Davies-Jenkins Shelby L, Jakub Devin A, Sartin Abigail M, Carlson Zac E, Drewnoski Mary E
Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2024 Nov 19;8:txae159. doi: 10.1093/tas/txae159. eCollection 2024.
Strip grazing can increase forage utilization, though it has been shown to decrease individual animal performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate forage utilization and cattle performance when strip grazing () vs. continuously grazing () stockpiled annual forages. Experiment 1 consisted of a mix of Jerry oats () and Trophy rapeseed () while experiment 2 was a 17-species mix in which the forage mass was predominantly pearl millet (), German millet (), and browntop millet (). Fields were divided into six 6.3-ha (experiment 1) or 4.1-ha (experiment 2) paddocks which were blocked by location. Treatment was randomly assigned within block ( = 3 replicates per treatment per experiment). Grazing was initiated in November and terminated in February. This resulted in a total of 83 and 54 grazing days for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Forage was allocated to STRIP twice a week. The STRIP steers gained 16% less (= 0.01) per day in experiment 1, but in experiment 2, there was no difference (= 0.56) between treatments. Compared to CONT, the carrying capacity (AUM/ha) of STRIP was increased (= 0.03) by 81% in experiment 1 and tended to increase ( = 0.10) in experiment 2. Gain per hectare increased ( = 0.02) for STRIP by 56% in experiment 1 and by 31% in experiment 2. Strip grazing stockpiled annual forages can be an effective way to increase carrying capacity and gain per hectare during the fall and winter months but effects on individual animal performance are inconsistent. Disparities in response to strip grazing could stem from differences in forage quality and allocation. Further research is needed to refine and optimize the utilization of this management approach.
条带放牧可以提高牧草利用率，不过已有研究表明它会降低个体动物的生产性能。本研究的目的是评估条带放牧（）与连续放牧（）储备一年生牧草时的牧草利用率和牛的生产性能。实验1采用杰瑞燕麦（）和奖杯油菜籽（）的混合物，而实验2是17种牧草的混合物，其中牧草质量主要为珍珠粟（）、黍（）和棕顶黍（）。田地被分成六个6.3公顷（实验1）或4.1公顷（实验2）的围场，按位置进行区组划分。处理在区组内随机分配（每个实验每个处理有3次重复）。放牧于11月开始，2月结束。这使得实验1和实验2的总放牧天数分别为83天和54天。每周给条带放牧区分配两次牧草。在实验1中，条带放牧的阉牛每天增重少16%（=0.01），但在实验2中，处理间没有差异（=0.56）。与连续放牧相比，条带放牧在实验1中的载畜量（AUM/公顷）增加了81%（=0.03），在实验2中呈增加趋势（=0.10）。条带放牧区每公顷增重，在实验1中增加了56%（=0.02），在实验2中增加了31%。条带放牧储备一年生牧草可以是在秋冬季节提高载畜量和每公顷增重的有效方法，但对个体动物生产性能的影响并不一致。对条带放牧反应的差异可能源于牧草质量和分配的不同。需要进一步研究来完善和优化这种管理方法的利用。
