Stocking Density Affects Trampling and Use of Vegetation on Nebraska Sandhills Meadow

Ultrahigh stocking density (113,000 kg of beef per ha to as high as 1 million kg per ha) or mob grazing has been suggested to build soil, increase forage production and plant diversity, and improve grazing distribution compared to less intensive grazing systems. Experimental evidence does not completely support such conclusions. The overall focus of this research is based on the approach of building soil by optimizing above ground plant growth coming in contact with soil surface by trampling 60% of above ground plant growth. The objective of the study was to compare the effect of mob grazing and simple rotational grazing systems on forage utilization, harvest efficiency, percentage of plant mass trampled, and animal performance of grazing cattle on a subirrigated meadow in the Nebraska Sandhills. The three different grazing methods compared in this study were: ultrahigh stocking density with a single grazing period (mob grazing); 4-pasture rotation with a single grazing period (4-PR-1); and 4-pasture rotation with two grazing period (4-PR-2). Cattle were rotated through 120 mob-grazed pastures and 4 pastures in each of the 4-pasture rotation for mob, 4-PR-1, and 4-PR-2, respectively in 2011. High percentage of trampling in the mob grazed pasture reduced forage intake resulting in low weight gains (0.13 kg·d-1). This long-term study will determine the effect trampling on soil organic matter, physical properties, and vegetation dynamics. Table Page Table 1. Number of days percentage of individual plant tillers survived following 73 trampling in mob-grazed system in 2010. Table 2. Percentage change in control, hay, 4-pasture rotation with a single 77 grazing period (4-PR-1), 4-pasture rotation with 2 grazing periods (4-PR-2), and a 120-pasture mob grazing system (Mob) of botanical composition for functional groups from 2010 to 2011.