Improving Dry Matter Intake Estimates Using Precision Body Weight on Cattle Grazed on Extensive Rangelands

Simple Summary As precision livestock technology continues to become viable for extensive rangeland systems. it is important to determine which technology has the potential to positively impact grazing management. Utilizing precision weighing systems on rangeland beef cattle provides new and novel insight into individual animal performance throughout grazing periods, which are directly linked to stocking rates (cattle/ha/time), to ensure adequate forage dry matter intake for cattle while avoiding negative environmental impacts. Refining stocking rate estimates using precision body weight measurements and precision system modeling is critical as this management decision is fundamental to rangeland management and livestock productivity across the United States. Abstract An essential component required for calculating stocking rates for livestock grazing extensive rangeland is dry matter intake (DMI). Animal unit months are used to simplify this calculation for rangeland systems to determine the rate of forage consumption and the cattle grazing duration. However, there is an opportunity to leverage precision technology deployed on rangeland systems to account for the individual animal variation of DMI and subsequent impacts on herd-level decisions regarding stocking rate. Therefore, the objectives of this study were, first, to build a precision system model (PSM) to predict total DMI (kg) and required pasture area (ha) using precision body weight (BW), and second, to evaluate differences in PSM-predicted stocking rates compared to the traditional herd-level method using initial or estimated mid-season BW. A deterministic model was constructed in both Vensim (version 10.1.2) and Program R (version 4.2.3) to incorporate individual precision BW data into a commonly used rangeland equation using %BW to estimate individual DMI, daily herd DMI, and area (ha) required to meet animal DMI requirements throughout specific grazing periods. Using the PSM, differences in outputs were evaluated using three scenarios: (1) initial BW (business as usual); (2) average mid-season BW; and (3) individual precision BW using data from two precision rangeland experiments conducted at the South Dakota State University Cottonwood Field Station. The data from the two experiments were used to develop PSM case studies. The trial data were collected using precision weight data (SmartScale™) collected from replacement heifers (Case study 1, n = 60) and steers (Case study 2, n = 254) grazing native rangeland. In Case study 1 (heifers), Scenario 1 versus Scenario 3 resulted in an additional 73.41 ha required. Results from Case study 2 indicated an average additional 4.4 ha required per pasture when comparing Scenario 3 versus Scenario 1. Sensitivity analyses resulted in a difference between maximum and minimum simulated values of 27,995 and 4265 kg forage consumed, and 122 and 8.9 pasture ha required for Case studies 1 and 2, respectively. Thus, results from the scenarios indicate an opportunity to identify both under- and over-stocking situations using precision DMI estimates, which helps to identify high-leverage precision tools that have practical applications for enhancing animal and plant productivity and environmental sustainability on extensive rangelands.