Effects of supplementation and nitrogen fertilization on performance of stocker cattle grazing warm-season perennials.

Supplementation has provided producers an option for manipulating the performance of pastures and cattle. Depending on management decisions, supplementation can extend the grazing season by conserving forage mass. Prior research has shown that if supplementation is provided at amounts greater than 0.45% of BW, a significant reduction in forage intake will be observed (Pordomingo et al., 1991; Mieres, 1992). If forage intake is reduced and nitrogen (N) fertilizer is applied, it should be possible to increase carrying capacity of the pasture, which would possibly enhance economic performance. Supplementation may also affect ADG and increase the performance of grazing stocker cattle. Research at the Southwest Research and Extension Center, Hope (Gunter et al., 1998) has shown that the most profitable stocking rates for stocker cattle grazing dallisgrass pastures are between 2.46 and 3.20 steers/acre, depending on the amount of N fertilizer applied. Utilization of both supplementation and a high rate of N fertilization to increase forage availability may allow for the addition of an extra animal per acre. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the effects of high-energy supplementation, N fertilization, and stocking rate on the performance of stocker cattle grazing warm season perennial pastures. Experimental Procedures