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Prescribed burns, anybody else? #6668206 02/09/17 05:06 PM
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Prescribed burn time is the only thing that I like better than working on my food plots! Just finished a 30-acre block that is in the northwest corner of my place. It is tough to burn in that corner as the neighbors on both north and west sides have improved pasture with about 2 to 3 feet of growth.



This corner had gotten real bad with growth, couldn't walk more than about 5 to 10 feet into it. Deer felt about the same way. You can see the grass on the other side of the fence in this picture.



I graded it a 90% burn, real good. When we get a southeast breeze, I will light it off again and get the other 10%.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668260 02/09/17 05:41 PM
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Nice!! Enjoy the benefits it will produce. Burning is a great tool for land managers.

Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Wytex] #6668276 02/09/17 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: Wytex
Nice!! Enjoy the benefits it will produce. Burning is a great tool for land managers.

Thanks, yeah it is a great tool, and most landowners don't take advantage of the benefits it provides.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668537 02/09/17 09:18 PM
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That looks awesome. I need to burn part of my place but I can't afford to have it done and don't have the know-how to do it myself. Don't want to burn up the NW corner of Lee county. LOL


In the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.
Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668541 02/09/17 09:22 PM
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I burn every year on a rotational basis here in mountain home. Otherwise the cedars would eat me alive. Of course, I use my inverse gravity machine to insure a better burn...



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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668548 02/09/17 09:26 PM
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^^^Is that the rare 180 degree rotational burn I've heard so much about? smile

Last edited by George - w/ Map My Ranch; 02/09/17 09:27 PM.

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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: TexasKC] #6668553 02/09/17 09:29 PM
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Originally Posted By: TexasKC
That looks awesome. I need to burn part of my place but I can't afford to have it done and don't have the know-how to do it myself. Don't want to burn up the NW corner of Lee county. LOL


Contact your local NRCS folks...they can put a plan together and there many be come a$$i$tance with the material needed for the burn, as well as man power to keep it under control.

Ranch Dog - looks like a successful burn! Nicely done!

Last edited by George - w/ Map My Ranch; 02/09/17 09:35 PM.

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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Son of a Blitch] #6668559 02/09/17 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted By: George - w/ Map My Ranch
Originally Posted By: TexasKC
That looks awesome. I need to burn part of my place but I can't afford to have it done and don't have the know-how to do it myself. Don't want to burn up the NW corner of Lee county. LOL


Contact your local NRCS folks...they can put a plan together and there many be come a$$i$tance with the material needed for the burn, as well as man power to keep it under control.


Friend of mine suggested that as well. Guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to them. I'm kinda paranoid about asking the government about anything. LOL


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: TexasKC] #6668570 02/09/17 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted By: TexasKC
Originally Posted By: George - w/ Map My Ranch
Originally Posted By: TexasKC
That looks awesome. I need to burn part of my place but I can't afford to have it done and don't have the know-how to do it myself. Don't want to burn up the NW corner of Lee county. LOL


Contact your local NRCS folks...they can put a plan together and there many be come a$$i$tance with the material needed for the burn, as well as man power to keep it under control.


Friend of mine suggested that as well. Guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to them. I'm kinda paranoid about asking the government about anything. LOL


Another benefit of going through the NRCS or other prescribed burn professionals, is that it can limit your liability if the fire gets out of controls and spreads to neighboring areas. In Ranch Dog's pics, you can see where he created a firebreak by discing (it appears)...and when the conditions are right, you should be fine. Best to have a lot of hands on deck just in case things get out of hand, or you get a stray fire line out of the burn perimeter. I've seen that happen and it can get scary. Most people don't release how much timber fuel is on the ground on their property. It's great to clear it in a controlled atmosphere. You can see what happens when it isn't controlled and timber fuel builds up over time (ex: Bastrop).


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668627 02/09/17 10:39 PM
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That's funny George, rotational burns. Me, myself, I split my place into four units and try to get one done a year. Just happened to catch the year that it was done right side up and not sideways or down! wink

I've been doing this as an annual practice for 12 years now. I started with assistance from TPWD but there also is The Nature Conservancy, and area burn associations (like wildlife management associations) as well. I agree with George's comments concerning help as long as it is the right kind of help. I don't know about the NRCS as I don't work with them but you will accept the responsibility with TPWD and the TNC will not allow you to participate (they will use their personnel); created by liability issues. Too much help can be a problem if you can't keep track of it or the individuals are not good at following instructions to the letter.

There is a burn ban in my County right now, but the Texas code but there are exceptions to the law. Rather than just say I'm good, I took it a step further and wrote a solid burn plan for my place, bought all the equipment (just as I would if I needed to turn dirt or plant something), met the State's insurance requirements that I'm exempt from (did it anyway as part of my Ranch policy - $1M/$2m), and then went to my County Commissions for their approval. So ban or not, if I've determined that my planning & preparation calls for a controlled burn, I make the notifications and get busy.

As our farm & ranch lands get smaller with time, I think there is an enormous potential for disasters as this range management practice is ignored. I see the growing potential for wildfires becoming a problem in our State. George gave a good example of the Bastrop area.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6668645 02/09/17 10:50 PM
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Here is a look at some of the break which I at least double the width with back burns.



I'm lucky to have had some seismic work a couple of years ago, I kept the gridwork open which I use as secondary lines within my burn units. I really don't plan on these stopping a fire, only slowing it down.



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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6669730 02/10/17 09:00 PM
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All the activity on this burn unit finished this morning. The disked roads and senderos end up a mess from all the driving. So, went over everything with a disc & tooth harrow followed by a cultipacker. Won't drive on them again until it rains and dries. Refresh everything again next January even though this won't be burned again for at least four years. The annual works will keep the dirt easy to turn.





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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6672983 02/13/17 04:04 PM
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^^^Roads look great now! We tried using a large roller from Northern tool for the same purpose. Mixed results. Cultipacker is the way to go!


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6674186 02/14/17 12:42 PM
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up Looks great! I used to burn off my hay fields every other year or two, didn't burn the woods off to that extent, maybe 5 acres here and there every few years. Fire can make a little used area a mecca for different wildlife as it comes back and matures.

When Coronado came to Texas in the mid to late 1600's, he said something to the effect " The woods are park like, as you'd see in any European park cleaned by fire", This was his thoughts when he stayed with the Caddo in East Texas. Indians used fire for essentially the same reasons (otside of war)


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Western] #6674206 02/14/17 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted By: George - w/ Map My Ranch
^^^Roads look great now! We tried using a large roller from Northern tool for the same purpose. Mixed results. Cultipacker is the way to go!

That packer is one of the best purchases I made. Unfortunately, one of the most expensive as well. Rain hitting this unit this morning, will be real pretty in a couple of weeks. Once the sun cooks the road, they will be hard as a rock from the packing.

Originally Posted By: Western
up Looks great! I used to burn off my hay fields every other year or two, didn't burn the woods off to that extent, maybe 5 acres here and there every few years. Fire can make a little used area a mecca for different wildlife as it comes back and matures.

When Coronado came to Texas in the mid to late 1600's, he said something to the effect " The woods are park like, as you'd see in any European park cleaned by fire", This was his thoughts when he stayed with the Caddo in East Texas. Indians used fire for essentially the same reasons (otside of war)

I've walked around in the unit and I bet there is a deer track every six inches square, funny how they flood into a burnt area. Just wish I had be able to burn the other areas that are scheduled this year before this really nice rain came.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6674220 02/14/17 01:24 PM
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I probably missed it, but how many acres did you get in? A few good rains and some warmer temps and it will explode with native vegetation, and tons more preferable forbes I bet. Small are even, should support a huge browse improvement over what it was


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6676042 02/15/17 08:58 PM
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This corner was 30 acres. Nothing this week, all the the weather parameters outside the limits.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6677604 02/17/17 12:06 AM
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Did another 52 acres today!


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6680756 02/20/17 02:30 AM
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I did some more burning and I figured my season is finished as the green up has just about brought it to a halt! I burnt a total of 91 acres which is a pretty good year for me. Some of these photos have been posted but I thought I would put everything in a series of back to back posts (five image limit per post)!

January 16 - Started by back burning a safe area around the homes on my place.



Typical fire breaks around burn units.





Moving the ground blinds out of the burn units.



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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6680757 02/20/17 02:31 AM
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I use a disc with a drag for the breaks. The breaks get extremely rutted up while the burn is going on, so I disk the breaks again after the burn to smooth the ruts out and then pack them with a cultipacker. After that, I don't drive on them again until after it rains and dries. These steps make for a hard, smooth road surface.







There is a burn ban in place in my County, but by Texas Code, I'm exempt from it with conditions that include a complete plan of conditions and actions; hence, the name, prescribed burn. I have all the required equipment, but probably one of the most important is my road signs. They keep traffic from calling 911. My County's Dispatch is notified of before the burn, and hopefully, the signs keep additional calls to a minimum.



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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6680758 02/20/17 02:32 AM
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The burns: February 8th.







February 16th





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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6680759 02/20/17 02:32 AM
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February 18th







Some finds





This year, the first two burns were with the help of a friend whose job includes performing prescribed burns on the properties he is responsible for. For the last burn, I worked solo, which will wear you out as you are doing all the walking (sometimes running) of at least two people.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6683660 02/22/17 05:31 PM
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Thanks for sharing the pics!!!


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6684103 02/22/17 11:15 PM
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You're welcome.


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Re: Prescribed burns, anybody else? [Re: Ranch Dog] #6684106 02/22/17 11:16 PM
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The right equipment and a good plan make all the difference when dealing with fire. Good job.

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