Intake of medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) by livestock is typically low given the poor nutritional quality of the weed, but utilization may increase through the provision of supplemental nutrients. This study compared cattle that initially grazed on a supplemented pasture (SUP) of established cool-season perennial grasses and forbs to nonsupplemented cattle that grazed only medusahead-infested rangeland (NSUP) in order to determine whether supplemental nutrients could increase use of medusahead. The quality of different forage types in the plant community and grazing events on these forage types were assessed. Supplemented animals grazed medusahead to a greater extent than NSUP animals in the medusahead-infested pastures (P = 0.003). Thus, grazing of improved pastures in close temporal proximity to grazing of medusahead-infested rangeland may represent a management tool that contributes to enhancing medusahead utilization by cattle. However, future long-term studies need to be conducted in order to examine whether medusahead use by cattle can be used as a practical, low-cost tool for medusahead management.
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