1. Grazinglands Management
Daren Redfearn, Chris Rice, Bob Woods, and Terry Bidwell
Oklahoma State University

2. Objectives
Become familiar with forage adaptation, use, and management practices that exist for common forage species
Describe grazing management systems, indicate appropriate situations for use, and describe the effects on forage and livestock
Demonstrate the relationships of different forage management practices by designing a total forage management program

3. Summary Forage Diversity in Oklahoma Resource Inventory Land area
Soils inventory
Growing season
Forage base
Animal herd

5. Summary Forage Types Introduced forages Native plant communities
Complementary forage systems
Forage Budgeting
Stocking Rate

6. Relative Growth Distribution of Cool- and Warm-Season Forages
Cool-season
Ideal

7. YEAR-ROUND GRAZING SYSTEM
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Cool-season Grass
C.S.G.
C.S.G./legume
Bermuda/legume
Bermuda
Bermuda
N.R.
Native Range
N.R.

8. Where do I start? How many animals do you intend to run?
How many acres of usable land do you have?
When do you normally have excess grass and when are you short?
Estimated daily forage dry matter requirements (F-2584)
Cattle: Dry Matter Intake (lbs)
Calves:
300 lbs ……..……9
400 lbs ………....12
500 lbs ………....15
600 lbs ………....18
Cows ………..…..26
Bulls ………..……32

9. Forage Budgeting (F-2584) 380 Livestock description__________
Total number of days__________
Dry matter consumption__________
lbs/animal_______ x # animals_______=
Total # forage required_________/2000 =
_________tons of forage required
1000# cow
365
26 lbs/day
9490 80
759,200
380

10. What do we really need? We need 380 tons of usable forage
Using 50% utilization (liberal estimate)
This requires about 760 tons actual forage
We may need about 80 tons of hay
Need about 700 tons standing forage
Where do we get this forage?

11. Relationship of Bermudagrass Yield to Nitrogen Fertilization

12. Bermudagrass Yield Response to Precipitation
Burton and Hanna, 1995

13. Split N Effects on Bermudagrass Yield ERS, Haskell, OK
Dry Matter, T/A
400
200
200
200
1978
1979
1980

14. Relationship of Old World Bluestem Yield to Nitrogen Fertilization

15. Relationship of Cool-Season Grass Yield to Nitrogen Fertilization

16. Range Site Productivity Okmulgee County Soil Survey – 1968
(30% grazing efficiency)
Range Site Wet Year Dry Year
Claypan Prairie 5, ,250 Deep Sand Savannah 4, ,250 Eroded Prairie 3, ,500 Heavy Bottomland 7, ,500 Loamy Bottomland 10, ,000 Loamy Prairie 6, ,750 Sandy Savannah 5, ,000 Shallow Claypan , ,500 Shallow Prairie 5, ,000 Shallow Savannah 4, ,000 Subirrigated , ,000

17. Forage Requirement for a Spring Calving herd under 4 different management options
Herd Descrip
Cows and Replacements
Sell Calves, buy replacements
1100 lb. cows and ret. Replacements
Retain Steers
AUM/Cow
17.6
15.3
18.9
21.4
Lb./cow/yr
13,780
11,934
14,742
16,692
T/cow/yr
6.9
6.0
7.4
8.3
OSU Publication E-926

18. Nitrogen Fertilizer needed by different Management Schemes Using Introduced Forages
A/Cow Unit
10 – 14 5 4 3 2
1.5
Forage needed
Tons/A .6
1.2 – 1.6
1.5 – 2
2 – 2.7
3 – 4
4 – 5.3
N req.
Lbs/A
30 – 50
50 – 70
70 – 105
120 – 170
N req.
Lbs/cow
150 – 250
200 – 280
210 – 315
240 – 340

19. Can You Afford to Fertilize?
A/Cow
Forage T/A
N Reg Lbs/A
NPK Total $ / Cow
Forage Expense Total $ / Cow
Value of Gain per Acre 10
.06
.00
147.00
37.50 5
1.2 30
123.00
250.00
54.50 4
1.5 50
136.80
243.80
69.55 3 2 70
162.00
249.00
91.00
120
156.00
223.00
149.50

20. Changes to Our Management Plan
Can we produce all the forage we need to make it through the year?
Can we produce enough forage to provide ourselves with a cushion in dry years?
Can we produce enough forage to grow our own high quality hay?

21. Process Estimate animal dry matter consumption Estimate forage yields
Determine forage potential and grazing seasons

22. Summary Understanding Grazing Systems
Rotational stocking considerations
Managing the pastures
Pasture layout
Which Grazing System is Best?
Introduced pastures
Rangeland

23. Grazing Management Systems
Knowledge of plant growth and plant response to grazing is critical to the grazing management decision process

24. Grazing Tolerance
Tall, upright plants (alfalfa, sericea lespedeza, millet, johnsongrass, big bluestem, switchgrass)-graze rotationally or continuously at low stocking rates
Semi-erect plants (tall fescue, orchardgrass, arrowleaf clover)-fairly tolerant of close grazing except under stress
Prostrate plants (bermudagrass, bahiagrass, bluegrass, subterranean clover)-extremely tolerant of close, continuous grazing

25. Grazing Tolerance
Tall, upright plants (alfalfa, sericea lespedeza, millet, johnsongrass, big bluestem, switchgrass)-graze rotationally or continuously at low stocking rates
Semi-erect plants (tall fescue, orchardgrass, arrowleaf clover)-fairly tolerant of close grazing except under stress
Prostrate plants (bermudagrass, bahiagrass, bluegrass, subterranean clover)-extremely tolerant of close, continuous grazing

26. Grazing Tolerance
Tall, upright plants (alfalfa, sericea lespedeza, millet, johnsongrass, big bluestem, switchgrass)-graze rotationally or continuously at low stocking rates
Semi-erect plants (tall fescue, orchardgrass, arrowleaf clover)-fairly tolerant of close grazing except under stress
Prostrate plants (bermudagrass, bahiagrass, bluegrass, subterranean clover)-extremely tolerant of close, continuous grazing

27. Overgrazing Warning Signs
Browse lines on woody plants
Steep gully banks
Low plant vigor
Increased need for supplementation
Increase in unpalatable plants
Increased livestock use of these plants
Livestock losses due to toxic plants

28. Grazing Management
One pasture can be grazed as efficiently as many pastures
Regardless of how many paddocks there are, just keep dividing them and you will keep making more money
The truth is somewhere in the middle

29. Days grazed, days not grazed and recovery period for different paddock numbers in properly managed grazing systems
Number of paddocks
Days grazed
Days not grazed % 1
365 2
183
182 50 4 91
275 75 8 45
320 88 16 23
342 94 32 11
354 97

30. Minimum grazing height Initial grazing height
Grazing height and recovery period for selected warm-season and cool-season introduced forages
2 to 4 weeks
4 inches
6 to 10 inches
Annual ryegrass
8 to 10 inches
Small grains
3 to 4 weeks
6 to 12 inches
Tall fescue
3 inches
8 to 12 inches
Old World bluestems
2 to 3 weeks
2 inches
4 to 5 inches
Bermudagrass
Recovery period
Minimum grazing height
Initial grazing height
Forage species

31. Conclusions
Rangeland communities are made up of many different forage species
Differences in management practices between introduced forages and rangelands are related to the amount of intensive inputs such as fertilizer and herbicides

32. Conclusions
There is no single management practice that affects livestock profitability more than stocking rate

33. Conclusions Overstocking results in Decreased desirable species
Decreased animal performance
Decreased carrying capacity
Understocking results in
Wasted forage
Reduced profit