{"id":232,"date":"2019-02-20T05:27:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T11:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/?page_id=232"},"modified":"2019-02-20T05:27:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T11:27:35","slug":"manager-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"Manager Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"

(A) At the beginning of a graze period, all of the forage represented by the shaded area could be consumed in a short period and meet the animals’ requirements, maximizing harvest efficiency for that level of nutrient intake.\u00a0 (B) As a graze period progresses, higher quality components are selectively removed, decreasing the proportion of quality remaining and the amount still available that will meet the animals’ requirements.\u00a0 Figure is after Rittenhouse and Bailey (1996).<\/span><\/p>\n

To change the differential effects among plants resulting from selective, severe and\/or repeated defoliation, the timing, frequency, intensity, and\/or distribution of defoliation among plants must change.\u00a0 \u00a0If changes in infrastructure and\/or management DO NOT change one or more of these parameters in the correct way, and to a sufficient degree IN THE AREAS WHERE SEVERE OR REPEATED DEFOLIATION OCCURS, no changes in plant composition, productivity or ecological function should be anticipated.\u00a0 However, with sufficient recovery between graze periods, even when degree of use is severe, differential and beneficial responses in the plant community have been noted as a result of enforced growing season grazing deferment of plant communities (e.g. Reardon and Merrill, 1976; Teague and Dowhower, 2003; Teague et al, 2011;\u00a0 Ash et al, 2011).\u00a0 \u00a0In areas where repeated or severe defoliation of plants is not occurring (e.g. very low stocking rates with equitable distribution in time and space across a landscape), few or no detrimental effects on plant communities would be anticipated as a result of grazing, regardless of management strategy (Norton, 1998), though to achieve this type of distribution and degree of use on diverse landscapes, would likely require intensive management of distribution that may be costly in labor, infrastructure development, or both.<\/span><\/p>\n

Severe defoliation (> about 50% of leaf material for many species evaluated in the scientific literature) causes a decrease in photosynthetic material that can affect the plant’s ability to compete with neighboring plants that have not been defoliated to a significant degree (Briske 1991) and, in many cases, loss of root mass (e.g. Crider, 1955).<\/span><\/p>\n

Forage demand and AVERAGE grazing intensity for a paddock is a result of stocking intensity (forage demand per unit of forage in a paddock for the length of a grazing period) (Gammon, 1984) as well as stocking rate (forage demand per unit of area for a grazing unit over the length of a grazing season), both of which are a function of the number of animals per unit area (or unit of forage) and the time they are on that area.\u00a0 Therefore, forage demand for a paddock over the course of a grazing period is a function of the relative rates of change in stock density compared to graze period length (Steffens et al, 2009).\u00a0 However, very palatable plants will probably be severely defoliated when encountered, even when forage demand is relatively low, especially if exposed to grazing animals for extended periods of time.\u00a0 Therefore, the frequency with which these plants are severely defoliated, particularly if they are found in preferred areas of the landscape, is probably a function of the length of grazing period and the number of grazing periods in a growing season or year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Timing of defoliation can increase the effects of defoliation on a plant and varies with species of plant, with defoliations that occur after grasses elevate the apical meristem generally considered to be the most critical point during the growing season in North America and dormant season defoliation being a less-critical period (e.g. Caldwell et al, 1981; Mullahey et al\u00a0 1990, 1991; Reece et al 1996).<\/span><\/p>\n

Following severe defoliation, a period of recovery will be required – that varies with severity of defoliation, plant species, and growing conditions – for a plant to re-establish photosynthetic tissue and regain lost vigor (Trlica et al 1977; Caldwell et al, 1981; Menke and Trlica; 1983).<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to recruit new individual plants into a plant community, young plants need time to establish without severe defoliation that can cause mortality (Kothmann; 2009 ).\u00a0 The length of time required for germination and establishment may be relatively short in more mesic environments (e.g. Limb et al; 2011), but limited rainfall and brief, erratic periods of significant growth in more arid environments (Torell et al, 2011) may require much longer recovery between grazing periods, both to improve vigor of existing defoliated plants and to facilitate event-driven recruitment events (e.g.\u00a0 Woodmansee and Potter; 1971 ).\u00a0 This type of management prepares a system to respond to unusual climatic events and facilitates the improvement of the resource as described by Watson et al (1996).<\/span><\/p>\n

Free roaming grazers do not use landscapes randomly, as a result of past experiences (Provenza 2003a,b), concentrations of nutrients\/palatable plants (e.g. Senft et al; 1985), topography and proximity to water (e.g. Roath and Krueger 1982), etc. and will frequently sample large areas of the landscape, often intensely, to find and, when found, possibly repeatedly defoliate particularly palatable plants if allowed (Bailey and Brown; 2011 ).\u00a0 This can create areas on the landscape where desirable plants are routinely and intensely used (thus increasing the effective stocking rate on those areas).\u00a0 These intensely used areas often become focal points for resource degradation that may take the form of lower productivity, encroachment of toxic, low quality, or woody species, increased bare ground and erosion, etc.\u00a0 These areas of degradation may increase in scale over time (Ash and Stafford-Smith; 1996), even when average stocking rate for the landscape or stocking intensity for a paddock are moderate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ability of an animal to meet its nutrient requirements over a period of time is a function of the quality and quantity of forage available to the animal over that period of time.\u00a0 Animals can mix plants of differing quality in an attempt to meet their requirements and will normally consume a diet of higher quality than the average of the plant community available to them if given the opportunity for selection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nutrient intake must be sufficient to meet nutrient requirements if animals are to meet target individual performance objectives.\u00a0 Therefore, forage demand compared to quantity, quality and diversity of herbage must allow adequate selection and intake to meet performance goals, both within and among grazing periods and paddocks, when employing multiple paddocks per herd.\u00a0 Animal performance declines at higher stocking intensities and improves at lower stocking intensities.\u00a0 Stocking intensity for a grazing period will increase when the grazing period decreases less, proportionally, than paddock size. However, if grazing period decreases faster, proportionally, than pasture size decreases, stocking intensity decreases and nutrient intake over time can be improved (Steffens et al; 2009), provided that animals have learned how to perform in that environment (Provenza 2003b, 2008) and recovery between defoliations is sufficient for plants to again grow sufficient herbage before being grazed again.<\/span><\/p>\n

If animals use a greater proportion of the landscape (Norton; 2003) or learn to select a greater variety of plants or plant parts (Provenza et al. 2003), and plants are given sufficient recovery between defoliations to maintain or improve vigor, stocking rate can be sustainably increased while maintaining adequate performance with any grazing strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Literature Cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ash, A.J., J.P. Corfield, J.G. McIvor, and T.S. Ksiksi.\u00a0 2011.\u00a0 Grazing Management in Tropical Savannas: Utilization and Rest Strategies to Manipulate Rangeland Condition.\u00a0 Rangeland Ecology and Management.\u00a0 64: 223-239.<\/p>\n

Ash, A.J. and D.M. Stafford-Smith.\u00a0 1996.\u00a0 Evaluating stocking rate impacts in rangelands: animals don’t practice what we preach.\u00a0 Rangeland Journal.\u00a0 18: 216-243.<\/p>\n

Bailey, D.W. and J.R. Brown.\u00a0 2011. Rotational grazing systems and livestock grazing behavior in shrub-dominated semi-arid and arid rangelands. Rangeland Ecology and Management.\u00a0 64: 1-9.<\/p>\n

Briske, D. D. 1991.\u00a0 Developmental morphology and physiology of grasses. In: Grazing Management: An Ecological Perspective (R.K. Heitschmidt and J.W. Stuth, (Eds.). Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n

Briske, D. D., Bestelmeyer, B. T., Brown, J. R., Fuhlendorf, S. D., and Polley, H. W. 2013. The Savory Method cannot green deserts or reverse climate change: a response to the Allan Savory TED video. Rangelands.\u00a0 35:5, 72-74.<\/p>\n

Briske, D. D., Bestelmeyer, B. T., & Brown, J. R. (2014). Savory’s Unsubstantiated Claims Should Not Be Confused With Multipaddock Grazing.\u00a0 \u00a0Rangelands. 36: 39-42. doi:10.2111\/1551-501x-36.1.39<\/p>\n

Caldwell, M.M., J.H. Richards, D.A. Johnson, R.S. Nowak, and R.S. Dzurec.\u00a0 1981.\u00a0 Coping with herbivory: photosynthetic capacity and resource allocation in two semiarid Agropyron bunchgrasses.\u00a0 Oecologia.\u00a0 50:14-24.<\/p>\n

Cibils, A. F., Fern\u00e1ndez, R. J., Oliva, G. E., & Escobar, J. M. (2014). Is Holistic Management Really Saving Patagonian Rangelands From Degradation? A Response to Teague.\u00a0 Rangelands.\u00a0 36: 26-27. doi:10.2111\/rangelands-d-14-00011.1<\/p>\n

Crider, F.J.\u00a0 1955.\u00a0 Root-growth stoppage resulting from defoliation of grass.\u00a0 USDA Tech. Bull. 1102.<\/p>\n

Gammon, D.M.\u00a0 1984.\u00a0 An appraisal of Short Duration grazing as a method of veld management.\u00a0 Zimbabwe Agricultural Journal.\u00a0 81:59-64.<\/p>\n

Grissom, G. (2014). A Producer Perspective on Savory’s TED Talk. Rangelands.\u00a0 36(3), 30-31. doi:10.2111\/1551-501x-36.3.30.<\/p>\n

Kothmann, M.\u00a0 \u00a02009.\u00a0 Grazing methods: a viewpoint.\u00a0 Rangelands. 31(5), 5-10.<\/p>\n

Limb, R.F., S.D. Fuhlendorf, D.E. Engle, and J.D. Kerby.\u00a0 2011.\u00a0 Growing-season disturbance in tallgrass prairie: evaluating fire and grazing on Schizachrium scoparium. Rangeland Ecology and Management.\u00a0 64:28-36.<\/p>\n

Menke, J.W. and M.J. Trlica.\u00a0 1983.\u00a0 Effects of single and sequential defoliations on the carbohydrate reserves of four range species.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 36:\u00a0 70-74.<\/p>\n

Mullahey, J.J., S.S. Waller, and L.E. Moser.\u00a0 1990.\u00a0 Defoliation effects on production and morphological development of little bluestem.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 43: 497-500.<\/p>\n

Mullahey, J.J., S.S. Waller, and P.E. Reece.\u00a0 1991.\u00a0 Defoliation effects on yield and bud and tiller numbers of two sandhills grasses.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management 44:\u00a0 241-245.<\/p>\n

Norton, B.E. 1998. The application of grazing management to increase sustainable livestock production. Animal Production in Australia.\u00a0 22: 15-26.<\/p>\n

Norton, B.E. 2003. Spatial management of grazing to enhance both livestock production and resource condition: A scientific argument. In: N. Allsopp, A.R. Palmer, S.J. Milton, K.P. Kirkman, G.I.H. Kerley, C.R. Hurt and C.J. Brown (EDS.) Proc. VII International Rangeland Congress, Durban, South Africa. p. 810-820.<\/p>\n

Provenza FD. 2003a. Twenty-five years of paradox in plant-herbivore interactions and “sustainable” grazing management. Rangelands.\u00a0 25:4-15.<\/p>\n

Provenza FD. 2003b. Foraging Behavior: Managing to Survive in a World of Change. Utah State Univ. Press. Logan, UT.<\/p>\n

Provenza FD. 2008. What does it mean to be locally adapted and who cares anyway? J. Anim. Sci. 86:E271-E284.<\/p>\n

Provenza FD, Villalba JJ, Dziba LE, Atwood SB, Banner RE. 2003. Linking herbivore experience, varied diets, and plant biochemical diversity. Small Rum. Res. 49:257-274.<\/p>\n

Reardon, P.O. and L.B. Merrill.\u00a0 1976.\u00a0 Vegetative response under various grazing management systems in the Edwards Plateau of Texas.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 29:195-198.<\/p>\n

Reece, P.E., J,E. Brummer, R.K. Engel, B.K. Northrup, and J.T. Nichols.\u00a0 1996.\u00a0 Grazing date and frequency effects on prairie sandreed and sand bluestem.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 49:112-116.<\/p>\n

Roath, L. R. and W. C. Krueger.\u00a0 1982.\u00a0 Cattle grazing behavior on forested range.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management. 35: 332-338.<\/p>\n

Senft, R.L., L.R. Rittenhouse, and R.G. Woodmansee. 1985. Factors influencing patterns of cattle behavior on shortgrass steppe. Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 38:82-87.<\/p>\n

Steffens, T. J., M. K. Barnes, and L. R. Rittenhouse.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 Graze period stocking rate, not stock density, determines livestock nutrient intake.\u00a0 In:\u00a0 Proceedings of the 4th National Conference on Grazing Lands. Dec 13-16, 2009.\u00a0 Reno, NV. Eds. J. Peterson and M. Golla.\u00a0 Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative.<\/p>\n

Teague, R. (2014). Deficiencies in the Briske et al. Rebuttal of the Savory Method.\u00a0 \u00a0Rangelands.\u00a0 \u00a036: 37-38. doi:10.2111\/1551-501x-36.1.37.<\/p>\n

Teague, R., & Borrelli, P. (2014). Deficiencies in the Briske et al. Rebuttal of the Savory Method: A Reply to the Letter from Andr\u00e9s Cibils.\u00a0 Rangelands. 36(3), 28-29. doi:10.2111\/rangelands-d-14-00015.1<\/p>\n

Teague, W.R., and S.L. Dowhower. 2003. Patch dynamics under rotational and continuous grazing management in large, heterogeneous paddocks. Journal of Arid Environments.\u00a0 53:211-229.<\/p>\n

Teague, W.R., S.L. Dowhower, S.A. Baker, N. Haile, P.B. DeLaune, and D.M. Conover.\u00a0 2011.\u00a0 Grazing management impacts on vegetation, soil biota, and chemical, physical and hydrological properties in tall grass prairie.\u00a0 Agricultural Ecosystems and Environment.\u00a0 137:113-123.<\/p>\n

Teague, R., Provenza, F., Kreuter, U., Steffens, T., & Barnes, M. (2013). Multi-paddock grazing on rangelands: Why the perceptual dichotomy between research results and rancher experience? Journal of Environmental Management.\u00a0 128: 699-717. doi:10.1016\/j.jenvman.2013.05.064<\/p>\n

Torrell, L.A., K.C. McDaniel, and B.H. Hurd.\u00a0 2008.\u00a0 Using soil moisture to estimate the economic value of rainfall events for range forage production.\u00a0 Poster presentation.\u00a0 Proceedings Society for Range Management Annual meeting.\u00a0 Louisville, KY Jan. 26-31, 2008.<\/p>\n

Trlica, M.J., M. Buwai, and J.W. Menke.\u00a0 1977.\u00a0 Effects of rest following defoliations on the recovery of several range species.\u00a0 Journal of Range Management.\u00a0 30: 21-27.<\/p>\n

Watson, I.W., D.G. Burnside, and A. McR. Holm.\u00a0 1996.\u00a0 Event-driven or continuous; which is the better model.\u00a0 Rangeland Journal. 18:\u00a0 351-369.<\/p>\n

Westoby, M., B. Walker, and I. Noy-Meir.\u00a0 (1989).\u00a0 Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium.\u00a0 Journal of Range management.\u00a0 42: 266-274.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(A) At the beginning of a graze period, all of the forage represented by the shaded area could be consumed in a short period and meet the animals’ requirements, maximizing… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1058,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-232","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nManager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(A) At the beginning of a graze period, all of the forage represented by the shaded area could be consumed in a short period and meet the animals’ requirements, maximizing... Read More →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"How Grasses Grow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/manager-recommendations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/manager-recommendations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Manager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-20T11:27:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/manager-recommendations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/manager-recommendations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/manager-recommendations\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Manager Recommendations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Grasses Grow\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/howgrassesgrow\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Manager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Manager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow","og_description":"(A) At the beginning of a graze period, all of the forage represented by the shaded area could be consumed in a short period and meet the animals’ requirements, maximizing... Read More →","og_url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/","og_site_name":"How Grasses Grow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/","name":"Manager Recommendations - How Grasses Grow","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-20T11:27:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/manager-recommendations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Manager Recommendations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/#website","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/","name":"How Grasses Grow","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/howgrassesgrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}