Symposium on Pasture Methods for Maximum Production in Beef Cattle: Manipulation of Both Livestock and Forage Management to Give Optimum Production

Abstract

Optimum range livestock production can be achieved only through compatible livestock and forage management. The first requirement in developing a range livestock and forage management program is a quantitative and qualitative inventory of forage resources. This means an inventory of range forage nutrients at specific times during the grazing season. Only after the relative seasonal availability of nutrients is known, can livestock be managed to obtain a maximum return from the available forage resources. Research reported herein was conducted on an eastern Oregon sagebrush-bunchgrass area, the Squaw Butte Experiment Station. The area with a mean elevation of 1,375 m annually averages about 30 cm precipitation, two-thirds of which occurs as snow in winter and the remainder as rain during the growing season of April, May and June. Research involves not only native vegetation but also introduced species, primarily crested wheat-grass (Agropyron desertorum). These studies are mainly concerned with the management of both range and livestock during the spring, summer and fall.