Making quality haylage

AS-995 Definition: Haylage or low-moisture hay silage refers to hay put up at 40 percent to 60 percent moisture as comared with less than 15 percent for dried hay and 60 percent to 75 percent for silage

Effects of Dormant Season Grazing on Herbage Production and Plant Growth

A study to determine the impacts of winter grazing on herbage production, growth rate of dominant grass species, and changes in plant species composition using various levels and combinations of winter and summer use

Design and characteristics of the twice-over rotation grazing system

R-1006; This circular focuses on designing twice-over rotation grazin

Tracked vehicle effects on vegetation and soil characteristics

A 3-year experiment to evaluate tracked vehicle effects on vegetation and soil characteristics was established on the Gilbert C. Grafton South State Military Reservation (CGS) in North Dakota. Study objectives were to evaluate the effects of 3 tracked vehicle use intensity treatments on plant species cover and frequency, and soil compaction. The 3 treatments evaluated include heavy use (74 passes), moderate use (37 passes) and no use. The moderate use treatment represents a typical use of 1 battalion unit at CGS with the heavy use treatment classified as 2 battalion units. This land area comprised a 50 by 150 meter block subdivided into three, 50 by 50 meter blocks. Each 50 by 50 meter block was subdivided into three, 16.7 by 50 meter blocks with each block treated with 1 of the 3 treatments. Soil bulk density increased (P \u3c 0.05) on the moderate and heavy use treatments in the 0 to 15, 30 to 45, and 45 to 60 cm soil depths. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) cover (P \u3c 0.05) decreased in 1996 on both the moderate and heavy use treatments but was not (P \u3e 0.05) different among all treatments in 1997. The tracked vehicle use on the heavy and moderate treatments did not change species composition or litter amounts after 2 years; however, bulk density and bare ground increased on both treatments in 1996 and 1997. Se establecio un experimento de 3 aiios en la Reservacion Militar Estatal Gilbert C. Grafon (CGS) de North Dakota para evaluar los efectos del paso de vehaiculos militares en la vegetacion y suelo. Los objetivos del estudio fueron evaluar los efectos de 3 intensidades de paso de vehaiculos militares en la cobertura y frecuencia de especies vegetales y la compactacion del suelo. Los 3 tratamientos evaluados fueron: uso alto (74 pasos), uso moderado (37 pasos) y sin uso. El uso moderado representa el uso taipico de una unidad de batallon en el CGS y el tratamiento de uso alto representa el paso de dos unidades de batallon. El aea experimental fue un bloque de 50 x 150 m dividido en tres bloques, cada bloque de 50 x 50 m se subdividido en 3 bloques de 16.7 x 50 m y en cada uno de estos bloque se aplico uno de los tratamientos. La densidad aparente del suelo a las profundidades de 0-15, 30-45 y 45-60 cm aumento (P \u3c 0.05) en los tratamientos de uso moderado y alto. En 1996, la cobertura del zacate Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) disminuyo (P \u3c 0 .05) en los tratamientos de uso moderado y alto, pero en 1997 la cobertura de esta especie no difirio entre tratamientos (P \u3e 0.05). Despues de 2 anios, el uso moderado y alto de vehaiculos militares no cambio la composicion de especies ni la cantidad de mantillo; sin embargo, la densidad aparente y el suelo desnudo aumento en ambos tratamientos en 1996 y 1997

Use of Ecological Sites in Managing Wildlife and Livestock: An Example with Prairie Dogs

On the Ground•The perception of prairie dogs among Native Americans living on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is mixed. Some Native Americans focus on the loss of forage productivity, whereas others are interested in the cultural and ecological aspects of prairie dogs.•The use of ecological sites may provide a mechanism for developing a management framework that would consider both livestock and prairie dogs.•The three ecological sites we surveyed had large differences in off-colony standing crop, but in 2 of the 3 years we surveyed, there were no differences between standing crop on-colony.•This suggests that management of prairie dogs on rangelands should focus on limiting prairie dogs on more productive ecological sites with less productive sites receiving less emphasis

Use of Ecological Sites in Managing Wildlife and Livestock: An Example with Prairie Dogs

On the Ground The perception of prairie dogs among Native Americans living on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is mixed. Some Native Americans focus on the loss of forage productivity, whereas others are interested in the cultural and ecological aspects of prairie dogs. The use of ecological sites may provide a mechanism for developing a management framework that would consider both livestock and prairie dogs. The three ecological sites we surveyed had large differences in off-colony standing crop, but in 2 of the 3 years we surveyed, there were no differences between standing crop on-colony. This suggests that management of prairie dogs on rangelands should focus on limiting prairie dogs on more productive ecological sites with less productive sites receiving less emphasis

Effects of Short-Term Cattle Exclusion on Plant Community Composition: Prairie Dog and Ecological Site Influences

On the Ground Maintaining cattle and prairie dogs on rangelands is important ecologically, economically, and culturally. However, competition between these species, both actual and perceived, has led to conflict. We explored the effects of short-term (2-year) cattle exclusion on plant communities both on and off prairie dog towns and among three common ecological sites. Plant communities were different between on-town and off-town plots and among ecological sites but were similar between cattle-excluded and nonexcluded plots. Plant community composition did not differ between rangeland targeted for moderate forage utilization and that in which cattle had been excluded for 2 years

Forum: Critical Decision Dates for Drought Management in Centraland Northern Great Plains Rangeland

Ranchers and other land managers of central and northern Great Plains rangelands face recurrent droughts that negatively influence economic returns and environmental resources for ranching enterprises. Accurately estimating annual forage production and initiating drought decision-making actions proactively early in the growing season are both critical to minimize financial losses and degradation to rangeland soil and plant resources. Long-term forage production data sets from Alberta, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming demonstrated that precipitation in April, May, and June (or some combination of these months) robustly predict annual forage production. Growth curves from clipping experiments and ecological site descriptions (ESDs) indicate that maximum monthly forage growth rates occur 1 mo after the best spring month (April to June) precipitation prediction variable. Key for rangeland managers is that the probability of receiving sufficient precipitation after 1 July to compensate for earlier spring precipitation deficits is extremely low. The complexity of human dimensions of drought decision-making necessitates that forage prediction tools account for uncertainty in matching animal demand to forage availability, and that continued advancements in remote sensing applications address both spatial and temporal relationships in forage production to inform critical decision dates for drought management in these rangeland ecosystems

Dataset of RNA-Seq transcriptome of the fetal liver at day 83 of gestation associated with periconceptual maternal nutrition in beef heifers

Herein, we present a dataset based on the RNA-Seq analysis of liver tissue from bovine female fetuses at day 83 of gestation. The findings were reported in the main article, “Periconceptual maternal nutrition affects fetal liver programming of energy- and lipid-related genes”[1] . These data were generated to investigate the effects of periconceptual maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation and rates of body weight gain on the transcript abundance of genes associated with fetal hepatic metabolism and function. To this end, crossbred Angus beef heifers ( n = 35) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The main effects tested were vitamin and mineral supplementation (VTM or NoVTM –at least 71 days pre-breeding to day 83 of gestation) and rate of weight gain (low (LG –0.28 kg/d) or moderate (MG – 0.79 kg/d) – from breeding to day 83). The fetal liver was collected on day 83 ± 0.27 of gestation. After total RNA isolation and quality control, strand-specific RNA libraries were prepared and sequenced on the Illumina® NovaSeq 60 0 0 platform to generate paired-end 150-bp reads. After read mapping and counting, differential expression analysis was performed with edgeR. We identified 591 unique differentially expressed genes across all six vitamin- gain contrasts (FDR ≤ 0.1). To our knowledge, this is the first dataset investigating the fetal liver transcriptome in response to periconceptual maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation and/or the rate of weight gain. The data described in this article provides genes and molecular pathways differentially programming liver development and function

Maternal Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation and Rate of Maternal Weight Gain Affects Placental Expression of Energy Metabolism and Transport-Related Genes

Maternal nutrients are essential for proper fetal and placental development and function. However, the effects of vitamin and mineral supplementation under two rates of maternal weight gain on placental genome-wide gene expression have not been investigated so far. Furthermore, biological processes and pathways in the placenta that act in response to early maternal nutrition are yet to be elucidated. Herein, we examined the impact of maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation (from pre-breeding to day 83 post-breeding) and two rates of gain during the first 83 days of pregnancy on the gene expression of placental caruncles (CAR; maternal placenta) and cotyledons (COT; fetal placenta) of crossbred Angus beef heifers. We identified 267 unique differentially expressed genes (DEG). Among the DEGs from CAR, we identified ACAT2, SREBF2, and HMGCCS1 that underlie the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, the transcription factors PAX2 and PAX8 were over-represented in biological processes related to kidney organogenesis. The DEGs from COT included SLC2A1, SLC2A3, SLC27A4, and INSIG1. Our over-representation analysis retrieved biological processes related to nutrient transport and ion homeostasis, whereas the pathways included insulin secretion, PPAR signaling, and biosynthesis of amino acids. Vitamin and mineral supplementation and rate of gain were associated with changes in gene expression, biological processes, and KEGG pathways in beef cattle placental tissues