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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2013 Publication Date: 6/25/2013 Citation: Franzluebbers, A.J. 2013. Environment – How good grass management helps. Meeting Abstract. Iowa Grazing Conference, 25-26 June 2013, Creston, Iowa. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Integrated crop-livestock systems with forages as a component can provide agricultural landscapes with (i) continued resistance to erosion, (ii) enhanced production with the accumulation of soil organic matter, and (iii) spatial and temporal opportunities to diversify various ecosystem services, as well as income sources derived from the diversity of products. This presentation was made at the Iowa Grazing Conference to share general ideas on how forages can improve environmental quality in agricultural landscapes, as well as to share a specific experience of integrated crop-livestock production in an experiment conducted in northern Georgia. Development of conservation agricultural systems in the future should include ways to extend the depth and diversity of roots, particularly from perennial forages, on individual farms and fields. Such systems should also value all components of agriculture, i.e. production, profit, protection of the environment, and people, to achieve sustainability. |
