Last Tuesday was a day full of excitement! I thought I was tagging along to a one-pasture burn with a few friends.. It turned out to actually be about 4,500 acres being burned by two different crews of farmers and ranchers. What an experience!
Some people wonder why farmers/ranchers burn their pastures and fields, so let me explain a little bit before we jump into what all happened that day:
Right now, there are a lot of pastures being burned around here for a multitude of reasons, but the main one is to get rid of the dead stuff. Later, after harvest (say, wheat harvest), some farmers will burn the wheat fields in order to help get rid of the stubble before they plant them again. But that’s a whole other topic!
People have burned pastures, fields, and prairies for hundreds of years. Tall grass prairies (such as the Flint Hills) have been kept free of trees by the occasional wildfires that swept through the Plains and pruned them.
One thing that some folks wonder about is do the fires actually kill the grass? The answer is no. While the grass stem on top of the ground is burned and dead, the root of most tall grass is deep underground and not harmed; this factor allows for the grass to grow back fire after fire.
Several reasons to burn the pastures includes:
– Burning helps reduce the brush, dead grass, and weeds or “filler”. This grass has no nutrients or good things to offer the cattle and it just fills them up. Since cattle are bought and sold by the pound, it helps when your cattle have grazed on healthy green grass all summer and are fat and slick vs filled up with the dead filler grass.
– It kills the ticks and parasitic worms that hide in the dead grass.
– Pasture burning also helps to clear the land for native plants (so they can grow better) and creatures such as the Sharp-Tailed Grouse, which needs the open prairie to nest on.
– Burning helps with an “uneven” pasture. When a pasture hasn’t been burned in awhile, it develops “clumps or bunches” of old grass. Because the old grass stems poke cattle in the mouth, they generally avoid these areas and go graze where the grass is shorter, softer, lighter, etc… This pattern can continue until pretty soon, you’ve got a “clumpy” pasture!
– Besides all of this, burning a pasture can make it plain gorgeous after the grass starts to grow back. It’s all green, soft, and new! So basically, we’re just spring cleaning on a bit of a bigger scale!
So last Tuesday… So much to tell! Well, it all started with half of the crew meeting up in one of the pastures to lay out where they were going to start, what needed to be done, who went where, etc.
Then, one of the guys took off on a four wheeler with the fire stick to start lighting the ditches on fire as well as start a back fire.
A back fire is what is set along on the downwind side of the pasture and then allowed to slowly burn for awhile. You can then put it out (or leave it) and go around to the upwind side of the pasture and set another fire. This one will burn much more quickly since it’ll have the wind behind it, pushing it. Once it reaches where the backfire was, it’ll stop because all of the grass (or fuel) will already be burned up.
In these pictures, you can see that the ditch on the left side had already been set on fire. Then we would drive along and put some out/make sure it didn’t try to burn across the road or do anything crazy!
Here you can see what one of the many pastures looked like from a distance, once it was set on fire… It was quite a sight to see!
On the left, is where we were starting a backfire for the next pasture while watching the smoke from another of our pastures we’d just left a bit before. (Don’t worry, there were still a few guys hanging back to keep an eye on it!)
All three of the pictures on the right show a backfire at some point as well too. The top shows a fire that’s finished its job, been put out on the very edge of the pasture and now is growing and heading towards the rest of the pasture. The second shows the fire on the other side of the road/thicket, and the third shows one of the guys spraying water for a kind of “barrier” before we start another backfire.
This particular picture is a little on the scary note if you didn’t know one important detail. You see that truck back there? It has a flat tire… The good news is that it made it to the area behind where we back-burned, so it’s safe!
And this was a picture I took just a couple of days ago. It had been about three days since the fires and you can see how clean it looks further back where the fire swept through.
Here’s another pasture I took pictures of when we went for a drive Friday evening. This is just to give you an idea of how beautiful and green the pastures will be after a little time and rain!
All in all, it was a very successful burn! Nobody got hurt and everything was still usable afterwards. The only downfalls were a cell phone getting lost and a flat tire.. So there was much to be thankful for!
Ashleigh
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen says
Wow! That must have been quite an experience. That is such a big area of land to burn!
Jessica Simms says
I actually had learned about how in Mexico they would burn the fields before they would plant to bring a stronger and more fuller crop. It is so good the soil but most people would think the fire would harm it, but I can totally see how it ends up yielding stronger and brighter grass and soil underneath
Holly @ Woman Tribune says
This is so interesting! I had no idea why farmers and ranchers would burn their pastures, but it seems like a great way to revitalize a field for optimum growth and harvest.
Tatanisha Pitts-Worthey says
This is very interesting to know! I’ve seen black burned patches of land on some places and looked pretty alarming to me. Now I understand why farmers do this.
Becca Wilson says
I have heard about these but have never witnessed one or knew exactly how they worked. So interesting!
Terri Beavers says
I live in Georgia and I guess I’m so used to seeing fields and pastures being burned that I never even pay attention. Your post has me wanting to sit back and view the controlled burns.
Leigh says
That’s really interesting! Thanks for sharing your story–I learned something!
shalama says
Cool. I learned something new. Thank you.
Rosey says
My SIL was just telling me about the controlled burns here. I had no idea … I’ll be researching them more in my area.
Tam Gamble says
Interesting – I never knew that farmers would do this to their land.
Ann Bacciaglia says
I had no idea farmers did this. It would be a sight to see for sure.
Melissa Bernardo says
Wow! This is interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Kathy says
This is very interesting. I love all the photos you provided. I never really knew that burning fields was important. I’m glad to know this now.
Shannon Gurnee says
Wow – those are some great pictures! Here on the California Central Coast, we have designated burn days, which are the days people are allowed to have burns.
Jocelyn Brown says
What a crazy experience! It sounds like burning helps the farmers a lot but that much fire is so alarming to see. I am always afraid of it getting out of control.
Crystal Lopez says
I have seen this driving through the Flint Hills. It is really amazing how this whole process works as a controlled burning effort. A total reset to pasture!
wendy says
They do that here for the cotton fields as well. This is a great post that informs people why things are done! Great post!
Ron Leyba says
Wow, I thought this was a grass fire or something. Well, it’s nice to know that there’s a good reason behind this fields burning.
Elizabeth O. says
I know this is normally done by a lot of people, but I’ve never seen it in person. I love the before and after pictures, it really shows you what it would look like once the burning is done. The new grass looks really beautiful and so fresh too!
Up Run For Life says
I knew that burning fields was important but I really had no clue all the reasons that you mentioned. I don’t live near a farm. I used to go to my great grandfathers farm growing up. He was in his 90s when I did this so most of his crops was managed for him.
He used to plant tons of black Eyed peas. When they were ready to harvest, my grandparents took laundry baskets to fill up. Then we would shell them.
Christine - The Choosy Mommy says
Phew…I am glad that this fire was on purpose. I was really nervous when I saw your picture and just had to keep reading to find out what was going on!
ricci says
Burning the pastures seems like a very interesting event. It’s always interesting to learn more about how things are done in different settings, like on a farm.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
Living nowhere near a farm, I had no idea what farm life was like. This post was very informative and educational. I really learned a lot about farming and why they do things like burning the fields. Thanks so much!
Carol Cassara says
Thank you for the education on controlled burns. Still, fire is terrifying to me.
Gwendolyn Mulholland says
I have heard of controlled burns before but never knew what the purpose of burning pastures was for. I am sure it was a very amazing experience to witness. It is always beautiful to see new growth and I am sure the pastures will look amazing before long.
Liz Mays says
This sounded like a very well-organized effort! I’m glad it all went well. I’ve never seen a controlled burn like this in person.
Cindy Ingalls says
Interesting method for clearing out the dead items. I still wonder if this is good for the environment? I know that burning of trees and land in other countries is causing major problems for air quality and for wildlife. But maybe this is different because it is contained and done to continue growth.
Kayla @ TheEclecticElement says
My dad works with farms for his hunting clubs so he has helped on several control burns before. It’s fascinating how the process works from the burn itself to how it helps the crops grow. Although I can’t quite say he’s been on one THAT big before! It must have been quite the experience.
Jamie says
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anyone burn off fields where I’m from (NC) but I’m sure it happens. I have seen people burn yards though. The ground is hard clay and the weeds take over. Sometimes you have to burn it all up and start over!
Matilda Togiai says
I love your blog! Love the name and entire look! This post took me right back to the times that I watch Pioneer woman. They do these kinds of field burning quite often. And its awesome how they control it. Mind blowing actually.
Paula Schuck says
That’s kind of amazing. I had no idea so much went into pasture land. I always just thought that the cows went out there and ate.
Kira says
This is really cool. It’s similar to the the controlled burns they did when I lived in Arizona. Very cool article!
Ida Pahus says
Sounds like a really interesting experience! Have never tried anything like that myself 🙂
Lawrence Hamilton says
I never realized that this was done on purpose or that there were benefits to doing this. I learned a lot. I’m just happy it was done safely and nobody got hurt. You learn something new everyday!
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
That’s really interesting. I’ve heard of controlled burns in a yard or on forest preserves, but never for pasture land.