72 MISC. PUBLICATION 7 02, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Boer lovegrass. Successful stands of Lehmann lovegrass have been 

 established in Arizona in recent years by seeding with the eccentric 

 disk developed in Wyoming in connection with the pitting practice 

 described. A cultipacker-seeder is attached to follow the eccentric 

 disk. This equipment prepares a good seedbed, covers and packs the 

 seed, cuts out many of the undesirable shrubs and cactus, and con- 

 serves the moisture by retaining part of the runoff from the infrequent 

 summer rains in the waffle-like depressions. Unlike most other grasses 

 Lehmann lovegrass greens up early in the spring and in mild winters 

 it remains green and furnishes feed during the winter months. It is 

 recommended for the southern third of Arizona and New Mexico. 

 For the higher areas within these States which have between 15 and 30 

 inches of average annual rainfall, crested wheat grass is recommended. 



One of the main segments lacking in research on reseeding of ranges 

 is an economic appraisal of the effects of this practice on organization, 

 production, income, and expenses of individual ranches. Even though 

 agronomic research has demonstrated the technical feasibility of range 

 reseeding on several range types, private owners have reseeded only 

 very small portions of the depleted range. A large share of this 

 depleted range is spring-fall range. Increasing its productivity would 

 reduce the pressure on summer ranges and shorten the winter feeding 

 period. 



Table 17 illustrates some of the economic effects of natural revege- 

 tation versus artificial reseeding on a representative cattle ranch in 

 the intermountain area (17). In this illustration comparisons are 

 made between the artificial reseeding of 160 acres of depleted range 

 located on relatively good soils with the natural reseeding of 400 

 acres, containing remnants of the various species of bluegrasses, blue- 

 bunch and bluestem wheatgrasses, needlegrasses, and Idaho fescue. 

 Acreages seeded by the two methods have been allowed to vary so 

 that the animal-unit months of grazing supplied by the combination 

 of 1,247 acres of unseeded and reseeded private range are the same in 

 both instances. Thus the same number of livestock are carried regard- 

 less of the method of reseeding used. 



The original carrying capacity of the 1,247 acres of private range 

 averaged one animal-unit month per 4.36 acres. After reseeding it 

 was assumed that 2.20 acres of artificially reseeded and 3.12 acres of 

 naturally revegetated range were required to produce one animal-unit 

 month of grazing. In evaluating these examples ranchers and range- 

 management workers are cautioned that these assumptions are based 

 on but limited amounts of research and rancher experience. They 

 are used here primarily to illustrate a method of appraising the effects 

 of reseeding on individual ranches. Because each area suitable for 

 reseeding presents different physical features, it is difficult to make 

 average estimates with any degree of accuracy. 



Under this plan it would be possible to increase the number of breed- 

 ing cows from 78 to 80 head and to allow for the sale of 2 more 2-year 

 heifers or steers, with average selling weights increased from 949 to 

 964 pounds. It was estimated that growing cattle would gain an 

 additional pound per day while on crested wheat grass. Four years 

 were required to establish the stand of crested wheat grass. Inasmuch 

 as the seedbed is prepared and seeded in the fall, there would be no 

 reduction in the original grazing capacity for the first year. During 



