Photo courtesy of Owen Eidman
The Eidman family burns their pasture, starting the head of it with a drip torch. Later, they went through to put out the back side to prevent the fire spreading to the neighbor's on Monday, March 27.
Blackened pastures surround roads, smoke fills the air and fire runs rampant. Springtime brings not only warmer weather and pretty flowers but also the season of pasture burning.
Burn season can range anywhere from late February to early May, but the primary month of burning is April, according to Jim Hoy, former Emporia State English professor and lifelong cowboy.
Groups of environmentalists have complained that pasture burning is bad for the environment because of the smoke. They also worry about fires getting out of control because of wind and that burning the ground makes it more flammable than if just left alone, according to an article published by San Diego 7.
Farmers and ranchers would disagree saying it keeps weeds down and gives healthier grass for grazing. Hoy said the smoke does put carbon into the air, but because the grass can grow back stronger, more carbon will be put back into the ground later.
“An intentional grass fire will sequester more carbon in the summer when it’s growing back, than was being sequestered before,” Hoy said. “So it’s actually good for the environment, it puts that carbon back in the ground.”
Hoy also argues that people are worried about air pollution but the smoke from burning doesn’t compare to the pollution by factories and traffic that is year round.
Pastures burning haven’t always been intentional, lightning strikes would set the Flint Hills ablaze for days until rain clouds put the fires out. Once Native Americans started discovering that bison preferred the grass that was once scorched, they would light their territories on fire to attract the animals, according to kansasbeef.org.
In his book, “Flint Hills Cowboys: Tales from the Tallgrass Prairie,” Hoy refers to an article written by Frederick Turner. Turner wrote the magazine article called, “Field Guide to the Synthetic Landscape,” where he talks about reconstructing prairies with fires. Turner writes in his article that editor William R. Jordan of Restoration & Management Notes, told him, “Remove the fires caused by lighting or set by (indigenous peoples) and you have to replace them, or the prairie will quietly vanish, not in a roar of machinery, but into shadow of a forest.”
One of the purposes of burning pastures is to rid the land of weeds and trees.
“They used to burn, when I was younger, some in March, a lot in April, some people burn as late as mid-May,” Hoy said. “The advantage of burning mid-May is that a lot of trees have sprouted up and a lot of weeds that are growing up, you burn later, you kill a lot of those.”
Farmers and ranchers use different types of burning methods, but the prominent one is using the firestick. This is a steel pipe sealed at one end and plugged at the opposite. The pipe is filled with gasoline and it drips out the bottom. The farmer or rancher starts a fire in the grass
with a match and then rides, usually, on a four-wheeler while holding back the pipe. This starts a line as the fire follows the stream.
Different farmers use different methods. Hoy’s father would set his grass on fire then use a rake to spread the grass out. Another method would be pulling a burning bale ball with a chain. Some ride their horses and drop matches into the grass.
The farmer or rancher will choose a spring day that will work best for their land. Once a day has been picked, and the weather is cooperating, they have to alert their neighbors that they will be burning. In an ideal world neighbors would burn together. This way they could start the fire and just let it go. Now they have to take precautions to avoid burning someone else’s land.
Hoy also mentioned that a group of four or five people is probably best while burning to make sure everything is safe. Ranchers and farmers are careful when they burn and Hoy said that he doesn’t know of anyone that has died from it.
Once the grass is burned there is no need for aftercare, nature knows what to do.
“It is very colorful, if you ever had the chance to be on the ground, something like that is very colorful,” Hoy said.