Steer Diets in Southeastern Colorado

Abstract

Hereford steers having continuous access to seeded, native, and old field pastures selected over 96% of their diet from six species of grasses and forbs. Changes in species preferences due to availability and maturation of plants caused shifts in summer grazing use made on the different pastures. A grazing proposal based on diets and the periods when steers preferred different forage species is to use old field pastures from mid-spring to early summer, seeded pastures in mid-summer, and native pastures in late summer through fall.