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Research technician, Robin
Weinmeister, records the position of a Tarentaise cow during
an early morning scan sample. This cow was also tracked with
a GPS collar, which recorded her position at 10-minute intervals. |
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Management Implications
Select adapted animals for seed
stock or replacements.
Results from this project show that cattle breeds developed in mountainous
terrain utilize rugged rangeland more evenly than breeds developed
in more gentle terrain. Ranchers in mountainous rangeland area may
be able to alleviate some of their grazing distribution problems
by incorporating breeds such Tarentaise and Salers that were developed
in rugged terrain into their breeding programs. Two breeds developed
in different parts of Europe as well as their crosses were observed
at the Thackeray Ranch during this first part of this study. Tarentaise
cattle developed in the French Alps consistently climbed higher
and used higher elevations (greater vertical distance to water)
than Herefords that were developed in more gentle terrain in England
[7]. On average, Tarentaise cows
used terrain that was 32 feet higher than Hereford cows. This may
not seem that great of a difference until you consider that 32 feet
of vertical distance could make the difference between grazing upland
slopes and grazing riparian areas or sensitive coulee bottoms.
In addition to their use of rough topography, these breeds are also
known for favorable maternal characteristics. In hot desert rangeland,
ranchers may want to use breeds with Brahman breeding so that the
cattle are adapted to hot, dry climates and more willing to travel
far from water
Daughters of the Hereford, Tarentaise and Hereford x Tarentaise
cows were evaluated in a later part this study. Sires of these daughters
were Angus, Charolais, Piedmontese and Salers bulls. Cows sired
by Piedmontese and Charolais bulls were observed farther horizontally
from water in foothill pastures than cows sired by Angus bulls [8,
9]. Using an index of terrain
use, Piedmontese-sired cows tended to use more rugged terrain than
Angus-sired cows. Piedmontese cattle were developed in the foothills
of the Italian Alps, while Angus cattle were developed in eastern
Scotland. These differences in sire breeds are especially surprising
considering that only half of the cow’s genotype was contributed
by the bull.
Other research has shown that calves learn where to graze from
their mothers [10]. Anecdotal
information suggests that problems may arise when cattle developed
in gentle terrain or irrigated pastures are released into arid or
rugged rangeland. In such situations, cattle may not venture far
from water or up steep slopes. When purchasing female replacements,
producers should try to find animals that were raised in terrain
and vegetation that is similar to what they will be grazing.
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