Farmer perceptions of reasons for perennial pasture persistence and the relationship of these with management practice, species composition, and soil fertility

Abstract

<jats:p>During 1997/98, a postal survey of 100 sheep and beef pastoral farms asked the farmers a range of questions based around pasture performance and their perceptions on persistence, and asked them to identify a persistent paddock on their farm. The farmers were then interviewed on the management of the chosen persistent paddock and the paddock was assessed for composition and fertility. The farmers ranked pasture species persistence fourth, behind pasture quality, animal health, and soil fertility in terms of importance to the whole farm system. The difference was significant between pasture quality and pasture persistence. The persistent pastures, as identified by the farmers, had high levels of desirable species and low levels of weeds and low-fertility volunteer species. The survey showed some pastures can persist and maintain high levels of desirable species for periods over 21 years. Fertility is a key factor in pasture persistence followed by drainage and grazing management. Keywords: farm management, farm survey, farmers' perceptions, interview, pasture persistence, species composition, soil fertility</jats:p>

High perennial ryegrass seeding rates do not negatively impact pasture sward persistence

“…Poor persistence of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.)‐dominant swards is an important on‐farm issue in some areas of New Zealand and Australia (Nie, Chapman, Tharmaraj, & Clements, ; Tozer, Bourdot, Edwards, & Mercer, ). While many farmers expect newly sown swards to persist for more than 10 years (Daly, Fraser, Perkins, & Moffat, ), the level of farmer satisfaction with swards has been reported to decline progressively during the first 3 years after renewal (Kelly, Smith, & Brazendale, ; Rijswijk & Brazendale, ), which is much sooner than anticipated.…”

Plant responses to climate and relationships with pasture persistence

“…While there is evidence that perennial ryegrass and white clover plant populations can recover from quite severe droughts, and therefore that these species are persistent in most New Zealand grassland environments (see also Daly et al 1999), farmers frequently report dissatisfaction with persistence of perennial ryegrass/ white clover pastures (e.g., Tozer et al 2011). Anecdotal information of this sort can be difficult to interpret, however it is possible to propose that something has changed over the past 2-3 decades to create this situation.…”

Can pasture persistence be improved through the use of nonryegrass species?

“…Where perennial ryegrass pastures have survived well in unsuited regions like Hawkes Bay, many of the plants may have been established from buried seed (volunteer ryegrass) rather than survived from sowing (Daly et al 1999). This means that the persistence of sown ryegrass plants may be less than it appears, with pastures reverting to ryegrass plants with different characteristics and usually containing toxic standard endophyte.…”