The Art and Science of Grazing: How Grass Farmers Can Create Sustainable Systems for Healthy Animals and Farm Ecosystems
Product ID: 31669276
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"Sarah Flack has written a wonderful guide to sustainable grazing. She discusses fundamental principles and specific practices that make her book meaningful for anyone interested in the art and science of grazing.”--Fred Provenza, professor emeritus, Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, author of Nourishment Grazing management might seem simple: just put livestock in a pasture and let them eat their fill. However, as Sarah Flack explains in The Art and Science of Grazing , the pasture/livestock relationship is incredibly complex. If a farmer doesn’t pay close attention to how the animals are grazing, the resulting poorly managed grazing system can be harmful to the health of the livestock, pasture plants, and soils. Well-managed pastures can instead create healthier animals, a diverse and resilient pasture ecosystem, and other benefits. Flack delves deeply below the surface of “let the cows eat grass,” demonstrating that grazing management is a sophisticated science that requires mastery of plant and animal physiology, animal behavior, and ecology. She also shows readers that applying grazing management science on a working farm is an art form that calls on grass farmers to be careful observers, excellent planners and record-keepers, skillful interpreters of their observations, and creative troubleshooters. The Art and Science of Grazing will allow farmers to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of grazing management so they can both design and manage successful grazing systems. The book’s unique approach presents information first from the perspective of pasture plants, and then from the livestock perspective—helping farmers understand both plant and animal needs before setting up a grazing system. This book is an essential guide for ruminant farmers who want to be able to create grazing systems that meet the needs of their livestock, pasture plants, soils, and the larger ecosystem. The book discusses all the practical details that are critical for sustained success: how to set up a new system or improve existing systems; acreage calculations; paddock layout; fence and drinking water access; lanes and other grazing infrastructure; managing livestock movement and flow; soil fertility; seeding and reseeding pastures; and more. The author includes descriptions of real grazing systems working well on dairy, beef, goat, and sheep farms in different regions of North America. The book covers pasture requirements specific to organic farming, but will be of use to both organic and non-organic farms. Review: The Best on this Topic! - I love to read, and will state that at the outset. I moreover love to read about one of my undying passions, Sustainable Agriculture in general, and grazing in particular. Sarah Flack’s recently published book, “The Art and Science of Grazing” is an absolute “must read” for anyone interested in grazing and animal agriculture. This book is a comprehensive tome covering all facets of grazing and pasture management for farmers who have beef cattle, sheep, goats, and dairy cattle. It is published by Vermont’s Chelsea Green Publishing company which has a history of producing excellent quality books on a variety of sustainable topics. If anyone was in need of an excellent book to teach a course on grazing, then you need look no further than this book to instill new techniques and knowledge in your audiences. I heartily recommend this edition and rate it with five stars. Why do I rate it so high? Quite succinctly, Sarah Flack has provided a treasure trove of information and techniques based on sound ecological practices, which can support economically viable farming with animal agriculture. This is a four part book with fifteen chapters and several appendices. Part One “Laying the Groundwork” has two chapters; Benefits of Good Pasture Management, and Types of Grazing Systems. Part Two “Grazing from the Plant’s Perspective” has four chapters; Grazing Adapted Plants, Pasture Soil Health, Managing Pasture Plants, and Common Pasture Plants. Part Three “Grazing from the Animal’s Perspective” has six chapters; The Unique Digestive Ability of Ruminants, Ruminant Nutrition from Pasture, Meeting Livestock Nutritional Needs, Grazing Behavior, 100 Percent Grassfed, and Health Concerns. Part Four “Designing and Managing a Grazing System” has three chapters; Pasture Math, Calculating Acreage, Grazing System Design and Infrastructure, and the final chapter, Putting it All Together. These chapters are followed by several excellent appendices dealing with pasture problems, pasture planning worksheets, pasture monitoring, certification programs, and a list of resources. The book is printed on very high quality paper, and is loaded throughout with high quality color photos. Each chapter is filled with the latest knowledge available to support this wonderful and growing endeavor of grazing management. I also found it to be written with flawless grammar, spelling, and editing throughout which is always a pleasure to see. As our agricultural world slowly changes to include more humane livestock husbandry methods, and ecologically benign methods to support those concepts, this book provides knowledge and information for graziers to not only “talk the talk” but to” walk the walk”. In addition to my being an agricultural educator dealing with grazing management for a variety of clientele, I am an active farmer that grazes beef cattle, sheep, and a variety of pastured poultry. My knowledge base has increased a good bit on this topic since reading this book. Review: Very useful. - Fantastic book. Well organized and will help you graze for the maximum health of both your livestock and your land.
| Best Sellers Rank | #141,624 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Soil Science (Books) #87 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books) #117 in Animal Husbandry (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 140 Reviews |
R**R
The Best on this Topic!
I love to read, and will state that at the outset. I moreover love to read about one of my undying passions, Sustainable Agriculture in general, and grazing in particular. Sarah Flack’s recently published book, “The Art and Science of Grazing” is an absolute “must read” for anyone interested in grazing and animal agriculture. This book is a comprehensive tome covering all facets of grazing and pasture management for farmers who have beef cattle, sheep, goats, and dairy cattle. It is published by Vermont’s Chelsea Green Publishing company which has a history of producing excellent quality books on a variety of sustainable topics. If anyone was in need of an excellent book to teach a course on grazing, then you need look no further than this book to instill new techniques and knowledge in your audiences. I heartily recommend this edition and rate it with five stars. Why do I rate it so high? Quite succinctly, Sarah Flack has provided a treasure trove of information and techniques based on sound ecological practices, which can support economically viable farming with animal agriculture. This is a four part book with fifteen chapters and several appendices. Part One “Laying the Groundwork” has two chapters; Benefits of Good Pasture Management, and Types of Grazing Systems. Part Two “Grazing from the Plant’s Perspective” has four chapters; Grazing Adapted Plants, Pasture Soil Health, Managing Pasture Plants, and Common Pasture Plants. Part Three “Grazing from the Animal’s Perspective” has six chapters; The Unique Digestive Ability of Ruminants, Ruminant Nutrition from Pasture, Meeting Livestock Nutritional Needs, Grazing Behavior, 100 Percent Grassfed, and Health Concerns. Part Four “Designing and Managing a Grazing System” has three chapters; Pasture Math, Calculating Acreage, Grazing System Design and Infrastructure, and the final chapter, Putting it All Together. These chapters are followed by several excellent appendices dealing with pasture problems, pasture planning worksheets, pasture monitoring, certification programs, and a list of resources. The book is printed on very high quality paper, and is loaded throughout with high quality color photos. Each chapter is filled with the latest knowledge available to support this wonderful and growing endeavor of grazing management. I also found it to be written with flawless grammar, spelling, and editing throughout which is always a pleasure to see. As our agricultural world slowly changes to include more humane livestock husbandry methods, and ecologically benign methods to support those concepts, this book provides knowledge and information for graziers to not only “talk the talk” but to” walk the walk”. In addition to my being an agricultural educator dealing with grazing management for a variety of clientele, I am an active farmer that grazes beef cattle, sheep, and a variety of pastured poultry. My knowledge base has increased a good bit on this topic since reading this book.
N**M
Very useful.
Fantastic book. Well organized and will help you graze for the maximum health of both your livestock and your land.
J**R
Good book bad packaging process
When book was unboxed it was dirty and had finger prints all over the cover and what looked like food stuck to the cover. All other items in the box were in nice condition. Still gave a 5 star because the book is good but something went wrong with the packaging process.
S**R
The future could be bright - healthy foods raised well.
This book is well-written and easy to read. As an aspiring farmer (nearing retirement) it fleshed our the picture painted by other pasture experts. It is a good overview for a newbie like me, but I think it would also be helpful for an experienced farmer.... she describes in detail different plants and their uses as well as details of crop rotation.
E**R
Approachable, thorough, and experience-based
The Art and Science of Grazing offers a very approachable how–to for ecological, intensively managed grazing practices for cold, humid climates. Based in decades of experience as a grazer and extension professional, this book is a great entry point for new grazers as well as offering much nuance for those who are more experienced.
T**Y
This is a great book for an introduction to proper grazing management
This is a great book for an introduction to proper grazing management. Really, start here and then go on to others if you want to go a bit deeper. Thorough, well written, scientific, adequately detailed to be useful but not so detailed that it is overwhelming. The photographs are very useful. It is the first book on these topics that has some good grass pictures. Instead of talking about grass and discussing the measurement of grass it just straight up shows what good grass looks like. It also proves that the authors actually achieved what they describe. It isn't just a bunch of fanciful drawings! I really enjoy how it discusses grazing from the plant's perspective THEN the animal's. This is how it should be. Why not five stars? Well, mostly because I feel leaves out some very important corollary topics associated with grazing. The first being watering the animals and designing paddocks. Perhaps because the author wanted the book to be universally applicable, it didn't go into much detail here, not really enough to give the reader all they needed to be off and running. Also, it doesn't go into fence construction (of permeant fences) and doesn't really go into any depth in regards to shade and trees. To me, silvopasture is the next big thing in grazing, as it has now been demonstrated conclusively that cool season grasses generally grow as well or BETTER under light shade (the kind of shade the Juglandaceae family, Locusts, and some others cast). But really, this book is worth every penny. It is well written, indexed, the bibiliographys is good. It is frank, practical and has plenty of hands on info and demonstration. This has replaced "Greener Pastures on Your Side of the Fence" by Bill Murphy in my mind as the first grazing book one should read).
L**K
Fabulous Book
There is so much good information - technical information - it is sometimes overwhelming how much there is to know. I am gaining a better understanding of rotational grazing and all the grasses and it's exciting! Thank you!
A**R
Five Stars
I very much enjoyed reading this book. I found it informative and loaded with lots of practical details.
M**E
Invaluable work of reference
Excellent work of reference for any grazier/farmer. My go-to reference work!
J**N
What a great book!!!!
I loved this book. It reads like a story of personal experience. I learned a lot from this book and highly recommended it.
T**N
Grazing Guru!
Brilliant book, a deep understanding of grass and grazing. Highly recommend it to anyone who mob grazes / practices holistically managed grazing
S**D
Good book
Good book, clearly written and full of information. An addition to any farm reference library.
M**E
At last,
At last, a practical how to and why guide as opposed to just singing the praises of grazing management
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