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Hey bud, if you have a valve on the bottom of the ibc totes you could just attach a hose to it and open the valve considering it’s elevated on the truck.
Time for a dirt bike brother Also need lots more shade LOTS. Why not move operation to the water. Sounds like a MUST Also Attach water hose to power pole. Bring extension cord to pole. Drive to pole plug in power bank and insert hose. Work smart not hard.Also i drag a mattress spring behind me on roads like that
Shaun's New Year's Projects: 1) Learn how to butcher/cut meat, 2) Learn how to store meat, 3) Build smoker & beef jerky storage, 4) Learn leatherwork. 🤓
Yeah i would NOT be posting anything about these cattle or calling ANY government agencies if i owned land which cattle continued to forage. Even if they were branded, that’s not yours anymore if it grew on my land “ohh that’s YOUR cattle? I happen to have a wandering beast fee which is higher than the price of its head.”
@@jkennedy299 honestly, some of the wandering cattle laws frankly need to start changing. Because on public land and off it the feral cattle problem is an issue.
I think a very good investment for you would be a electric dirt bike. You could easily charge it and have it always full of energy for when you use it and would give you amazing mobility for your property. Solar panel charging for that would be relatively easy. I wish I had cows show up at my yard, although the outcome would be much different 😂. Enjoying your channel and your journey.
I agree that a small solar setup would open a lot of doors. About $2k for panels and $1k for a battery pack. He could also run a small ($90/60w) dehumidifier to produce about a pint of water per day for "free" when the humidity was up. And could power a bed sleeping mat ($90/50w) to warm cold nights.
@@macmcleod1188 I'm honestly surprised he hasn't built a proper solar setup. A pallet of second-hand panels it's very inexpensive and lithium batteries have never been cheaper.
@aboveitall9600 I'm just thinking of simplicity of operation and maintenance. Just having a vehicle that is ready to go and does not make much noise. I would definitely prefer a gas powered one, but he can utilize the solar panels for other electrical needs. As previously mentioned, dehumidifying for purposes of small water quantities and having video equipment charged up as well seeing as this is a UA-cam channel.
I absolutely love the sequence from 17:15 till around 18:05. No commentary and letting the wind and awesome view speak for itself. Please more of that !
Shaun, starting a siphon is super easy. Put the whole hose into the top tank so it fills with water and cover one end with your thumb or hand so no air gets in and transfer that end into the bottom tank and let go.
In a previous job I regularly had to empty large tubs of dirty water that didn't have drains. They usually bucketed them out until I learnt that trick which was a game changer! One chap was so excited about it he didn't ask me how it's down and sucked on the end before I could stop him and got a mouthful of greasy detergent water!
Addressing the comments. Cattle CAN remedy desertification IF the cattle pass through once per year, eat, defecate and urinate. If the cattle remain, they can turn grassland into a desert. Shaun doesn't have any control over the cattle so they will ruin his plans. Cattle also have hooves which are much more destructive than, say, camels' soft feet.
Honestly, even intensive daily rotational grazing in these types of environments with strictly short season annuals as the only grass- no more perennials exist in the ecosystems really so there’s not much point in rotational grazing until those are reestablished. Our property very similar to this and it had one area that was so choked with whitethorn. You probably couldn’t even access 20 acres. We ran some sheep through it and got it pretty eaten down and that’s about the only use we had for ruminants in the lower Chihuahua that is this far into habitat loss. These ecosystems, originally plains, have been grazed so abusivly for hundreds of years that the grass is basically gone and nature‘s only remedy is to try to cover the bear ground with native plants that are growing in invasive ways like all the white thorn and Mesquite and sumac. Honestly at this point in these types of ecosystems there’s no benefit from even smaller hooved animals like sheep and goats, even if they were intensively rotated twice a day. Rotating a bunch of birds like ducks, chickens, or turkeys would help though. They don’t much touch the foliage and their dues super high in nitrogen. Honestly, though these types of ecosystems are so deeply alkaline because most of the soils are from crushed limestone. The difference in soils and foliage that he talks about is the difference between plants that grow in the white limestone and plants that grow in the red clay. Trees can actually get big in the clay when they’re by water. The white limestone soil is very difficult. It’s so alkaline that if you put vinegar on the ground in the powder soil it will fizz like it was touching baking soda. To be completely honest without water or at least the right erosion features this property is just gonna keep eroding. The only person I know who actually is doing pretty good regenerating his place in this type of ecosystem is @barefoot_ biology on insta
Seatbelts in heavy equipment are more than safety features. They're a huge back saver on uneven ground. Suck you butt into the seat so you're not bouncing around all the time. The difference it makes in one day is significant, the difference it makes over a career is potentially life-changing. As in, you can still live your life into retirement.
The gabion is doing great. Also a good illustration of why we don't install just one. That sediment capture behind it is fantastic, and I have no doubt it's helped infiltrate a ton of water. More such structures, though, will build on the success of that one and you'll start to see a lot more greening of the area as a result.
I have commented before on a previous video, on the ranch I was on we would pick up old truck tires from the side of the road and use those to protect the trees we would plant/grow. If you stack the tires 3-4 tires high it allows the plants to grow enough and establish their roots. The only problem is having to cut the tires and remove them after the trees are established and too big to be broken or destroyed by the cows.
Yes, more please? The moving graphics following the cattle was great. Thinking long term, how about some markers? I follow a couple who have an old sewing machine in their garden, for example. As a viewer, every time I spot that, I know exactly where they are. Heh obviously your markers might need to be bigger. I think part of why it all looks the same from a distance is the intelligent choice to concentrate your changes down hill, below sight lines.
"Build it, and they will come." You must be doing something right, Shaun! Always appreciate your enthusiasm and content. Thank you! Hope you had a happy Chirstmas and New Year with your family.
16 днів тому+36
Have you thought about digging a few dirt bathtubs and planting some trees near the well? You'll always have some spillage and you could dump the last drips of the pump in the same hole every time. Establish some roots, maybe create a bit of shade.
I'm well aware Shaun has already dug dozens of dirt bathtubs and that the well is on his neighbor's land. But if you're there every other day and handling water, you might as well "spill" constructively and ask your neighbor if you can dig a dirt bathtub and spread the desert forest vibe. Make every drop of water count.
bit like giving harris 2 billion to spend on campaign advertising - she could have quadrupled the spend and still lost - so why do more work on neighbours land and still produce nothing of any economic value
I grew up in the south of Spain and my best friend was a Shepard. He would make sling shoots from weaved grass and swing rocks at the herd to direct them. You need one!
May I suggest that you make a road drag out of scrap H-beams and angle iron? A periodic drag of the road would make a real difference in improving the surface for vehicular travel. These are not to hard to build and you don't need a lot of HP to pull. I'd wager that your new truck would be good enough to do the job. Whipple
and after all of this time I haven't seen one used. I take that to be because Shaun has not spent time with his neighbors learning about a desert environment especially the one he is in nor the pitfalls to avoid. I'm astounded by the ignorance around the safety for himself and those working with him. You wear boots and boots only in the desert. You wear denim jeans not shorts or kakis and long sleeve shirts. You wear a wide brim hat to protect the eyes ,neck and ears from the intense sun. Also sunglasses. Our UV levels are 11 and above. You carry a knife at all times and a firearm plus a shot gun (12ga) in the vehicle. Dude is 5 miles from the border and has already seen drug mules. Water must be on your person at all times and you must be constantly drink water. Every vehicle should be carrying at least a 5 gallon container of water. Gloves are a must. I carry elbow length leather gloves with me to protect my arms from cacti. Personal locator beacons I consider a must because if something happens it is easier to find you if you become injured or suffer a snakebite. Clothing with high intensity colors. Always. I mean always inform someone where you are going and when you will return.. Under no circumstances just start walking without telling anyone where you are going, what time you are returning and the path you are taking. Always remember that when you walk out of camp you need a knife, weapon ,WATER , gloves, hat and a communication device. Our desert will kill you in an instant if you screw up. You are not in the city where emergency services are minutes away. You are out int he middle of nowhere, isolated and assistance will take time to reach you. Get bitten by a rattle snake it will take time for a helicopter from El Paso to come pick you up and return you to be treated.
Low-flow wells are a great use-case for solar-powered water pumps. Just sip a little bit of water all day, dump it into a cistern/holding tank. When you need lots at once, you've already got it on hand, instead of being limited by what the well can produce on-demand.
For the gabion, you need to fill the space before it with rocks, they will Slow the water before hitting it. Remember, it is not a dam. It is meant to slow water, provide room for silk to settle and the water to seep into the ground. Not stop the water alone with the wall or provide the biggest storage behind it. Several layers of stone will also provide shade for water and spaces for condensation in the morning hours. Love the idea with the dirtbike, but maybe a quad instead if you want to get seeds out or smth. Really enjoy the content, but man, get some condensation nets up, that would be a long term solution. Your ground water level will rise with time and make a well for personal use much more viable.
I think those nets are a great idea too. However how will he manage the collection? Will he invite more wildlife to the collection points? Plumbing? Piping 😂 the list goes on, a huge logistics problem to solve if you ask me.
I seem to recall Shaun looking into condensation nets early on. He found that the average humidity level at DustUps was too low to capture enough moisture for it to be a viable solution. The cost was too high for the small amount of water he would be able to harvest.
I'd like you to keep track of your rainfall over the years. I have seen several other studies about trees having a direct influence on rainfall and cloud accumulation. I'd be interested to see how your environment changes after your canopy layer is established/expanded/as it grows. Over time I'd love to see how the fog and rain accumulation changes. Im sure it won't be a huge drastic change, however with you starting from bare bones seeing the humidity difference would be interesting.
Trees help create rain clouds but it wouldn't make it rain on his property. It would rain further down wind. If there were more trees and plants for miles surrounding his plot it would increase the chances of rain. There's plenty of moisture in the air but it isn't being seeded to rain.
Increasing vegetation on the upwind side of the ranch would also be worthwhile. Even if it is grass, ocotillo, and small plants, the vegetation would help break the wind, collect more dew, and cover the bare rocks that reflect heat back towards the clouds. Looking forward to seeing the coir mats on the sides of the dam, to help keep the temps down in the central drainage by the terraces. Less exposed rock/more groundcover = cooler temps, more dew and moisture.
The difference will be massive for miles around his property but he needs scale. He should be "planting" multiple dense long rows of straw cross wind about 1-2ft high spaced 2-3 ft apart. They act as a windbreak, keeping topsoil in place and add shade. You keep moist air over the property and increase air pressure, while cooling the ground around them. This causes condensation in the morning hours. Adding 1-3% silica adds 300% moisture to the soil. These small changes allow plants to grow between the rows. All he needs is to get a ripper hook for the truck and 2 large straw bales and a few 100lb bags of silica to get started. First he needs micro climate, as moisture increases it creates growth ad spreads. In China they are turning literal sand dunes into forest right now.
@@TheAndersonster exactly what I keep posting on his videos. Until he gets scale he will always be providing the water manually. I have worked several projects like this and in 3 growing seasons we can cover a property like his with 5ft of growth with a small team of 4-5 people. At least his terrace is shielded so he doesn't lose the topsoil he is creating.
Totes on the truck v totes on the ground: I’d say start with gravity feed from the truck, from the bottom bung, then be concerned about siphon/pump whatever remains. Definitely think about storage at the well
For just the transfer of water from tote to tote, probably not a bad idea. However, I've yet to see any type of hose connection that didn't leak when connected to those with a viscosity of anything close to water.
There are 2 problems with having water on store at the well. 1, you then have to keep a fork vehicle at the well or carry one with you. 2, water stored in the sun in an ibc will go to algae.
Maybe your neighbor with the well will go halfsies on a small platform to put an IBC tote on and act as a mini-water tower. You could pump water unattended with a cheap solar panel and probably get cleaner water. Plus you’d fill up the totes on the truck a lot faster with just gravity. “Frugal Off Grid” in Arizona made a bigger version and it supplies water to his whole operation.
Thanks Shaun for describing all your hard work. We bought 20 acres of rocky Arizona desert and will soon emulate your "greening the desert". Can't wait! Blessings and Happy New Year
I use these IBC totes in my greenhouse. It is not hard to get a hose pipe adapter to go on the bug valve at the bottom of the tank. The water could just gravity drain from the truck pretty quickly. The pump seems unneeded. Just a thought
Have you done any exclosures yet to find out what the effect of the cattle browsing actually is? If you want to exclude cattle you will need to fence. Figure out where you want to fence and put the fence in on the top of a ridge so the cattle have to move uphill to jump it. Or just downslope outside of the area you want to fence. That makes them work hard to jump in and makes getting out easier.....
i love the view at sunset from the windshield of the big truck. looks pretty... the head lights on the dirt road and inside lights of instrument panel... soothing. thank you for sharing.. and no distracting music added in.. (my pet peeve)
You need a cattle dog and electric bike. That would fix them also a trap area so you could truck them out for cash. Most likely, you would have to check with other farmers in the area as to what they do with their extra cattle.
Shaun, this is ideal for an experiment, Joel Salatin style. You'd need to fence them off though - setting in a system of rotating grazing areas, PLUS you'd have to supply hay as fodder AND water but at least you wouldn't wreck your tires, get stuck hauling the manure and it's all there for you for the picking. Maybe you could convince the authorities to pay for the veterinary fees for testing etc.😊
Fence off your property in small to large concentric circles.. protect your area garden and feed the cows by able grazing . Slowly but surely have your whole property fenced and have a herd to haul to market or feed the chicken, pigs and worms….
Great progress. Maybe you can consider the wild cattle as the same as boars or elk, deer, etc... Maybe you can charge someone to come in and hunt a percentage of the herd. Split the meat, keeping the herd under control as well as supplementing the expenses of your project. I thought you had considered adding some farmyard type of animals at some point... This is a great resource to exploit, without any of the traditional expenses associated with raising cattle. Maybe you would consider cultivating plants that would be good for the cattle in an area that is away from the other sections. Maybe there's a balance of pest vs profit. Best of luck 👍
That's why wolves are trees' best friends. Wipe out the predators and you get a desert. It isn't the lack of water. Scotland has the same problem and it rains all the time there.
As someone who has to haul water on a daily basis for either cattle and/or the cisterns at the house....Since your fill tanks are sitting higher than your receiving tanks, why not use a port valve on the bottom of the IBC tanks? I a have port valve on my haul tank. Since I can pull up and stop at the same spots to empty the water in either the cisterns or the stock tanks, I use a pvc pipe with the correct threaded coupler for the port valve side. I have a 90º elbow at the other end. Then I just open the port valve and the water flows down into the cisterns or the stock tanks fairly fast depending on how much I open the port valve. In your case, I would station the receiving tanks equidistant from where you want to park the truck in the center of them. I would then make sure my IBC tank ports are facing out towards the sides, that way you can use the same pvc pipe on each tank. Filling the haul tank for me takes about 30 minutes. Emptying less than 10 min by the time I stop and hook the pvc pipe up. And please be very careful when approaching the bull and the herd. I saw that you kept your distance but I cringed the entire time you were moving them. I've known our current bull since the day he was birthed....still don't trust him not to turn on me. I've been on the 5525 dropping a bale of hay in the ring for him...and out of the blue, he's come at me from the side and rammed the tractor enough to move it with a large round bale on the end of the pike! He's been around me and the tractor since he was little. These are unknown animals to you. Please be safe!
Hey Shaun, in the video, just after sunset, it looked to me that you might have had a great view of Mercury and or Venus. That got me to wondering if you take time to star gaze on nights when you are out at the ranch. If so, I imagine it to be amazing because of the lack of light pollution...and I'm jealous!!! IF not, you must. (I don't recall you mentioning it in any of the videos.) Take a pair of binoculars and a tripod and you will be able to get absolutely amazing views of the moons of Jupiter, as well as the individual stars in the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades is visible, sort of as a big smudge, with the naked eye. But with just a pair of binoculars the detail explodes into a glorious cluster of stars with seven prominent ones that also results in the formation having the name 'The Seven Sisters'.
Super excited about how much sediment got dumped behind the middle of your gabion. It’s obviously working perfectly, no blowout on either side, despite not being as high or pretty as when y’all built it.
Have you tried using the drone to shift the cattle? Works in some places, but might not with your steers. The buzz of the drone is quite similar to some of the biting flies, so cattle are atuned to avoid that noise. Certainly beats all that walking to get round to the right side of the herd - not to mention the risk of a cussed bull or getting between a mother and calf!
Do you have hose connections on the bottom of your IBC totes? Curious why you don't drain directly from the bottom of the tanks on the truck. the height looks about right on camera
Fill hose with water.... cap/ pinch one end to trap water while moving to lower container..... in order for the water to drain after undoing the pinch and allow the flow it will intake more water in upper container.
Hey Shaun, i just watched the “Maverick Outback Grazer” documentary on UA-cam. His property was as desertified as yours when he started. He uses donkeys which will build dirt bathtubs when they dust bathe. Very interesting😊
What you missed is that person had water which Shaun does not have. at best it is 9 inches a year but he may not get a single drop. He is also 4500 feet ASL.
Hi Shaun, really enjoy watching your videos, its a grand project but achievable. And I never considered that massive areas of some deserts in the USA were partially created by destruction. IBC's normally have a tap or a place for a tap, with quite a large flow. If you fit one you could drive your truck with water filled IBC's next to the storage IBC, connect a wider hose and the weight of the water should empty the tank pretty quickly
Read that the leading cause of desertification of North Africa is goats. Fighting a losing battle with non-native cows munching everything that tries to grow. Good luck.
I live on open range and have personally watched the watched the range thrive, even during droughts, after the ranchers changed their grazing to an actual managed plan. A hammer can build just as much as it can demo
Many totes have valves or bungs on the bottom and they’re typically pretty good sized. If you put some cam lock fittings on the bungs you could transfer water from the truck a LOT faster with something like a 1 1/4” or 1 1/2” hose out of the bottom cam locked to it and they also make cam lock caps to double seal the outlet if that’s a concern. 😉😃
@@herodotusofhalicarnasis2394 How very true !! I have seen coyotes within a few feet of cow hunting mice the cow spooks. In spring the coyotes will try eating asses out of calves. These observations were in WY and MT where the coyotes are a lot bigger.
I saw a similar project that was using large steel mesh gabion boxes filled with rocks to slow water in the gullies with great success. On gentle slopes, trenches have been very successful in Africa collecting water. This involved large groups of volunteers. Mostly the trenches are in half Moon shapes. A long series of trenches could be made with the dozer. Collecting rocks can be difficult.
Thank you for the update. I have to the southeast of the Eagle Mountains pinned in my weather app, hoping to see a good rain heading toward the ranch...
Just curious, do you know what the Ph is in the ground water you're using. My ground water is very alkaline and not good for all my plants, with some preferring a more soft or acidic ph for them to thrive.
Have you ever thought about attaching a small speaker and loud noise recording to a drone? This could help you control them more effectively from afar. There are various devices designed for using drones for bird control.
Greg Judy shows how that 'spinning jenny' holds the high tensile wire you walk out to the plastic fence posts he uses in Missouri. ☆☆☆Do you have electric service or can you get the solar electric chargers that offer 'a believable' amount of delivered charge? Greg Judy says that the chargers that 'plug in' to your current supply only use about $3.50/year of electric. 💚
Hey! Incredible what you're pulling off out there! I was thinking the whole time you were driving to the well, "why doesn't he drill his own?". Just a thought and I'm sure you've thought it yourself or others have suggested this already but why not do a fundraiser for your own well? It would be a total game changer for you! Good luck! Excited to see your progress this year!
Watching you move the cattle got me thinking about the smell of food your growing, as your plants get bigger the more scent of food is in the air. you're building a Supermart of food in the Deseret for the Wild animals so to speak. ps did you grease the new big truck. ie drive shaft and steering linkages
Imagine your the 1000lb cow in the desert. Some human shows up one day and starts doing something and green food starts coming out of the ground and the only water you smell for miles around is coming directly from that new patch of green. Where are you going to hang out? Moreover, what's going to keep a 1000lb plus animal away from the only food and water around? I say again, you have the patience of JOB.
I recently began following your adventure. I enjoy how you are able to problem solve on the run. I wonder of you have considered making compost or manure tea to water your plants. Watering/feeding/adding organic matter simultaneously might boost vigor.
Check with TPWD for what you can do. If they say you can take them then do so but before doing so buy a few deep freezers, line up a butcher to have them butchered. Or you could find a framer and sell them.
So if you rolled out a bail of hat once a week in a far off part of your property, wouldn’t they bring more “crap” than they took? Think “bale grazing” ..
Shawn wont the cattle defecate while grazing adding microbial material as well as till the surface soil… just something to consider… focus on the specific areas you want them to stay out of… a small solar system and a shock wire.
Let me point out that you do not appear to have water with you which you should nor do you appear to be caring a firearm which you should. I mean what are you going to do if the bull decides to do something.
That old wind vane water pump at the well site is intriguing. I imagine rebuilding the tower and replacing the old vane/pump with a modern wind generator (ready made like for a sailboat) Then keep water containers at the well site with a distribution line, being passively filled by that system.
I know they might be a pain but you might have remove the best thing that could have happened for you. By chance did you see black gold left from them. I would collect and distribute to best growing areas as fertilizer. Also like feeding some thing ferrell they will come back to the area if they think it has food. Pick an area away from your plot and place a few bales of hay or what they might eat. If they return to that area you might be able to collect the free fertilizer.
You should go to Lajitas and check out the Barton Warnock Museum Wonderful examples of native plant material that will grow easily on your ranch . You need to add Huisache trees. Also huajillo and cenizo (sage). Instead of chasing the cattle off, corral them with your electric fencing. Give them about 20 acres at a time. Move the corral once a month. Their pee and poop will bring the soil back to life quicker.
Wild cattle are not protected. There's a whole set of state laws on how to round them up and claim ownership. That's free $. Even if they brought the bottom dollar at auction they're worth $1000/each.
@@benburkhalter3752 From my ignorant browsing of the law that looks more or less true. Realistically it looks like you might have to hold onto them for a certain number of days, put out an ad/report saying "these belong to anyone" then claim them after the allotted period. I think it might just not be worth it to Shaun given his lack of infrastructure on sight and how skittish they seem to be. If the period is 90 days like in a post I saw they could do a lot of damage to his project in the meantime.
To start a siphon you push the hose into the tank put your finger over the end and then pull it out until the outlet is lower than the bottom of the siphon tank.
Never once has this been done in an actual desert. Allan claims to convert degraded land into grassland, but peer-reviewed studies often fail to substantiate his claims. For example, meta-analyses have found mixed or no significant evidence that intensive grazing can restore degraded lands.
Its been done in the Chihuahuan Desert just a few hundred miles from this ranch by Alejandro Carillo and some of his neighbors who are adoping the practice. If the cattle were tame and he owned these cattle so there would be no question about what to do with them, then sure. If he gets to that point, he can bring in bales and start in an area further from the growing things, but he would need some more fencing and electrifiers plus some watering points to work with. He may get there, but he's focused on growing a few things on a few teraces currently.
@@jackson808510-4, I won't believe my lying eyes. I live on open range, born and raised, since they changed to a more managed grazing plan, I have been forced to buy a lawn mower, because the cows are only around my section for a week. Before I would just open the gate when I needed a mow. The range is better than ever and my lawn has suffered.
@@leelindsay5618 "it's been done", because he says so? Any actual data to support such a tenuous claim? The data says otherwise www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/4472/RANGELANDS-D-13-00044.pdf
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That’s easy, make steaks. Not even kidding.
Hey bud, if you have a valve on the bottom of the ibc totes you could just attach a hose to it and open the valve considering it’s elevated on the truck.
Time for a dirt bike brother
Also need lots more shade LOTS.
Why not move operation to the water. Sounds like a MUST
Also Attach water hose to power pole. Bring extension cord to pole. Drive to pole plug in power bank and insert hose. Work smart not hard.Also i drag a mattress spring behind me on roads like that
For the algorithm
@@Melicoy He just bought a 1989 Honda CR500R. That will be showcased in next week's episode.
Shaun's New Year's Projects: 1) Learn how to butcher/cut meat, 2) Learn how to store meat, 3) Build smoker & beef jerky storage, 4) Learn leatherwork. 🤓
feral jerky.
Yeah i would NOT be posting anything about these cattle or calling ANY government agencies if i owned land which cattle continued to forage.
Even if they were branded, that’s not yours anymore if it grew on my land
“ohh that’s YOUR cattle? I happen to have a wandering beast fee which is higher than the price of its head.”
@@jkennedy299 honestly, some of the wandering cattle laws frankly need to start changing. Because on public land and off it the feral cattle problem is an issue.
Jerky, that's what i was thinking
lol! 😂
I think a very good investment for you would be a electric dirt bike. You could easily charge it and have it always full of energy for when you use it and would give you amazing mobility for your property. Solar panel charging for that would be relatively easy. I wish I had cows show up at my yard, although the outcome would be much different 😂. Enjoying your channel and your journey.
I agree that a small solar setup would open a lot of doors. About $2k for panels and $1k for a battery pack. He could also run a small ($90/60w) dehumidifier to produce about a pint of water per day for "free" when the humidity was up.
And could power a bed sleeping mat ($90/50w) to warm cold nights.
@@macmcleod1188 I'm honestly surprised he hasn't built a proper solar setup. A pallet of second-hand panels it's very inexpensive and lithium batteries have never been cheaper.
@@macmcleod1188 The water from a dehumidifier tends to have heavy metals
Electric is NOT the end all be all on remote property. A UTV/ATV is much more functional. He has gas on hand. It’s a no brainer.
@aboveitall9600 I'm just thinking of simplicity of operation and maintenance. Just having a vehicle that is ready to go and does not make much noise. I would definitely prefer a gas powered one, but he can utilize the solar panels for other electrical needs. As previously mentioned, dehumidifying for purposes of small water quantities and having video equipment charged up as well seeing as this is a UA-cam channel.
I absolutely love the sequence from 17:15 till around 18:05. No commentary and letting the wind and awesome view speak for itself. Please more of that !
Yes, very calming. It would be nice to have a live stream of his ranch.
Totally agree!
Yes! The strap swinging in the breeze, dripping water was my favorite part. Very ASMR.
Shaun, starting a siphon is super easy. Put the whole hose into the top tank so it fills with water and cover one end with your thumb or hand so no air gets in and transfer that end into the bottom tank and let go.
Excellent tip!!
In a previous job I regularly had to empty large tubs of dirty water that didn't have drains. They usually bucketed them out until I learnt that trick which was a game changer! One chap was so excited about it he didn't ask me how it's down and sucked on the end before I could stop him and got a mouthful of greasy detergent water!
Archimedes would be proud.
I was going to say the same thing, but I knew someone was going to get there first. Kudos.
Also make sure to always keep the outside end of the hose below the inside water/liquid level
Addressing the comments. Cattle CAN remedy desertification IF the cattle pass through once per year, eat, defecate and urinate. If the cattle remain, they can turn grassland into a desert. Shaun doesn't have any control over the cattle so they will ruin his plans. Cattle also have hooves which are much more destructive than, say, camels' soft feet.
Saved me typing replies to others. Thanks
Yeap, the cows are a problem and problems are nothing more than "unrealized solutions"
Honestly, even intensive daily rotational grazing in these types of environments with strictly short season annuals as the only grass- no more perennials exist in the ecosystems really so there’s not much point in rotational grazing until those are reestablished. Our property very similar to this and it had one area that was so choked with whitethorn. You probably couldn’t even access 20 acres. We ran some sheep through it and got it pretty eaten down and that’s about the only use we had for ruminants in the lower Chihuahua that is this far into habitat loss. These ecosystems, originally plains, have been grazed so abusivly for hundreds of years that the grass is basically gone and nature‘s only remedy is to try to cover the bear ground with native plants that are growing in invasive ways like all the white thorn and Mesquite and sumac.
Honestly at this point in these types of ecosystems there’s no benefit from even smaller hooved animals like sheep and goats, even if they were intensively rotated twice a day. Rotating a bunch of birds like ducks, chickens, or turkeys would help though. They don’t much touch the foliage and their dues super high in nitrogen. Honestly, though these types of ecosystems are so deeply alkaline because most of the soils are from crushed limestone. The difference in soils and foliage that he talks about is the difference between plants that grow in the white limestone and plants that grow in the red clay. Trees can actually get big in the clay when they’re by water. The white limestone soil is very difficult. It’s so alkaline that if you put vinegar on the ground in the powder soil it will fizz like it was touching baking soda. To be completely honest without water or at least the right erosion features this property is just gonna keep eroding. The only person I know who actually is doing pretty good regenerating his place in this type of ecosystem is @barefoot_ biology on insta
hooves verses pads is indicative of your limited understanding - hooves are good - overgrazing is bad
Look up Allan Savory a biologist on Ted Talks discusses using cattle and desertification.
Seatbelts in heavy equipment are more than safety features.
They're a huge back saver on uneven ground. Suck you butt into the seat so you're not bouncing around all the time. The difference it makes in one day is significant, the difference it makes over a career is potentially life-changing. As in, you can still live your life into retirement.
The gabion is doing great. Also a good illustration of why we don't install just one. That sediment capture behind it is fantastic, and I have no doubt it's helped infiltrate a ton of water. More such structures, though, will build on the success of that one and you'll start to see a lot more greening of the area as a result.
The birds eye shots showing you and the cows movements are hilarious and really interesting to see the layout of your land
@@samiday6486 agreed. Fun stuff. Could the next map include little markers, like maybe dots, for the locations of the analog dams?
I have commented before on a previous video, on the ranch I was on we would pick up old truck tires from the side of the road and use those to protect the trees we would plant/grow. If you stack the tires 3-4 tires high it allows the plants to grow enough and establish their roots. The only problem is having to cut the tires and remove them after the trees are established and too big to be broken or destroyed by the cows.
Shaun is planning on using old tires as fuel. When they are burned in a furnace, they can be used as a cheap energy source.
This episode really shows that you guys have come a long ways since that first video.
7:22 would be really cool to see a more detailed map with the Beaver Dam Analogs, the roads and the various things drawn in.
Yes, more please? The moving graphics following the cattle was great. Thinking long term, how about some markers? I follow a couple who have an old sewing machine in their garden, for example. As a viewer, every time I spot that, I know exactly where they are. Heh obviously your markers might need to be bigger.
I think part of why it all looks the same from a distance is the intelligent choice to concentrate your changes down hill, below sight lines.
"Build it, and they will come." You must be doing something right, Shaun! Always appreciate your enthusiasm and content. Thank you! Hope you had a happy Chirstmas and New Year with your family.
Have you thought about digging a few dirt bathtubs and planting some trees near the well? You'll always have some spillage and you could dump the last drips of the pump in the same hole every time. Establish some roots, maybe create a bit of shade.
the well is located on another persons land - ridiculous suggestion
@@Jack-w5k4p Well you could have just said that without the "ridiculous" bit mate, makes you sound like a smart a55and your comment "ridiculous"......
Why so unnecessarily rude?
I'm well aware Shaun has already dug dozens of dirt bathtubs and that the well is on his neighbor's land. But if you're there every other day and handling water, you might as well "spill" constructively and ask your neighbor if you can dig a dirt bathtub and spread the desert forest vibe. Make every drop of water count.
bit like giving harris 2 billion to spend on campaign advertising - she could have quadrupled the spend and still lost - so why do more work on neighbours land and still produce nothing of any economic value
I really like atmospheric no-commentary shots of the area. Makes me feel like I'm actually there.
I grew up in the south of Spain and my best friend was a Shepard. He would make sling shoots from weaved grass and swing rocks at the herd to direct them. You need one!
Balearic sling
THE TITLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN "They Want to Eat My Desert Forest So I will EAT them"
😂
Yes you have to change😂😂😂
That a lot of bio mass walking around lol
Absolutely, be neighborly and invite them in for dinner... the main course.
@@dustupstexas Nothing funny about this, I would flat out be enjoying free beef!
May I suggest that you make a road drag out of scrap H-beams and angle iron? A periodic drag of the road would make a real difference in improving the surface for vehicular travel. These are not to hard to build and you don't need a lot of HP to pull. I'd wager that your new truck would be good enough to do the job.
Whipple
Yep! Even an old metal gate would be good. Just leave it at the entrance to the property and hitch up to the truck on the way in and on the way out.
and after all of this time I haven't seen one used. I take that to be because Shaun has not spent time with his neighbors learning about a desert environment especially the one he is in nor the pitfalls to avoid.
I'm astounded by the ignorance around the safety for himself and those working with him.
You wear boots and boots only in the desert.
You wear denim jeans not shorts or kakis and long sleeve shirts.
You wear a wide brim hat to protect the eyes ,neck and ears from the intense sun. Also sunglasses. Our UV levels are 11 and above.
You carry a knife at all times and a firearm plus a shot gun (12ga) in the vehicle. Dude is 5 miles from the border and has already seen drug mules.
Water must be on your person at all times and you must be constantly drink water. Every vehicle should be carrying at least a 5 gallon container of water.
Gloves are a must. I carry elbow length leather gloves with me to protect my arms from cacti.
Personal locator beacons I consider a must because if something happens it is easier to find you if you become injured or suffer a snakebite.
Clothing with high intensity colors.
Always. I mean always inform someone where you are going and when you will return.. Under no circumstances just start walking without telling anyone where you are going, what time you are returning and the path you are taking. Always remember that when you walk out of camp you need a knife, weapon ,WATER , gloves, hat and a communication device.
Our desert will kill you in an instant if you screw up. You are not in the city where emergency services are minutes away. You are out int he middle of nowhere, isolated and assistance will take time to reach you. Get bitten by a rattle snake it will take time for a helicopter from El Paso to come pick you up and return you to be treated.
Then you could also track/ detect any wheeled or hoofed visitors.
They were doing exactly that in an earlier video, dragging the rectangular screen frame shown behind the truck at 24:10 in this video.
@ Yeah…..not quite the right tool for the job. A purpose built drag would do a much better job.
Low-flow wells are a great use-case for solar-powered water pumps. Just sip a little bit of water all day, dump it into a cistern/holding tank. When you need lots at once, you've already got it on hand, instead of being limited by what the well can produce on-demand.
If the tank is higher than the one you’ll be filling you get to use gravity as the transfer pump. 😉
For the gabion, you need to fill the space before it with rocks, they will Slow the water before hitting it. Remember, it is not a dam. It is meant to slow water, provide room for silk to settle and the water to seep into the ground. Not stop the water alone with the wall or provide the biggest storage behind it. Several layers of stone will also provide shade for water and spaces for condensation in the morning hours.
Love the idea with the dirtbike, but maybe a quad instead if you want to get seeds out or smth.
Really enjoy the content, but man, get some condensation nets up, that would be a long term solution. Your ground water level will rise with time and make a well for personal use much more viable.
I think those nets are a great idea too. However how will he manage the collection? Will he invite more wildlife to the collection points? Plumbing? Piping 😂 the list goes on, a huge logistics problem to solve if you ask me.
I seem to recall Shaun looking into condensation nets early on. He found that the average humidity level at DustUps was too low to capture enough moisture for it to be a viable solution. The cost was too high for the small amount of water he would be able to harvest.
15:57 very nice to hear your overall goal for the project
Shaun, you are awesome and extremely inspiring. Praying for you and your journey!!
Free beef. I'd be filling the freezer with an on-site processing trailer!
You can use sun and salt at summer times.
My thoughts exactly..😂
Hmmm do they still hang ppl in TX for that?
that's exactly what I was thinking.. it's free beef that should be harvested.. take what GOD gives you..
I was wondering before reading this comment, how much meat would a desert cow have on it?
I wouldn't have herded them on foot hahaha you are more brave than I Shaun 😅 and I've pushed a lot of steers in my day! Happy New Year man!
I'll say. Bluffing a wild bull into moving his herd is pretty ballsy!
He does stay armed with a handgun, he doesn’t like to but unfortunately has too
Loved joining you on “this ride”!🐄🐮
Thanks!
I'd like you to keep track of your rainfall over the years. I have seen several other studies about trees having a direct influence on rainfall and cloud accumulation. I'd be interested to see how your environment changes after your canopy layer is established/expanded/as it grows. Over time I'd love to see how the fog and rain accumulation changes. Im sure it won't be a huge drastic change, however with you starting from bare bones seeing the humidity difference would be interesting.
Trees help create rain clouds but it wouldn't make it rain on his property. It would rain further down wind.
If there were more trees and plants for miles surrounding his plot it would increase the chances of rain.
There's plenty of moisture in the air but it isn't being seeded to rain.
Increasing vegetation on the upwind side of the ranch would also be worthwhile. Even if it is grass, ocotillo, and small plants, the vegetation would help break the wind, collect more dew, and cover the bare rocks that reflect heat back towards the clouds. Looking forward to seeing the coir mats on the sides of the dam, to help keep the temps down in the central drainage by the terraces. Less exposed rock/more groundcover = cooler temps, more dew and moisture.
The difference will be massive for miles around his property but he needs scale. He should be "planting" multiple dense long rows of straw cross wind about 1-2ft high spaced 2-3 ft apart. They act as a windbreak, keeping topsoil in place and add shade. You keep moist air over the property and increase air pressure, while cooling the ground around them. This causes condensation in the morning hours. Adding 1-3% silica adds 300% moisture to the soil. These small changes allow plants to grow between the rows.
All he needs is to get a ripper hook for the truck and 2 large straw bales and a few 100lb bags of silica to get started. First he needs micro climate, as moisture increases it creates growth ad spreads. In China they are turning literal sand dunes into forest right now.
@@TheAndersonster exactly what I keep posting on his videos. Until he gets scale he will always be providing the water manually. I have worked several projects like this and in 3 growing seasons we can cover a property like his with 5ft of growth with a small team of 4-5 people. At least his terrace is shielded so he doesn't lose the topsoil he is creating.
I like the atmospheric B-roll you captured while waiting for the water tanks to fill up.
Nice shots you were taking in this video, Shaun!
Thanks for showing - your little piece of paradise.
Totes on the truck v totes on the ground: I’d say start with gravity feed from the truck, from the bottom bung, then be concerned about siphon/pump whatever remains. Definitely think about storage at the well
For just the transfer of water from tote to tote, probably not a bad idea. However, I've yet to see any type of hose connection that didn't leak when connected to those with a viscosity of anything close to water.
There are 2 problems with having water on store at the well. 1, you then have to keep a fork vehicle at the well or carry one with you. 2, water stored in the sun in an ibc will go to algae.
Maybe your neighbor with the well will go halfsies on a small platform to put an IBC tote on and act as a mini-water tower. You could pump water unattended with a cheap solar panel and probably get cleaner water. Plus you’d fill up the totes on the truck a lot faster with just gravity. “Frugal Off Grid” in Arizona made a bigger version and it supplies water to his whole operation.
Cows appreciate your hard work ;)
Thanks Shaun for describing all your hard work. We bought 20 acres of rocky Arizona desert and will soon emulate your "greening the desert". Can't wait! Blessings and Happy New Year
Congratulations!
I use these IBC totes in my greenhouse. It is not hard to get a hose pipe adapter to go on the bug valve at the bottom of the tank. The water could just gravity drain from the truck pretty quickly. The pump seems unneeded. Just a thought
Thanks!
Welcome!
Good to know the laws around the area. Another great episode.
Have you done any exclosures yet to find out what the effect of the cattle browsing actually is?
If you want to exclude cattle you will need to fence. Figure out where you want to fence and put the fence in on the top of a ridge so the cattle have to move uphill to jump it. Or just downslope outside of the area you want to fence. That makes them work hard to jump in and makes getting out easier.....
Shaun, Have you asked solar panel firms to install free panels and to sponsor your channel? It would be win win.
i love the view at sunset from the windshield of the big truck. looks pretty... the head lights on the dirt road and inside lights of instrument panel... soothing. thank you for sharing.. and no distracting music added in.. (my pet peeve)
You need a cattle dog and electric bike. That would fix them also a trap area so you could truck them out for cash. Most likely, you would have to check with other farmers in the area as to what they do with their extra cattle.
Loyal well trained dogs?
Yes, Please!! Does Brandon want a dog? It would basically be his?
This is so much smarter than a horse out there, but I saw a vision of Shaun with a lasso and spurs hunting them critters as his next sidequest😀
Shaun, this is ideal for an experiment, Joel Salatin style. You'd need to fence them off though - setting in a system of rotating grazing areas, PLUS you'd have to supply hay as fodder AND water but at least you wouldn't wreck your tires, get stuck hauling the manure and it's all there for you for the picking. Maybe you could convince the authorities to pay for the veterinary fees for testing etc.😊
Fence off your property in small to large concentric circles.. protect your area garden and feed the cows by able grazing . Slowly but surely have your whole property fenced and have a herd to haul to market or feed the chicken, pigs and worms….
Lead is cheaper
Great advice.
This is exemplary, take pride on your hard work
Wish you could film a rain when there’s actually water on your property that we can see.
Man you've come a long ways in such a short period of time. I'm so excited to see what 2025 brings for you!
Great progress.
Maybe you can consider the wild cattle as the same as boars or elk, deer, etc...
Maybe you can charge someone to come in and hunt a percentage of the herd.
Split the meat, keeping the herd under control as well as supplementing the expenses of your project.
I thought you had considered adding some farmyard type of animals at some point...
This is a great resource to exploit, without any of the traditional expenses associated with raising cattle.
Maybe you would consider cultivating plants that would be good for the cattle in an area that is away from the other sections.
Maybe there's a balance of pest vs profit.
Best of luck 👍
That's why wolves are trees' best friends. Wipe out the predators and you get a desert. It isn't the lack of water. Scotland has the same problem and it rains all the time there.
Desert cattle are lean cattle....
Lean cattle make the best jerky....
Jerky sells for $40.00 a pound....
Well cost "up to $40,000.00"....
As someone who has to haul water on a daily basis for either cattle and/or the cisterns at the house....Since your fill tanks are sitting higher than your receiving tanks, why not use a port valve on the bottom of the IBC tanks? I a have port valve on my haul tank. Since I can pull up and stop at the same spots to empty the water in either the cisterns or the stock tanks, I use a pvc pipe with the correct threaded coupler for the port valve side. I have a 90º elbow at the other end. Then I just open the port valve and the water flows down into the cisterns or the stock tanks fairly fast depending on how much I open the port valve. In your case, I would station the receiving tanks equidistant from where you want to park the truck in the center of them. I would then make sure my IBC tank ports are facing out towards the sides, that way you can use the same pvc pipe on each tank. Filling the haul tank for me takes about 30 minutes. Emptying less than 10 min by the time I stop and hook the pvc pipe up. And please be very careful when approaching the bull and the herd. I saw that you kept your distance but I cringed the entire time you were moving them. I've known our current bull since the day he was birthed....still don't trust him not to turn on me. I've been on the 5525 dropping a bale of hay in the ring for him...and out of the blue, he's come at me from the side and rammed the tractor enough to move it with a large round bale on the end of the pike! He's been around me and the tractor since he was little. These are unknown animals to you. Please be safe!
Hey Shaun, in the video, just after sunset, it looked to me that you might have had a great view of Mercury and or Venus. That got me to wondering if you take time to star gaze on nights when you are out at the ranch. If so, I imagine it to be amazing because of the lack of light pollution...and I'm jealous!!! IF not, you must. (I don't recall you mentioning it in any of the videos.)
Take a pair of binoculars and a tripod and you will be able to get absolutely amazing views of the moons of Jupiter, as well as the individual stars in the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades is visible, sort of as a big smudge, with the naked eye. But with just a pair of binoculars the detail explodes into a glorious cluster of stars with seven prominent ones that also results in the formation having the name 'The Seven Sisters'.
Super excited about how much sediment got dumped behind the middle of your gabion. It’s obviously working perfectly, no blowout on either side, despite not being as high or pretty as when y’all built it.
you can buy specific caps for the outlets of the IBCs where you can easily attach standard hose connectors to it.
Have you tried using the drone to shift the cattle? Works in some places, but might not with your steers. The buzz of the drone is quite similar to some of the biting flies, so cattle are atuned to avoid that noise. Certainly beats all that walking to get round to the right side of the herd - not to mention the risk of a cussed bull or getting between a mother and calf!
Do you have hose connections on the bottom of your IBC totes? Curious why you don't drain directly from the bottom of the tanks on the truck. the height looks about right on camera
Those calm shots in the middle were just what i was hoping for
Very glad things are going kinda ok now...
Fill hose with water.... cap/ pinch one end to trap water while moving to lower container..... in order for the water to drain after undoing the pinch and allow the flow it will intake more water in upper container.
Hey Shaun, i just watched the “Maverick Outback Grazer” documentary on UA-cam. His property was as desertified as yours when he started. He uses donkeys which will build dirt bathtubs when they dust bathe. Very interesting😊
What you missed is that person had water which Shaun does not have. at best it is 9 inches a year but he may not get a single drop. He is also 4500 feet ASL.
Nice to see an episode without a catastrophe!! 😂
How about some "Feral Beef Jerky" for the Dustups Online Store?
We are all waiting for a merch drop to support Dustups
Dude is finally getting on the thumbnail grind! Love it let’s go!!!
Splashy dramatic thumbnails generate views, not content.
Those cows look pretty healthy and well fed.
Its open range
I love the arty shots at sunset!
If they were Mexican cattle like the deputy thinks they would be branded and marked with two yellow ear tags either siniiga or sinesica
Hi Shaun, really enjoy watching your videos, its a grand project but achievable. And I never considered that massive areas of some deserts in the USA were partially created by destruction.
IBC's normally have a tap or a place for a tap, with quite a large flow. If you fit one you could drive your truck with water filled IBC's next to the storage IBC, connect a wider hose and the weight of the water should empty the tank pretty quickly
Read that the leading cause of desertification of North Africa is goats. Fighting a losing battle with non-native cows munching everything that tries to grow. Good luck.
Sheep are what made Iceland into a waste.
Southern Oregon coast had massive spruce trees. After logging, shepherds moved in. Decades ago the sheep are gone. Trees haven’t returned.
Bang!
Before the white man came and there were buffalo in the Chihuahua and desert. Cattle just took their place.
I live on open range and have personally watched the watched the range thrive, even during droughts, after the ranchers changed their grazing to an actual managed plan. A hammer can build just as much as it can demo
Many totes have valves or bungs on the bottom and they’re typically pretty good sized. If you put some cam lock fittings on the bungs you could transfer water from the truck a LOT faster with something like a 1 1/4” or 1 1/2” hose out of the bottom cam locked to it and they also make cam lock caps to double seal the outlet if that’s a concern. 😉😃
I hope I got old enough to see You succeed.
Glad you were able to find a solution.
i suggest something like a solar motion sensor with coyote noises
Cattle don’t fear coyotes
@@herodotusofhalicarnasis2394 How very true !! I have seen coyotes within a few feet of cow hunting mice the cow spooks. In spring the coyotes will try eating asses out of calves. These observations were in WY and MT where the coyotes are a lot bigger.
I saw a similar project that was using large steel mesh gabion boxes filled with rocks to slow water in the gullies with great success. On gentle slopes, trenches have been very successful in Africa collecting water. This involved large groups of volunteers. Mostly the trenches are in half Moon shapes. A long series of trenches could be made with the dozer. Collecting rocks can be difficult.
Feral cattle? Equals free for the taking? Could make for an awesome bbq
Thank you for the update. I have to the southeast of the Eagle Mountains pinned in my weather app, hoping to see a good rain heading toward the ranch...
the map cut ins are great
Just curious, do you know what the Ph is in the ground water you're using. My ground water is very alkaline and not good for all my plants, with some preferring a more soft or acidic ph for them to thrive.
His water source also has a very high ph.
Have you ever thought about attaching a small speaker and loud noise recording to a drone? This could help you control them more effectively from afar. There are various devices designed for using drones for bird control.
Greg Judy shows how that 'spinning jenny' holds the high tensile wire you walk out to the plastic fence posts he uses in Missouri. ☆☆☆Do you have electric service or can you get the solar electric chargers that offer 'a believable' amount of delivered charge? Greg Judy says that the chargers that 'plug in' to your current supply only use about $3.50/year of electric. 💚
Hey! Incredible what you're pulling off out there! I was thinking the whole time you were driving to the well, "why doesn't he drill his own?". Just a thought and I'm sure you've thought it yourself or others have suggested this already but why not do a fundraiser for your own well? It would be a total game changer for you! Good luck! Excited to see your progress this year!
Watching you move the cattle got me thinking about the smell of food your growing, as your plants get bigger the more scent of food is in the air. you're building a Supermart of food in the Deseret for the Wild animals so to speak.
ps did you grease the new big truck. ie drive shaft and steering linkages
Happy New Year from Austin. Hope you get some rain in the future.
Imagine your the 1000lb cow in the desert. Some human shows up one day and starts doing something and green food starts coming out of the ground and the only water you smell for miles around is coming directly from that new patch of green. Where are you going to hang out? Moreover, what's going to keep a 1000lb plus animal away from the only food and water around? I say again, you have the patience of JOB.
I recently began following your adventure. I enjoy how you are able to problem solve on the run. I wonder of you have considered making compost or manure tea to water your plants. Watering/feeding/adding organic matter simultaneously might boost vigor.
How about a fundraising campaign for your well? I would donate for sure!
they need 100,000 for basin infrastructure minimum
Keep the videos coming. I love seeing the progress.
Check with TPWD for what you can do. If they say you can take them then do so but before doing so buy a few deep freezers, line up a butcher to have them butchered. Or you could find a framer and sell them.
That was an interesting episode. Looks like things are running smoothly at the moment.
So if you rolled out a bail of hat once a week in a far off part of your property, wouldn’t they bring more “crap” than they took? Think “bale grazing” ..
I agree… keep them off your trees but also collect the manure.
Animals need plants, plants need soil, and soil needs animals.
@@t.dig.2040 Wrong animals decimate ecosystems....
Shawn wont the cattle defecate while grazing adding microbial material as well as till the surface soil… just something to consider… focus on the specific areas you want them to stay out of… a small solar system and a shock wire.
The cattle are so cute. 😍
The cattle are decimating the whole area. Your bit is a bonus for them. try getting a sponsor for fencing so far this looks good nice one
Let me point out that you do not appear to have water with you which you should nor do you appear to be caring a firearm which you should. I mean what are you going to do if the bull decides to do something.
Pepper spray?
That old wind vane water pump at the well site is intriguing. I imagine rebuilding the tower and replacing the old vane/pump with a modern wind generator (ready made like for a sailboat) Then keep water containers at the well site with a distribution line, being passively filled by that system.
I know they might be a pain but you might have remove the best thing that could have happened for you. By chance did you see black gold left from them. I would collect and distribute to best growing areas as fertilizer.
Also like feeding some thing ferrell they will come back to the area if they think it has food. Pick an area away from your plot and place a few bales of hay or what they might eat. If they return to that area you might be able to collect the free fertilizer.
respectfully, this is one of the stupidest comments i've seen on this channel
Thank you for your reply. I will take that into consideration.
Watching snow falling in Dallas Fort Worth….fingers crossed you catch an edge of moisture. Time will tell.
Are you allowed to eat them?
My thought exactly 😅 easy fix
Yes
I think they already did,one episode,beef meat were shown hanging!😊
An eye for an eye. Lol
You should go to Lajitas and check out the Barton Warnock Museum Wonderful examples of native plant material that will grow easily on your ranch . You need to add Huisache trees. Also huajillo and cenizo (sage).
Instead of chasing the cattle off, corral them with your electric fencing. Give them about 20 acres at a time. Move the corral once a month. Their pee and poop will bring the soil back to life quicker.
So are these cattle protected? If not maybe you could get a rancher to round them up and take them away
He already said they're feral
That doesn’t change the question.
Wild cattle are not protected. There's a whole set of state laws on how to round them up and claim ownership. That's free $. Even if they brought the bottom dollar at auction they're worth $1000/each.
@@benburkhalter3752 From my ignorant browsing of the law that looks more or less true. Realistically it looks like you might have to hold onto them for a certain number of days, put out an ad/report saying "these belong to anyone" then claim them after the allotted period. I think it might just not be worth it to Shaun given his lack of infrastructure on sight and how skittish they seem to be. If the period is 90 days like in a post I saw they could do a lot of damage to his project in the meantime.
To start a siphon you push the hose into the tank put your finger over the end and then pull it out until the outlet is lower than the bottom of the siphon tank.
The cattle have the ability to convert a desert into a grassland. Check out Allan Savory. Part of your ranch can grow grass to feed the cattle.
Never once has this been done in an actual desert. Allan claims to convert degraded land into grassland, but peer-reviewed studies often fail to substantiate his claims. For example, meta-analyses have found mixed or no significant evidence that intensive grazing can restore degraded lands.
Its been done in the Chihuahuan Desert just a few hundred miles from this ranch by Alejandro Carillo and some of his neighbors who are adoping the practice. If the cattle were tame and he owned these cattle so there would be no question about what to do with them, then sure. If he gets to that point, he can bring in bales and start in an area further from the growing things, but he would need some more fencing and electrifiers plus some watering points to work with. He may get there, but he's focused on growing a few things on a few teraces currently.
@@jackson808510-4, I won't believe my lying eyes. I live on open range, born and raised, since they changed to a more managed grazing plan, I have been forced to buy a lawn mower, because the cows are only around my section for a week. Before I would just open the gate when I needed a mow. The range is better than ever and my lawn has suffered.
@@leelindsay5618 "it's been done", because he says so? Any actual data to support such a tenuous claim? The data says otherwise www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/4472/RANGELANDS-D-13-00044.pdf