![]() Ranchers must decide yearly whether the forage available on their land is sufficient to support their livestock without impairing the future productivity of the land. These plant “phenocams” offer producers a powerful way to improve their ability to decide when grazing time is at its peak, the best time to apply herbicides, and when to reduce vegetative fuel loads that increase the risk of wildfires.Īn online decision support tool for ranchers provides a county-level forecast of rangeland vegetation. Through extensive field work in dominant ecosystems of the Great Basin and Chihuahuan Desert, ARS scientists in Reno, Nevada, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, determined that inexpensive, land-based, plant phenology cameras can be used to quantify changes in mixed shrub-grasslands and meadow ecosystems. ![]() Producers traditionally collect this information during field visits, which are expensive and time intensive. Critical information needed for managing grazing cattle productivity include timing of establishment, growth, peak production, and reproduction of various pasture plants. Rangeland producers need timely, reliable, and easy-to-understand information about the condition of their land to make management decisions. Low-cost precision technology helps with peak rangeland production. Hyperlinked accomplishment titles point to active parent research projects. ARS research helps producers improve management decisions and ultimately achieve healthy and productive pastures and rangelands that support rural prosperity, food security, and healthy agroecosystems, as illustrated by the following FY 2019 accomplishments. The ARS pasture and rangeland management research program enhances the utility, function, and performance of rangelands, pastures, forage, and turf agroecosystems while providing ecosystem services. Improving Pasture and Rangeland Management Download One Pager pdf
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