Lesson Plan 7:
Stocking Rate Calculations

Lesson Activities

1) The teacher will need to preview the lesson's information and worksheet.

2) Make enough copies of the worksheet for the students who will be completing this assignment. Although it is actually simpler than it at first seems, the lesson does incorporate some complex mathematical concepts. You may want to only give this lesson to your more advanced Math students, perhaps as a challenging substitute for another assignment. If providing the lesson and worksheets to all students in your class, an introductory lesson on some algebraic concepts may be needed, particularly if the students have not yet had much exposure to Algebra.

3) After students have read the Introduction and Background Information, have them finish filling out Table 1 using information from the introduction.

4) Using the unadjusted stocking rate equation (provided on their worksheet) and the given information, they will determine the proper stocking rate for the pasture for cattle only and elk only, and then fill in Table 2. They will need to calculate the equation twice, once for cattle and once for elk.

5) Students will next take into consideration the spatial variables that will determine whether or not livestock and wildlife will use certain areas of the pasture (Tables 4-7) and calculate the proper adjusted stocking rate for cattle only and elk only, and then fill out Table 3 using the adjusted stocking rate equation.

6) In order to determine how many elk will able to graze with the cattle (and vice versa) without over grazing the pasture, they will need to calculate a mixed species stocking rate using the SRm equation provided on their worksheet. Once they have calculated the adjusted stocking rate for cattle (or elk), they then take the difference between the unadjusted and adjusted values and multiply by the animal equivalent. For example, if the unadjusted stocking rate for cattle is 100 cows and the adjusted is 60 cows, then the difference, 40 cows, is multiplied by the given value 1.54 1 cow, and we get a mixed species stocking rate elk to be 61 along with the 60 cows.