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Ten perennial forage species and one forage mixture were evaluated for yield and animal preference at three growth stages. The most preferred but lowest yielding grass was Russian wild rye. Intermediate wheatgrass yielded most but was less preferred. Bromegrass gave high yields and was a preferred species. For the legumes, birdsfoot trefoil had the highest preference rating and also gave some high yields. Alfalfa was a productive, preferred species. The advantages, in terms of both animal preference and production, of a mixed forage stand over pastures containing a single species were demonstrated. Plant moisture, crude protein, digestibility, and crude fibre all influenced preference at certain times of the growing season. Animal nutrition plays an important role in grazing management. The animal makes a marked contribution to this management process by selecting plant species and plant parts from a mixed sward. Consequently, it determines its own nutritional level in terms of both quality and quantity. Animals ingest greater quantities of preferred species and this increased intake affects the animal’s weight gain (Cowlishaw and Alder 1960, Tribe 1952). Also, the physical and chemical properties of a forage influence selective grazing behaviour of animals (Hardison et al. 1954, Meyer et al. 1957, Tribe 1952) so that the quality of the material consumed is also determined by animal selection. Much research in animal grazing preference has been conducted on native rangeland. Information regarding animal preference for cultivated forage species in western Canada is limited. Thus, this study undertook to determine the preferences of steers offered an assortment of cultivated forages. The forage quality characteristics of the material for which the animals showed a preference was also studied. The authors are, respectively, instructor in the Plant Science Department at Old’s College and professor and chairman of the Department of Plant Science, University of Alberta. This work was made possible by grants from the Alberta Cattle Commission and the Alberta Agricultural Research Trust. Manuscript received May 8, 1979. 42 Materials and Methods The study was conducted at the University of Alberta Ranch at Kinsella, situated in the thin black soil zone in east-central Alberta. The soil was a glacial loam of the Viking moraine (Wyatt et al. 1944). Topographically, the area is rolling to hilly with sloughs occurring in the depressions. Mean annual precipitation is 40.6 cm with the maximum precipitation occurring between July 1st and July 15th (Wonders 1969). Ten forages and one forage mixture (2.24 kg/ ha alfalfa, 4.48 kg/ ha creeping red fescue, 6.72 kg/ ha bromegrass) were sown on May 3 1 and June 2,1972, in strips 3.5 m wide and 45.7 m long at the rates and row spacings listed in Table 1. By the second year, forage establishment was good. The study area was separated into three pastures each containing four replications of each species and the mixture. A 15.2-m length from each 3.5-m strip was fenced to form exclosures. In 1973, these three pastures were grazed when the plants were in the vegetative stage (May 31 to June 17), at heading or flowering (June 21 to July 10) and at or after seed set (July 11 to July 31). After each grazing period, one-half meter samples were clipped from each plot in both the grazed and exclosed area. Samples were divided into leaves and stems, dried at 65” C, and weighed. Production was the total dry weight from each clipped species in the exclosed area. Utilization was the difference between the total forage clipped from the grazed area and that corresponding from the exclosure. The preference rating was calculated by the method used by Van Dyne and Heady (1965) and Rosiere et al. (1975). Values greater than 1 .O indicated preference, values less than 1 .O indicated avoidance. In addition to evaluating dry matter production (and, consequently, percent moisture) for leaves and stem, the clipped samples were used to determine the proportion of leaves by weight as well as percent crude protein, acid detergent fibre, and acid-pepsin dry matter disappearance. Crude protein was determined with a Colman nitrogen analyzer (Stavant et al. 1963). The Van Soest method (1963) was used for acid detergent fibre evaluaJOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT 34(l), January 1981 Table 1. Seeding rates, production, utilization, and relative preference rating for ten forages and a forage mixture for three grazing periods.1

Grazing Animal Preferences for Cultivated Forages in Canada