Livestock use of uplands and riparian areas has long been a concern of range managers and livestock producers. Strategies to prevent overuse of riparian habitats by livestock have evolved and over time, including development of upland water sites, strategic salt and supplement placement, construction of artificial shade sources, and herding. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of differing levels of low stress livestock herding (i.e. stockmanship) combined with strategic placement of low moisture block (LMB) supplements. We provided cattle with LMB and water in upslope areas away from streams. We applied three treatments, traditional herding once a week – no LMB available, low stress herding twice a week – and strategic placement of LMB, and low stress herding five days a week - plus strategic LMB placement. The three treatments were replicated twice over the second grazing season and two of the treatments (traditional herding and low stress herding five days a week with strategic LMB placement) were replicated the previous year. Cattle that were herded using low-stress techniques were attracted to LMB and spent more time away from riparian areas than the traditionally herded cows, particularly during warmer weather. Frequency of low stress herding affected the time cattle spent away from riparian areas. With increased frequency of low-stress herding, cows spent more time in upland areas and away from riparian areas.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.