Abstract

In the Great Plains of central North America, sustainable livestock production is dependent on matching the timing of forage availability and quality with animal intake demands. Advances in remote sensing technology provide accurate information for forage quantity. However, similar efforts for forage quality are lacking. Crude protein (CP) content is one of the most relevant forage quality determinants of individual animal intake, especially below an 8% threshold for growing animals. In a set of shortgrass steppe paddocks with contrasting botanical composition, we (1) modeled the spatiotemporal variation in field estimates of CP content against seven spectral MODIS bands, and (2) used the model to assess the risk of reaching the 8% CP content threshold during the grazing season for paddocks with light, moderate, or heavy grazing intensities for the last 22 years (2000–2021). Our calibrated model explained up to 69% of the spatiotemporal variation in CP content. Different from previous investigations, our model was partially independent of NDVI, as it included the green and red portions of the spectrum as direct predictors of CP content. From 2000 to 2021, the model predicted that CP content was a limiting factor for growth of yearling cattle in 80% of the years for about 60% of the mid-May to October grazing season. The risk of forage quality being below the CP content threshold increases as the grazing season progresses, suggesting that ranchers across this rangeland region could benefit from remotely sensed CP content to proactively remove yearling cattle earlier than the traditional October date or to strategically provide supplemental protein sources to grazing cattle.

Highlights

  • IntroductionRanchers often develop grazing plans that use established guides for initial stocking rates [5,6] and diverse management strategies to accomplish operational goals and desired outcomes [7]

  • Variability in Field Estimates of Crude protein (CP) Content content ofyearling yearling steers varied from a minimum contentfrom fromfecal fecal samples samples of steers varied from a minimum of 4%of to4%

  • CPcontent content negatively declined the grazing observationdates, dates,years years and and paddocks negatively declined as theasgrazing season progressed(Figure (Figure2, 2, right right panel)

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Summary

Introduction

Ranchers often develop grazing plans that use established guides for initial stocking rates [5,6] and diverse management strategies to accomplish operational goals and desired outcomes [7]. Both intra- and inter-annual variations in forage availability, provide ranchers substantial challenges in matching with animal demand [8,9,10]. These challenges have major impacts on ranching operation economics, Remote Sens.

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