Cattle Diets Under Continuous and Four-pasture, One-herd Grazing Systems in Southcentral New Mexico

Abstract

Diet samples were collected from cows grazing a four-pasture, one-herd rotation system and a yearlong pasture. Differences in botanical content of the diet between the two systems was not consistent for the two years. During the first year diet of cows grazing the rotation pastures were higher in browse and lower in grass content compared to those grazing the yearlong pasture. However, during the second year, browse content of the diets was nearly identical for the two systems. Apparently higher weaning weights of calves from the yearlong system are related to greater herbage availability and digestibility compared to the rotation system.