K-State Graduate Student Explores Cattle Grazing As Invasive Grass Management Tool

By Kelsey Stremel

Growing up on a Nebraska cow-calf operation, Tasha Macholan saw how drought and changing pasture conditions could complicate livestock management.

Now a Kansas State University graduate student in the Department of Animal Science and Industry, she is studying whether one routine management decision — where producers place cattle supplement — could improve calf performance while helping manage invasive Old World bluestem.

"I became really passionate about working to mitigate drought effects through cattle management and looking at pasture health overall," Macholan said. "The past few years have been difficult for producers with varying weather and drought conditions."

Her research at K-State's Agricultural Research Center-Hays — under the guidance of Professor KC Olson and in collaboration with Keith Harmoney, professor and range scientist, and Emma Briggs, assistant professor and beef cattle systems specialist — brings those interests together by examining both animal performance and pasture response.