Managing sheep and beef farm systems - where does pasture persistence fit in?

Abstract

Pasture persistence is highly rated by sheep and beef farmers as an important factor determining wholefarm performance. Managing pastures to ensure the persistence of newly sown pasture species must be considered as a part of the decision making process of the whole farm. The farmer aims to optimise the outcomes of resource use over time, rather than maximise any single resource, and therefore grazing decisions must be considered in this context. Pasture renewal is a major event-driven disruption that replaces current pasture species with competitive species, creating a grass-legume complex that has a tendency to develop towards a community of plants that tolerate the local environmental stress. Pasture persistence can be improved through managing the impacts of and interactions between environmental stressors on the pasture. Interactions between pasture management options, such as grazing and fertiliser, and the major environmental stressors of soil moisture, temperature, soil fertility, grazing and pests are discussed. Keywords: ecology, environmental stressors, farm systems, grazing management, pasture persistence.