Dr. Kristina Horback, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, has long been intrigued by the behavior and cognition of cattle. Growing up in the Bay Area, she often observed grazing cattle and wondered how they navigated vast rangelands. Now, as a senior author of a new study published in Scientific Reports, Horback and her research team are uncovering the behavioral patterns that influence where and how cattle graze. Their findings could provide ranchers with valuable insights into sustainable grazing management.
Understanding Individual Grazing Behavior
Grazing patterns play a crucial role in land use sustainability, yet little is known about their consistency among individual cattle. To bridge this knowledge gap, Horback and co-researcher Maggie Creamer, now a postdoctoral scholar at North Carolina State University, sought practical methods to observe behavioral differences among cows on large, open rangelands where direct interaction is limited.
Their research focused on determining whether behaviors observed in controlled experimental tests correlated with natural grazing patterns. The study was conducted over two years at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley, California, where 50 pregnant Angus and Hereford cows, ranging from two to eight years old, were monitored. Each cow was fitted with a GPS collar to track its movement across a 625-acre site with varying terrain, from 600 to 2,028 feet in elevation.
Behavioral Testing and Grazing Patterns
In addition to GPS tracking, the cattle underwent three behavioral tests:
- Chute Handling Test – This test, modeled after common ranching practices, assessed how cows reacted to a chute system used for routine health checks. Cameras recorded their behavior before and after entering the chute, analyzing their movement, agitation levels, and isolation responses.
- Social-Feed Trade-Off Test – This test measured a cow’s willingness to leave the herd to seek food, helping researchers understand the balance between social instincts and foraging behavior.
- Novel Item Test – Designed to assess neophobia (fear of new objects), this test introduced unfamiliar patterns or colors near a feed bucket to observe how cattle reacted.
Key Findings
The study revealed significant behavioral differences among cows that influenced their grazing patterns:
- Calm, slow-moving cows in the chute system tended to graze at higher elevations and farther from water sources.
- More agitated cows clustered together and remained closer to water sources, indicating a preference for familiar environments.
- Cows that actively sought feed in the social-feed trade-off test also displayed greater exploratory tendencies on rangelands, traveling farther from their herd.
- More skittish cows stayed close to their herd and grazed in groups, reinforcing social bonds over resource exploration.
Implications for Sustainable Ranching
Understanding cattle personalities could help ranchers optimize grazing management. By strategically placing cattle on rangelands that align with their natural behaviors, ranchers can enhance land sustainability.
For example, cows that are more willing to navigate hills and forage independently can help maintain soil fertility, promote pasture regeneration, and ensure a balanced diet by accessing diverse plant species. Meanwhile, those that prefer staying in groups may require different grazing strategies to prevent overgrazing in concentrated areas.
As climate and land-use pressures increase, aligning cattle behavior with rangeland management could improve both herd efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Horback continues to analyze findings from this research, but the results so far reinforce the importance of exploring animal cognition in shaping more sustainable agricultural practices.
