Data from USDA ARS Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) near Nunn, CO: Cattle weight gains managed with light, moderate and heavy grazing intensities

LTGI Herd on Central Plains Experimental Range, near Nunn, CO

The USDA-Agricultural Research Service Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) is a Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network site located ~20 km northeast of Nunn, in north-central Colorado, USA. In 1939, scientists established the Long-term Grazing Intensity study (LTGI) with four replications of light, moderate, and heavy grazing. Each replication had three 129.5 ha pastures with the grazing intensity treatment randomly assigned. Today, one replication remains. Light grazing occurs in pasture 23W (9.3 Animal Unit Days (AUD)/ha, targeted for 20% utilization of peak growing-season biomass), moderate grazing in pasture 15E (12.5 AUD/ha, 40% utilization), and heavy grazing in pasture 23E (18.6 AUD/ha, 60% utilization). British- and continental-breed yearling cattle graze the pastures season-long from mid-May to October except when forage limitations shorten the grazing season. Individual raw data on cattle entry and exit weights, as well as weights every 28-days during the grazing season are available from 2000 to 2019. Cattle entry and exit weights are included in this dataset. Weight outliers (± 2 SD) are flagged for calculating summary statistics or performing statistical analysis.

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Data Dictionary for LTGI Cattle weights on CPER (2000-2019)csv Dataset data dictionary
Data dictionary for data from USDA ARS Central Plains Experimental Range (...
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LTGI Cattle weights on CPER (2000-2019)csv
Data from USDA ARS Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) near Nunn, CO...
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Field	Value
Tags	cattle beef cattle Livestock rangeland cattle weight gain cattle production NP215
Modified	2023-02-08
Release Date	2023-02-08
Frequency	Annually
Identifier	5688b130-426e-4f41-9463-89afd4961366
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Area	POLYGON ((-104.74299417576 40.826648795134, -104.75315245788 40.826698002219, -104.7531286736 40.823567497273, -104.75308795659 40.81541020461, -104.75308643986 40.812450903073, -104.74408743733 40.812480841203, -104.74301211022 40.826419118394, -104.74300158176 40.826554222408, -104.74299417576 40.826648795134)) POLYGON ((-104.75315245788 40.826698002219, -104.75315395551 40.826977268868, -104.75323672081 40.841206350945, -104.753228788 40.841296418733, -104.76309583918 40.841211253448, -104.76332088774 40.84118556917, -104.76288095375 40.832857695908, -104.76272903898 40.82774956763, -104.76272507332 40.827614432007, -104.76270223152 40.826848662653, -104.7627114273 40.826722562577, -104.76248956791 40.826726610311, -104.7606714239 40.826713844579, -104.75585544592 40.826703753794, -104.75315245788 40.826698002219)) POLYGON ((-104.73416457694 40.82663329251, -104.74299417576 40.826648795134, -104.74300158176 40.826554222408, -104.74301211022 40.826419118394, -104.74408743733 40.812480841203, -104.73419250487 40.812489999889, -104.73417227135 40.821921864609, -104.73417239075 40.821984924411, -104.7341626591 40.82655671587, -104.73416457694 40.82663329251))
Publisher	Ag Data Commons
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Location	The USDA-Agricultural Research Service Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) is a Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network site located ~20 km northeast of Nunn, in north-central Colorado, USA (40°50 N, 104°43 W, 1645 m above sea level). Mean annual precipitation (1939–2018) is 340 mm, with 43% of this occurring from April through June and 37% from July through September. Major soils on the study pastures are Ascalon fine sandy loam (fine-loamy mixed mesic Aridic Argiustoll) and Renohill fine sandy loam (fine montmorillonitic mesic Ustollic Haplargid). The main ecological site in the study pastures is Loamy Plains (Site ID: R067BY002CO; data available online). The perennial C4 shortgrass blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis [Willd. ex Kunth] Lag ex Griffiths) is the dominant species and increases as grazing intensity increases. Conversely, the perennial C3 mid-height grasses western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii [Rydb] A. Love) and needle-and-thread (Hesperostipa comata [Trin. & Rupr.] Barkworth ssp. comata) decrease with increasing grazing intensity. Other key plant species include needleleaf sedge (Carex duriuscula C.A. Mey), an important perennial C3 graminoid, scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea [Nutt.] Rydb.), the primary forb, and plains pricklypear cactus (Opuntia polyacantha Haw).
Temporal Coverage	January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2019
License	U.S. Public Domain
Data Dictionary	https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/data-usda-ars-central-plains-experimen...
Contact Name	Derner, Justin
Contact Email	Justin.Derner@usda.gov
Public Access Level	Public
Program Code	005:040 - Department of Agriculture - National Research
Bureau Code	005:18 - Agricultural Research Service

Extended Metadata:

Field	Value
Authors	Derner, Justin D (ORCID) Ashby, Mary (Scopus Author ID) Augustine, David J. (ORCID) Johnston, Melissa (Scopus Author ID) Jorns, Tamarah (Tami) (ORCID) Mortenson, Matt (Scopus Author ID) Thomas, Jake Thomas, Jeff
Peer Reviewed	No
Intended Use	Research and education
Use Limitations	Single replication of the grazing intensity treatments
Funding Sources	Agricultural Research Service 3012-21610-003-00D
Primary Article	Hart, R. H., & Ashby, M. M. (1998). Grazing Intensities, Vegetation, and Heifer Gains: 55 Years on Shortgrass. Journal of Range Management, 51(4), 392. https://doi.org/10.2307/4003323
Related Articles	Irisarri, J. G. N., Derner, J. D., Porensky, L. M., Augustine, D. J., Reeves, J., & Mueller, K. E. (2016). Grazing intensity differentially regulates ANPP response to precipitation in North American semiarid grasslands. Ecological Applications, 26(5), 1370-1380. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-1332 Porensky, L. M., Derner, J. D., Augustine, D. J., & Milchunas, D. G. (2017). Plant Community Composition After 75 Yr of Sustained Grazing Intensity Treatments in Shortgrass Steppe. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 70(4), 456-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2016.12.001 Baldwin, T., Ritten, J. P., Derner, J. D., Augustine, D. J., Wilmer, H., Wahlert, J., Anderson, S., Irisarri, G., & Peck, D. E. (2022). Stocking rate and marketing dates for yearling steers grazing rangelands: Can producers do things differently to increase economic net benefits?. Rangelands, 44(4), 251-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.04.002 Raynor, E. J., Derner, J. D., Soder, K. J., & Augustine, D. J. (2021). Noseband sensor validation and behavioural indicators for assessing beef cattle grazing on extensive pastures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 242, 105402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105402 Raynor, E. J., Derner, J. D., Baldwin, T., Ritten, J. P., & Augustine, D. J. (2021). Multidecadal directional shift in shortgrass stocking rates. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 74, 72-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2020.09.005 Raynor, E. J., Derner, J. D., Hoover, D. L., Parton, W. J., & Augustine, D. J. (2020). Large‐scale and local climatic controls on large herbivore productivity: implications for adaptive rangeland management. Ecological Applications, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2053 Reynolds, A. Q., Derner, J. D., Augustine, D. J., Porensky, L. M., Wilmer, H., Jorns, T., Briske, D. D., Scasta, J. D., & Fernández-Giménez, M. E. (2019). Ecological Sites: Can they be Managed to Promote Livestock Production?. Rangelands, 41(6), 239-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2019.07.003 Derner, J. D., Raynor, E. J., Reeves, J. L., Augustine, D. J., & Milchunas, D. G. (2020). Climatic and management determinants of large herbivore production in semiarid grassland. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 290, 106761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106761 Irisarri, J. G., Derner, J. D., Ritten, J. P., & Peck, D. E. (2019). Beef production and net revenue variability from grazing systems on semiarid grasslands of North America. Livestock Science, 220, 93-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2018.12.009 Derner, J. D., Reeves, J. L., Mortenson, M. C., West, M., Gonzalo Irisarri, J., & Durante, M. (2016). Estimating Overnight Weight Loss of Corralled Yearling Steers in Semiarid Rangeland. Rangelands, 38(3), 101-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2016.02.004 Augustine, D. J., Te Booth, D. rrance, Cox, S. E., & Derner, J. D. (2012). Grazing Intensity and Spatial Heterogeneity in Bare Soil in a Grazing-Resistant Grassland. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 65(1), 39-46. https://doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-11-00005.1 Smart, A., Derner, J., Hendrickson, J., Gillen, R., Dunn, B., Mousel, E., Johnson, P., Gates, R., Sedivec, K., Harmoney, K., Volesky, J., & Olson, K. (2010). Effects of Grazing Pressure on Efficiency of Grazing on North American Great Plains Rangelands. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 63(4), 397-406. https://doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-09-00046.1
Dataset DOI (digital object identifier)	10.15482/USDA.ADC/1528520
Related Content	Raynor E. J., J. D. Derner, D. L. Hoover, W. J. Parton, and D. J. Augustine. 2020. Large-scale and local climatic controls on large herbivore productivity: implications for adaptive rangeland management. Ecological Applications Grass-Cast Database - Data on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), climate data, NDVI, and cattle weight gain for Western U.S. rangelands.

Field	Value
OSTI Identifier
ISO Topic(s)	environment farming
State or Territory	Colorado
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus Term	Colorado weight gain grazing intensity pastures yearlings forage beef cattle rangelands cattle production
Ag Data Commons Keywords	Animals & Livestock Animal production Range management Animals & Livestock Animal production Animals & Livestock Agroecosystems & Environment Management Agroecosystems & Environment
Program	Long-Term Livestock Production Data Central Plains

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