The effects of sheep treading and grazing on pasture and soil characteristics of irrigated annual pastures

1979 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 741 ◽  
Author(s):  
PA Witschi ◽  
DL Michalk
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Grazing Experiment ◽  
Wimmera Ryegrass ◽  
Stocking Rates

The two experiments reported examined the effects of sheep treading on pasture growth and soil characteristics on autumn-irrigated subterranean clover-Wimmera ryegrass pastures and their subsequent influence on winter production. Treading only (experiment 1) increased the bulk density of soil by 40% as the stocking rate increased from 0 to 39.2 sheep ha-1. This caused a 33% reduction in late winter production (July), the decline (675 kg ha-1) being due mainly to a reduction in the proportion of ryegrass in the pasture. The combined impacts of treading and grazing (experiment 2) proved more detrimental to subsequent pasture recovery. At the July measurement, treading reduced production by 20% when the stocking rate was increased from 0 to 19.6 sheep ha-1, while the combined effect produced a 58% loss in yield. In addition to stocking rate, the length of the pre-grazing establishment period proved critical, with greater compaction evident in plots stocked 24 h after irrigation. This compaction affected the botanical composition, significantly more ryegrass being present in compacted plots, although increased tillering was encouraged by intense defoliation at high stocking rates which intensified this effect.

scholarly journals Key pasture and milksolids production indicators from two Waikato farmlets differing in inputs, stocking rate, pasture allowance and nitrate leaching

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.G. Roach ◽  
C.B. Glassey ◽  
K.A. Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
Pasture Quality ◽  
Winter Grazing ◽  
Stocking Rates

Two DairyNZ farmlets, differing in nitrogen fertiliser inputs, cow genetic merit and autumn/winter grazing management, with stocking rates of 2.6 ('Future') and 3.2 ('Current') cows/ha, were compared for pasture residual and quality over 4 years. Target intakes for lactating cows were 18 and 16 kg DM/cow/day, respectively, with target grazing residuals of 3.5-4 cm (1500 kg DM/ha in late winter/spring, 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter) for both herds. Measurement of grazing residuals, pasture quality and botanical composition identified small differences between farmlets. Grazing residuals on the Future farmlet averaged 0.2 cm (0.4 clicks on rising plate meter, RPM) (P

Effect of deferred autumn grazing and stocking rate of sheep on pasture production in a Mediterranean-type climate

1976 ◽  
Vol 16 (79) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
TH Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Wimmera Ryegrass ◽  
June July ◽  
Stocking Rates

The effect of deferred autumn grazing and stocking rate on an annual pasture was monitored for five years at Kybybolite Research Centre in the south-east of South Australia. Pasture availability, yearly production and botanical composition were measured under a series of eight stocking rates from 12.4 to 29.7 Merino wethers per hectare. Autumn deferment resulted in extra available pasture during the winter months of June, July and August. However, the continously grazed pastures reached the same level of availability as the deferred pastures in spring. By the third year of the experiment yearly pasture production irrespective of grazing management was greatly reduced at the higher stocking rates. This reduction was associated with an invasion of Poa annua and Juncus bufonius. Autumn deferment tended to favour the growth of Wimmera ryegrass at the lower stocking rates whereas continuous grazing tended to favour clover growth at these stocking rates.

A comparison of levels of production and profit from grazing Merino ewes and wethers at various stocking rates in northern Victoria

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (104) ◽  
pp. 296 ◽  
Author(s):  
DH White ◽  
BJ McConchie ◽  
BC Curnow ◽  
AH Ternouth
Keyword(s):  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Fleece Weight ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
One Year ◽  
Stocking Rates

Merino wethers and breeding ewes were grazed at various stocking rates on an annual pasture in the sheep-wheat zone of Northern Victoria from 1966 to 1973. There was considerable variation between years in botanical composition, the incidence of subterranean clover in the pasture plots varying by up to 80 percentage units between years. Total pasture production was measured in one plot during the last 4 years of the experiment, varying from 2.1 t ha-1 in the drought year (325 mm rain) of 1972, to 8.8 t ha-1 in the higher rainfall (883 mm) year of 1973. The large year-to-year variations in pasture production and botanical composition were reflected in differences between years in sheep production at various stocking rates. Wethers produced about 20% more wool than breeding ewes grazing at the same stocking rate, providing no supplements were fed. August-lambing ewes either lost weight in early spring or gained weight more slowly than wethers of the same age and flock background. The consequence of this was that maximum weights of ewes were consistently about 10 kg less than wethers at the same stocking rate. Both ewes and wethers had similar rates of weight loss from November to March. In one year ewes at 3.7 ha-1 were fed supplements in autumn, since they were lighter than the feeding weight of 41 kg, whereas wethers stocked at 11.1 ha-1, were not. An economic analysis of the experimental data indicated that the most profitable stocking rates of Merino wethers were up to 1.7 times that of August-lambing ewes. This ratio varies with season, and is also likely to vary with changes in lambing date or environment. The most sensitive determinants of optimal stocking rate were the rate of decline of fleece weight, and lambs born relative to ewes joined, with increasing stocking rate. Sheep liveweight at time of sale could also be important.

Effect of environmental factors on the growth of grazed pasture in south-western Victoria

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 545 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. Birrell ◽  
R. L. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Herbage Yield ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Stocking Rates

This paper presents work from several studies on pasture production that were conducted in south-west Victoria at the Pastoral Research Institute, Hamilton. The frequency with which pasture growth commenced for each week of autumn in the years from 1965 to 1991 was assessed. The median period for the commencement of growth was in the third week of March (although the average date was March 27). Autumn data from several trials conducted over 3 decades were collated and analysed. A relationship between the grazed pasture yield (average of stocking rates plots) at the end of autumn and the rainfall showed that 200 mm of rainfall in the 3 months to the end of May was optimal while higher rainfall depressed the growth. The average daily growth rates of introduced pasture (perennial rye grass, Lolium perenne L. cv. Victorian, phalaris, Phalaris aquatica L. cv. Australian, subterranean clover Trifolium subterranneum L. and volunteer species) were measured in 2- and 4-week growth periods (G 2 and G 4, kg DM/ha.day) for the seasonal growth cycles over 4 years (1980–84 except 1983) when grazed by Merino wether sheep at stocking rates of 10, 13 or 18 sheep/ha. The rainfall throughout the study was lower than normal. Although differences in the animal performance between the stocking rates were only small, at the low stocking rate capeweed (Arctotheca calendula L.) in patches became the major component of the sward. Greater variation in G 2 than in G 4 indicated that growth responded quickly to current environmental conditions. A nonlinear regression accounted for 74% of the variance in G 2 when related to the 3 climatic factors of daylength, soil temperature at 10 cm depth and the soil moisture to a depth of 10 cm, and a plant factor of green herbage yield. The 26 % of unaccounted variance appears to be associated with an effect of stocking rate, possibly botanical composition. The botanical composition was not continuously monitored hence the only sward character included in the investigation was herbage yield. Comparison of the patterns of pasture growth from different latitudes indicated that while the growth pattern in south-western Victoria is erratic, it is intermediary between Mediterranean and temperate pasture types. Understanding this aspect has implications for improving the efficiency of animal production in this environment.

The effects of grazing on the phosphorus requirement of an annual pasture

1971 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
PG Ozanne ◽  
KMW Howes
Keyword(s):  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Light Interception ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Phosphorus Requirement ◽  
Root Size

The applied phosphorus requirement of a pasture sown to subterranean clover was measured with and without grazing. Under moderate grazing pressure, in the year of establishment, the pasture required about 50 % more phosphorus than when ungrazed. In the following season, at a higher stocking rate, the grazed areas needed twice as much phosphorus as the ungrazed to make 90% of their maximum growth. In both years this difference in requirement between stocked and unstocked treatments was present throughout the growing season. Increased phosphorus requirement under grazing is associated with the need for greater uptake of phosphorus under conditions where redistribution of absorbed phosphorus within the plant is prevented by defoliation. It does not appear to be due to effects of defoliation on root size. Nor does it depend on differential light interception or on changes in botanical composition.

Persistence and growth of Lotononis bainesii–Digitaria decumbens pastures: 1. Sheep stocking rate

1983 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pott ◽  
L. R. Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Digitaria Decumbens ◽  
Heavy Grazing ◽  
Cotton South ◽  
Seed Reserves ◽  
Stocking Rates

SUMMARYSheep were grazed for 2 years at stocking rates of 7, 14, 21 and 28/ha on a pasture comprising Lotononis bainesii and Digitaria decumbens cv. Pangola at Mt Cotton, south–east Queensland. There were six replicates of each treatment grazed in rotation with 3 days' grazing followed by 15 days' rest.The initial dominance of lotononis was lost after 6 months of grazing and lotononis failed to persist satisfactorily at any stocking rate. Demographic studies showed that lotononis behaved as a short-lived plant, predominantly annual, with some vegetative perennation as stolon-rooted units under heavy grazing. Soil seed reserves varied from 5800 to 400 m2 at the lightest and heaviest stocking rates respectively. Lotononis failed to regenerate under Pangola shading or inopportune high grazing pressure. Soil bulk density (0–7 cm) increased from 1·2 to 1·4 g/cm3 according to stocking rate.

Productivity and intensive sheep stocking over a five-year period

1967 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. W. Spedding ◽  
J. E. Betts ◽  
R. V. Large ◽  
I. A. N. Wilson ◽  
P. D. Penning
Keyword(s):  
Milk Yield ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Percentage Weight ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Stocking Rates

During the last ten years or so, the management of sheep for intensive lamb production has been studied on a considerable scale, and a variety of grazing systems have been investigated (Dickson, 1959; Cooper, 1959; Spedding & Large, 1959; Boaz, 1959). It is still too soon to specify precisely the place that any of these systems should occupy in sheep-production processes, in relation to breed, lambing percentage, weight of lamb at slaughter, stocking rate, botanical composition of the pasture, size of ewe and level of her milk yield. Quite apart from these biological considerations, the full economic implications are by no means clear. What has emerged most clearly, however, is that much higher stocking rates can be tolerated than had generally been regarded as safe and that, at these stocking rates, productivity can be extremely high.

Grazing system and stocking rate effects on the productivity, botanical composition and soil surface characteristics of alfalfa-grass pastures

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Popp ◽  
W. P. McCaughey ◽  
R. D. H. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Characteristics ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Basal Cover ◽  
Grazed Pastures ◽  
Litter Cover ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Stocking Rates

A 4-yr experiment was conducted (1991 to 1994) near Brandon, MB, to determine the effects of grazing system (continuous and rotational) and stocking rate [light (1.1 steers ha−1); heavy (2.2 steers ha−1)] on the productivity, botanical composition and soil surface characteristics of an alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.; approximately 70%), meadow bromegrass (Bromus biebersteinii Roem & Schult.; 25%) and Russian wild ryegrass [Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski; 5%] pasture. Grazing season length was shorter (P < 0.05) for cattle in continuously compared with rotationally stocked pastures in 1991, while in 1993 and 1994 it was shortest (P < 0.05) in heavily stocked continuously grazed pastures. Carrying capacity (steer days ha–1) was greater (P < 0.05) in heavily stocked rotationally grazed pastures compared with other treatments in 1991, 1993 and 1994. In 1992, it was greater (P < 0.05) in heavy than light stocking rate treatments for both rotationally and continuously grazed pastures. Cattle usually gained more (P < 0.05) per day (kg d−1) and during the season (kg hd−1) at light than at heavy stocking rates, while total liveweight production (kg ha−1) was greater (P < 0.05) at heavy than at light stocking rates. Forage production and disappearance did not differ (P > 0.05) within grazing systems and stocking rates from 1991 to 1993, but in 1994, production and disappearance were greater (P < 0.05) at heavy than at light stocking rates. Mean seasonal herbage mass available and carry-over were greater (P < 0.05) in lightly stocked pastures than heavily stocked pastures from 1991 to 1994. After the first year of grazing, the proportion of alfalfa increased (P < 0.05), while grasses declined (P < 0.05) within all grazing treatments. In subsequent years, a trend was observed, where alfalfa declined and grasses increased in all pastures, except those stocked heavily and grazed continuously, which by 1994 had the greatest (P < 0.05) percentage of alfalfa. As years progressed, increases (P < 0.05) in basal cover concurrent with declines in bare ground were recorded on all grazing treatments, while litter cover often did not differ (P > 0.05) within either grazing system or stocking rate, except in 1992, when basal cover was lowest (P < 0.05), while litter cover was greatest (P < 0.05) on lightly stocked continuously grazed pastures compared with other treatments. Stocking rates were a key factor to optimizing individual animal performance and/or gain per hectare on alfalfa grass pastures, however differences in the effect of continuous and rotational stocking on pasture productivity were minimal. Key words: Alfalfa, grazing, stocker cattle, production

The effect of rate of stocking with sheep on the botanical composition of an annual pasture in southern Victoria

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Sharkey ◽  
IF Davis ◽  
PA Kenney
Keyword(s):  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Present Level ◽  
Wimmera Ryegrass ◽  
Clover Seed

The botanical composition of an annual unirrigated pasture at Werribee, twenty miles west of Melbourne, Victoria, grazed at one, three, and six sheep to an acre was greatly influenced by level of stocking. The areas grazed at one sheep to an acre became dominated by Wimmera ryegrass and had large reserves of grass and subterranean clover seeds in the soil. In those grazed at six sheep to an acre the original Wimmera ryegrass and subterranean clover had virtually disappeared at the end of three years, and there were few grass and clover seeds in the soil. Some change in botanical composition occurred from year to year in the areas grazed at three sheep to an acre but it was not progressive and the pasture at the end of the observations was similar to that at the beginning. The reserves of grass and clover seed, although lower in these plots than in those grazed at one sheep to an acre, were considerably above the level of those grazed at six sheep to an acre. It is concluded that at their present level of productivity these pastures will not carry six sheep to the acre continuously, but they may carry more than three sheep to the acre.

Superphosphate and stocking rate effects on a native pasture oversown with Stylosanthes humilis in central coastal Queensland. 1. Pasture production

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (95) ◽  
pp. 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
NH Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Average Percentage ◽  
Heteropogon Contortus ◽  
Native Pasture ◽  
Nitrogen Concentrations ◽  
Stocking Rates

Changes in the yield, botanical composition and chemical composition of a native pasture (Heteropogon contortus dominant) oversown with S. humilis (T.S.) were measured in a grazing experiment from 1966 to 1973. The 24 treatments were factorial combinations of two sowing methods for T.S. (ground sowing into spaced cultivated strips, or aerial sowing), three levels of molybdenized superphosphate (F0 = nil ; F1 = 125 kg ha-1 annually; F2 = 250 kg ha-1 annually plus an extra 250 kg ha-1 initially) and four stocking rates. Stocking rates were gradually increased during the experiment and for the last three years overlapping ranges were used for the three fertilizer levels; the overall range was then from 0.55 to 1.65 beasts ha 1 T.S. establishment by ground sowing was much more reliable than from aerial sowing, giving twice the average percentage frequency, and this proportion was maintained over years. High fertilizer improved establishment and the best legume stands were in the high fertilizer high stocking rate treatments. Total presentation yield of pasture was increased by fertilizer and reduced by high stocking rates. Over the last two years the means for March, adjusted by regression to the overall average stocking rate of 0.98 beasts ha-1, were 31 20,4020 and 5370 kg ha-1 for F0, F1 and F2 respectively, but these yields were reduced by ca 25 per cent for an increase of 0.5 beasts ha-1. H. contortus remained dominant and its mean contribution to total yield increased from 48 per cent in 1969 to 67 per cent in 1973. This proportion was reduced by 12.8 per cent over the range from 0.55 to 1.65 beasts ha-1, but high fertilizer had the opposite effect so that differences between the extremes low stocked F0 and high stocked F2 were small. The DM percentage yield of T.S. was strongly increased by fertilizer, and, most importantly, also by high stocking rates in the presence of fertilizer. Values for F0 treatments remained below 10 per cent, but in the final year values for F1 and F2 at the highest stocking rates were 36 and 27 per cent, respectively. Despite these large changes in T.S., there was overall stability of botanical composition. Phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in T.S. and H. contortus were increased by superphosphate but there was an overall decline in potassium concentration. Soil phosphorus levels were greatly increased

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