Native Warm-Season Grasses: Naturally Adapted Productive Pastures

The series of severe droughts between 2007 and 2012 resulted in substantial decreases in cattle numbers – and enterprises – in our region. Some of the impact of these droughts may have been offset if producers in the region had reliable, drought-resilient summer forages. For all of the benefits of tall fescue, it was never meant to provide our summer forage. After all, it is a cool-season grass. What we have been learning about toxicosis in recent years further emphasizes the value of having alternative forages available during summer months

The Soil Health Properties of Native Grasslands

Due to an increased interest in soil health and the role soils can have in carbon sequestration, native grasslands are getting heightened attention. Native grasslands are known for their deep top-soils that develop over time through the accumulation of soil organic matter. The deep and fibrous root systems that make up two-thirds of the biomass of native grasslands are the primary contributors to the soil organic carbon (SOC) content of grassland soils. Increased SOC content has a cascading effect on soil health metrics through increasing water infiltration and water holding capacity, supporting diverse and abundant soil microbial life, and improving nutrient cycling

The Business Case for Healthy Grasslands-Based Agriculture – Economic and Social Implications

Native perennial warm-season grasses (NWSGs) of the United States (U.S.) provide valuable summer forage. Studies have shown their potential within grazing systems as a complement to cool-season forages, as well as their benefits to soil biota, wildlife biodiversity, carbon sequestration and their resiliency to extreme drought and flood events. In this paper, we demonstrate that, in addition to these benefits, NWSGs provide important economic value to beef and dairy producers as a hedge against financial risks posed by overreliance on cool-season grasses

Back to the Future: Achieving Resilient, Sustainable Grasslands through Restoration of Ecological Norms / Overview – the Problem, the Opportunity

Grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth, are the largest agricultural enterprise in the U.S., serve as a major carbon pool, produce high quality dietary proteins, and host a rich biodiversity. However, grasslands, including those of the eastern U.S., have been heavily altered and degraded reducing their resiliency and negatively impacting native fauna. Recent scientific advances in grassland establishment and management, along with the opportunity to monetize the carbon benefits of native grasslands, could provide the needed social and economic support to make such restoration possible on a large scale. Where restored grassland communities align with historical, ecological norms of the region, improved resiliency, sustainability, as well as viability of native biota can all be achieved. Such an approach, based on adapted native grasses and focused on the principles of working lands conservation, can be a template for grasslands restoration globally

Biodiversity—The Birds and the Bees and Healthy Grasslands

Losses in biodiversity abound in modern agroecosystems, and biodiversity loss hampers ecosystem function and primary productivity comparable to abiotic stress. One of the most endangered ecosystems in the world is North American tallgrass prairie, and native birds and pollinators that historically depended on tallgrass prairie are in precipitous decline. Fortunately, native warm-season grasses that dominated tallgrass prairie present a valuable opportunity for summer forage to beef producers in the Eastern United States—a time when coolseason grasses endure a lack in productivity called the “summer slump.” Tallgrass prairie was sustained by periodic disturbance from grazing and fire, and combining fire and grazing to manage native warm-season grasslands creates greater landscape heterogeneity than grazing of cool-season grasslands alone. As a result, native warm-season grasslands can support a wide variety of native grassland birds and pollinators while providing nutritious summer forage for beef production. Ultimately, establishing native warm-season grasslands on beef producer farms offers synergy between conservation and farm productivity that can translate to farm profitability

Back to the Future: How Do We Get There From Here? Making Restoration Work

Extreme temperatures and long periods of drought observed with increasing frequency in the southeastern United States (U.S.) have demonstrated the need to develop more robust forage systems. Native warmseason grasses (NWSGs) are well adapted to fill this role, but their expanded use comes with several challenges, most notably, reliable establishment. The high cost of site preparation, high cost of seed, and slow initial growth of NWSG seedlings must be addressed to achieve increased adoption of NWSG in the eastern U.S. If these challenges are overcome, incorporating NWSG into grazing systems would benefit producers by filling the summer forage gap, mitigating drought risk, and extending the grazing season, while also enhancing native biodiversity

SP701-B Using Switchgrass for Forage

Version 2.

SP701-B Using Switchgrass for Forage

Version 2.

SP701-B Using Switchgrass for Forage

Version 2.

SP701-B Using Switchgrass for Forage

Version 2.