Author
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Sanderson, Matt |
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Submitted to: USDA NRCS Technical Notes
Publication Type: Government Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2013 Publication Date: 10/6/2014 Citation: Sanderson, M.A. 2014. Livestock concentration areas on intensively managed pastures. USDA NRCS Technical Notes. Online http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/technical/nra/ceap/?cid=stelprdb1186363. Interpretive Summary: As part of the NRCS CEAP grazinglands assessment, on-farm research was conducted to understand how to best tailor farm and grazing management to minimize the effects of animal concentration areas in pastures. Key findings were: 1) Feeding areas (e.g., grain, hay, mineral feeders) accounted for the largest amount of pasture area affected by livestock concentration indicating that farmers should focus management on these sites to reduce potential nutrient loss; 2) Livestock concentration areas often had greater accumulation of soil nutrients compared with less disturbed parts of the pasture; however, sites with significant signs of erosion sometimes had lower soil nutrient concentrations than less disturbed pasture areas; and 3) Most livestock concentration areas were small, isolated, and often surrounded by vegetation. If these concentration areas are not directly connected to a stream (e.g., by channel flow), the surrounding vegetation should behave as a buffer and filter surface water runoff. Proliferation of these areas, however, would increase spatial variation in soil nutrients, provide sites for weed invasion, and encourage soil erosion. Technical Abstract: The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)-Grazing Lands national assessment includes science-based estimates of expected environmental effects of installed conservation practices on working farms. As part of this effort, on-farm research was conducted to understand how to best tailor farm and grazing management to minimize the effects of animal concentration areas in pastures. The research was conducted on two farms in Pennsylvania, two farms in New York, and one farm in Maryland all of which used pastureland as an integral part of the farm system. During two years all concentration areas in all pastures on the farms were located, measured, and georeferenced in spring, summer, and fall. Selected areas where livestock had congregated (e.g., gate corners, shade trees, waterers, mineral feeders, grain troughs, and hay feeders; total of 39 paired sites) were soil sampled to quantify animal congregation effects on soil test phosphorus. The total number and size of animal concentration areas on the five farms varied greatly among seasons and years. Totaled across farms and years, bare concentration areas occurred most frequently at paddock gates; however, feeding areas accounted for the most area affected. Soil nutrient levels were usually higher in the livestock concentration areas than the unaffected part of the pasture. Our data on the number and location of concentration areas indicate that managing feeding areas and sacrifice paddocks is a key part of nutrient management. |
