Get reliable rangeland science

Feed and control of undesirable plants are two of the highest cost inputs for livestock producers. Continual grazing of desirable forages can inadvertently increase invasive plant species, causing the grazing area to become dominated by invasive plant populations. As undesirable plant compositions increase, animals use more energy than normal when searching for palatable, nutritional forage. Managers and producers employ targeted grazing to change animal behavior for the consumption of particular plants, allowing managers and producers to better utilize the land and natural resources. Cattle choose what to graze based on nutritional feedback and herd/maternal guidance. The purpose of this study was to manipulate cattle foraging behaviors by targeted grazing of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) which would lead to control of the weed. In 2013 and 2014, we encouraged cattle to consume leafy spurge by gradually introducing them to a mixture of hay and sweet feed concentrate; introduced first with 0%, 50%, and finally 100% freshly cut leafy spurge. We placed the hay and sweet feed in six feed bunks on a pasture at Camp Grafton South, a National Guard Training Area near McHenry North Dakota. We collected both qualitative and quantitative data to determine the total consumption of leafy spurge from the field and feed bunks. The quantitative data shows a trending increase in the total amount of leafy spurge that was consumed from the feed bunks. With the observational data, we noted that cattle seemed to be willing to graze leafy spurge from the feed bunks. Historically, the idea of cattle consuming leafy spurge was nothing but a divergent idea. This research indicates targeted grazing by cattle on leafy spurge may be possible. More research is needed to discover if cattle grazing behaviors can be manipulated for targeted grazing of noxious weeds.