About 15 million acres of deteriorated rangeland in Utah are now producing at least 1000 pounds less forage per acre than they are capable of doing Intensive improvement of this range area will be required if this important resource is to contribute its potential share of our food supplies.

Research over the past 15 years by the Utah Station has shown that improvement of these lands through seeding, fertilizing, and spraying with herbicides can bring them to their full potential at economical cost.

The challenge is now before every stockman and technical range manager to increase forage yields on every acre of grazing land to the maximum. Research has shown the way but the application of information must be made in the field by the users and managers, if more beef and lamb are to be produced.

Improvement of rangelands

Research has shown that some introduced grasses such as crested wheatgrass are suited to deteriorated foothill ranges; they furnish early spring grazing before native species can safely be grazed. Intermediate wheatgrass and Russian wildrye grass furnish more palatable and more nutritious forage during late spring and summer on seeded foothill range than can be obtained from most native species. Likewise it has been shown that Russian wildrye is considerably more tolerant to high alkali content in soils than the many introduced wheatgrasses generally used for seeding dry ranges.

Studies on 45 separate foothill seedings made from 1949 to 1962 showed that 12.4 acres were required to feed an animal for a month before seeding but only 3.1 acres after seeding. Further, steers and calves gained almost a pound per day more on the seeded range than on adjacent native range. Over a ten-year period seeded foothill ranges have produced about 17 more lambs per 100 ewes and .06 pounds per day more gain per lamb.

Research dealing with fertilizers on mountain range has given variable results but forage increases of 400 to as much as 2000 pounds per acre have been obtained from nitrogen. On seeded foothill ranges, increased forage yields averaging 1300 pounds per acre have resulted from the addition of 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Compared to unfertilized range, these areas not only have greater grazing capacity but a better quality of feed and considerably greater vigor in plant growth is obtained.

Big sagebrush and mule ear are severe competitors with grass plants on at least 10 million acres of foothill and mountainous rangelands of Utah. Research has shown that herbicides (2,4-D) when applied a proper time will effectively control these almost worthless weedy species and allow native grasses to reoccupy the area. This has increased grass yields as much as 1500 pounds per acre. The operation can be done for as little as $2.00 per acre.

Mule ear can be effectively controlled if sprayed before bloom stage. Big sagebrush can be controlled if sprayed before available soil moisture is exhausted and provided daytime temperatures reach at least 70⁰ F.
Badly infested tarweed ranges, have heretofore been impossible to rehabilitate by either natural or artificial means but recent research shows that these areas can be successfully seeded in the fall provided herbicides are applied in the spring before seeding and again in the spring following seeding. Mountainous areas once infested with tarweed and producing less than 20 pounds of palatable herbage per acre annually are now producing as much as 3400 pounds per acre per year.

Management of rangelands

In intensive management of ranges the kind of animal and season of use most suited to the range area must be considered. A common problem on most mountain range areas is the proper distribution of animals.

Research during the past 5 years has shown that cattle, because of their natural habits and selection of forage plants, use some mountain ranges efficiently but, for the most part, sheep use rough mountains better than do cattle. On most mountainous ranges, where meadows, slopes, and ridges with a wide variety of forage species are included, sheep and cattle grazing in common more effectively use the forage resource than either kind of animal alone.

A recent study covering about 9 years has shown that desert ranges can best withstand grazing if used only during the fall and winter rather than all year or during only spring and summer. If grazed in the winter desert ranges can be used twice as heavily as if grazed in the spring or summer. Therefore, if Utah's desert ranges are grazed during the winter (about October 1 to April 5) they will furnish grazing for twice the number of livestock that could be grazed during the spring and summer (April 6 to September 30). Proper use of forage plants on the desert ranges was indicated to be about 50 percent if used during the winter and only 25 to 30 percent during spring or summer.

On steep mountain ranges persistent herding of cattle has doubled the animal days that can be obtained from a given area of land. Both proper placement of salt and development of water have been shown to pay dividends in increased range capacity. During a 6-year study where salt was removed from pastures in alternate years it was estimated that salting alone could influence by as much as 30 percent the capacity of the range. In the same study it was found that from 1500 to 3000 cow days of grazing were obtained from each additional water development.

Proper supplements fed to sheep on winter range have given as much as 34 percent increase in lamb crop, 8 1/2 pounds more gain per ewe, and a pound more clean wool production per animal.

Livestock poisoning from halogeton is one of the most important problems of the state. People have been led to believe that this plant would limit livestock production to areas kept free of the weed. Research has shown that the problem is one of learning how to graze infested ranges without losses rather than one of trying to eliminate the plant. Livestockmen and technicians must be aware of scientific facts associated with halogeton poisoning and certain management rules must be practiced to keep halogeton losses to a minimum. Ranges properly managed will never support large quantities of halogeton distributed over the range. Furthermore ranges with small or moderate amounts can be grazed safely by avoiding local areas of dense halogeton when trailing or bedding, by moderate use and open herding, and by supplementing animals during stormy weather. Consumption of small to moderate amounts up to one-third of full feed per day over extended periods of time does not appear to have any harmful effects upon breeding animals.

All of these improvement practices are not possible or economical on every area, but some of these or other modern techniques are feasible for every range area. Fortunately, research has shown that most of these operations benefit the stockman economically.