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Management theory and practice
Management theory and practice
Management
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Introduction
Natural and sown grasslands provide forage for livestock and equine populations worldwide. A well-managed pasture provides adequate nutrition, whilst improving the fertility of the soil and decreasing degradation of soil (Kemp & Michalk 1994).
Horses that graze on optimally managed pasture will obtain improved health and sustain a good condition, compared to horses grazing on poorly managed pasture (Undersander & Antoniewicz 1997, p.1). Understanding the processes involved in good pasture management will benefit the farmers during preparation and care or their pastures, whilst being cost-effective, with little money misused on unnecessary equipment or control measures.
Pasture Selection
Good horse pasture provides grazing throughout the year. The pasture mix is selected based on the environment and the needs of the horse/s, it is good management to include a variety of different species for the mix to address all the nutrients required by combining the benefits from each species (Avery 2006).
Adding a legume increases production of the forage and minimizes the necessity to provide hay or grain (Undersander & Antoniewicz 1997, p.1). Figure 1 demonstrates a monthly forage production of grass pasture (both good and poor management), in comparison to grass-legume pasture (good and poor management).
Figure 1. Monthly forage production in a 2-acre grass and grass-legume pasture (Undersander & Antoniewicz 1997, p.2).
Soil type and nutrient level
The types of soil vary from sand, sandy loams, clay loams, clay and pleat. The type of soil is determined by the composition and structure, along with many other factors. The type of soil directly impacts what plants can be grown on the paddock, as each plant species varies...
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Government of South Australia 2010, A Practical Guide to Rural Land Management, 2nd Edn, course booklet.
Grazing Management of Pastures n.d. FAO, viewed 22nd May,
Fairfax County Virginia n.d. ‘Earth Friendly Suburban Horse Farming’, Fairfax County Virginia, viewed 22nd May 2014,
FarmStyle n.d. ‘Pasture Development on Small Farms’, FarmStyle, viewed 20th May 2014,
Kemp, D & Michalk, D 1994, Pasture Management: Technology for the 21st Century, CSIRO, Victoria, Australia.
Undersander, D & Antoniewicz, R 1997, ‘Pasture for Horses’, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, WI, < http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/a3680.pdf>
Sheshadri, T. (2001, December 26). Student recognized for agricultural acumen. The San Diego Union Tribune, N1-4. Retrieved on March 20, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (Newspapers) on the World Wide Web: http://www.lexisnexis.com/universe.htm.
Joel Salatin is a 57 year old farmer who has been farming full time since 1982 on his farm “Polyface” which is located in Swoope, VA, where he is somewhat of a local legend in farming. “The farm services more than 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing” (Salatin, Polyface.com). Mr. Salatin utilizes a unique method of farming, a fact which makes him so profoundly interesting. The style in which he farms his land is termed “mob grazing”. Mob grazing is the process in which different animals are rotated at different times throughout the farms’ fields. He is an advocate not just for the human well being but for the world’s ecological sustainability and the continuance of growth.
The necessity for machinery such as tractors and possibly diet feeders as well as grain stores or silos add to fixed costs on the farm
Kellems, Richard O., and D. C. Church. Livestock Feeds and Feeding. 6th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
... horses with EMS found that feeding grass hay that was restricted to 1.25% of the animals’ body weights in combination with soaking the feed in cold water and feeding a vitamin and mineral regimen managed to improve the condition of the effected horses. In a period of six weeks, these animals lost an average %BM of about 7% as well as improving in the circumference of their belly and body condition score. Also, the horses showed higher insulin sensitivity by the end of the study.
The producer had continuous wheat on all the fields, which affected the decisions we made regarding what was planted when. In field one we decided to plant wheat continuous one more time, so we can get this field on a wheat, fallow, sorghum rotation. This will also give us the opportunity to deal with the field bindweed and kochia problem during the times of fallow. We also wanted the producer to have an income this year from something other than his corn. These 80 acres will then be fallow for a year and will be grain sorghum the following year.
Al-Kaisi, Mahdi. “Tillage in 2001: No-till.” Integrated Crop Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2011
Joel Salatin calls himself a grass farmer and nature follows. Joel believes that he supplies the grass and the animals do the rest. He farm does several rotational turns, first being gazed on my beef cows, then hundreds of hen, which lay thousands of eggs. Pollan questions why Salatin has chickens and he explains, “‘Because that’s how it work in nature’ (…) ‘Birds follow and clean up after herbivores’” (126). The animals help the grass as well, by spreading manure and getting rid of parasites. Joel shows how the grass helps the animals as the animals help the grass, making his natural system the best.
domestic horses (equus caballus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(3), 947-951. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809127105
The digestive system can be thought of in two separate sections; the first being more similar to that of a human, and the second resembling the rumen of a cow more precisely. Their small stomach has the potential to store two to four gallons of substance for the average horse that wei...
Nicholas Rothwell, 2000, ‘A farming we will grow’, Land Conservation, Justin Healey (ed.), The Spinney Press, New South Wales, page 6.
(n.d.). Retrieved September, 2012, from Natural Horse Supply website:
Yarra Rangers Shire Conci, . (2012, 04 05). Retrieved from Yarra Ranges Shire Concil: vic.gov.au/Business/What_is_Economic_Development
“Currently 80% of the world’s agricultural land is used directly or indirectly for animal production. In the US over half the total land mass is used for the production of meat and dairy products” (Clarke).
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good