Animal performance and n et return per acre were examined for four CRP research sites in Kansas in 1 994, 1995, and 1996. Both mowing and prescribed burning increased animal performance in 1994. Mowing was economically feasible on one of the four sites. Prescribed burning was economically feasible on three of four sites. Mowing and burning treatments were not repeated i n 1995 or 1996. Net returns per acre for the site that was grazed with cowcalf pairs ranged from -$8.55 to -$25.54. For the sites grazed with stockers, net returns per acre varied from -$18.67 to $31 .39. Net returns per acre for stockers averaged $14.2 2 in western Kansas and $16.93 in central Kansas. Based on this research, grazing stockers on post-CRP land appears to have more potential than grazing cow-calf pairs

Jones, R.D.

Langemeier, Michael R.

Ohlenbusch, P.D.

English

Kansas State University

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports Volume 0 Issue 1 Cattleman's Day (1993-2014) Article 526 1997 Summary of grazing research on Kansas CRP land Michael R. Langemeier P.D. Ohlenbusch R.D. Jones This report is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. Copyright 1997 Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. Contents of this publication may be freely reproduced for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. Brand names appearing in this publication are for product identification purposes only. No endorsement is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar products not mentioned. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr  Part of the Other Animal Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Langemeier, Michael R.; Ohlenbusch, P.D.; and Jones, R.D. (1997) "Summary of grazing research on Kansas CRP land," Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 0: Iss. 1. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.1929 Summary of grazing research on Kansas CRP land Abstract Animal performance and n et return per acre were examined for four CRP research sites in Kansas in 1 994, 1995, and 1996. Both mowing and prescribed burning increased animal performance in 1994. Mowing was economically feasible on one of the four sites. Prescribed burning was economically feasible on three of four sites. Mowing and burning treatments were not repeated i n 1995 or 1996. Net returns per acre for the site that was grazed with cowcalf pairs ranged from -$8.55 to -$25.54. For the sites grazed with stockers, net returns per acre varied from -$18.67 to $31 .39. Net returns per acre for stockers averaged $14.2 2 in western Kansas and $16.93 in central Kansas. Based on this research, grazing stockers on post-CRP land appears to have more potential than grazing cow-calf pairs. Keywords Cattlemen's Day, 1997; Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station contribution; no. 97-309-S; Report of progress (Kansas State University. Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service); 783; Beef; Conservation Reserve Program; Cow/Calf grazing; Stocker grazing Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. This research report is available in Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: https://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr/vol0/iss1/526      The authors acknowledge CRP contract holders, county extension agents, and other personnel1who assisted with this research.     Department of Agricultural Economics.2     Department of Agronomy.334Cattlemen's Day 1997SUMMARY OF GRAZING RESEARCHON KANSAS CRP LAND 1M. R. Langemeier , P. D. Ohlenbusch , and R. D. Jones2 3 2SummaryAnimal performance and n et r turn per acrewere examined for four CRP research sites inKansas in 1 994, 1995, and 1996. Both mowingand prescribed burning inc reased animal perfor-mance in 1994.  Mowing was economicallyfeasible on one of the four sites.   Prescribedburning was economically feasible on three offour sites.  Mowing and burning treatmentswere not repeated i n 1995 or 1996.  Net returnsper acre for the site that wa s grazed with cow-calf pairs ranged from -$8.55 to -$25.54.  Forthe sites grazed with stockers, net returns peracre varied from -$18.67 to $31 .39.  Net returnsper acre for stockers averaged $14.2 2 in west-ern Kansas and $16.93 in central Kansas.Based on this research, grazing stockers onpost-CRP land appears to have more potentialthan grazing cow-calf pairs.  (Key Words: Conservation Reserve Program,Cow/Calf Grazing, Stocker Grazing.)IntroductionCongress established the ConservationReserve Program (CRP) in 1985.  Programgoals inclu ded the reduction of erosion, protec-tion of the long-term productivity of the land,water quality improvement, enhancement ofwildlife, reduction of sedimentation, reductionof surplus commodities, an d income support forfarmers.The first CRP contracts expired in 1995.Holders of 1995 and 1996 contracts were giventhe option to renew, and a vast majority exer-cised that opti on.  These renewed contracts willexpire along with 1997 contracts in the fall of1997, accounting for approximately two-thirdsof the CRP contracts in Kansas.  Alternativeuses of post-CRP land have been given littleattention .  In response to a need expressed bycontract holders, a researc h project was initiatedto determine the effect of spring mowing orburning on grazing potential of Kansas CRPland.  This report summarizes the grazingesults from the project.Experimental ProceduresAn exemption was obtained from the Kan-sas Consolidated Farm Services Agency toestablish haying and grazing studies on CRPland.  Five haying and four grazing sites wereestablished in eight counties in 1994.  Thelocation of grazing sites and use were EdwardsCounty (cow/calf grazing), Greeley County(early-intensiv e grazing of heifers), KearnyCounty (season-long grazing of stockers), andReno County (se ason-long grazing of stockers).Each CRP site was divided into: 1) notreatment, 2) spring mowing, and 3) springburning plots.  Mowing and burning treatmentswere applied in 1994 but not in subsequentyears.  Al l animals were weighed and identifiedbefore being placed onto the plots and alsoweighed at the end of  the grazing period.  Datacollected inclu ded ays on grass, gain per head,35average daily gain, gain per acre, and stockingrate (lb/acre) .  Marketing decisions and days ongrass were at the discretion of the producer.Weather and grass condition were used todetermin e the length of th e grazing season andstocking rates. In Edwards County, cow-calfpairs grazed for 144 days in 1994 , 168 days in1995, and 130 days in 19 96. In Greeley County,heifers grazed for 58 days in 1994, 74 days in1995, and 79 days in 1996. The steers on theKearny County plot grazed for 130 days in1994, 103 days in 1995, and 9 4 days in 1996. InReno County, steers grazed for 103 days in1994, 141 days in 1995, and 112 days in 1996.Stocking rates ranged from 212 lb/acre to 267lb/acre on the Edwards County site, from 175lb/acre to 196 lb/acre on the Greeley Countysite, from 112 lb/acre to 156 lb/acre on theKearny County site, and from 162 lb/acre to169 lb/acre on the Reno County site.  Stockingrates were adjusted on thr ee sites to compensatefor changes in forage production.Budgets were used to estimate gross in-come, total cost, and net return per acre foreach of the treatments.  Monthly cattle priceinformatio n was used along with month in,month out, weight in, and weigh t out to estimategross income fo r each treatment and year.  Peracre costs were e stimated to be $7.60 for mow-ing and $2.00 for burning.  Land ownershipcosts and the costs associated with fencing ordeveloping a water source were not included.All other costs, including hired and operatorlabor, were taken into account.  Thus, the netreturn per acre for each treatment and yearrepresents the return to land and management.Results and DiscussionTable 1 presents animal performance andnet return per acre for each CRP research plot.Animal pe rformance  in 1994 was enhanced byeither mowing or burning.  Stock er p rformancein 1994 averaged .33 lb/day higher for themowed than for the no-treatment plots and .72lb/day higher for the burned treatment.  Calfperformanc e (Edwards Co.) was only slightlyhigher on the mowed and burne d plots.  Aver-age performance on th e mowed plots over the 3years of the study was from 2% to 5% higherthan performance on the no-treatment plots.Average performance on burned plots wassimilar to that on the no-treatment plot at theEdwards County site but was from 6% to 38%higher at the three stocker sites.A comparison of net returns per acre in1994 can be used to determine the economicfeasibility of mowing or burning CRP beforegrazing .  Although mowing increased grazingperformance on each site, it was economicallyfeasib le only on the Reno County site.  Pre-scribed burning, on the other hand, increasedgrazing performance and was economicallyfeasible on the sites in Greeley, Kearny, andReno counties.  The increase in calf perfor-mance on the Edwards County site was notlarge enough to justify either mowing or burn-ing.Average net returns per acre on the burnedplots can be used to asses s potential profitabilityof grazing CRP land.  Because of low calfprices, net return per acre for cow-calf grazingaveraged -$16.81.  The average net return forstocker grazing was $14.22 on the two westernKansas sites and $16.93 per acre on the centralKansas site.  Based on this research, stockergrazing appears to have more potential thancow/calf grazing on post-CRP land.36Table 1. Animal Performance and Net Return per Acre from Grazing on CRP ResearchPlots in Kansas1994 1995 1996Research Siteand TreatmentAverageDailyGain, lbNet Returnper Acre,$AverageDailyGain, lbNet Returnper Acre,$AverageDailyGain, lbNet Returnper Acre,$Edwards County:  Cow-calf grazing.  Calf performance shown  No treatment  2.36 -8.55 2.20 -13.41 2.36 -20.28  Spring moweda 2.44 -15.91 2.22 -11.78 2.48 -19.97  Spring burned  2.48 -9.79 2.12 -15.10 2.32 -25.54Greeley County:  Early-intensive heifer grazing  No treatment  2.73 10.14 2.49 17.12 1.31 16.60  Spring mowed  3.07 6.77 2.21 12.89 1.39 18.10  Spring burned  3.47 15.45 2.27 13.96 1.22 13.50Kearny County:  Season-long stocker grazing  No treatment  1.16 -13.18 1.61     8.00 1.57   12.01  Spring mowed  1.27 -18.67 1.60     7.61 1.57   13.83  Spring burned  1.93 -.05 2.10   17.88 1.96  24.58Reno County:  Season-long stocker grazing  No treatment  2.01 5.68 1.15 -3.39 1.79 31.39  Spring mowed  2.55 8.99 1.24 -.81 1.44 24.31  Spring burned  2.65 16.10 1.39 2.47 1.68 31.21Mowing and burning treatments were applied in 1994 but not in subsequent years.a

Summary of grazing research on Kansas CRP land (1997)

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Summary of grazing research on Kansas CRP land

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