Rangeland Ecology & Management

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TARGETED CATTLE GRAZING WITH LOW-MOISTURE BLOCK PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT AND HERDING IN THE SOUTHWEST USA
Author
Stephenson, Mitchell B.
Bailey, Derek W.
Bruegger, Retta A.
Howery, Larry
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2014
Body

Targeted cattle grazing has been suggested as a potential tool to reduce fine fuels and alter vegetation characteristics. However, within the western United States the use of fencing and water to target cattle grazing is often cost and time prohibitive or logistically not feasible. Low-moisture block protein supplement (LMB) and low-stress herding (LSH) are effective in manipulating distribution of grazing cattle in large, topographically diverse pastures without additional fencing or water. These techniques were used to evaluate the effectiveness of targeting cattle grazing on dormant, lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana NEES) dominated Sonoran desert rangeland, Chihuahuan desert rangeland, and Juniper/Ponderosa pine mountain rangeland. Supplement was placed at travel distances ranging from 1.1 to 3.6 km from water. Cattle (41 to 58 hd) were herded to supplement every other day for 7 to 10 d. Time cattle spent within 50 m, 150 m, and 300 m of the supplement did not differ between the study areas (P ? 0.11). There were no differences in the percent reduction of perennial grass standing crop between the different rangelands (mean of 48.7 ± 5.5 % SE reduction, P = 0.83). However, variations in environmental factors in different years affected the reduction in standing crop and time cattle spent near supplement. Overall, it was concluded that targeted cattle grazing using LMB and LSH was effective in reducing fine fuels at moderate levels (~40 to 50%) on diverse rangelands. This may be particularly important for areas of large pastures where utilization is generally low because of rough topography or at locations farther than 1 to 2 km from water.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Orlando, FL