Planning and sowing grasslands

Publication date: 26/07/2018
Extent: 46 pages

Contributions by: David B. Hannaway and Linda J. Brewer, Oregon State University, USA; Steve Fransen, Washington State University, USA; and Glenn Shewmaker, Shannon Williams and Sarah Baker, University of Idaho, USA

Chapter synopsis: To be truly sustainable, forage-livestock systems must be well matched to the soils, geophysical and climate factors, and expected level of management available. This chapter provides an overview of the pasture renovation or establishment process, including a comprehensive planning process, selection of system-appropriate forage species and cultivars, and the steps for realizing the comprehensive plan, including initial management during the establishment or renovation year. Species selection is the weak link in the process. Although many forage agronomists have used various approaches to address this issue, the problem remains largely unsolved, with recommendations based primarily on location-dependent species and cultivar evaluation trials and grower experience. As a possible solution, the authors have included a vision for developing user-friendly, data-rich forage selection tools, and they provide a short review of the existing tools.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2017.0024.10