Forage Availability and Cattle Diets on the Texas Coastal Prairie

Abstract

Forage availability was determined at six intervals from December through April on the Texas Coastal Prairie. Warm-season perennial grasses were the dominant class of available forage. Forbs were not present in significant amounts. Cattle diets were also determined at six intervals using esophageally cannulated cows. Some Macartney rose, the only browse species available, was consumed by the cows from December through February. Warm-season grasses constituted the major portion of the diet throughout the study period. Cows showed the highest preference for brownseed paspalum and rattail smutgrass during the winter when other forage was dormant and these species contained green material. As each grass species initiated new growth in the spring, diet content of that species increased accordingly. Leaf:stem ratio of the diets was lowest from December to February and increased significantly in mid-March. The increase of leaf: stem ratio in the spring paralleled the availability of new forage growth.