Pasture Management PACE Course – Melissa Fery, Lead

Description

This module will provide the basics of establishing and maintaining a productive pasture. The core principle is that as a livestock producer, you are actually a grass and legume farmer, marketing the forages you grow through your animals. Developing this perspective will help you better manage pastureland for sustainable forage-livestock systems.

This module has been developed for farmers and ranchers new to managing pastures in the Pacific Northwest. The examples used and the growing conditions discussed are primarily from the PNW. Nevertheless, the principles and practices covered will be relevant to farmers and ranchers nationwide.

Upon completion of this module, we anticipate that learners will:

  • See themselves as grass/legume pasture managers and know the benefits of good pasture and grazing management.
  • Be able to assess the condition of their pasture.
  • Understand how grasses and legumes grow through various stages of development and how management affects plant growth.
  • Have a basic understanding of rotational grazing and be able to manage the grazing of animals to compliment the pasture growth cycle.
  • Understand the basic steps involved in pasture renovation.