Grazing by Steers at Different Sward Surface Heights on Extensive Pastures: A Study of Weight Gain and Fat Deposition

Live weight gain of steers grazing at three different target sward heights, Low (3-6 cm), Medium (6-10 cm) and High (>10 cm), together with carcass fat deposition, were studied during two grazing seasons. Sward height was measured with a sward stick. The grassland consisted of seminatural grazing areas mixed with previously cultivated areas. Animals grazed continuously with small adjustments in animal numbers (year 1) or pasture area (year 2) to maintain sward height within the target for each treatment. The recorded average sward heights were 4.7, 6.8 and 11.1 cm for pastures on treatments Low, Medium and High, respectively. The animals weighed approximately 440 kg at the start of the grazing season and went directly from pasture to slaughter at the end of the experiment. No differences between years were found and data from both years were thus pooled, giving a total of 50 steers of the Swedish Red and White breed in the data set. Over the whole grazing season, the average daily live weight gain of animals on treatment Low (0.43 kg day