Well-managed grazing systems: A forgotten hero of conservation

Abstract

Well-managed pasture-based farming systems provide society-wide environmental services while offering productivity and profit to individual producers. Small-scale farms are supplying local communities with food and aesthetic, yet functional, landscapes. While some barriers to greater adoption of well-managed pasture-based farming systems are real, surveys suggest that many barriers are perceived and could be overcome with education. Grazing networks and on-farm demonstrations are separating what is real from perceived. Local, state, and federal programs to support well-managed grazing systems need to be organized into coordinated action. New comprehensive research investigations need to be designed so that ecologically sound, pasture-based farming systems can be adopted and adapted using a firm scientific basis for greater understanding of the broad biogeochemical and socioeconomic considerations. New and existing policy options should be further developed to encourage adoption of well-managed pasture-based livestock production as one of several agroecological approaches to meet the current and future demands of a robust production system without harming the ecosystem that supports it. Copyright © 2012 Soil and Water Conservation Society. All rights reserved.