By Sawyer Starrett and Pedro Fernandes et.al
Summary with Implications
Strip grazing of stockpiled annual forages is known to improve carrying capacity compared to continuous grazing; however, optimal frequency of forage allocation in strip grazing remains unclear. Virtual fencing (VF) can reduce labor by eliminating the need for physical fence movements, but its effectiveness across grazing frequencies is not well defined. A late fall and winter oats grazing study was conducted using 72 crossbred steers to evaluate strip-grazing frequency with VF on carrying capacity and animal performance compared to continuous grazing. Treatments included continuous grazing, weekly strip grazing, and daily strip grazing. Weekly strip grazing increased carrying capacity by 42% and gain per acre by 35% compared to continuous grazing, but daily forage allocation did not further improve these responses. These results indicate that VF-enabled strip grazing can improve forage utilization and carrying capacity compared with continuous grazing. However, increasing forage allocation frequency beyond weekly did not provide additional benefits, suggesting that producers may be able to capture the benefits of strip grazing without daily forage allocations.
Introduction
Grazing annual forages is a viable alternative to late fall and winter hay feeding. Strip grazing has been shown to increase forage utilization and productivity (2024 Nebraska Beef Cattle report, pp.37-41) when grazing stockpiled annual forages. Strip grazing increases labor needs due to the need to put up and take down physical fences. With the market for virtual fence expanding, this technology decreases the labor needed to strip graze as there is no extra physical fence needed to be built and moved, but at a cost. Virtual fencing appears to be as effective as polywire in improving carrying capacity during strip grazing. While strip grazing has demonstrated benefits, the optimal rate of movement to optimize forage utilization is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether increasing frequency of forage allocation would result in further improvements in forage utilization and carrying capacity.
Source : unl.edu