PASTURE PRODUCTION is logically measured in terms of grazing animals supported by that pasture. A simple calculation based on stock numbers and area in grassland in New Zealand shows that over the last forty years carrying capacity has increased from 1.4 to 3.2 “sheep units” per acre, or 130% (N.Z. Official Year Book). Obviously many factors have contributed to this increase, including improved...

Pasture quality is an important component in grazing and livestock management and a key driver of animal performance. Accurate, real-time information on pasture quality can help farm managers in decision making. This study investigated the potential applicability of optical sensors to estimate pasture quality parameters in the field, these have been trialled as part of the P21 Feed Programme, c...

The sugar, starch, and fructan content (collectively referred to as nonstructural carbohydrates [NSC]) of pasture plants is dependent on the environmental conditions under which they have grown. Pasture that is stressed by cold, drought, or lack of nutrients can be 2 to 3 times higher in NSC than pasture that grows quickly in warm weather and is adequately watered and fertilized. Horses at risk...

Many dairy cows in the developed world are now housed exclusively indoors with fewer than 5% of the 10 million lactating cows in the United States having access to pasture during the grazing season. Indoor housing systems are designed to meet biological needs for food, water, hygiene, and shelter, but surveys of public and farmer opinion suggest that people think that pasture access is also imp...

Our ability to estimate the changes in carbon (C) pools and fluxes due to forest conversion is hampered by a lack of comparative studies. We measured aboveand belowground C pools and soil respiration flux at four forested and four pasture sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Aboveand belowground C pools were significantly larger (P < 0.01, t-test) at forested sites relative to pasture s...

This paper reviews the current use of self-regenerating pasture legumes in the farming systems of southern Europe. Annual legumes are mainly the base for the improvement of low quality native pastures in extensive farming systems. Traditional pasture legumes such as subterranean clovers and annual medics are the base plants of Mediterranean pastures, and are essential for pasture improvement of...

Pasture management can be effective at sequestering soil organic C. We determined the depth distribution of particulate organic C (POC), non-particulate organic C (NPOC), particulate-to-total organic C (POC-to-TOC) ratio, and particulate organic C-to-N (POC-to-N) ratio under pastures near Watkinsville, GA, USA. POC was highly related with total organic C (TOC), but became an increasingly larger...

For 2 grazing seasons, effects of pasture size, stream access, and off-stream water on cow distribution relative to a stream were evaluated in six 12.1-ha cool-season grass pastures. Two pasture sizes (small [4.0 ha] and large [12.1 ha]) with 3 management treatments (unrestricted stream access without off-stream water [U], unrestricted stream access with off-stream water [UW], and stream access...

THE ECOLOGY OF RAGWORT (SENECIO JACOBAEA L.) A REVIEW Summary: The available literature on ragwort is reviewed. The ecological behaviour of ragwort can be explained by its tendency to act as a colonising plant, which is encouraged by pasture disturbance. Ragwort-infested pasture and closed pasture alternate with each other, and this is influenced by a number of environmental and management fact...