Moderate grazing pays on California annual-type ranges

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on California Annual- Type Ranges

SUSTAINED HIGH PRODUCTION from livestock
ranges is needed to supply the growing demand for
meat and hides.

MODERATE GRAZING sustains high level produc-
tion and maintains good condition on annual-type
ranges.

Washington, D.C. Issued June 1944

Slightly revised November 1960

MODERATE GRAZING PAYS
on California Annual-Type Ranges'

By August L. Hormay, research forester, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range

Experiment Station. Forest Service

Steady supplies of animal prod-
ucts are needed to fill present and

future demands. These demands
can best be met on annual-type
ranges by grazing moderately — for
moderate grazing makes best use of
the range vegetation and produces
high livestock returns without im-
pairing future production.

Experiments have shown that the
weight gains and condition of cattle
on California annual-type ranges
depend a great deal on how closely
i lie range is grazed. On moderately
and lightly grazed ranges both cows
and calves gamed more weight and
were in better condition during the
period from January to August,
which includes the main green-for-
age season, than comparable cattle
on heavily grazed ranges. Heavy
grazing proved detrimental both to
the cattle and to the range. These
results are important in California
where annual-type ranges cover
more than 25 million acres in the
Centra] Valley and coastal areas
and support most of the livestock
for a large part of the year.

Moderate grazing should not be
confused with light grazing. Range
in good condition should not be
grazed too lightly. Light grazing
on good range fails to use all avail-
able forage for the production of

meat and also encourages the
growth of le>s desirable plant-.
Light grazing, however, is desirable
on range in poor or fair condition
so as to encourage rapid improve-
ment.

Soil Fertility Improved

Under moderate use enough plant
growth is left on the ground each
season to maintain and improve soil
fertility. Organic matter is added
to the soil. Also this cover of dry
vegetation protects the soil from the
direct action of rain. wind, sunshine,
and other forces that cause erosion
or lower fertility. Under heavy use,
too much vegetation is removed.
This exposes the soil surface to ero-
sion and permits the loss of topsoil,
thus reducing the capacity of the
range to produce nutritious herbage.

Better Mixture of Range Plants

The amount of dry plant residue
left on the ground partly determines
the proportion of the different kinds
of forage plants that grow in fol-
lowing years. Under moderate
grazing, grasses and forbs tend to
grow in about equal amounts. Both
of these classes of plants are needed
in the cover. The grasses — such as
wild oats, soft chess, and annual fes-

1 This leaflet is based Largely on experiments carried out at the San Joaquin
Experimental Range by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, in
cooperation with the University of California and other agencies. Detailed rec-
ords of these experiments are given in University of California Bulletin t;<;:!. The
San Joaquin Experimental Range, which can be obtained from the University or
from the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment station at Berkeley,
and in U.S. Department of Agriculture Circular s 7«». Efficient Use of Annual Plants
On Cattle Ranges in the California Foothills.

cue — with their fibrous root systems,
hold the soil in place better than do
most forbs and, when dry, provide
more forage because they do not
weather so readily. Forbs — alfil-
eria or filaree, bur-clover, and
others — are needed to improve the
palatability and provide desirable
variety in the green season. Light
grazing usually results in too much
grass in proportion to forbs, and
heavy grazing in too many forbs in
proportion to grass. Moderate
grazing brings about the most de-
sirable mixture.

Earlier Grazing Possible

Moderately grazed ranges pro-
duce new plant growth 2 or 3 weeks
earlier than those grazed closely.
The greater amount of old vegeta-
tion left on the ground under moder-
ate grazing protects the young
plants from drying winds and
frosts, making possible earlier and

taller growth. Furthermore, much
of the old vegetation is eaten with
the young green forage, providing
roughage during the winter; This
roughage reduces scouring that may
be caused by a straight new-grass
diet.

How To Judge Moderate Grazing

The best time to judge final utili-
zation of the range is in the fall,
before the new growth starts.
Checking utilization during the
summer, before the end of the graz-
ing season, however, shows what ad-
justments in stocking may be needed
to obtain moderate use in the current
season. In such early examinations,
allowance has to be made for a de-
crease in vegetation that will be
caused by weathering and further
grazing before new growth starts.

Important in deciding to what
level a range has been grazed is ob-
servino- the amount of vegetation

Figure 1. — Moderately grazed annual-type range in good condition should look like
this in the fall when new growth starts. The blanket of old vegetation should
average about 2 inches thick. It should have a patchy appearance but be thick
enough in most places to hide small rocks, livestock trails, squirrel mounds, and
other small areas of bare soil, when viewed from a distance of 20 feet or more.

Figure 2. — Heavily grazed range looks smooth, slicked off, or closely mowed. Dry
vegetation left on the ground averages less than 2 inches high. Small rocks, sticks.
squirrel and gopher mounds, stock trails, and small areas of hare soil are plainly
visible from more than 20 feet.

left. Under moderate grazing this
material should appear about 2
inches tall when the new growth
starts in the fall. Actually the old
vegetation will be patchy and
mottled in appearance and vary
from place to place, so that in some
spots it will be shorter and in others
taller than 2 inches (fig. 1).

If grazing ends in summer or
early fall, the remaining vegetation
should average somewhat taller, be-
tween 2 and 3 inches, to allow for
some breakdown and weathering up
I o the time 1 he new vegetation starts
to grow. Practically all the soil
should be protected by this old
growth. It should be dense enough
to hide most soil mounds and rocks
2 or 3 inches in size when viewed
from a distance of 20 feet. Bare
soil and livestock trails should be

invisible beyond this distance.
Plants under shrubs or around the
edi>-es of rocks should not be grazed
closely.

In contrast, heavily grazed ranges
usually have a smooth, slicked-otl'
appearance, with many bare soil
spots showing through the remain-
ing dry vegetation (fig. 2).

Lightly grazed ranges have a less
patchy appearance than moderately
grazed areas, and the unused plant
growth averages 3 or more inches in
height (fig. 3). Almost all small
objects and ground features, such as
squirrel mounds, livestock trails,
and small bare soil areas, are
masked by unused plant growth.

Uniform Grazing Desirable

Grazing should be uniform over
the entire range. Adequate fencing

and water are especially helpful in
getting uniform use. At best, how-
ever, there will be variations in the
degree of grazing on large range
areas. The swales and ravine bot-
toms will invariably be grazed more
closely than the adjoining hillsides
because the lower areas usually re-
main green longer and support bet-
ter forage plants than the open
hillsides. Parts of the range near
water, fence corners, and corrals are
almost certain to be more heavily
grazed than the rest of the range.
The size of these closely grazed
areas can be kept small by properly
distributing the livestock.

Certain indicators, such as closely
grazed hillsides, reveal when range
grazing has been much too heavy.

As vegetation in the openings be-
comes scarce, cattle are forced to
graze under shrubs and around and
between limbs of dead and down
trees and bushes. Appreciable use
in these places indicates very heavy
grazing of the range as a whole.

Range Condition the Result of
Range Utilization

Range utilization refers primarily
to the grazing of the current plant
growth and is judged by the amount
left on the ground. Condition re-
flects the present capacity of the
range to produce forage and live-
stock and is indicated by the
amount, vigor, and kind of range
plants in the stand and by the ab-
sence or presence of erosion. Poor

Figure 3. — Light grazing is not good economy. More of the vegetation should be con-
verted into livestock products. Such light use favors the growth of coarse grasses
at the expense of better plants like filaree and bur-clover, which give a desirable
variety to the vegetation.

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Figure 4. — Annual-type range in poor condition produces sparse plant cover. The
subsoil may show in places, and gullies mark the drainage channels.

range condition Usually results from
many years of too heavy grazing,
which removes the protective cover
of vegetation from the soil. Under

moderate and light grazing enough
vegetation is left on the ground to
prevent losses in soil fertility.
Weather and soil influence range
production, but in good and bad
years alike production depends
largely on the condition of the
range. Range not in good condition
offers opportunities for improve-
ment.

Production Determined hy Range
Condition

Ranges in good condition produce
a relatively thick, even, vigorous
cover of forage plants. < See photo-
graph on cover.) On the soil sur-
face is a thin layer of litter and
decaying vegetation. Xo signs of
active erosion are evident. Produc-
tion from these ranges may be sev-
eral times as great as from similar
ranges in poor condition.

Annual-type ranges in poor con-
dition usually provide very little
grazing (fig. -i). Sheet erosion is
usually evident, and active gullies
are cut in drainage channels. The
roots of shrubs and trees may be ex-
posed on hillsides, and small rocks
on the surface indicate that soil has
been washed away. Small deposits
of soil and debris are lodged on the
upper side of grass clumps, rocks,
stems of shrubs and trees. Light
colored subsoil may be exposed.

Improvement of Ranges

Annual-type range not now in
good condition can be improved by
leaving more old vegetation on the
ground each season than the amount
recommended here for moderate
grazing. This will build soil fertil-
ity and give progressively better
range vegetation and greater live-
stock gains.

Moderate grazing and good over-
all range management will sustain
high level production on annual-
type ranges in good condition.

D.S. Government Printing otiic

1960

Don't take chances with
FARM MACHINES

• Keep guards in place on power shafts, belts, and chains.

• Turn off power and block the machinery before unclogging or

adjusting it.

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• Don't step over or under moving belts.

• Don't wear loose-fitting or torn clothing, or ragged gloves

around moving machinery.

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• Keep machinery in good repair.

Farm Machines will save you time . . .
If you use them the safe way