Louisiana forage study. --This project was started in 1944 in 

 cooperation with the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. It was 

 completed in 1949. The work concentrated on determining the forage 

 plants grazed by cattle week by week throughout the year. Samples of 

 the plants were analyzed by the Feeds and Fertilizer Laboratory of 

 Louisiana State University. In addition, during 1945, 1946, and 1947, a 

 herd of 80 beef cows that grazed most of the year on the forest range 

 was studied to determine grazing habits, weight gains and losses, and 

 beef production. 



It was found that grasses make up over 90 percent of the cattle 

 diet on forest ranges, with weeds (forbs) furnishing only four percent 

 and shrubs less than two percent. Bluestem grasses (Andropogon spp. ) 

 compose more than half of the ground vegetation. They have better than 

 average palatability and contribute about two-thirds of the cattle diet. 



The nutritional analyses of cattle diet samples showed that crude 

 protein was present in adequate amounts for three months only, starting 

 about March 15. There was never quite enough phosphorus in the native 

 forage for best growth of cattle (fig. 20). The cattle weights verified 

 these analyses: All cattle usually gained weight for about 100 days in 

 spring; calves gained a little but cows lost a little for 100 days during 

 summer and early fall; then from October to March nearly all cattle 

 lost weight heavily if left on forest range without supplemental feed 

 (fig, 21). 



This study yielded additional information about forage production 

 on various kinds of forest ranges in Louisiana and pointed out the need 

 for the other studies reported here. The complete findings are 

 summarized in "Grazing Values for Cattle on Pine Forest Ranges in 

 Louisiana, " bulletin 452 of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



Forage plant identification. --To aid users of forest range in 

 identifying and evaluating the forage plants, the Alexandria 

 Research Center in 1947 began to collect and study the plants on long- 

 leaf pine-bluestem ranges. Several eminent botanists, experts on the 

 various plant families, contributed their services. In 1952, about 80 

 of the most valuable forage grasses, grasslike plants, forbs, and 

 shrubs were described and illustrated in the "Field Book of Forage 

 Plants on Longleaf Pine-Bluestem Ranges, " published as Occasional 

 Paper 127 of the Southern Forest Experiment Station. The field book 



- 31 - 



