A stocking rate experiment with sheep was carried out over a 12-year period, 1962-1973, in a semidesert area with 250 mm rainfall. Four pasture types were investigated. Site and experimental conditions are described in this paper as well as grazing results on the unimproved native grassland. This is a herbaceous sward composed entirely of annuals. It yielded between 2 and 4 ton/ha dry matter per year in accordance with rainfall fluctuations. These yields are high in comparison with records from other parts of the world. It was shown that this area could give unsupplemented year round support to Mutton Merino sheep at stocking rates of 0.6-1.0 hectare per sheep per year. Annual lamb production ranged between 20-30 kg per ewe and between 30-60 kg per hectare. This is the first report of lamb production in such a low rainfall area. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. 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
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.