| Grassland Evaluation Contest Study Guide | Fifth Edition: October 2005 |
| Grassland Condition | |
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Profitable grassland management for livestock pasture depends upon the manager's ability to match forage growth and livestock nutritional needs. Every livestock producer must first be a "grass farmer" since ruminant livestock depend directly on the quality and quantity of forage available. Shortages of forage quality or quantity at critical periods of the animal's productive cycle means loss of production. Livestock production can never reach an economically optimum level on improperly managed pasture. This unit will discuss principles that can be used to match forage growth with animal nutritional needs to develop pasture programs.
Understanding forage growth is a key to any successful pasture program. No single forage provides adequate year-round grazing, but complimentary combinations of several forages including both cool-season and warm-season forages can provide good quality season-long grazing and some winter grazing as well (Figure 1). Forage selection for a pasture program is sometimes difficult due to the wide variety of forages available. The following section discusses the appraisal of existing conditions in a pasture.
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