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PROFILE: Milford Denetclaw, Shiprock, N.M.
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Milford Denetclaw: Beef
producer. Shiprock, N.M. |
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CATTLE RANCHER IMPROVES WATER DELIVERY ON NAVAJO NATION
LAND
For generations, members of the Navajo Nation in northwest New
Mexico have shared 23,000 acres of rangeland on which they live
and raise crops. Milford Denetclaw’s family was one of a fortunate
few to inherit a permit to raise livestock. While it’s a privilege,
it’s also been a challenge for Denetclaw, who raises certified
Beefmaster cattle that need to be segregated to maintain their bloodlines.
“Most of the Navajo Nation is open range with no real way
of managing it,” Denetclaw said. “Watering holes are
a common gathering area for livestock, and your livestock co-mingle
with others.”
Preserving the breed was a main motivator for Denetclaw to apply
for a SARE grant. To segregate his herd, he needed to create nutritious
forage on his recently acquired 28-acre slice of the Navajo rangeland,
and to do that, he needed to improve both his irrigation system
and his grass species. Two years later, he is happy to report the
project was a success.
Previously, Denetclaw accessed water from a 1920s-era canal that
siphoned water from the San Juan River. However, he had to send
water across his neighbor’s field, and the sandy soil absorbed
much of it before it reached his pasture.
“I was so close to the main canal, I thought, ‘Why
can’t I get my own head gate and bring water directly onto
my farm?’ ” Denetclaw said.
With help from his local Extension agent, Denetclaw built a head
gate, then regulated its flow with gated pipe. Gated pipe contains
holes covered by slide gates that limit water flow.
His new irrigation system enabled Denetclaw to plant four varieties
of cool- and warm-season grasses. In the first year, he was pleased
to harvest two cuttings of hay. By the second, he ran his cattle
on the pasture through the winter.
“I wanted a place where I could have my cattle for 60 days
on pasture – that is not something too many people do,”
he said. “I want to let the cattle harvest the grass, convert
that weight and market my cattle and get my return rather than the
traditional way of cutting hay and baling it, with all of those
other expenses and time. What I grow will eventually go back into
my cattle.”
Denetclaw demonstrated his renovations to other Navajo ranchers
and presented a slide show during the annual conference of the Navajo
Nation Soil and Water Conservation District. “As far as water delivery goes, I couldn’t
ask for anything more,” Denetclaw said.
Smart Irrigation
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