The following protocol has been used to generate the Texas LEWS results:
1. Delineate major land resource areas (MLRA) of Texas to insure that major zones of vegetation are being accounted for in the scheme.
2. Overlay the STATSGO soil association data to recognize the sub-delineations within the MLRA.
3. Overlay the .25 degree or 12x12 mile NOAA weather grid.
4. Each STATSGO polygon in a MLRA was cut or intersected by the 12 x 12 mile weather grid. The weather grid with the highest proportion of the target STATSGO polygon was designated at the sampling location.
5. Within the assigned STATSGO/WEATHER grid polygon, the representative plant communities supporting grazing were designated by experts.
6. Once the designated dominant forage resource had been selected, a GPS coordinate was made in the center of the most typical management unit for the designated reference plant community.
7. The dominant soil series was noted for management unit.
8. The vegetation was sampled with an established protocol to support the PHYGROW model. The protocol involves a transect of 100, 5-point sampling frame that allows measurement of basal cover of grasses, forb frequency in a 5x5 frame and use of a mirror with a center dot to measure effective canopy cover at 5 m intervals. A total of 500 readings are taken per site on each ranch.
9. Vegetation attributes were configured for PHYGROW.
10. Acquired the matching soil mapping unit of the dominant soil of each site and configured for PHYGROW.
11. Interview the landholder to determine typical stocking densities used, rules for destocking/restocking/moving animals, and minimum/maximum desired standing crops where decisions are not taken for adjusting stocking density.
12. The vegetation, soil, stocking rules and weather were assembled into parameter files and placed in an automated system which assembles emerging weather each day and runs the model to determine predicted standing crop of forage and the percent deviation from long-term average forage standing crop.
13. A web site was assembled to allow public access to the emerging forage conditions. The format used is similar to the other LEWS programs.
14. Ranchers in Texas will be asked to respond to the output and provide information on how well the system is performing and offer suggestions on how to improve the information delivery.
15. A report will be prepared on the findings of the study and a proposal made for a full implementation of the system should it be deemed successful.