In a Gather to Grow Twitters session on field crops and pasture lands, researcher and planted pastures specialist at the Agricultural Research Council, Patrick Rakau shares tips on planting pastures, requirements, what to consider before planting and more.
Ragau explains that pastures can be defined as plants that are established to replace the existing vegetation, with the aim to improve the production and quality of the forest for livestock.
Because of global warming, Rakau advises farmers to step into the gap between climate change and feeding livestock. He says planting pastures helps keeps animals in shape without being affected by the high prices of animal feed.
However, because pastures are a diverse environment, planters need to be aware of what kind of pasture they want to plant first. In the session, he breaks down a number of pasture types that farmers can consider. According to Rakau, farmers need to also take into consideration their environment when making their choice of pasture variety.
Benefits of pastures
Rakau explains that pasture planting comes with benefits, such as the profitability of the livestock enterprise and farmers can increase the cultivar.
Planted pastures can improve animal grains and those who are into meat need to increase animal production per hectare and the temple of animal production.
While there are many benefits, Rakau cautions against only running a livestock operation with planted pastures. He says this will be an expensive exercise.
Rakau discouraged farmers from buying cheap seeds for the sake of saving money. “I know farmers like to save a lot but lets buy certified seeds. I know its expensive but if you really want to be successful in farming, you will need to invest in quality things.”
Other topics discussed included maintaining pasture lands, how pasture lands impact poultry feed production, and more.
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