"Grazing Pros and Cons"

by Robyn A. Schreiber

Oregon State University
Wildland Rangeland Ecosystems
Spring 2018

To graze or not to graze...that is the question.

View from the soil sampling pit, near the Swine Center at Oregon State University (OSU).

There are things to consider, when eliminating grazing completely as a possibility.

There are several arguments for and against livestock grazing. Is it bad, or is it good? To start, what is the alternative? Are cattle to be confined to small areas and fed pre-cut grass, grown for them in alternate ranges? If so, how is the health of the penned cattle compared to free-ranging cattle? Do cattle need a certain amount of roaming distance to stay fit? And how will the ranges fare without the cattle grazing on them?

Closed wild daisy buds, early morning at Snag Boat Bend near Peoria, OR.

Tackling the latter question first, how do rangelands fare, without cattle grazing all over them, eating them up?

“Chapter 5: Range Plant Physiology,” from the coursework, states that plants can continue to grow and regenerate even after 70% of their mass has been consumed - and, some plants have even adapted to grazing and can actually benefit from the disturbance (p. 81). When plants experience an overpopulation, grazing can provide an equilibrium to the environment. Also, cattle leave behind their waste, returning nutrients to the plant community and rangeland ecosystem, as a whole. This will have to be returned to the area, from the pens.

Flowering forb from the riparian area between 53rd and the Crop and Soil Sciences, OSU.

Timing has a lot to do with the effects of grazing, as well.

The most delicate time in a plant’s life cycle is from flowering to seed production (p. 81). This is because the plant is spending most of its energy to reproduce. Another critical time, in the plant’s life cycle, is during its initial growth and future regeneration periods. So, if a range is grazed lightly to moderately (leaving at least 70% plant mass), during non-critical times, then it will remain a healthy and unharmed resource for grazing. Multiple grazing periods can even be utilized, as long as the plant community is allowed proper time to regenerate.

Eroded streambank below the Irish Bend Covered Bridge, off the bike path, OSU.

But, maybe it is harmful to graze cattle, across ranges, here in the U.S.

Some ranchers might graze their cattle all over the place, without regard to plant regeneration and the stabilization of the larger ecosystem, ruining it for everyone else. Maybe waste from the cattle is building up and over-nitrifying the soil. Maybe the hooves of the cattle will destroy the root bases of any grass systems left growing. Eventually the soil will turn to mud, and deepen, as hooves continue to burrow and raise furrows, into the ground, from the sheer weight. And, a pen will require frequent maintenance and waste removal.

Field grasses, as seen from ground-level, early Summer.

The grass will still need to be grown, somewhere.

But then, will the rangeland plants be left to flourish, while the cattle are kept in pens? Some grasses will return, but the range may very well be set upon by invasive plants, hungry for the open spaces. A healthy interaction between cattle and range can be defined by the ratio of cattle (in animal units) to plant carrying capacity. Basically, the cattle and plant community should exist in equilibrium. This takes into consideration the different types of grazing plants and the size of the grazing animals. As Dr. Pat Shaver defined, in his lecture on “Range Management” in class the other day, this equilibrium is referred to as the “Optimum Stocking Rate” (2018). To look at rangeland grazing as necessarily bad, it is, in terms of uneducated rangeland management practices.

Seeding grass near path at Camp Adair, OR.

Past grazing practices have included overgrazing, both in the amount of plant mass consumed, and in the time periods in which grazing occurred.

This has caused extensive, long-term damage to rangelands, leading to the idea that grazing is bad. The advance of ecology has shown that plants can produce a surplus of leaves, offering ample food for the grazers, and that, if enough of the plants survive a herd, grazing through the range, they can continue to
regenerate food.

Old foundation and field from Camp Adair, OR.

Thanks to the study of ecology and rangeland management, initiated at the turn of the last century, ranchers can now graze their cattle smartly, preserving the range for future grazing.

Educating and empowering ranchers to adhere to best management practices, is the solution to the cry for bad grazing. After all, grazing has occurred long before domesticated cattle ranching. Looking back, at the history of animal units residing in the U.S., the numbers have actually increased. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans in America, as Dr. Pat Shaver again recites, the number of animal units of grazers was around 67 to 70 million, and, today, rests just below 75 million (2018).

Path opening into field, at Finley Wildlife Refuge.

Perhaps this is because of smarter grazing practices.

The ability to carefully match and monitor grass production to the activities of the herd has become specialized. Before, it was not as important, because more rangeland was available. Now, as healthy rangeland depletes, ranchers have become more focused on how to maximize their production with what they have. Take into consideration the human impact on cattle grazing - the consequences of the past are felt by the present. Bad grazing is affecting many ranchers, across the nation.

Bad grazing is a problem.

But is it a problem to simply graze? Is it bad to graze at all? Is it bad not to graze at all? How is American society to look at this? Not everyone is a rancher, nor an ecologist. There are bad associations with raising cattle, and the conditions they are kept in, which are heightened by the active media. Some members of this society do not even eat meat. Others are simply exposed to the worst of production, like slaughterhouses. Some others yet are rangeland-holders, left with the burden of recovering from bad practices used in the past. Rangeland management studies have shown that a healthy measure of grazing is ideal.

Patch of "Purple Dead Nettle," an early blooming annual with medicinal properties.

By Robyn Schreiber

Oregon State University

(This post took 4 hours to write and 2 hours to assemble.)

Works Cited

Dr. Pat Shaver. (2018). "Rangeland Management". Lecture.
Chapter 5: Rangeland Plant Physiology. Page 81.**

**Note: I could not find which textbook, this media came from, in the coursework, in order to properly cite this source.

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