5 Farm-level management practices in forage-based beef cattle systems and their influence on sustainability

Abstract Sustainability is a ‘buzzword’ often used within and outside of the agriculture industry. Southeastern beef cow-calf and stocker operations often utilize management practices which embody the core definition of sustainability to improve land resource, economic, and social viability. In forage-based production systems, year-round management practices are generally viewed by the scientific community in terms of production and economic responses. However, the continual global shift in emphasis on sustainable practices creates an opportunity to view these practices through a different lens. Goals of grazing-based beef systems often include optimizing the number of grazing days per year, reducing hay and supplemental feeding period duration, and strategic supplementation during grazed forage availability gaps. Methods for increasing the grazing season length per year may include stockpiling, inclusion of multi-species mixtures, increasing species diversity on farm, and optimizing stocking strategies. Outside of associative effects of feed supplementation are potential ancillary benefits of supplementation on the plant-animal-soil interface. As an example, feed-through fertilization influences forage growth production responses and stocking density modulation in grazed beef cattle systems. The role of mineral supplementation and ionophore inclusion in beef cattle diets is well documented from an animal performance perspective, but to a lesser extent on how using these practices may influence forage or soil response variables. Stacking management practices may elicit positive animal performance responses, while potentially reducing outside inputs into the system. The question then becomes if this is economically viable compared with a more traditional forage-based system. From a research perspective, systems-level studies are more prevalent than in the past, but funding models require scientists to evolve and lead with the sustainability message rather than from a production viewpoint. Valuing management practices from an ecosystem services view is a potential area of opportunity for researchers, industry and farmers to highlight strengths of forage-based beef cattle production systems from a consumer perspective.