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Grazing Management

Animal unit:
  • Commonly defines the average amount of forage consumed by a cow/calf production unit during a year as equal to 26 pounds of dry matter per day.
Warning Signs of Overgrazing:
  • Abundance of unpalatable plants
  • Distinct browse lines on woody plants
  • Pedestaled plants
  • Steep gully banks
  • Low plant vigor
  • Increased need for supplementation
  • Increased livestock use of unpalatable plants
  • Losses of livestock to toxic plants
Grazing Management Rules of Thumb:
  • With proper grazing only 25 percent of each year's annual forage production is consumed by livestock.
  • Insects, rabbits, trampling, etc. consume 25 percent of each year's annual forage production.

Tables for Grazing Management:
Approximate Dry Matter Content
Animal Unit Equivalency Table
Maximum Livestock Travel Distance to Water
Suggested Reduction in Grazing Capacity
Minimum Plant Residue Levels
Suitable Plot Sizes for Vegetation Sampling
Commonly Used Grazing Systems

Comments: Dr. Allan McGinty
IntroductionCommon ConversionsLivestock HusbandryRangeland Weed and Brush ControlSeeding RangelandAddaitional References