Evaluation of 7-day grazing periods for short duration grazing on tobosagrass rangeland

• Published in: Applied agricultural research (USA) Vol. 4; no. 4
• Main Authors: Mosley, J. (University of Idaho, Moscow, ID), Dahl, B.E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: BOEUF; BUEY; BUSQUEDA DE ALIMENTO; COMPORTEMENT ALIMENTAIRE; CONTENIDO DE NUTRIENTES; GRAMINEAE; HABITOS ALIMENTARIOS; PASTOREO; PATURAGE; PERIODICIDAD; PERIODICITE; RECHERCHE DE NOURRITURE; TENEUR EN SUBSTANCES NUTRITIVES; TEXAS; VALEUR NUTRITIVE; VALOR NUTRITIVO
• ISSN: 0179-0374

Proper length of grazing periods (i.e., number of days a pasture is grazed without interruption) is critical with short duration grazing (SDG) management. This study evaluated 7-day grazing periods for SDG on tobosagrass (Hilaria mutica) rangeland. A 6-pasture SDG system was stocked with 60 mixed-breed yearling steers (initial mean liveweight = 234 kg or 517 lb). Diet nutrient quality, diet botanical composition, forage quality, forage availability, and steer foraging behavior were monitored within 7-day grazing periods. Foraging behavior was monitored by recording the length of time that individual steers spent at a feeding station, defined here as feeding station interval. Feeding station interval was the only measured variable to change (P less than or equal to 0.10) within grazing periods. Feeding station interval increased from day 1 to day 3 but then stabilized, indicating steers may have initially responded to the stimulus of entering a new pasture. Under conditions of this study, 7-day grazing periods were sufficiently short to prevent detectable changes in diet botanical composition or declines in diet nutrient quality, forage quality, or forage availability