A couple other thoughts to add to the high fence buffola/cow idea before moving on……I’d imagine one of the first things that will pop into someone’s mind when reading this is…..”Won’t the buffalos/cows reduce the amount of vegetation available to the deer?”……This is just an educated guess but I’d say no….Why?.....Because deer are browsers and cattle/buffalo are grazers…..While there will be come overlap of species that each one consumes…..your grazers are gonna be hitting many of the species that deer do not use…such as your grasses. Also, the increase in soil fertility that would obtained from managing succession with a cow or boffola herd versus other means that may be currently used….that increase in soil fertility would cause a subsequent in increase in forage production and quality…..I’ve been told from folks who mob graze ranches in the Midwest that are also used for hunting purposes that the deer herd follows in behind the cattle herd as they move it around the ranch…..cattle move off of a paddock and the deer immediately flock to it to feed on the new growth.
In a high fence environment I would think that the cow or boffola herd would move themselves around just like they did in the great plains…..They would not stay in one spot until the vegetation looked like a typical cattle pasture…..they would feed on the tips of the plants that are highest in energy, trample down some of the veg, deposit manure, and then move on…..They would constantly revolve around the property setting back succession, fertilizing the landscape, and improving the soil quality. The key would be figuring out how many is needed and then selling off the excess as they produced offspring. I’m sure there are some specialty restaurants like the one that opened awhile back in Boaz who would welcome a local source of buffalo meat. How cool would it be though to go deer hunting and have a herd of wild boffola roam through during your hunt. I wonder if you could offer a few special hunts for the ones you thin out over time?
