Quality of Smooth Brome Pastures Under Continuous, Rotational, and Mob Grazing By Sheep.

In recent years an alternative grazing method, to the traditional continuous and rotational methods has gained popularity among producers and has been termed mob grazing. Mob grazing is a variation of rotational grazing that uses high animal densities grazing for a short period of time. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of continuous, rotational, and mob grazing on forage production and quality of smooth brome (Bromus inermis Leyss). Twelve paddocks: 4 continuous (40 X 10 m), 4 rotational and 4 mob (15 X 10 m) were designated in a smooth brome pasture at the Kansas State University Sheep and Meat Goat Research Center in Manhattan, KS. Forage quality samples were collected by hand clipping randomly throughout the paddock and wet chemistry feed analysis was conducted on all samples. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents were determined using Ankom Technology while crude protein content was determined using a Nitrogen Analyzer Model FP-2000 by the LECO Corporation and then multiplying the output by 6.25. Forage quality during the spring grazing season tended to be higher in the continuous and rotational treatments as indicated by higher crude protein and lower ADF values. As the grazing season progressed crude protein declined while NDF and ADF tended to increase. Year one findings suggest that the mob treatment forage was lower in quality compared to the other two grazing systems.