Offered Papers Theme C: Delivering the Benefits from Grassland
Description
The Pasture Condition Score System (Cosgrove et al., 2001) was developed as a monitoring and management tool on grazing lands The system considers 10 indicators of soils, plants, and animals including percent desirable plants, plant cover, plant diversity, plant residue, plant vigor, percent legume, uniformity of use, livestock concentration areas, soil compaction, and soil erosion. The indicators are assigned a score according to detailed criteria and the scores are summed to give an overall score for a pasture, or relevant grazing unit. The score is then interpreted, indicating if some type of management change or treatment is necessary. We tested the Pasture Condition Score system on farms across the northeast USA.
Citation
Sanderson, M. A.; Goslee, Sarah C.; Cropper, J. B.; and Bryant, R. B., "Assessment and Monitoring of Grazing Lands in the Northeastern United States" (2023). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 54.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/20/themeC/54
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Assessment and Monitoring of Grazing Lands in the Northeastern United States
The Pasture Condition Score System (Cosgrove et al., 2001) was developed as a monitoring and management tool on grazing lands The system considers 10 indicators of soils, plants, and animals including percent desirable plants, plant cover, plant diversity, plant residue, plant vigor, percent legume, uniformity of use, livestock concentration areas, soil compaction, and soil erosion. The indicators are assigned a score according to detailed criteria and the scores are summed to give an overall score for a pasture, or relevant grazing unit. The score is then interpreted, indicating if some type of management change or treatment is necessary. We tested the Pasture Condition Score system on farms across the northeast USA.
