Amanda Shine
Amanda Shine, pursuing a doctoral degree in rangeland, wildlife and fisheries management, is examining the impact of different grazing strategies on the ecological health of grasslands enrolled in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program, CRP.
Specifically, her work will investigate the impact of three different grazing practices on ecological health: no grazing; grazing in accordance with the owner’s existing CRP contract and current CRP regulations; and an adaptive grazing strategy in which producers graze more frequently than is currently allowed by CRP guidelines.
“We will be examining the effects of these three treatments on soil health parameters, the diversity of grassland bird communities and vegetation diversity,” Shine said. “This is exciting and important research because the results will help us better understand how grazing can best be used on CRP lands to maximize soil health and other ecological services.”
The work, funded by the Farm Service Agency, will take place in the Panhandle, where most of Texas’ CRP acres are located.
“These findings may eventually help inform policy decisions at the national level,” Shine said. “I am so excited about the future of the Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management and its potential to have far-reaching effects on working lands across the country and the world.”
Shine holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and agriculture from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Cameron University. She earned a master’s in agronomy with a concentration in range and forage from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
