Paper No. 15 



STRATEGIES USED IN MANAGING BLUE- GRAMA RANGE ON THE 



CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS 



By R. E. Bement 2 



Abstract 



To manage his range efficiently, a rancher must 

 be equally concerned about forage harvest and 

 forage production. Maximum cattle return ($/ 

 ha.) from blue-grama ranges was reached when 

 pastures were stocked at rates which left 336 kg./ 

 ha. of ungrazed herbage standing on the pasture 

 at the end of a 6-month summer grazing season. 

 When a growth opportunity occurred, 336 kg./ 

 ha. of ungrazed herbage provided sufficient leaf 

 material to insure fast herbage growth and opti- 

 mum livestock production. 



Additional key words: Stocking rates, beef pro- 

 duction, forage production 



Introduction 



The rancher who stocks his range pasture dur- 

 ing the period when he expects it to make its 

 growth must be concerned as much about forage 

 production as he is about forage harvest. His 

 objective must be to simultaneously obtain opti- 

 mum forage and livestock production. 



A strategy is a plan for attaining a specific 

 objective. There are limited strategies a rancher 

 can employ to reach his objective of optimum 

 forage and livestock production. He has flexibil- 

 ity for strategy selection in only a few areas 

 such as stocking rate, season of grazing, and dis- 

 tribution of grazing. By maneuvering in these 

 three areas he can influence the quantity and 

 quality of his herbage crop. The strategies he 



1 Results of cooperation between the Plant Science Re- 

 search Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, and the Colorado Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colo. 80521. 



2 Range Scientist, Plant Science Research Division, 

 ARS, USDA, Fort Collins, Colo. 80521. 



160 



uses to reach his objective must fit both his range 

 and his livestock. 



While strategy is defined as a plan, tactics is 

 defined as the arranging and maneuvering of 

 forces in action. The rancher, as a strategist, 

 must realize what factors he can manipulate and 

 what results he can expect from the manipulation. 

 As a tactician, he must know when, where, and 

 how to maneuver his forces. To maneuver effi- 

 ciently, he must be able to answer four basic 

 questions about each of his pastures. These are : 



1. How many animals shall I put on the pas- 

 ture? 



2. When should they go" on? 



3. When should they come off? 



4. Where should I go with them ? 



The rancher needs basic information to answer 

 these questions on a day to day basis. The 

 amount of ungrazed herbage standing on a pas- 

 ture is a quantitative factor that he can readily 

 recognize and relate to animal and plant perform- 

 ance. 



At Central Plains Experimental Eange, princi- 

 ples have been developed for the management of 

 shortgrass range dominated by blue grama (Bou- 

 teloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud.). The 

 Experimental Range is located in the 25- to 38- 

 cm. precipitation zone on sandy loam soils 61 km. 

 northeast of Fort Collins, Colo., U.S.A. 



Optimum Livestock Production 



Let us consider first the management princi- 

 ples concerned with optimum livestock produc- 

 tion or forage harvest. The quantity and quality 

 of forage available to livestock, and the use they 

 make of it determine grazing efficiency. Grazing 

 efficiency is readily altered by changes in stock- 

 ing rate. At Central Plains Experimental Range, 



