Nine pastures of 492 acres were summer grazed by yearling steers.
Five were burned April 24, 1973; four were not burned. Burned and nonburned
pastures had 0, 40, or 80 lbs. of nitrogen per acre applied aerially.
Stocking rates were determined with herbage production data from experimental
plots under similar treatments. Under the same fertilization and stocking
rates, average daily gain and gain per acre were higher for burned pastures
than nonburned pastures. Fertilizing bluestem tended to reduce daily
gains but increased gain per acre. Steers on the early-season, intensively
grazed pasture, gained the most per day (1.51 lbs) and produced one of
the higher per-acre gains (72 lbs.).
