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Pasture Season: The terms "pasture" (q.v.) and "range" should also be clarified. Pasture usually refers to small, fenced grazing lands that have been plowed and planted to improved species of grasses or legumes. Typically, a pasture is part of a farm; indeed, pasture grasses often are rotated with other crops. Range supports native vegetation, such as prairie grasses and desert shrubs.
The parasites or their eggs, which are passed with the manure, are thus taken in with the food and causes reinfestation. One method of reducing parasitic infection is pasture rotation—a given pasture is left ungrazed long enough for the infective parasites to die for lack of suitable hosts. Prevention of infestation is almost impossible where the horse population is dense. Warm weather and abundant rainfall or pasture irrigation not only promote the growth of forage but also favor the continuation of the life cycle of horse parasites.
Feeder or Fattening Cattle. The calves may be fattened on pasture or may be sold as feeders to cattlemen who specialize in fattening them for slaughter. The peak sales of feeder cattle occur in the fall. The pasture season ends at this time of year, and cattlemen are looking for feeder calves to consume the already harvested crops of hay, silage, and feed grains. They buy the feeders directly from the cattle raiser, at auction markets, or through agents who buy for them. The feeders are sold in classes according to sex, age, weight, and grade. The grades range from fancy to inferior and are based on the expected ability of the feeder to gain weight rapidly and to yield a large amount of high quality beef. |
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