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Advances in Grazing Management
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Advances in Grazing Management

A special issue of Grasses (ISSN 2813-3463).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1626

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Colin Tobin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Carrington Research Extension Center, North Dakota State University, Carrington, ND 58421, USA
Interests: grazing behavior; precision livestock management; rangelands; soils
Dr. Edward J. Raynor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AgNext, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Interests: plant-herbivore interactions; grazing behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The management and manipulation of grazing are key to sustaining an efficient use of forage resources by livestock. Additonally, the effects of grazing management are felt by local communities through changes in profitability and ecosystem services. Since the turn of the century, grazing research has focused on benefitting ecosystem services delivery, increasing the resilience of grazing lands, and improving economic and environmental sustainability. Finally, the advancement of technology has enabled grazing managers to make day-to-day decisions in real time.

In this Special Issue, we aim to highlight recent changes in grazing management and the theories that support it. Contributions regarding grazing management strategies, the use of precision technology, and effects to rangelands, animals, and soils are all welcome.  

Dr. Colin Tobin
Dr. Edward J. Raynor
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Grasses is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rangelands
  • pastures
  • technology
  • nutrient management
  • resilience
  • livestock behavior
  • sustainability

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1997 KiB  
Article
Accounting for Diurnal Variation in Enteric Methane Emissions from Growing Steers Under Grazing Conditions
by Edward J. Raynor, Pedro H. V. Carvalho, Juan de J. Vargas, Edilane C. Martins, Willian A. Souza, Anna M. Shadbolt, Afrin Jannat, Sara E. Place and Kimberly R. Stackhouse-Lawson
Grasses 2025, 4(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/grasses4010012 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 504
Abstract
Automated head chamber systems (AHCS) are increasingly deployed to measure enteric emissions in vivo. However, guidance for AHCS-derived emissions data analyses pertains to confined settings, such as feedlots, with less instruction for grazing systems. Accordingly, our first objective in this experiment was to [...] Read more.
Automated head chamber systems (AHCS) are increasingly deployed to measure enteric emissions in vivo. However, guidance for AHCS-derived emissions data analyses pertains to confined settings, such as feedlots, with less instruction for grazing systems. Accordingly, our first objective in this experiment was to determine the utility of two data preprocessing approaches for grazing-based analyses. Using Pearson’s correlation, we compared “simple arithmetic” and “time-bin” averaging to arrive at a single estimate of daily gas flux. For our second objective, we evaluated test period length averaging at 1, 3, 7, and 14 d intervals to determine daily pasture-based emissions estimates under two experimental conditions: herd access to a single AHCS unit vs. two AHCS units. Unlike findings from the confinement-based literature, where slight improvements have been observed, time-bin averaging, compared to simple arithmetic averaging, did not improve gas flux estimation from grazing for CH4 (p ≥ 0.46) or CO2 (p ≥ 0.60). Irrespective of experimental condition, i.e., herd access to a single AHCS unit vs. two AHCS units, assessment of variability of diurnal emissions patterns revealed CH4 flux on pasture had at least half as much variability for the same individuals acclimated in confinement. Using a 7-day test period length interval, aggregating gas flux data at 7 d at a time was adequate for capturing diurnal emissions variation in grazing steers, as no improvement was observed in the percentage of individuals with five of six time bins measured for a 14-day test period length interval. This analysis should provide insights into future research to standardize AHCS data preprocessing across experiments and research groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Grazing Management)
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9 pages, 445 KiB  
Article
Foraging Behavior, Botanical Composition, and Quality of Beef Cattle Diets on Burned Versus Unburned Foothill Rangelands
by Janessa Kluth, Noah G. Davis, Samuel A. Wyffels, Clayton B. Marlow, Lance T. Vermeire, Taylre E. Sitz, Thomas G. Hamilton and Timothy DelCurto
Grasses 2025, 4(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/grasses4010008 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 475
Abstract
Current management paradigms suggest deferring grazing rangeland for two years post-fire to avoid additional stress on native grass species, but there is little research supporting these recommendations. This study was conducted within and adjacent to the burn area of a wildfire to evaluate [...] Read more.
Current management paradigms suggest deferring grazing rangeland for two years post-fire to avoid additional stress on native grass species, but there is little research supporting these recommendations. This study was conducted within and adjacent to the burn area of a wildfire to evaluate the differences in diet quality, botanical composition, and foraging behavior of beef cattle on burned and unburned rangeland in the spring and fall of the year following a fire. Diet composition and masticate samples were collected during 20 min bite-count periods using six ruminally cannulated cows in burned and unburned sites in June and September. Diets differed between burned and unburned sites across seasons, but the differences were most apparent in June. Cattle grazed more selectively on burned sites in June, consuming a higher quality diet dominated by forbs. In September, cattle shifted to grass-dominated diets with fewer differences between burned and unburned sites. This indicates that the nutritional flush on post-fire rangelands may be minimized by the end of the first growing season post-fire. Additionally, in the first spring post-fire, cattle may shift grazing pressure away from vulnerable perennial native grass species to the early-seral forbs, commonly associated with the post-fire environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Grazing Management)
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