Diet selection is a dynamic process because of seasonal changes in animal and plant
characteristics. Nutrient requirements of grazing animals are a function of physiological
state; moreover, plant characteristics may be altered with prescribed spring burning of
native rangelands. Prescribed spring burning is used to improve the average quality of
pasture forage by removing old growth and making new plant growth more accessible to
grazing cattle.
Microhistological analysis of fecal material has been a widely used method for quantifying
the botanical composition of a grazing animal’s diet since it was first described by
Baumgartner and Martin in 1939. Little research has been conducted on how diet selection
preferences of lactating beef cows with suckling calves and non-lactating beef cows
are influenced by prescribed burning. We hypothesized that during the summer grazing
season, lactating cows with calves and non-lactating cows would display distinctive
preferences for certain species. Furthermore, we anticipated that these diet selection
preferences might be influenced by prescribed burning. To that end, our objective was
to characterize differences in diet selection between lactating beef cows suckling calves
and non-pregnant, non-lactating beef cows grazing either burned or unburned native
tallgrass prairie during summer.
