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Does Integrating Crops With Livestock Production Impact Soil Properties And Crop Production?, Lindsey Anderson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Re-integrating crop and livestock production through cover crop (CC) and corn residue grazing could efficiently utilize resources and ensure profitability while improving environmental quality, but how this integration affects soils and crops is not well understood. We conducted two studies to address this. In the first study, we evaluated the impact of cattle (1.3-3.7 head ha^-1) grazing an oat (Avena sativa L.) CC on soil and crop yields in two adjacent irrigated no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max L.) fields on silt loam soils in eastern Nebraska. Field I was grazed twice, while Field …

Spring Meadow Management Practices: What’S A Rancher To Do?, Tara M. Harms, Jerry D. Volesky, Mitchell B. Stephenson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

• Subirrigated meadows are a valuable forage resource to ranching operations in the Nebraska Sandhills, being used for both hay production and livestock grazing. • The water table of these meadows is within one meter of the soil surface during the growing season. • In some years, wet conditions hinder meadow utilization, resulting in a buildup of standing dead and litter plant material which can lower forage production.

• Investigate if burning and mowing are effective strategies to remove dead plant material from meadows • Determine if burning or mowing interact with grazing to influence end of season forage production …

Use Of Uav Imagery And Nutrient Analyses For Estimation Of The Spatial And Temporal Contributions Of Cattle Dung To Nutrient Cycling In Grazed Ecosystems, Amanda Shine

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nutrient inputs from cattle dung are crucial drivers of nutrient cycling processes in grazed ecosystems. These inputs are important both spatially and temporally and are affected by variables such as grazing strategy, water location, and the nutritional profile of forage being grazed. Past research has attempted to map dung deposition patterns in order to more accurately estimate nutrient input, but the large spatial extent of a typical pasture and the tedious nature of identifying and mapping individual dung pats has prohibited the development of a time- and cost-effective methodology. The first objective of this research was to develop and validate …

Grazing Strategy Effects On Utilization, Animal Performance, Aboveground Production, Species Composition, And Soil Properties On Nebraska Sandhills Meadow, Aaron Shropshire

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ultrahigh stocking density (a.k.a., mob grazing) is proposed as a management tool that results in greater harvest efficiency, animal performance, aboveground plant production, species richness, and soil carbon content. The study objective was to determine grazing treatment, haying, or non-defoliated control effects on forage utilization, aboveground production, animal performance, and soil properties. In 2010, 25 ha of Sandhills meadow were divided into 2 replications of 3 grazing, a hay, and control treatment. Grazing treatments were a 120-pasture rotation with one grazing cycle (mob), a 4-pasture rotation with one cycle (4PR1), and a 4-pasture rotation with two cycles (4PR2) at stocking …