Botanical composition of yearling steer diets in the Kansas Flint Hills

摘要

The Kansas Flint Hills have traditionally been grazed by yearling beef cattle in the summer months, when forage quality is at its peak. Early season, intensive grazing of yearling steers, or heifers on native pastures—known locally as intensive early stocking—allows producers to maximize ADG and beef production per ha with little input cost ( ). Cattle are classified as roughage eaters; a majority of their diet is comprised of graminoids with relatively few forbs or browse species ( ). Concomitantly, sericea lespedeza ( ; )—a state-recognized noxious weed—infests the Flint Hills region and competes with native plant species ( ).