Pastures in a Farming System

Pastures in a Farming System PDF Author: David Brouwer
Publisher: NSW Agriculture
ISBN: 1742567983
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This publication explains where pastures fit in a farming system for livestock, cropping and the environment. It’s a farming system that is as much about what farmers want for their family and their leisure time as it is about what animals they run or crops they grow. If you work your way through much of this book, you will realise that productive, sustainable and profitable pastures don’t just happen. They are the result of careful planning to ensure that all the factors that make up the system dovetail together. We need to see that the health, productivity and sustainability of pastures influences the whole farm. Here are just some of the ways pastures benefit the farm: · soil is protected by pastures. Poor soil cover leads to erosion and salinity · soil can be improved by pastures. Their root systems build up organic matter and bind soil particles together, improving structure · pastures recycle nutrients, and in the case of legumes, produce high levels of nutrients essential for animal growth and reproduction · they are the cheapest and most efficient way of getting animal production. To look at a farming system and think first about the pastures might seem strange, but they do need to be high on your list of ways of making your farm productive and sustainable.

Pastures in a Farming System

Pastures in a Farming System PDF Author: David Brouwer
Publisher: NSW Agriculture
ISBN: 1742567983
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
This publication explains where pastures fit in a farming system for livestock, cropping and the environment. It’s a farming system that is as much about what farmers want for their family and their leisure time as it is about what animals they run or crops they grow. If you work your way through much of this book, you will realise that productive, sustainable and profitable pastures don’t just happen. They are the result of careful planning to ensure that all the factors that make up the system dovetail together. We need to see that the health, productivity and sustainability of pastures influences the whole farm. Here are just some of the ways pastures benefit the farm: · soil is protected by pastures. Poor soil cover leads to erosion and salinity · soil can be improved by pastures. Their root systems build up organic matter and bind soil particles together, improving structure · pastures recycle nutrients, and in the case of legumes, produce high levels of nutrients essential for animal growth and reproduction · they are the cheapest and most efficient way of getting animal production. To look at a farming system and think first about the pastures might seem strange, but they do need to be high on your list of ways of making your farm productive and sustainable.

Systems Research for Agriculture

Systems Research for Agriculture PDF Author: Laurie E. Drinkwater
Publisher: Department of Agriculture
ISBN: 9781888626162
Category : Agricultural systems
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


The Art and Science of Grazing

The Art and Science of Grazing PDF Author: Sarah Flack
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603586113
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Grazing management might seem simple: just put livestock in a pasture and let them eat their fill. However, as Sarah Flack explains in The Art and Science of Grazing, the pasture/livestock relationship is incredibly complex. If a farmer doesn't pay close attention to how the animals are grazing, the resulting poorly managed grazing system can be harmful to the health of the livestock, pasture plants, and soils. Well-managed pastures can instead create healthier animals, a diverse and resilient pasture ecosystem, and other benefits. Flack delves deeply below the surface of "let the cows eat grass," demonstrating that grazing management is a sophisticated science that requires mastery of plant and animal physiology, animal behavior, and ecology. She also shows readers that applying grazing management science on a working farm is an art form that calls on grass farmers to be careful observers, excellent planners and record-keepers, skillful interpreters of their observations, and creative troubleshooters. The Art and Science of Grazing will allow farmers to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of grazing management so they can both design and manage successful grazing systems. The book's unique approach presents information first from the perspective of pasture plants, and then from the livestock perspective--helping farmers understand both plant and animal needs before setting up a grazing system. This book is an essential guide for ruminant farmers who want to be able to create grazing systems that meet the needs of their livestock, pasture plants, soils, and the larger ecosystem. The book discusses all the practical details that are critical for sustained success: how to set up a new system or improve existing systems; acreage calculations; paddock layout; fence and drinking water access; lanes and other grazing infrastructure; managing livestock movement and flow; soil fertility; seeding and reseeding pastures; and more. The author includes descriptions of real grazing systems working well on dairy, beef, goat, and sheep farms in different regions of North America. The book covers pasture requirements specific to organic farming, but will be of use to both organic and non-organic farms.

Management Strategies for Sustainable Cattle Production in Southern Pastures

Management Strategies for Sustainable Cattle Production in Southern Pastures PDF Author: Monte Rouquette Jr.
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128144750
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Management Strategies for Sustainable Cattle Production in Southern Pastures is a practical resource for scientists, students, and stakeholders who want to understand the relationships between soil-plant interactions and pasture management strategies, and the resultant performance of cow-calf and stocker cattle. This book illustrates the importance of matching cattle breed types and plant hardiness zones to optimize cattle production from forages and pastures. It explains the biologic and economic implications of grazing management decisions made to improve sustainability of pastures and cattle production while being compliant with present and future environmental concerns and cattle welfare programs. - Documents the effects of cattle grazing on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints - Discusses strategies to enhance soil fertility, soil health, and nutrient cycling in pastures - Provides information on the use of stocking rates, stocking strategies and grazing systems to optimize cow-calf production of weaned calves and stockers. - Presents innovations in cattle supplementation and watering systems to minimize negative impacts on water and soil health - Includes methods for weed control to maintain pasture condition and ecosystem stability - Describes management strategies to integrate cattle operations with wildlife sustainability

Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes

Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes PDF Author: Sarita Bennett
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792355229
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes is a comprehensive review of grassland improvement in Mediterranean areas using legume species. The book includes a detailed account of the processes involved in understanding the ecology of legumes and their collection in the Mediterranean, through to their preliminary evaluation and storage at various Genetic Resource Centres. A generic conspectus and key to the forage legumes of the Mediterranean basin is also included. These proceedings are truly international with examples on the collection and use of Mediterranean genetic resources being illustrated by Genetic Resource Centres in Australia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Syria, Turkey and Tunisia. Current important issues such as the sustainability of Mediterranean grasslands, the risk of genetic erosion and the principles of population genetics employed during a collecting mission are discussed. The book will be of value to researchers working in the fields of grassland and rangeland improvement, Mediterranean farming systems, genetic resources, and pasture and forage ecology.

Farming Systems in the Tropics

Farming Systems in the Tropics PDF Author: Hans Ruthenberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Some general charscteristics of farming in a tropical environment; Shifting cultivation systems; Fallow systems; Ley systems; Systems with permanent upland cultivation; Systems with arable irrigation farming; Systems with perennial crops; Grazing systems; General tendences in the development of tropical farm systems.

The Drought-Resilient Farm

The Drought-Resilient Farm PDF Author: Dale Strickler
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 1635860024
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Rainfall levels are rarely optimal, but there are hundreds of things you can do to efficiently conserve and use the water you do have and to reduce the impact of drought on your soil, crops, livestock, and farm or ranch ecosystem. Author Dale Strickler introduces you to the same innovative systems he used to transform his own drought-stricken family farm in Kansas into a thriving, water-wise, and profitable enterprise, maximizing healthy cropland, pasture, and water supply. Ranging from simple, short-term projects such as installing rain-collection ollas to long-term land-management planning strategies, Strickler’s methods show how to get more water into the soil, keep it in the soil, and help plants and livestock access it.

Silvopasture

Silvopasture PDF Author: Steve Gabriel
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603587314
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
In this how-to guide, ecologist and forest farmer Steve Gabriel explores the philosophy and techniques behind silvopasture - the integration of trees, animals, and forages in a whole-system approach that creates a number of benefits for livestock, farmers, and the environment. This system not only provides a sustainable farm income, but also holds the key to restoring land, building soil carbon, and creating climate resilience.--COVER.

Farming Systems and Poverty

Farming Systems and Poverty PDF Author: John A. Dixon
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251046272
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

All Flesh is Grass

All Flesh is Grass PDF Author: Gene Logsdon
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0804010684
Category : Forage plants
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Annotation In All Flesh Is Grass: The Pleasures and Promises of Pasture Farming, Gene Logsdon explains that well-managed pastures are nutritious and palatable - virtual salads for livestock. Leafy pastures also hold the soil, increase biodiversity, and create lovely landscapes. Grass farming may be the solution for a stressed agricultural system based on an industrial model and propped up by federal subsidies. The pasture farming that Gene Logsdon practices can also produce grains, fruits, herbs, mushrooms, and salad greens for human consumption. The book explains historically effective practices and new techniques that have blossomed in recent years for the care and sustenance of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry on pasture. Logsdon's warm profiles of successful grass farmers offer inspiration and ideas. His narrative is enriched by his experience as a "contrary farmer" on his own artisan-scale farm. The culmination of a lifetime's experience, this book is vital for owners of small acreages, home food producers, horse enthusiasts, and sustainable commercial farmers.