RANGELANDS14(1), February 1992
When we do this, ourplansfor the future, based on broad
consensus, can indeed meet everyone's needs when
these plans are foundedon a healthy resource.
41
Literature Cited
Leritz, L. 1987. No-Fault Negotiating. Pacific Press. Portland, Ore.
293 p.
Society for Range Management.1989. Assessment of rangeland
condition and trend of the United States. Public Affairs Committee, Soc. for Range Manage. Denver,Cob. 12 p.
Old World Bluestem Seedings in Western Oklahoma
Scott D. McCoy, Jeffrey C. Mosley, and David M. Engie
OldWorldbluestems (Bothriochloaspp.)are an assemblageof warm-season perennial bunchgrasses first introduced into the United States in 1917 from Europe and
Asia. These grasses are commonly seeded throughout
muchofthesouthern Great Plains forstabilizingmarginal
croplandand for increasingforageproductionon deteriorated rangelands. Old World bluestem seedings can
produce four times the forage of well-managed native
rangeland (Coyne and Bradford 1985). Consequently,
OldWorldbluestems arean ideal choicefor seeded pastures used to complement native rangeland in an integrated forage-livestockproduction system (Sims and
Dewald 1982).
Forthepast30 years, researchers at the USDA's Southern Plains Range Research Station (SPRRS) at Woodward, Oklahoma have been studying these grasses and
developingcultivarssuited to thesouthernGreat Plains
To date, the five mostcommonlyseeded Old World bluestemcultivars are Caucasian, Plains, Ganada, WW-Spar,
and WW-lronMaster. Two experimental cultivars not yet
available commercially, WW-51 7and WW-857,also appear
usefulforthefuture (DahI etal. 1988,Mastersand Britton
1988).
Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa caucasica) wasintroducedinto the United States from the SovietUnion (Dalrymple et al. 1984) and was one of the first Old World
bluestems to be introducedinto the UnitedStates. Plains
bluestem (Bothriochloaischaemum var. ischaemum) was
developedattheSPRRS and released in 1982 (Taliaferro
and Harlan 1973). It is a blend of 30 morphologically
similar Old World bluestem accessions collected from
Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey,and the Soviet
Union (Dalrymple1978). Oneofthese30 original accessions was isolatedand released by the SPRRS as WWSpar (Bothriochloaischaemum var. ischaemum) in 1982
Authors are research assistant and assistant professor, Departmentof
RangeResources, Universityof Idaho,Moscow83843; andprofessor.DepartmentofAgronomy, OklahomaStateUniversity,Stillwater74078. Theauthors
acknowledgethesuggestionsof w. McMurphyonthe surveyquestionnaire.
This article is Contribution 592fromthe Universityof Idaho Forest, Wildlife
and Range ExperimentStation.
(Dewald et al. 1985). WW-Spar is noted for producing
vigorous seedlings. Ganada bluestem (Bothriochloaischaemum var. ischaemum) originatedin Turkey and was
introduced into the Great Plains in 1979 (Dewald et al.
1985). Ganada is noted for its cold tolerance.WW-lron
Master(Bothriochloaischaemum var. ischaemum), aCuItivar tolerant of iron-deficientsoils, was released by the
SPRRS in 1987 (Dewald et al. 1988).
Fig. 1. Non-irrigated Old World bluestemseedlingscan yield5,000
to8,000lbs/acre. Productionmaybeimprovedsignificantly where
irrigation is feasible.
The development and release of these well-adapted
cultivarsenabled many farmers and ranchers acrossthe
southernGreat Plains to establish Old World bluestem
seedings. USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
also helped proliferate Old World bluestem seedings
throughout the region. But given the uncertainfuture of
CRPseedings and theever-changing crop and livestock
markets, many farmersand ranchersare trying to assess
thefuture, long-termroleof OldWorldbluestem seedings
42
RANGELANDS14(1), February1992
in their agricultural enterprises. Thorough assessments achieved from preparatory cropping (DahI et al. 1988).
will require information on grass establishment, forage Preparatory crops were used by 74% of the survey
production, and management strategies. We believethat
a valuable source of this needed information is other
ranchers, so we surveyed 50western Oklahomaranchers
seekingtheir knowledge and experienceconcerningOld
World bluestem seedings. We hopethattheresultsofthis
survey will providepracticalinsightsinto some sucessful
and some not-so-successfulstrategies for managing Old
World bluestems.
Survey of Ranchers Managing
Old World Bluestem SeedIngs
respondents. Preparatory crops used were either wheat,
sorghum, or wheat-sorghum combinations; wheat was
preferred. One problem reportedwith sorghum was that
its tall growth habit created too much shade, which
impeded the growth of bluestem seedlings. The thick
sorghum stubble also made it difficult to drill through,
and volunteersorghumsometimes persisted for several
years.
ForageProductionand Management
Old Worldbluestems respond well tofertilizers.Sowell,
in fact, that fertilizing Plains bluestem with 60 lbs N per
Survey Response
In Februaryof1990,a26-question survey wassentto50 acre can almost double its annual forage production
ranchers who managed Old World bluestem seedings in (Sims and Dewald 1982). Old World bluestems' respon12 westernOklahomacounties. The list of ranchers was siveness to fertilizerwas well-appeciated by the ranchers
compiledfrom county agriculturalextension agents, Soil in our survey, as 90% of them fertilized their seedings in
ConservationServicepersonnel, and an Old Worldblue- 1989.The type of fertilizer usedvaried widely, butmost
stemseed dealer. Evenwithout afollow-up questionnaire respondents applied a nitrogen fertilizer alone. The rewe received 31(62%) usable responses. Thesurvey ques- mainderof respondents also applied phosphorus and, in
tions asked ranchers about their Old World bluestem afew cases, potassium. Onepotentialproblemwith fertilizerapplicationisthat plantstem size and the numberand
management practices, including seeding, fertilization,
weight of inflorescencesincreases with increasing fertilirrigation and livestockgrazing.
izer rates (Sims and Dewald 1982). These changes in
BackgroundInformatIon
structurecanreducea plant's acceptabilityto grazMost of the respondents (77%) established their first plant
ing animals (Dalrymple 1978).Prescribed burningor rotaOld Worldbluestem seedings during the 1980's,although tional
grazing may be needed to improvepalatabilityby
one rancher'sfirst seeding dated back to 1952. Before
reducingold dead and persistent stems.
seedingtheOldWorld bluestems, all ofthelandincluded
in thesurveywasdedicatedpreviouslyto growingwheat,
sorghum, or cotton. One ranchercommented that some
ofhis OldWorld bluestem was planted on his less productive land and on those areas that were more difficult to
farm. OldWorld bluestems appearto be a viable alternative crop for thesesites.
Mostoftheseedings(92%ofthe total 7,366acres)were
eitherthePlains or WW-Spar cultivars,with few seedings
reported of Caucasian, Ganada, or WW-lron Master.
These resultswerenot unexpected, giventhat both Plains
and WW-Spar were developed nearbyat the SPARS and
these cuItivarsare well-adaptedacross mostof thesurvey
area.
GrassEstablishment
Old World blustems are generally consideredto be
2.Manycattle ranchersin westernOklahomamanagetheir Old
relatively easyto establish on awide varietyofsoils (Sims Fig.
World bluestems with short duration grazing programs. High
1988), andoursurveyrespondents agreed. In fact,94%of
stockdensities help preventthesegrassesfrom becomingcoarse
andunpalatable.
respondents successfully established Old World bluetemsduring their first attempt,and only tworespondents
Split applicationswith lesser amountsof fertilizer do
(6%) needed to reseed entire fields. Two other respond- not appear to increase forageyield compared with single
ents reportedthat someportions of their fields required
applications (Berg 1990), and only 32% of the respondreseeding. The highrateofsuccessfulestablishment may ents who used fertilizer applied it in split applications.
have been a result of the use of stubble mulch cover March 10 and June4 werethe
average dates for the first
crops. This technique involves planting a residue- and second applications,respectively, with about64 lbsN
producing crop during thegrowing season immediately applied per acre with each application.These rates corbeforeseedingtheOld World bluestems, and then seedrespond well with general recommendations made by
ing the perennial grass into the crop residue without Altom (1978). For those fields receivingsingle applicafurther seedbed preparation. Erosion control, weed contions, application dates ranged from Januaryto August
trol, and reduced evaporation are potential benefits and rates ranged from 30 to 220 lbs N per acre, averaging
RANGELANDS 14(1), February1992
80 lbs N per acre. We believethat applicationsas earlyas
Januaryor February and as lateas August are probably
less effective than applications in April, immediately
before plantgrowth resumes. Earlyand lateapplications
may stimulate cool-season plants and improve their
competitiveness with the warm-season Old World bluestems.
About one-thirdoftheseeded acreage (34%)was baled
for hay in 1989. Twenty-seven percent of the hayed
acreage yielded two cuttings, and none of the hayed
acreage producedmorethan two cuttings.Average harvest dates were July 1 and August 26 for the first and
secondcuttings,respectively. Accordingtoourrespondents, hayproductionaveraged 2,500 lbs/acre, and ranged
from 1,500to 10,400lbs/acre. Oneofthetworespondents
who reported10,000 lbs/acre or moreof hay harvested,
used split applicationsof fertilizerat32and 48 lbs N/acre.
The other respondent reportinghayproductionof 10,000
lbs/acre or more, fertilized with 50 lbs N/acre in both
March and June and irrigated, too. Actual production
values could varysignificantlyfrom these estimates, but
hay production estimates from our respondents appear
reasonable. For comparison, quantitativemeasurements
of non-irrigated,well-fertilizedOldWorld bluestems have
revealed that singlecuttingscanyield from5,000to8,000
lbs dry matter per acre (Dalrymple et al. 1984).
Forty-six percentof theranchersused prescribedfire
to help manage their seedings, while about one-third
(29%) used irrigation.The amountofwaterappliedbythe
irrigatorsvariedgreatly,from 1.5 inches upto 22 inches!
year. Theaveragewas 7.4 inches/year. However, because
1989wasahigh rainfall year, theamountof waterapplied
would be expected to increase in most other years. One
respondent stated that the annual production from his
irrigatedfield is consistentlydouble thehay production
from his dryland seeding.
CattleGrazingStrategies
Most respondents (94%) grazed their seedings with
livestock. Beefcattle werethe onlykind of livestock used
and included both cows and stockers. A short duration
grazing (SDG) programwasusedby 13of the29 graziers.
This is a surprisingly large proportion of respondents
giventhe large managerial inputsrequired by SDG. Nonetheless, many ranchers apparently realize that the high
utilization grazing form of SDG (Booysen and Tainton
1978) is well-suited to management of Old World bluestems and similar improved forage species (Dahi and
Cotter 1984).
Sixty-three percentof the respondents used their Old
World bluestem seedings as complementary forage to
allow grazing deferment of their native rangeland pastures. We believe that this is one of the greatest values of
Old World bluestems.
Twoof the most commongrazing management problemscited by therancherswere that (1) foragepalatabilitywassometimes poor,and (2) that foragenutrientquality was sometimes less than livestock required. These
problemshavealso been documentedby research (Dabo
43
et al. 1987, 1988) and emphasize the need for intensive
grazing management of these grasses. Large pastures
grazed at low stock densities for long grazing periods
cannot maintain Old World bluestems in a palatable and
nutritious form.
Summary andRecommendations
Old World bluestems are valuableintroduced grasses
in the southern Great Plains. These grasses enable
ranchers to increase livestockcarrying capacity, provide
grazing defermentfornativerangelands, and provide forage reserves for drought periods. For best results, Old
World bluestems should be managed intensively. Fertilization and periodic burning or mowing will help keep
seeded stands vigorousand productive.Production can
be improveddramaticallywhereirrigation isfeasibleand
economical. Old World bluestems can be harvested for
hay, but palatabilityand nutritive contentdeclinerapidly
with advancing plant maturity. Properly managed rotational grazing programs designed with small pastures
and high stock densitieswill provideexcellent livestock
gains per acre.
When asked whether Old World bluestems had met
their expectations, 30 of the31 ranchers repliedfavorably. It appears that OldWorld bluestems are truly a useful
tool for ranchersin western Oklahoma. Of course, any
tool is onlyas good as the craftsmanusing it. Our survey
demonstrates clearlythat ranchersin western Oklahoma
are indeed managing Old World bluestem seedings in
very successful ways.
Literature Cited
Altom, W. 1978. Management of summergrasses: fertilization, rotation, and hay production, p. 48-69. In: Managementof Warm
Season Grassesfor Utilization withBeef Cattle (ed.C.A. Griffith),
Noble Foundation,Ardmore, Okia.
Berg,WA. 1990. Old World bluestemresponsesto nitrogen fertilization. J. Range Manage. 43:265-270.
Booysen,P.deV.,and N.M.Talnton. 1978. Grasslandmanagement:
principles and practice in South Africa. Proc. Int. Rangel.Congr.
1:551-554.
Coyne, P.1., andJ.A. Bradford. 1985. Somegrowth characteristicsof
four Old World bluestems. J. Range Manage. 38:27—33.
Dabe, SM., C.M. Tallaferro, S.W. Coleman, F.P. Horn, and P.L.
Claypool. 1987. Yield and digestibility of Old World bluestem
grassesas affected by cultivar, plant part, and maturity. J. Range
Manage. 40:10-15.
Dabo, S.M., C.M. Tallaferro, S.W. Coleman, F.P. Horn, and P.L.
Claypool. 1988. Chemical composition of Old World bluestem
grasses as affected by cultivar and maturity. J. Range Manage.
41:40-48.
DahI,B.E.,andP.F.Cotter. 1984. Managementofweeping lovegrass
in west Texas.Texas Tech Univ., Dep. of Range and WildI. Manage.. Manage. Note 5.
Dahi, BE., P.F. Cotter, D.B. Wester,and C.M. Brltton. 1988. Range
plant establishmentinthe southernplains region,p.42—46. In:J.E.
Mitchell (ed.) ImpactsoftheConservationReserve Programin the
Great Plains, USDA For. Serv. Rocky Mtn. For. and Range Exp.
Sta. Gen. Tech. Rep.RM-158.
DahI, B.E., H.D. Keesee, and J.S. Puts. 1988. Old World bluestems
for west Texas.TexasTech Univ., Noxious Brush and Weed Control Research Highlights 19:21-22.
Dalrymple,R.L. 1978. Kleingrass,Old World bluestems, and weeping lovegrassforqualitysummer forages, p. 76-90. In: ManagementofWarmSeasonGrassesforUtilization withBeefCattle (ed.
C.A. Griffith), Noble Foundation,Ardmore,OkIa.
RANGELANDS 14(1), February1992
44
Dairympie, R.L., J. Rogers, and L. Timberiake. 1984. Old World
bluestemcomparison. Noble FoundationRep.AB-84.
Dewald, C.L., W.A. Berg, and K. Khaieeiuddln. 1985. Old World
bluestemcultivarselection for Oklahoma, p. 24—33. In: Proc. Old
World Bluestems in the Southern Great Plains (ed. D. Rollins),
Okia. Coop. Ext. Ser.,OkIa. State Univ., Stillwater.
Dewaid, C.L.,P.L. Sims, W.A. Berg, and L.M. White. 1988. Registration of 'WW-lron Master' Old World bluestem. Crop Science
28:189.
Masters, R.A., and C.M. Brltton. 1988. Response of WW517 Old
World bluestemto fertilization, watering, and clipping. Texas J.
Agr. and Natural Resources 2:48-53.
Sims, P.L. 1988. The role of Old World bluestems, p. 1-4. In: Proc.
Old World Bluestem Conf. (ed. D. Webb), Okla. Coop. Ext. Ser.
Circ. E-901.
Sims, P.L., and C.L. Dewaid. 1982. Old world bluestemsand their
forage potential for the southern Great Plains.A review of early
studies. USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Office, New Orleans,
ARM-S-28.
Taliaferro, C.M., and J.R. Harlan.1973. RegistrationofPlains bluestem. Crop Science13:580.
Economic Multipliers
Martin K. Beutler
economicsis often called upon to determinethe value effect represents what happens to me money receuveu
of a given use of rangeland and, more particularly, of from thesale of the steer. Receipts from the sale of the
public lands. For example, livestock grazing permittees steer go to: (1) pay for inputs used to producethe steer
maycitethe valueof livestockproducedon public lands, and (2) provide incometo the rancher.
while timber interests value the lumber harvested and
Many of the inputs used in the production of the steer
environmental groups assign valueto recreational visitor werepurchased fromvarious businesseswithinthe region.
days. An economic analysis may then be employed to
determine not only the initial impact of the goods or
services provided, but also to value anyadditionalimpacts
that may ariseto a region or local community.
The total impact of a dollar produced or spent in a
communityis often measured through the useof a 'multiplier." Multipliers are commonlyused in economicstudies which attempt to show how importantone business
or industry isto agiven geographicregionor community.
Muchconfusionexists, however, overthe properusage of
multipliers and how they fit in an economic analysis.
Multipliers are numbers which measurethemagnitudeof
the direct and indirect effects that a given amount of
productionor expenditurehas on aregionor community.
There are many different kinds of multipliers.The most
commonlyused are for totaloutput, income, and employ-
Money spenton theseinputsis consideredgrossreceipts
by those businesses which suppliedthem. These businesses usethe moneythey receive to pay for inputs purchased from other businesses and to provide income
ECONOMIC IMPACT
_________
6O
$i.OO+.40+.16+06+02+0141.65
__________________________________
Leakage
I
i
o-
I
I
El___
:
—
i
Multiplier
1.65
Turnover
.
6
24f
sioo
I
Leakage
I
ment.
Thereare also twotypes of effects, direct and indirect.
A direct effect is equivalent to the initial impact of the
original production or expenditure. For example, the
direct effect of $1.00 spenton somegood or service in a
community is 1. Indirect effects measure the additional
effects the original purchasemay have as that expenditure"turns-over"within the regionorcommunity. Indirect
effects may range from 0 to 2 or higher.
For example, let us assume that we want to know the
total impact on a communityof themoney received from
thesale of a feedersteer. The direct effectrepresents the
money received from the sale of the steer. The indirect
Martin K. Beutler is an assistant professor/extensionranch economist,
SouthDakota StateUniversity,West RiverAgricultural Research &Extension
Center,RapidCity,SD 57701.
1
I
L
16
Leakage
________
4
Leakage
k
Turnovers (1)
I4.uirec
(2)
(3)
(4)
2f
(5)
1
l
(6)
Indirect Effects
Effect
This example assumes 40% of the money spent in a community
remains in the region while 60% leaks out.
Thus, a dollar spent in the community turns—over 6 times while
the multiplieris only 1.65.
Figure
1.
Example
of a Multiplier.