It is a common practice to grow winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as a dual-purpose crop in the U.S. Southern Great Plains to decrease production risk and to increase profit margin through cattle (Bos taurus) production. Crop management of the dual-purpose wheat is complex because of the tradeoffs between beef production and wheat grain yield. A wheat grazing model helps in making optimal dec...

Extensively managed pastures are of crucial importance in sustaining biodiversity both in local- and landscape-level. Thus, re-introduction of traditional grazing management is a crucial issue in grassland conservation actions worldwide. Traditional grazing with robust cattle breeds in low stocking rates is considered to be especially useful to mimic natural grazing regimes, but well documented...

Advances in global positioning system (GPS) technology have dramatically enhanced the ability to track and study distributions of free-ranging livestock. Understanding factors controlling the distribution of free-ranging livestock requires the ability to assess when and where they are foraging. For four years (2008-2011), we periodically collected GPS and activity sensor data together with dire...

Riparian areas link streams with their terrestrial catchments and decrease water pollution by trapping sediments from upland sources before they reach streams or lakes. Livestock grazing in riparian areas is a controversial practice. If not properly managed, cattle can cause degradation to both the riparian zone and adjacent water body. Vegetative, soil microtopographical, microchannel and hydr...

In 1995, Stanley Trimble and Alexandra Mendel published a review article focusing in the role cattle play in influencing geomorphic processes, the cow as a geomorphic agent – a critical review. Trimble and Mendel looked at the voluminous, largely unconnected, body of literature on the various means by which cattle affect landscapes. One of the major goals of Trimble and Mendel’s work was to put...

Rotational grazing is commonly assumed to improve livestock distribution compared to continuous grazing, but little evidence supports this contention. Research was conducted on the effects of rotational grazing (RG) compared to continuous grazing (CC) on the preference of cattle for plant communities. Diffeant livestock densitiea in the RG treatments were created by varying the size of paddocka...

to clarify fermentative alterations in the large intestine (hindgut) during grazing, fecal alcohol and volatile fatty acids (vfas) concentrations were evaluated in 30 dairy heifers. the heifers were kept in pasture growing mixed grass herbage from spring (mid may) until october, and their rectal feces were collected periodically. concentrations of ethanol, methanol and isopropanol were increase...

The purpose of this study is to experimentally determine the differences between four grazing treatments on the trampling of nests. Additionally, we examine to what extent the trampling probability of nests is higher close to a source of fresh water. We compare the trampling of artificial nests in five different grazing treatments in an experimental design. We use buried clay pigeon targets as ...

We aimed to understand the roles of miRNAs in the muscle tissue maturation and those of circulating microRNAs (c-miRNAs) in beef production of Japanese Black (JB) cattle (Wagyu), a breed with genetically background of superior intermuscular fat depot, by comparing different feeding conditions (indoor grain-feeding vs. grazing on pasture). The cattle at 18 months old were assigned to pasture fee...

By killing cattle and otherwise complicating management, the many species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) present a serious, intractable, and complex challenge to livestock grazing management in the western United States. Among the many obstacles to improving our understanding of cattle-larkspur dynamics has been the difficulty of testing different grazing management strategies in the field, as t...