Silvopasture Management
Adaptive Grazing and Silvopasture
Silvopastures are complex agroecosystems with the potential to provide an array of sustainable products and services. From healthy pasture-based foods and forest products to clean water and carbon sequestration, highly skilled grazing management is critical to the success and optimization of these systems. Sustainable Farming Association.
Featured Publications
Silvopasture Design & Establishment: The How-Tos
From the Publication: Silvopasture intentionally combines trees, livestock, and forage into a single system on one site. The forage, trees, and livestock are managed and integrated to complement one another to increase productivity of the site. As a dynamic, symbiotic, and intensively managed grazing system, silvopasture is the sustainable (long-term) production of timber, forages, and livestock on the same lands.. Download the fact sheet from the Sustainable Farming Association.
Silvopasture Fact Sheet
From the Fact Sheet: In silvopasture, management of trees through thinning and pruning helps provide high-value timber and ensures that sufficient light is available for forage. Grazing animals control competition for moisture, nutrients, and sunlight, enhancing tree growth. Trees provide shade for livestock and create a microclimate that improves forage quality. Livestock promote nutrient cycling, and nitrogen fixing forage crops benefit trees.. Download the fact sheet from the Sustainable Farming Association.
Systems Perspective Improves Productivity and Environmental Quality of Grazed Forest (an Alabama study)
From the Website: Research by Dr. John Quinn and a team of pork farmers and researchers at Furman University found that implementing sustainable grazing practices on restored forest land can help producers lower production costs, improve soil quality and reduce pasture recovery periods. Review the SARE website.