Jung and Sahlu determined the effects of sheep grazing at two different stocking rates on available forage, forage quality, diet quality, and animal intake and weight gain. Forage quality declined over time in both pastures, but pastures grazed at the high stocking rate had less available green forage for sheep grazing. Due to the limited available forage, animal gains, forage intake and diet quality and digestibility was lower in pastures with high stocking rates. These results indicate that grazing smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) pastures at higher stocking rates does not enhance forage production or quality and that the greater forage quality and availability on pastures with low stocking rates enhances diet quality and subsequent animal gains.
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