the steers and heifers typically range from 475-490 pounds. Around 100 head are loaded onto a semi to achieve a full truckload of 48,000-50,0000 pounds. The smaller end of the steers and heifers are shipped on a second semi load. Weights are decreased with a 2% shrink calculation. In Nevada, there are only two sale barns, so many ranches receive more money by selling semi loads shipped to grazinglands of buyers’ choice. Calves are primarily sold on the internet go through Roundup Cattle Company. In years with drought conditions, calves may not reach the 48,000-50,000 weight limit for a second truck. Thus, the smaller calves can be marketed through a local sale barn at a one of their special calf sales.
Supported/funded by the University of Nevada, Reno, the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, and USDA.
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: Data From the University of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station’s Gund Ranch .
File Name: Gund_Ranch_Data.csv
Resource Description: Data contains Pregnancy rates, calf weaning weights, and sale prices from 2008 - 2020
Resource Title: Data dictionary for data from the University of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station’s Gund Ranch .
File Name: Gund_Ranch_DataDictionary.csv
Funding
University of Nevada, Reno
USDA
History
Data contact name
Wilker, JonData contact email
jonw@unr.eduPublisher
Ag Data CommonsIntended use
This dataset covers 13 years of livestock production and economic data over both wet and dry weather cycles. Because the dataset covers multiple years the data can be expected to provide insight into the impacts of weather on cow and calf cattle production.Use limitations
NoneTemporal Extent Start Date
2008-01-01Temporal Extent End Date
2020-12-31Theme
- Not specified
Geographic Coverage
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[-116.58468295029,39.900469439868]},"type":"Feature","properties":{}}]}Geographic location - description
These data come from the University of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station’s Gund Ranch, adjacent private land, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing permits located approximately 65 km north of Austin, Nevada, near the geographic center of Nevada (39°53′0″N; 116°35′11.9″W). The ranch is in Grass Valley running north to south, extending west to east from the playa margin to the top of the Simpson Park Mountains, with a predominantly west aspect. Elevation is approximately 1,700 m with slope ≤5%. Records show a 35-yr annual precipitation average of 270 mm (10.7 inches; WRCC, 2010). Common vegetation species included cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum Nutt.), needle and thread grass (Hesperostipa comata (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda Presl.), Indian ricegrass [Oryzopsis hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Ricker], redstem filaree [Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Hér. ex Aiton], Russian thistle (Salsola iberica Sennen), bur buttercup (Ranunculus testiculatus Crantz), blue mustard [Chorispora tenella (Pall.) DC.], tansy mustard [Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton], and other mustards (Descurainia spp.). The site also supports rubber rabbitbrush [Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Pall.) Britton], fourwing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.], basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata Nutt.), squirreltail [Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey], and scarlet globemallow [Sphaeralcea coccinea (Nutt.) Rydb.].ISO Topic Category
- environment
- farming
Ag Data Commons Group
- Long-Term Livestock Production
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms
grazing; cows; Angus; Hereford; calves; land management; calving; herds; steers; heifers; ranching; grazing lands; sales; pregnancy rate; rangelands; cattle production; beef cattlePrimary article PubAg Handle
Pending citation
- No
Public Access Level
- Public