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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #101062
Title: CATTLE DIET QUALITY IN EASTERN MONTANA

Author
item Grings, Elaine

Submitted to: Montana State University Beef Newsletter
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: GRINGS, E.E. CATTLE DIET QUALITY IN EASTERN MONTANA. MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BEEF NEWSLETTER. 1999. v. 4(5). p. 3-5.

Interpretive Summary: n/a

Technical Abstract: Typical trends in the diet quality of cows grazing Northern Great Plains rangelands are affected by temperature and precipitation patterns. Throughout the state of Montana there will be variations in this trend depending on precipitation levels and patterns and on the proportions of cool- and warm-season grasses present. It is important to look at the variations in forage quality that occur due to yearly differences in precipitation patterns and then determine if we can manage for this variation. Cattle normally select a diet that is of higher quality than the average of the forage available, but this ability is influenced by the amount of forage available. The amount of brown and green material in a plant is a good indicator of forage quality in terms of protein, energy, phosphorus, and potassium levels but is not a good indicator of trace mineral levels such as copper and zinc. By comparing cow requirements to the forage quality available, periods where supplementation may be useful can be determined. You can evaluate the effect of changing calving and weaning times on the match-up of cow requirements and potential diet quality. Various management strategies can be matched to forage quality to optimize utilization of the forage resources. There are short-term management strategies available to deal with year to year variation in forage quality. These may include time of weaning, timing and level of supplementation, and the use of grazing strategies such as intensive early stocking of growing cattle. Longer term strategies for dealing with trends in forage quality include timing of calving, grazing systems, and development of seeded pastures with forages that complement range forage trends.