Stocking Rate Decisions Key to Successful Ranch Management Larry D. White and Allan McGinty On any ranch, decisions must be made as to the management of each ranch resource (land, animals, personnel, facilities and finances). When those decisions are made with specific short and long term goals in mind, and when all the sociological, political and environmental aspects of management are taken into consideration, the result will be successful ranch management. The decisions that will achieve successful ranch management are different for each enterprise because each ranch has its own resources. Rangeland is a ranch's main resource for producing income and other benefits to the ranch and society. The use of the range affects all other ranch resources, the achievement of goals and the sustainability of the ranch. The stocking rate for grazing animals is a crucial decision which affects the rangeland and, therefore, the success of the ranch. How Does Stocking Rate Affect Ranch Success? Stocking rate determines animal performance, financial return and the long-term condition of the range. Proper stocking rates will: 1) produce optimum animal performance; 2) make the ranch profitable; and 3) sustain or improve the range resource. Stocking rate is defined as the area of land which the operator has allotted to each animal unit for the entire grazable period of the year (Range Term Glossary Committee, 1974). An animal unit is equivalent to an 1,100-pound dry cow at maintenance (Forage and Grazing Terminology Committee, 1991). The daily forage consumption of an animal unit is 17.64 pounds. 'The number of animal units grazed determines the amount of forage that will be consumed each day and over the entire grazing period. The amount of forage consumed in relation to forage supply, determines the productivity, of both the animals and the forage. This ratio of forage demand (forage intake needed by livestock) to forage supply is called grazing pressure. As grazing pressure increases, there is less forage from which animals can select (Figure 1). Point 1 represents a threshold of grazing pressure beyond which individual animal performance is reduced. Reduced performance, as measured by decreased weight gain and reproductive capability, translates to lower economic returns per animal. When feed is purchased to offset this higher grazing pressure, the net return per animal is even lower. Proper stocking rates occur between the threshold points for individual animal performance (point 1) and unit area performance (point 2). Authors: Larry D. White, Allan McGinty