Grazing Behaviour of Beef Steers Grazing Kentucky 31 Endophyte Infected Tall Fescue, Q4508-AR542 Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue, and Lakota Prairie Grass

Tall fescue is the most dominant grass used for pasture in the U.S. covering over 14 million ha. As a result, fescue toxicosis is a major concern among producers, especially during the summer months when the symptoms, such as reduced weight gains, are most pronounced. Producers need alternative forages for grazing cattle that do not have the negative effects associated with endophyte infected tall fescue. The objective of this experiment was to determine the grazing behaviour of cattle on Kentucky 31 endophyte infected (E+) tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), Q4508-AR542 (Q) novel endophyte tall fescue, and Lakota (L) prairie grass (Bromus catharticus)

Classification of Digital Photography for Measuring Productive Ground Cover

Productive ground cover (PGC) is often used as a measure of sward health and persistence. To measure PGC, a camera stand was constructed to provide diffuse lighting of grass swards for color digital photography; the photographs were classified into productive and nonproductive cover using Mahalanobis distance. The PGC measurement techniques were tested on a grazing experiment that used four forage types: Lakota prairie grass (Bromus catharticus Vahl.), Kentucky 31 endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum)-free tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum [Schreb.] S. J. Darbyshire), Kentucky 31 endophyte- infected tall fescue, and Quantum (novel-endophyte) tall fescue. The accuracy of the PGC maps was assessed using a stratified subsample of 48 images, 12 from each of four productive cover classes (0%-39%, 40%-59%, 60%-79%, and 80%-100%). On each of these 48 images 100 random points were labeled by a single skilled interpreter. The PGC percentages thus derived had an 83.7% agreement with the PGC maps. However, the percentages derived from the PGC maps were not well correlated with the PGC percentages derived from either ocular estimation (r = 0.22) or a simple digital point quadrat method (r = 0.47). This experiment highlights the potential for semiautomated classification of ground-based digital photographs for estimating PGC, though further research (including more direct comparison with established field techniques) is warranted. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Forage Utilization for Pasture-Based Livestock Production (NRAES 173)

This 185 page publication (NRAES-173) was originally published by the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES, previously known as the Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service), a multi-university program in the Northeast US disbanded in 2011. Plant and Life Sciences Publishing (PALS) was subsequently formed to manage the NRAES catalog. Ceasing operations in 2018, PALS was a program of the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University. PALS assisted university faculty in publishing, marketing and distributing books for small farmers, gardeners, land owners, workshops, college courses, and consumers.Essential information on grazing management and harvesting excess forage for livestock produced in a pasture-based system including chapters on fencing, watering systems, lanes and feeding pads, animal-handling facilities, and more