Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO

Grassland Management Unit

Towards effective utilization of abandoned farmland by introduction of year-round mother-offspring grazing

From decrease of calf supply due to the reduction of the reproductive farms, feeder cattle prices have increased sharply, making it stable supply of meat for the calf in the future is a major issue. On the other hand, in the mountainous region have been increasing rapidly abandoned farmland, the decreasing abandoned farmland has become an important policy issue of agricultural policy. As a means to solve the major challenge this two in one fell swoop, a method of introducing the year-round mother-offspring grazing of labor-saving and profitable beef cattle in abandoned farmland has been considered. In grassland management unit, to establish the year-round grazing cow-calf production system, year-round feed supply system using with the abandoned farmland, has developed an efficient grassland use and pasture planting technology. Grassland management unit has also been developing livestock drinking water systems, soil conservation techniques and management stabilization technique, as the essential peripheral technology to the introduction of grazing, we are promoting a system making aimed at solving these problems.

Towards the development of a labor- and resource-saving grassland management system

The best part of utilizing the grazing livestock, the solar energy is directly used to pasture and it is directly fed by livestock, we obtain human food (nutrients) from livestock with the labor- and resource-saving. The total pasture area in the country is app. 611,000 ha with 13.9% (85,000 ha) corresponding to public pasture areas. In most prefectures except Hokkaido, the accounted grassland area of public pasture is 33.6% (34,000 ha) of the pasture area and has therefore become an important forage base of each region. The pasture, a vast landscape with the itself attracts a lot of people. On the one hand, in addition to the increase in production costs due to rising fertilizer prices, which rely on experience and intuition such as inefficiency caused by, it is also contained managerial problems because of "vastness". In addition, deterioration and of vegetation due to aging of use, such as the technology of inheritance problems due to aging of the administrator, is a pressing issue also strengthen the foundation for the future. Grassland management unit, cooperate with the grazing management unit, promoting a system making that enables the "suitability allocation of human resources and materials" through "visualization", "sharing" and "create database" of the information needed to manage work. This not only break from work that relied on experience and intuition, labor-saving and recycling of grassland management, but also becomes possible, it can be expected to strengthen the management foundation for the future.

Strip grazing in the winter rye toward the year-round grazing

Unit Leader

Seiji NAKAO
Research Topic: Soil and Water Conservation


Unit Members

Name
Position
Research Topic
Kiyoshi HIRANO Principal Researcher Grassland Management
Kazumasa SHINDO Senior Researcher Grassland and Grazing Management

Centers・Institutes