BROOKINGS, S.D. – The eighth annual Rosebud Range Workshop, led by South Dakota State University Extension and partners, was held on July 16, 2025, at the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Ranch and provided participants a unique opportunity to learn about rangelands.
Along with SDSU Extension, the workshop was coordinated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, South Central Resource Conservation and Development, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Ranch and many volunteers and sponsors.
This annual event offers a morning session for adults and an afternoon session for youth. In the morning session, adult participants learn about calculating proper stocking rates, plant identification and uses, and view a rainfall simulator demonstration. Adults each receive a range kit with educational materials from the South Dakota Grassland Coalition and the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition, a grazing stick and supplies to calculate forage production.
The adult session began with a lesson on grazing math by Kaylee Wheeler, SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist. Wheeler provided a hands-on demonstration of the grazing stick and the clip-and-weigh methods to calculate available forage and stocking rates for livestock on pastures.
“You have to know two things to be able to set a proper stocking rate,” Wheeler said. “First is how much forage you have available, and second is how much forage your livestock need to eat. Taking the time to learn grazing math with our tools helps answer both of those questions and sets you up for proper grazing management.”
Mary Scott, with NRCS, Sean Kelly, SDSU Extension Range Management Field Specialist, and Wheeler then led the participants through a lesson on plant identification and appreciation. Adults learned how to identify over a dozen grasses and forbs. Experts also shared the importance of each plant for grazing value, medicinal or edible benefits, and cultural use.
To conclude the adult session, Tanse Herrmann, NRCS State Grazinglands Soil Health Specialist, presented the rainfall simulator. Herrmann discussed the importance of soil health using a mobile trailer rigged with soil samples from various management practices and the application of artificial rainfall. Participants were able to witness in real time what the effects of different management practices had on the amount of rainfall that runs off the soil surface rather than soaking in.
The afternoon session is designed for youth participants to learn about the importance of rangeland ecosystems and their components, as well as the basics of plant identification and uses. Youth participants also received kits including educational materials, coloring pages and snacks.
Youth also had the opportunity to learn about various rangeland plants and were taught the difference between the three major plant types on the rangeland – grasses, forbs and shrubs – and why each type is important.
New to the youth participants this year was the opportunity to learn about rangelands through the South Dakota Grasslands Initiative hands-on education totes. Of the several activities, one dubbed the “Critter Scene Investigation” presented youth with clues like animal tracks and photographs to help them piece together what happened at that scene.
“This was a very educational opportunity for all to learn more about our native rangelands. The land has much to teach us and serves as an excellent outdoor classroom and hands-on learning center,” said Ron Frederick, SDSU Extension 4-H Educator – Todd County, who led one of the youth activities.
For more information, contact Kaylee Wheeler, SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist; Ron Frederick, SDSU Extension 4-H Educator – Todd County; or Sean Kelly, SDSU Extension Range Management Field Specialist.
