The herbage intake and performance of autumn-calving beef cows and their calves when grazing continuously at two sward heights

Wright, I. A.; Whyte, T. K.; Osoro, K.

doi:10.1017/s0003356100005171

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that swards continually grazed at 4 to 5 cm sward surface height result in reductions in cow herbage intake, liveweight gain, milk yield and calf liveweight gain compared with swards at 7 to 8 cm swards surface height (Wright et al, 1994), and that to ensure high levels of liveweight gain in autumn-born calves at pasture, sward height must be maintained at a height of at least 7 to 8 cm in spring and early summer (Wright and Whyte, 1989;Wright et al, 1990). This target sward height was comfortably achieved during Experiments 2 and 3, whereas the mean swards heights for Experiment 1 were slightly below.…”

Section: Animal Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Performance and meat quality of native and continental cross steers grazing improved upland pasture or semi-natural rough grazing

Fraser¹,

Davies²,

Vale³

et al. 2009

Livestock Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Animal Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Performance and meat quality of native and continental cross steers grazing improved upland pasture or semi-natural rough grazing

Fraser¹,

Davies²,

Vale³

et al. 2009

Livestock Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Livestock movement rates increase as the animals attempt to maintain forage intake as stand heights decrease and, therefore, bite weight and the intake rate decrease (Johnstone-Wallace and Kennedy 1944, Wright et al 1990, Bailey et al 1996. This increased movement and trailing can result in substantially more compaction and trampling damage to streambanks (USDA-FS and USDI-BLM 1993).…”

Section: Indirect Effects Streambank Tramplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stubble height as a tool for management of riparian areas

Clary¹,

Leininger²

2000

REM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stubble height, a measure of the herbaceous vegetation remaining after grazing, has been widely used in recent years to gage the impacts of grazing use in riparian areas. Stubble height is a short-term management guide that should only be applied to help attain long-term ecological objectives; it should not be thought of as a long-term management objective.Maintaining a minimum stubble height helps preserve forage plant vigor, retain sufficient forage to reduce cattle browsing of willows (Salix spp.), stabilize sediments, indirectly limit streambank trampling, maintain cattle gains, and provide an easily communicated management criterion. Based on limited specific research of riparian system response and on knowledge of the characteristics of how cattle graze, a 10-cm residual stubble height is recommended by the authors as a starting point for improved riparian grazing management. Monitoring should then be conducted to determine if an adjustment is needed. In some situations, 7 cm or even less stubble height may provide for adequate riparian ecosystem function, particularly when streambanks are dry and stable or possibly at high elevations where vegetation is naturally of low stature. In other situations, 15-20 cm of stubble height may be required to reduce browsing of willows or limit trampling impact to vulnerable streambanks. The recommended criterion would apply to streamside and nearby meadow sites with hydrophilic or potentially hydrophilic vegetation, but not directly to dry meadows or even to all wet meadows. Stubble height may have little application where the streambanks are stabilized by coarse substrates, or the channels are deeply incised.The effects of residual stubble height in riparian functions have received limited direct experimental examination. Consequently, much of the information in this review was derived from studies indirectly related to the questions raised and, to some extent, from observations of experienced professionals. The authors have identified areas of scientific investigation needed to improve our understanding of the effects of stubble height on riparian function and grazing management.Key Words: Grazing, livestock management, streambanks, trampling, utilization, willowIn the early settlement history of the western United States management of riparian grazing lands was pretty straightforward-no irrigation or stock water to worry about-just turn the livestock out in the spring and take them home in the fall. We now know that proper management of these highly diverse ecosystems is not that easy. These land-water ecotones are among the most ecologically productive and diverse of all terrestrial habitats, and the influence of moving water within stream ripari- ResumenLa altura del rastrojo, una medida de la vegetación herb·cea remanente después de que ha sido sujeta apacentamiento, ha sido ampliamente utilizada en años recientes para medir el impacto del apacentamiento en las áeas ribereñas. La altura del rastrojo es una guáa de manejo a corto plazo que debe ser aplica...

show abstract

“…This experiment quantified the impact on productivity of modifying a finishing system based on permanent pasture to incorporate (i) grazing of an area of semi-natural pasture to deliver environmental services and (ii) feeding of a home-grown, high-protein forage during the winter months. Previous studies have indicated that, to ensure high levels of liveweight gain in autumn-born calves at pasture, pasture height must be maintained between 7 and 8 cm in spring and early summer (Wright and Whyte, 1989;Wright et al, 1990) although low herbage growth rates in some upland areas can make this difficult to achieve (Fraser et al, 2007). However, this target pasture height was consistently exceeded during the current experiment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Previous studies have indicated that, to ensure high levels of liveweight gain in autumn‐born calves at pasture, pasture height must be maintained between 7 and 8 cm in spring and early summer (Wright and Whyte, 1989; Wright et al. , 1990) although low herbage growth rates in some upland areas can make this difficult to achieve (Fraser et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect on upland beef production of incorporating winter feeding of red clover silage or summer grazing of Molinia‐dominated semi‐natural pastures

Fraser¹,

Davies²,

Wright³

et al. 2007

Grass and Forage Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fraser, M. D., Davies, D. A., Wright, I. A., Vale, J. E., Nute, G. R., Hallett, K. G., Richardson, R. I. (2007). Effect on upland beef production of incorporating winter feeding of red clover or summer grazing of Molinia-dominated semi-natural pastures. Grass and Forage Science, 62 (3), 284-300 Sponsorship: UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department and the Meat and Livestock Commission.Management systems for finishing beef cattle, designed to meet environmental goals in the Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) of the UK, often rely on the integration of grazing of semi-natural pastures with sown permanent pasture. In this experiment, three management options were compared: (i) permanent pasture for grazing and silage production (treatment PP), (ii) permanent pasture for grazing and silage and grazing of Molinia-dominant semi-natural pasture in summer from June to August inclusively (treatment PP + SNP) and (iii) permanent pasture for grazing and silage and red clover (RC) silage for 0?25 of the silage requirement in winter (treatment PP + RC). The performance of spring-born Welsh Black steers was measured from turnout in spring 2002 until finishing in summer 2003. During summer 2002, the liveweight gain of steers grazing the semi-natural pasture was significantly lower than that of steers grazing the permanent pasture. There was a trend for the liveweight gains of the steers on the PP + SNP treatment to be higher from housing in autumn 2002, and live weights on all treatments were similar at the start of the red clover-feeding phase. Steers offered red clover silage had a significantly higher liveweight gains than those offered grass silage, but there was only a trend for a higher live weight at the end of the winter-feeding period. During summer 2003, liveweight gains were again higher on the permanent pasture. Finishing system significantly affected the fatty-acid profile of the meat produced, but there was no difference in the colour of meat in relation to shelf-life. Lipid oxidation was less for the meat from steers on the PP + SNP treatment than on the PP treatment, which, in turn, was less than for meat from the steers on the PP + RC treatment, and was in inverse proportion to the vitamin E concentration in the loin muscle. There were no significant differences in sensory panel scores for texture, juiciness or flavour of the meat.Peer reviewe

show abstract

The herbage intake and performance of autumn-calving beef cows and their calves when grazing continuously at two sward heights

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

Performance and meat quality of native and continental cross steers grazing improved upland pasture or semi-natural rough grazing

Performance and meat quality of native and continental cross steers grazing improved upland pasture or semi-natural rough grazing

Stubble height as a tool for management of riparian areas

Effect on upland beef production of incorporating winter feeding of red clover silage or summer grazing of Molinia‐dominated semi‐natural pastures

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About