Fundamentals of Beef Management is written as a technical resource guide for new producers in California. As the editors explain in the introduction, "success in the cattle business requires more than securing some pasture and buying a few cows or steers; you will need land, time, money, and knowledge about the many aspects of beef production," and "advances in beef cattle production are increasingly more technical." This book contains information that would be benefi cial to new producers across the nation, covering everything from breeds and genetics, handling facilities and equipment, fencing, and transportation to nutrition and calving. Chapter 7, "Animal Health," does a good job of discussing infectious disease agents that affect cattle in the United States. Chapter 12, "Irrigated Pasture," is a very well-written, well-organized, thoughtprovoking overview of using irrigated pasture to produce forage for beef cattle. This chapter covers carrying capacity, stocking rate, the forage production cycle, water management, and the cost effectiveness of irrigated pasture in a direct and easy-to-understand writing style. A beef cattle producer just starting a business in the state of California will appreciate Chapter 19, "Regulations," as well as Appendix B, "Branding and Inspection of Beef Cattle." I would have preferred a more comprehensive discourse on the subjects of range management and economics. Although the book would be diffi cult to use as a reference because of its chapter organization and format, it does contain useful information for producers.
Seeding legumes into established cool‐season grass pasture helps to lower the long‐term costs of production and may improve total forage yield and quality, but seeding these legumes in the semiarid Central Great Plains region is often ignored. Eight legumes commonly seeded in the Midwest and eastern USA were no‐till seeded in late winter into upland and lowland west‐central Kansas smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) pastures. Purple‐flowered alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. ssp. sativa) and yellow‐flowered alfalfa [Medicago sativa L. ssp. falcata (L.) Arcang.] established well at the lowland and upland sites and helped improve forage yield compared with nitrogen‐fertilized smooth bromegrass. Korean lespedeza [Kummerowia stipulacea (Maxim.) Makino] and yellow sweetclover [Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.] established well on both landscape sites, but these legumes declined significantly over time and did not increase forage yield compared with smooth bromegrass alone. Legume establishment was greater in unfertilized smooth bromegrass at each landscape, indicating that early competition from the grass limited legume establishment. Purple‐flowered and yellow‐flowered alfalfa increased the crude protein concentration compared with smooth bromegrass alone on the lowland site, and increased crude protein and total digestible nutrient concentration on the upland site. Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), cicer milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.), and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) failed to establish with competition from smooth bromegrass at the upland and lowland sites. Purple‐flowered and yellow‐flowered alfalfa may establish and persist when seeded into existing smooth bromegrass pastures in the drier regions of central Kansas while increasing forage yield and nutritive value.
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