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In 1999 no range exclosures were present. The observer picked pastures that had not been <br />subjected to current year grazing for sampling. <br />Production data was collected concurrently with measurements of vegetation cover and <br />frequency. In keeping with 1987 procedures, no attempt was made to sample production in <br />the cattail or willow component of the swale /drainage primarily because of immeasurability. <br />Measurements of above - ground plant biomass were made using a 0.25m2 square plot in both <br />the graminoid component of the dryland pasture area, irrigated haylands, swale /drainage and <br />irrigated pasture types. A 1.Om2 plot was used in the sagebrush types. Within each <br />production plot, all green, living herbaceous plant material was clipped as close to ground level <br />as possible, separated by lifeform (annual forbs, annual graminoids, perennial forbs, and <br />perennial graminoids), immediately weighed using a Pesola 41002 field scale, and bagged for <br />laboratory analysis. Shrubs were clipped of annual growth, bagged and weighed. Herbaceous <br />plant material was not sorted in the irrigated pasture samples. In the laboratory, samples were <br />oven -dried at 30 °C in a forced draft oven for 72 hours, or until a constant weight was obtained. <br />Dry weights were obtained on an Sartorius E8001 P top - loading electronic balance which is <br />accurate to the nearest 0.001 gm. <br />Production sampling methods for the irrigated hayland vegetation type at the New Horizon 2 <br />study area were consistent with those used in 1987. Five hayland fields had been mowed and <br />baled during the study period. These field were all first cuttings. Three fields, belonged to <br />Morgan and two fields belonged to Johnson. All fields were mowed by Morgan and baled using <br />his Heston 4650 Bailer. The bales measured 42 in. X 18 in. X 16 in. Morgan said dry bales <br />consistently weigh between 85 to 90 pounds ever since he obtained the baler. <br />First cutting hay bales were counted either in the field or from the stacks. Next, an adequate <br />sample of the bales from each field was weighed using a Hanson 93490 portable scale. This <br />scale has a maximum capacity of 200 pounds and is accurate to the nearest pound. A <br />minimum of 30 bales were weighed from each field except for one field which had 21 bales. In <br />that field, 10 bales were weighed. Care was taken to select bales from throughout a field, or in <br />cases where the bales had already been stacked, from many locations in the stack. The hay <br />production in the fields, expressed on a dry weight basis as pounds /acre, was calculated by <br />August 2013 (PR 08) 2.04.10 -24 <br />