Grazing Behaviour and Preferences of Cattle Grazing Pastures Under Contrasting Management Practices and Canopy Characteristics

ABSTRACT Understanding cattle grazing behaviour is essential for optimising pasture management and improving animal performance. This study assessed the grazing behaviour and landscape preferences of steers grazing bahiagrass (BG) monoculture, mixed pastures of BG and rhizoma peanut (BGRP), and BG with nitrogen fertilisation (BGN) using Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking. Grazing behaviour was analysed across two periods (July–August and September–October) over the warm seasons of 2023 and 2024 to determine differences in movement patterns, grazing time, and herbage utilisation. There was a significant interaction between treatment and period for the distance walked by steers. Overall, the BGRP treatment exhibited 21% less movement during period 1, while steers grazing BG walked 16% more during period 2 compared to the other treatments. Animals in the BGRP treatment exhibited lower movement speeds and reduced grazing time, while increasing resting time compared to other treatments. On average, animals spent approximately 21% of the day in shaded areas. Within the mixed pastures, animals spent more time in the grass‐legume strips than in the grass‐only strips, despite the latter occupying a larger proportion of the area. Additionally, herbage mass and accumulation varied across treatments, with BGN pastures maintaining greater herbage mass than BG. These findings highlight the effect of pasture composition on grazing behaviour, demonstrating that cattle in mixed pastures travel less and exhibit different foraging strategies compared to those in monocultures. The study underscores the importance of integrating GPS tracking in pasture research to optimise grazing management and improve efficiency in mixed‐species pastures.