Annual Burning of Pastures

From CJ Online in an article about the annual burning of pasture:

    One farmer who hasn’t had any problem with his burns this year is Rossville’s Derek Brunin.
    A rancher who has several acres of crops, as well as around 250 acres of pasture for his calf-cow operation, Brunin has been around farming his whole life, including the institution of prescribed burning.
The 27-year-old, with several friends and family, burned  around 200 acres of pasture two weekends ago on March 29 not far from Rossville with no troubles of wildfires.
    While burning serves several purposes, including helping with wildlife habitats and prairie preservation, Brunin and his fellow ranchers use it to help make grazing better for their cattle. They need the fire to bulk up the calves to make more money to provide for their families.
    As shown through studies at Kansas State University Research and Extension, cattle who graze on grass that was burned previously as opposed to the alternative are healthier and gain several more pounds.
“My biggest concern is, you know, a lot of people not involved in agriculture, they don’t understand,” Brunin said. “They probably think, ‘Oh yeah, they just don’t want to mow  (the grass).’ There’s a lot more that burning accomplishes than just cleaning it up.”
    Brunin said the key to a successful, safe burn is prep work and back burning, which creates a buffer around the desired burn area so it doesn’t escape into other areas.
    While Brunin said he has never seen an out-of-control fire in person, Kansas Forest Service representative Hartman said the Sunflower State doesn’t lack for wildfires.
    “We don’t make CNN like Montana or Colorado or California, but there are a lot of years actually where we’ll have more acres burned than those states will,” Hartman said. “But our fires, they’re over in four, five, six hours and then they’re done. That’s why we don’t really make national media news.
    "We do get a few structures each year,” Hartman added, “and that’s unfortunate, but we don’t get dozens of houses lost all in one event like some of those western states do, fortunately.”