Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Supplementation of yearling steers grazing Northern Great Plains rangelands
Author
Karn, J. F.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2000-03-01
Body

Growing yearling steers on summer rangelands as part of a cow-calf-yearling operation would allow producers to maximize forage utilization, and selling yearling steers when forage was in short supply would minimize potential genetic losses in the cow herd. A series of summer supplementation and intake studies were conducted from 1988-1992 to determine if weight gains of grazing yearling steers could be increased by supplemental energy (ground barley), phosphorus (P), or crude protein. Studies were conducted at 2 locations on pastures of approximately 51 ha each, which contained quite different mixtures of forage species. Forage P, crude protein and IVDOM levels were monitored throughout the grazing season. Supplementation results varied among years and between locations. There were significant (P < 0.14) location by treatment interactions in 1989 and 1990 because steers at the WEST location tended to respond more to supplementation than steers at the EAST location, but EAST location steers had the highest rates of gain. Providing supplements at gradually increasing rates produced results comparable to supplementing at a constant rate all summer. Supplemental crude protein showed no significant benefit, but crude protein levels in pasture forage were generally above steer requirements. Weight gains averaged over all 5 years were greater (P < 0.05) for steers supplemented with barley or barley and P, compared to unsupplemented control steers. The response to supplementation should be beneficial most years, but results may vary with the quantity and quality of available forage. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4003278
Additional Information
Karn, J. F. (2000). Supplementation of yearling steers grazing Northern Great Plains rangelands. Journal of Range Management, 53(2), 170-175.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643743
Journal Volume
53
Journal Number
2
Journal Pages
170-175
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
topography
liveweight gain
ambient temperature
rain
phosphorus
soybean meal
dietary mineral supplements
metabolizable energy
steers
barley
in vitro digestibility
protein supplements
rangelands
grazing
beef cattle
dry matter
feed intake
North Dakota
Dry matter intake
forage crude protein
forage phosphorus
ground barley