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Effects of Stocking Rate on Sheep and Hill Pasture Performance¹

Oregon State University^,3, Corvallis 97331

Abstract

Seasonal live weights of ewes and their lambs, together with observations of pasture productivity, were gathered during a 6-year period (1972 to 1977) from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)–subclover (Trifolium subterraneum) pastures set-stocked with 7.4, 9.9 or 12.4 ewes plus their lambs/ha. Ewe live weights decreased (P<.10) as stocking rate increased. Likewise, lamb weaning weights decreased (P<.10) with increasing stocking rate. However, the larger number of animals carried at the higher stocking rates resulted in more (P<.10) kilograms of lamb weaned per hectare in spite of the poorer performance of each lamb. By the end of the study, pastures stocked at 9.9 ewes/ha were producing 10 to 12% more (P<.10) forage than those stocked at 7.4 and 12.4 ewes/ha, respectively. This difference suggests that there is a minimum as well as a maximum stocking rate which must be observed if maximum sustained forage production is to be realized. On the basis of these data, a stocking rate of 9.9 ewes/ha/ 9-month grazing season (approximately one ewe for each 650 kg of forage produced) is recommended for similar pastures in the Pacific Northwest.

¹ Oregon Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Paper No. 5381.

² F. O. Thetford's present address is Dept. of Agron., Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater.

³ Rangeland Resources Program.