Does short-duration grazing work in arid and semiarid regions?

SHORT-DURATION grazing management is a relatively new concept in West Texas. Derived from a one-herd, multipasture grazing strategy, short-duration grazing involves relatively short grazing periods of 1 to 6 days and rest periods of 30 to 60 days (27). Systems of rotating animals from pasture pasture have been studied for more than 30 years. During the 1950s, Leo Merrill and his coworkers at Sonora, Texas, began studies of animal performance and range condition under rotational grazing. Other grazing studies they conducted focused on grazing intensity-light, moderate, and heavy continuous stocking, where moderate stocking was the rate thought proper, based on Soil Conservation Service (SCS) guidelines and local rancher experience. Some studies were yearlong; others were seasonal. These studies consistently showed that the heavier range was stocked the greater the gain per acre, and the lighter a range was stocked, the greater the gain per animal. Their research also showed that moderate continuous stocking produced a gradual decline in range condition. Range condition declined even more under heavy stocking. Relative to rotational grazing, the Sonora research showed that if one pasture in four was rested for four months (three-herd, four-pasture rotation), animal gains and range …