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<br />3 <br />The effects of the 1976 grazing treatments on the vegetative production in <br />1977 can be obtained from Table 1. when grazing began on May 25, 1977, the heavily <br />grazed pastures, which had had 808 of the vegetation removed by grazing in 1976, <br />contained one-fourth less dry matter than the ungrazed exclosures and one-third <br />less than the moderately grazed pastures. Essentially all forage was grazed to a <br />4-cm stubble height on the heavy treatment in 1977. As compared with .the season <br />production under the cages, about 198 of the available forage was grazed in both <br />the moderately and lightly grazed pastures. The lightly, moderately, and heavily <br />grazed pastures had 15, 48, and 1008 of the vegetation grazed, respectively, <br />compared with the controls not grazed since seeding. .The heavy grazing in 1976 <br />reduced the 1977 season production which was 748 of the moderate treatment and 478 <br />of the ungrazed control. <br />Table 1... Dry matter production of lightly, moderately, and heavily grazed <br />pastures; ungrazed controls; and season production under cages in 1976 and <br />1977. - _ <br />Grazing Dry matter kg/ha <br />intensity _ <br />Initial Final Season <br /> kg/ha kg/ha <br />1976 <br />1/ 2/ <br />Ungrazed 3734 <br />- = <br />Light - 2560 - <br />Moderate - 2112 - <br />Heavy - 756 - <br />1977 <br />Ungrazed 3073 a3/ 3468 a 3468 ab <br />Light 2958 a 2946 ab 3613 a <br />Moderate 2116 a 1820 b 2228 be <br />Heavy 732 b 0 c4/ 1656 c__ <br />1/ No previous grazing effects. No dry matter data taken before grazing in 1976. <br />?/ No cages used in 1976 because all pastures were ungrazed and considered the <br />same. <br />3/ Within column means followed by same letter not significantly different at 58 <br />level according to Duncan's Multiple Range Test. <br />4/ No harvestable forage after grazing in 1977. <br />Animal production <br />In 1976, grazing began on May 25 and continued through July 22. In 1977, <br />which had a very dry spring, grazing began on May 26 and ended June 26. Animal <br />gains and beef production in 1976 and 1977 are shown in Table 2. Lazger steers <br />were used in 1977 than 1976, averaging 60 kg/head more. In 1976, at the start of <br />grazing, vegetation was essentially the same in composition, height, and quantity <br />in all pastures. However, in 1977, the heavy grazed treatment had significantly <br />