RANGE AND CATTLE MANAGEMENT DURING DROUGHT. 49 
out question in the past, however, because of the demand for heifers 
to replace culls in the breeding herd to improve both grade and age. 
These steers, while not in condition to go as feeders, have supplied 
a demand each year in the past to go to northern and middle western 
pastures and have always been handled at a profit. Producing 
feeder steers, as discussed later under feeding, may prove in the 
future to be good business, and if so the holding over of more steers 
rather than heifers may be advisable. 
There is usually a good demand for well-bred calves at weaning 
time in the fall, and the sale of an entire calf crop is a possibility 
if the range is fully stocked and the market is not right for the 
surplus stock already being held. 
The number of surplus stock, therefore, should be adjusted care- 
fully to the available range forage not needed for the breeding herd, 
and the class of stock held to use this surplus forage will be gov- 
erned by demand and market price for the different classes. Over a 
period of years the demand and price will probably be in favor of 
steers. 
As in the past, the temptation will be to overstock before the range 
has fully recovered after drought and not to reduce the stock prior 
to the drought. This overstocking comes by holding all heifers to 
increase the breeding herd after drought and holding steers at least 
to 1 year old. In the Southwest this policy has been expensive in the 
past and will be equally or more expensive in future unless due care 
is taken to keep the total stock each year well within the probable 
grazing capacity of the range unit involved. Until data over a 
longer period are available, therefore, it is believed that the varia- 
tion in forage crop and in numbers of stock by classes as presented 
in figure 9 should be followed as a guide in stocking southern New 
Mexico and similar range. 
RANGE MANAGEMENT TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM FORAGE PRODUCTION AND 
| PROPER USE. 
Along with the study of the effects of time and degree of grazing 
upon the stand of forage on the range on the Jornada Range Reserve 
the plan has been to work out a system of grazing management and 
handling stock that will meet the growth requirements of the forage 
as determined, and at the same time meet the practical demands of 
the stock. To be both sound and practical such a plan must secure 
maximum utilization of the forage consistent with its growth require- 
ments and have an adequate supply of range forage available for the 
stock at all times of the year. Management of grazing to have a 
range available during April, May, June, and the early part of July 
especially, is important in the Southwest, where these months are 
74514°—22—Bull. 1031——4 
