Implications Of Over Grazing Pastures

Sep 30, 2022

Throughout the summer and early fall, farmers have been utilizing designated pastures or marginal land to grazing their livestock. This process is relatively cost effective as the livestock harvest the forage instead of using equipment (includes time and fuel). However, recently I have noticed one trend in our area that needs to be addressed - overgrazing.

Overgrazing leads to a reduction in desirable plant species and an increase in less desirable plants. Having a thin pasture stand, leads to reduced water infiltration, reduced water holding capacity and increased erosion potential. In addition, the soil will have less nutrient holding capacity and can lead to compaction issues. All of these factors will lead to decreased average daily gains in livestock.

In order to keep our pastures as productive as possible, it's important to know the types of grasses and legumes that are in your pasture. By doing so, you will have a better understanding of each species unique growth, persistence and quality characteristics. Not all plants grow the same with changes in the weather, soil quality and grazing management (or lack thereof). If you haven’t done so already, implementing a rotational grazing plan will help to improve pasture productivity over time.

As we approach winter, be thinking about how much time the desired grasses and legumes need to rejuvenate and store the necessary carbohydrates to survive winter. Livestock should not be grazing during this rest period. This is because grazing these plants reduces the leafy area of the plant and its ability to capture the necessary energy from the sun. Generally speaking, at least 5 inches or more should be left for an appropriate amount of vegetation for regrowth. Resting your pastures by having a rotational grazing plan will allow the desired plants to thrive, which provides less opportunity for weeds to get established.

Got unwanted weeds? Recently, I have seen lots of thistles, among other weeds, that have had the opportunity to set seed. This is the exact opposite of what is recommended. Weeds that are on the noxious weeds list and that may cause harm to livestock need to be managed! Take time to identify the weeds in your pastures. Many require a combination approach of mowing, hand-pulling and herbicide application to be limited. Note: if you have weeds in your pasture that have gone to seed, do not mow them as the seed will be dispersed and get established in a larger area of pasture. Take note of the weed species this fall and create an action plan on how to manage the weeds in the next growing season.

Source : umn.edu

Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

In a world of PowerPoint overload, Rex Bernardo stands out. No bullet points. No charts. No jargon. Just stories and photographs. At this year’s National Association for Plant Breeding conference on the Big Island of Hawaii, he stood before a room of peers — all experts in the science of seeds — and did something radical: he showed them images. He told them stories. And he asked them to remember not what they saw, but how they felt.

Bernardo, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent his career searching for the genetic treasures tucked inside what plant breeders call exotic germplasm — ancient, often wild genetic lines that hold secrets to resilience, taste, and traits we've forgotten to value.

But Bernardo didn’t always think this way.

“I worked in private industry for nearly a decade,” he recalls. “I remember one breeder saying, ‘We’re making new hybrids, but they’re basically the same genetics.’ That stuck with me. Where is the new diversity going to come from?”

For Bernardo, part of the answer lies in the world’s gene banks — vast vaults of seed samples collected from every corner of the globe. Yet, he says, many of these vaults have quietly become “seed morgues.” “Something goes in, but it never comes out,” he explains. “We need to start treating these collections like living investments, not museums of dead potential.”

That potential — and the barriers to unlocking it — are deeply personal for Bernardo. He’s wrestled with international policies that prevent access to valuable lines (like North Korean corn) and with the slow, painstaking science of transferring useful traits from wild relatives into elite lines that farmers can actually grow. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But he’s convinced that success starts not in the lab, but in the way we communicate.

“The fact sheet model isn’t cutting it anymore,” he says. “We hand out a paper about a new variety and think that’s enough. But stories? Plants you can see and touch? That’s what stays with people.”

Bernardo practices what he preaches. At the University of Minnesota, he helped launch a student-led breeding program that’s working to adapt leafy African vegetables for the Twin Cities’ African diaspora. The goal? Culturally relevant crops that mature in Minnesota’s shorter growing season — and can be regrown year after year.

“That’s real impact,” he says. “Helping people grow food that’s meaningful to them, not just what's commercially viable.”

He’s also brewed plant breeding into something more relatable — literally. Coffee and beer have become unexpected tools in his mission to make science accessible. His undergraduate course on coffee, for instance, connects the dots between genetics, geography, and culture. “Everyone drinks coffee,” he says. “It’s a conversation starter. It’s a gateway into plant science.”