Overcoming challenges to utilization of dormant forage in year-round grazing systems1

Livestock managers dealing with inter- and intra-annual forage quality dynamics use a variety of adaptive systems to cope. In higher rainfall areas, managers may have the ability to manipulate forage quantity and quality through forage management tactics such as grazing management, fertilization and use of seeded forages. In more semiarid and arid areas, forage dynamics are more heavily controlled by climatic factors. In these regions, adaption of animal management systems, such as by adjusting the match-up between seasonal nutrient demand and supply through manipulation of the animals' physiological state, or through the use of mobility, may be more appropriate. Understanding factors affecting forage dynamics and how managers develop systems to adjust is important to helping these managers to deal with future changes in climate and land use. This review describes livestock system adaptations used to deal with high and variable inter- and intra-annual forage dynamics primarily found in arid and semiarid production zones.