Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Forage intake by beef steers grazing winter wheat with varied herbage allowances
Author
Redmon, L. A.
McCollum, F. T. III.
Horn, G. W.
Cravey, M. D.
Gunter, S. A.
Beck, P. A.
Mieres, J. M.
San Julian, R.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1995-05-01
Body

Two grazing trials were conducted in separate years on a 5.86 ha winter wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Chisholm) pasture divided into 10 experimental paddocks. Paddocks were differentially grazed with beef steers to produce an array of different herbage mass levels, expressed as kg dry matter (DM)/ha. Each experimental paddock was then continuously stocked with 3 beef steers during each 7-day forage intake trial. Daily forage intake, expressed as kg organic matter (OM)/100 kg body weight (BW), was estimated from fecal output (Cr2O3 dilution) of the beef steers and in vitro organic matter disappearance of esophageal masticate collected from each paddock. Estimated daily gain was calculated from forage intake and net energy values calculated from organic matter disappearance data. Forage intake, organic matter disappearance, and estimated daily gain were related to daily herbage allowance, expressed as kg DM 100 kg BW-1 day-1, and herbage mass utilizing a quadratic equation with a plateau function. As herbage allowance increased, organic matter disappearance improved (Y = 62.18 + 1.08 herbage allowance -.022 herbage allowance2; r2 = .64, MSE = 5.06) as did forage intake (Y = 1.3 + .12 herbage allowance -.003 herbage allowance2; r2 = .52, MSE = .07), and estimated daily gain (Y = -.059 + .12 herbage allowance -.003 herbage allowance2; r2 = 59, MSE = .07). Plateaus were achieved at herbage allowance between 20 to 24 kg DM 100 kg BW-1 day-1. Results of this study indicate forage intake and estimated daily gain declined severely as herbage allowance fell below 20 to 24 kg DM 100 kg BW-1 day-1. This data may provide a threshold herbage allowance for initiation of energy supplementation programs for growing cattle on wheat pasture. 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)
10.2307/4002420
Additional Information
Redmon, L. A., McCollum, F. T., Horn, G. W., Cravey, M. D., Gunter, S. A., Beck, P. A., ... & San Julian, R. (1995). Forage intake by beef steers grazing winter wheat with varied herbage allowances. Journal of Range Management, 48(3), 198-201.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644395
Journal Volume
48
Journal Number
3
Journal Pages
198-201
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
winter wheat
in vitro
liveweight gain
Oklahoma
steers
digestibility
grazing intensity
biomass
grazing
beef cattle
feed intake