IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF LIVESTOCK 

 AND FORAGE ON FOREST RANGES 



After the great lumber mills had cut out and moved westward, 

 the production of range livestock became a logical occupation for most 

 residents of the pineywoods. The upland soils were too poor for row- 

 crop farming, but native forage was abundant and free. This situation 

 still exists on several million acres where the pine stand has not re- 

 covered adequately. Cattle, hogs, and sheep are the chief types of 

 stock. 



In 1944 to 1946, surveys of the grazing situation of Louisiana 

 forest ranges pin-pointed severe problems that needed detailed study 

 and correction. 



First of all, meat production per animal is extremely low- 

 about one-third of that possible under good management. This low 

 production results from a combination of factors: serious deficiencies 

 in native forage during fall and winter that are not compensated for by 

 adequate supplemental feeding; low-grade stock and uncontrolled 

 breeding; inadequate control of diseases, insects, and internal para- 

 sites; and the general lack of good management that goes with free, 

 unfenced forest range. 



Another major problem is that range livestock grazing often 

 prevents successful pine reproduction and growth. Pine seedlings are 

 destroyed by fires that livestock owners set to eliminate old grass and 

 otherwise improve grazing. Livestock destroy pine reproduction 

 directly by rooting, browsing, and trampling. Hogs, for example, 

 relish longleaf pine seed and root up small pmes to eat the fleshy part 

 of the roots. Sheep nip succulent spring buds on small longleaf pines. 

 Cattle trample or browse seedlings on over-grazed areas. Much of 

 this damage is in late winter and early spring, when livestock forage 

 is scarce. 



It was concluded from these early surveys that forest range 

 grazing research should be concentrated in three closely related pro- 

 jects: Management of livestock, management of forage, and improve- 

 ment of forage. 



- 24 - 



