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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2015

University of Kentucky

Earth Sciences

Forages

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Potential Of Forages In Crop Diversification And Crop Rotation, Martin H. Entz, Joanne Thiessen Martens Jan 2015

Potential Of Forages In Crop Diversification And Crop Rotation, Martin H. Entz, Joanne Thiessen Martens

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Redesign of agricultural systems according to ecological principles has been proposed for the development of sustainable systems. We review a wide variety of ecologically-based crop production practices that focus on forage crops in farming systems and discuss their potential role in enhancing the profitability, environmental sustainability and resilience. Crop-livestock systems that most closely mimic natural systems through appropriate integration of diverse components appear to offer the greatest potential benefits. These systems are more energy efficient and combine high productivity with low ecological footprint. Greater understanding of ecological relationships within crop-livestock systems are required to purposefully and proactively redesign agricultural systems …


Grazing Management Options For Maintaining Optimum Pasture Composition And Utilization, Glen E. Aiken Jan 2015

Grazing Management Options For Maintaining Optimum Pasture Composition And Utilization, Glen E. Aiken

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Global demand for meat and dairy products will continue to increase over the 21st century, however, the global forage-based livestock industry will be challenged in meeting production goals with minimal impact of the environment. Sustainable production of grazing livestock will depend on the use of carefully planned grazing management strategies. Development of a grazing management plan involves making two decisions: determining the livestock density at which pastures are stocked and settling on the method used to graze the pastures. Stocking rate indirectly affects output per animal and per hectare through its direct effect on forage mass and pasture composition. A …


Nitrogen Management Of Forages In Relation To Gaseous Emissions – New Approaches And Considerations, Shabtai Bittman, Derek Hunt Jan 2015

Nitrogen Management Of Forages In Relation To Gaseous Emissions – New Approaches And Considerations, Shabtai Bittman, Derek Hunt

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Forages have a high N demand, a long growing season, and an effective root system all contributing to effective nutrient capture. However forages are restrictive in methods available for mitigating gaseous losses both as NH3 and as N2O, due to both practical and cost considerations. Strategies are needed to address the challenges of both N efficiency and N losses. Agronomic techniques in long term experiments can enhance estimates of N loss pathways and N efficiency, and demonstrate the importance of integrated multinutrient approaches. The dual manure stream concept divides manure into a thin fraction suitable as an …