Grazing Research and Education Center

Improving the sustainability and profitability of animal agriculture through better use of grassland resources

Mission

The Grazing Research and Education Center was established in 1994 to enhance the environmental sustainability and profitability of animal agriculture through better use of grassland resources.

Objectives

  • To foster interdisciplinary grassland, animal, and environmental research. Grassland resources are vital to sustainable and profitable systems, but improving these complex systems requires expertise from various disciplines.
  • To provide leadership for enhanced communications on grassland issues among researchers, educators, producers, allied industries, policy makers, and society. Unlike many agriculture commodity groups, grassland agriculture has no unified group. The Center brings together representatives of various groups interseted in the economice and environmental benefits of pasture use.
  • To coordinate educational resources and programs and to disseminate information on grassland agriculture to producers and allied industries. Information on grassland agriculture is diverse. The Center provides a focal point to assemble educational resource materials into a readily accessible information database.

Benefits

There is a significant trend toward a more intensive use of grassland. We need to better understand this resource and how to use it more efficiently and economically.

The potential benefits of improved grassland management include:

  • Economic sustainability of livestock enterprises. Pasture is the least expensive source of feed for dairy cattle, beef cattle, and sheep. Knowing how to optimize the contribution of pasture to meet the nutritional needs of different classes of animals can dramatically reduce feed costs and enhance profitability. Viable farming enterprises in turn help to sustain rural communities.
  • Environmental stewardship. Well managed pastures generally require less pesticide and fertilizer applications than cropped farmland. Established pastureland also stabilizes soil, reducing runoff, erosion, and contamination of ground and surface waters.
  • Enhanced aesthetic appeal. Maintaining viable pasturelands with grazing animals will help sustain the appeal of the rural landscape. Pastures also provide an acceptable buffer zone between rural agriculture and expanding urban communities.

Research

Faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) conduct interdisciplinary research related to the intensive grazing of dairy cattle, beef, and sheep, and are recognized as national leaders in this area. Their activities and expertise include:

  • Animal nutrition and management
  • Pasture ecosystem studies
  • Improving plant species for intensive grazing
  • Farming systems development
  • Nutrient management
  • Economics of alternative forage systems
  • Computer model development

Education

The center is committed to the timely transfer of technology and information to producers through:

  • Pasture walks and field days
  • Intensive workshops
  • Fact sheets and videos
  • County-based discussion groups

Facilities

Modern research facilities to accomplish the mission of the Center are available in the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building and the USDA Pasture Systems Watershed Management Research Laboratory. The Dairy Research and Education Center, the Haller Beef-Forage Center, and the Beef-Sheep Center have animals and acreage for pasture studies.

For More Information

Grazing Research and Education Center 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building University Park, PA 16802 Phone: +1-814-865-6541 FAX: +1-814-863-7043

Or contact Marvin Hall, Director of the Grazing Research and Education Center