A Comparison of Three Methods for Estimating Forage Disappearance

Abstract

Three methods of calculating forage disappearance from forage standing crop present on mowed versus protected plots were compared to the actual amount of forage harvested from mowed plots. The method most widely used by range scientists, the difference method, displayed a marked tendency to overestimate forage disappearance during periods of rapid plant growth or when plots were protected for more than 3 weeks. More accurate estimates of forage disappearance were generally obtained using formulae suggested by Linehan et al. (1947) and Bosch (1956) than could be obtained by the difference method.