New University of Wyoming bulletin sheds light on calculating Animal Unit Months

How to estimate and calculate Animal Unit Months and Animal Unit Equivalents to help manage for sustainable grazing and maintaining federal grazing permits is explained in a new bulletin from the University of Wyoming Extension.

The information is in Animal Unit Month Concepts and Applications for Grazing Rangelands, B-1320. An AUM is the amount of air-dry forage a 1,000-pound cow and her un-weaned calf will consume (the “Animal Unit”) in one month. AUMs are frequently used to determine sustainable stocking rates for grazing pastures and rangelands in the West. AUMs can also be useful for managing private lands grazing because they link animal demand with forage supply.

The bulletin is available for free viewing and download by going to www.uwyo.edu/uwe and clicking on the Find a Publication link and entering the bulletin title or number. The publication is available in pdf, HTML or ePub formats.