Vegetation, cattle, and economic responses to grazing strategies and pressures
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Authors: W. A. Manley, R. H. Hart, M. J. Samuel, M. A. Smith, J. W. Waggoner, and J. T. Manley
Date: 1997
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 50
Number: 6
Pages: 638-646
Summary of Methods: Three grazing strategies (season-long, rotationally-deferred and short duration) and three stock rates (light, moderate, and heavy) were examined on High Plains Grasslands Research Station, 10 km NW of Cheyenne, WY, to determine the best combination for a stocker operation. Basal cover and peak standing crop was measured in June and July, respectively. Soil core samples were also taken. Additionally, steers were weighed every 28 days after overnighting without food or water to determine animal performance.
Article Summary / Main Points: Substantial changes occurred in botanical composition of peak standing crop under heavy grazing, including increase in species less palatable to livestock and decrease in preferred graminoids, not an improved successional state. Heavy stocking in occasional years of favorable prices may not alter plant communities as much as heavy stocking every year. Range managers reporting high increases in average daily growth (ADG) of livestock combined with higher rangeland successional state, plant vigor, and forage production, probably are seeing the results of increased management level rather than grazing strategy. Management of forage base, as well as livestock, is the key to improved livestock performance.
Vegetation Types: Northern Mixed Prairie
MLRA Ecoregions: 67A Central High Plains, Northern Part
Agrovoc Control Words: Plant populations Rangelands Grazing
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: plant communities, mixed-grass prairie, basal cover, weight gain, succession, rangeland
Annotation: This article provides a comparison of changes to plant communities given different stocking rates over time, and the effects on average daily gain of steers. This information could be helpful to range managers and ranchers considering how to best graze for profit with an eye toward future sustainability of forage preferable to steers.
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