Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Current Competitive Grant

Enhancing botanical composition, wildlife habitat and carbon sequestration of pastures in south central Iowa through soil disturbance by mob grazing of beef cattle

Project ID: E2011-06

This 3-year grant for $145,913 was awarded in 2011.

Location: Lucas, Wayne counties

Mob-grazing is ultra-high stock density grazing, a practice where a large concentration of animals is restricted to graze a small area, usually for a very short period of time. This project looks at how mob grazing affects forage type and structure and soil quality over multiple years. The long-term objective of the study is to evaluate the strategic use of mob-grazing on pastures in south central Iowa to improve their botanical composition for forage, as well as wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration and water infiltration.

James R. Russell

James R. Russell Jim Russell is a professor of animal science at Iowa State University. His area of research is forage utilization systems that optimize long-term return on investment in beef production, as well as improve the quality of the environment. Russell received the Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Award in 2003.

Co-Investigator(s):

Harris Sellers, Extension Livestock Specialist, Stephen Barnhart, ISU Agronomy, and Daniel Morrical, ISU Animal Science

This competitive grant project is part of the Leopold Center's Ecology Initiative.

Topics: Animal management and forage, Soils and agronomy, Wildlife and recreation