Some considerations on rotational grazing.
It is necessary to take into account when this type of management is going to be established, that the production of pastures will depend on the animal load that is handled on the surface, the occupation time that each paddock has, the rest days that are granted to the pasture, and the fertility of the soil, which can be improved a little with fertilization.
To determine the size and number of paddocks, it is necessary to know the number of animal units that will be managed per hectare, the days of rest and occupation, after knowing the number and size of paddocks, we proceed to delimit the area, either with barbed wire or electric fences, currently some producers prefer the electric fence because fewer ponds are used and they are easier to clean.
The species of grass must be taken into account and determine the recovery period they have in the rainy and dry seasons, in the dry season they need more rest days because there is little availability of water for their recovery and logically in the rainy season rest days are shortened, it is necessary to carry out sampling and determine the yield of the grass and nutritional quality during those periods so that rest days can be established accurately. This may vary according to the geographical area where you are located.
The fertilization of pastures should be considered without exceeding the nutrient contribution, one of the most applied elements in livestock ecosystems is nitrogen, specifically urea, although liquid organic fertilizers based on bovine manure can also be used, these fertilizers can be applied once the animals leave the paddock to avoid some type of poisoning, when the animals complete the cycle and return to the same paddock there should be no residues of the substances used to fertilize.
Last but not least, it is important that the species used are adapted to the climatic conditions to obtain their maximum potential and establish frequent diagnostics with the intention of verifying if there is any insect pest that affects their production or arvense plant that is on the surface occupying the space required for crops with forage potential.
Bibliographic references |
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Faria, J. (2006). Pasture and forage management in dual-purpose livestock farming. Memory of the X Seminar on Pastures and Forages. Maracaibo: Universidad del Zulia - FCV.
Machado, D.; Silva, B. y Espinoza, A.(2012).Rotary grazing, alternative for livestock management in the Venezuelan paramo. Andean paramo project.
Interesting approach, and yeah fertilization can saturate the soil as well right?
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Hello dear friend @gwajnberg, it is a pleasure for me to greet you again, if we talk only about the soil with maintaining organic matter is enough for the decomposition and mineralization processes to run naturally and thus obtain the necessary nutrients.
But logically these nutrients are important for the growth and development of plants, when fertilized with synthetic elements that are quickly assimilated by plants without any control or without considering the deficiencies that exist in the soil, an imbalance can occur in plants producing a large amount of amino acids what attracts insects, known as trophobiosis which we will talk about in other articles.
In the case of grasslands there are some brachiarias that when fertilized excessively with nitrogen begins to accumulate nitrates, which can cause poisoning in animals when they consume it.
Until then, have an excellent week, your comment allows us to visualize future content.
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That's definitely an important topic, even for a small garden (I will deal with it later this fall when it will be time to prepare mine).
Cheers!
Hello dear @lemouth, certainly some of the aspects mentioned here can be applied on a small scale in gardens or flower beds, they are fundamental agronomic practices.
So long, have a great week.
I agree! Cheers!