| Type | CEC-support Ranch Pilot |
| Organization | Rancho Lujo Barato |
| Country | Mexico |
| Region | Municipality of Ascensión, Chihuahua |
| Grass Type | Semiarid scrubland and halophyte grassland |
| # of head of cattle | 220 |
| Hectares | 6,762 |
| Language | Spanish |
| Date modified | August 2015 |
The purpose of adopting sound management practices at Rancho Lujo Barato was to strengthen ranch infrastructure to improve the grazing system and grassland conditions, thereby enriching the fauna habitat. After touring the ranch, it was decided to carry out the project at the El Sapo pasture, as it is very visible from the highway and easily accessed. This pasture had sufficient forage for three months and water in a lagoon and two reservoirs. However, the water and forage ran out, and it was necessary to move the project to another pasture, El Águila, where better results could be obtained.
Having determined its load capacity and soil cover, and with appropriate infrastructure and grazing system projections, grazing was planned at El Águila. This required the construction of new paddocks: one 25-hectare paddock and another 24 permanent paddocks of 100 x 860 meters (for an area of approximately 8.6 hectares each), which were subsequently subdivided with movable electric fences to increase the grazing density. Currently, the rancher invests his own resources to distribute water to the new paddocks using hoses. Solar panels were installed to power the electric fence that subdivides the paddocks.
As regards soil cover, 44.8% was found to be covered by humus, 29.6% by rocks and 25.6% is completely bare. Plants (brush) cover 34.8% of the land and there is no grass-covered area. Forage production is 276.6 kilograms per hectare and if an animal unit consumed 50% forage, it will require 35.94 hectares to keep an animal for an entire year.