The focus of this study was to quantify the effects of foliage removal by cattle on plant net primary productivity (NPP). The Vegetation Biomass, Production and Consumption at Selected Sites Data Set contains mean values and their variances. During the growing season of 1987, portable cattle exclosures were used to quantify above-ground plant biomass dynamics at each of four sites. All sites had been grazed each year and burned frequently during the preceding 10 years. Biomass was measured inside portable exclosures, outside exclosures (in unprotected vegetation), and inside permanent exclosures. Exclosures were moved to previously unsampled locations within a distance of 10 m after samples were obtained, and these remained in place until the next sampling date.