Location: Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit
Project Number: 3070-21500-001-007-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Nov 15, 2020
End Date: Nov 14, 2025
Objective:
The objectives of this experiment are to quantify the effects of grazing systems on stocker cattle performance and carcass characteristics. Cooperator will provide 65 spring-born steer calves from central Oklahoma to ARS in western Oklahoma each fall for the growing portion of this experiment; ARS will graze and manage these cattle on irrigated wheat pasture until they are feeder cattle body weights and then the Cooperator will transport and finish the cattle in a feedlot located in Colorado.
Approach:
The treatments in this grazing experiment are, first, spring-born calves will be grown to feeder cattle body weights at the Southern Plains Experimental Range on irrigated winter-wheat pasture and finished in feedlots on high-concentration diets while, second, fall-born calves will be grown on tall-grass prairie to feeder cattle body weights at the Oklahoma State University during the summer then finished in feedlots on high-concentration diets. After cattle are finished, they will be harvested at a commercial abattoir, carcass data will be collected, and treatments compared.
