Pasture Management 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 8 lessons:

1 Introduction to Pastures

• Pasture Improvement
• Choosing a Pasture Mix
• Seed Coating
• Variety Selection
• Sustainability
• Definitions

2 The Pasture Plant

• Grasses
• The grass plant
• Growth and development
• Phases of development
• Annual and perennial grasses
• Carbohydrate sinks
• The physiology of grasses
• The structure of grasses
• Growth habits
• Legumes

3 Pasture Varieties

• Introduction to common pasture grasses
• Identifying grasses
• Legumes
• The Importance of Legumes in Pasture
• Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes
• The Rhizobium bacteria
• Common legumes
• Grasses to Grow With Clovers

4 Site Considerations

• Managing pastures
• Choosing the Correct Site for a Pasture
• Choosing the correct seed mix
• Seed quality

5 Establishing New Pastures

• Preparation of the land for pasture
• Prepared seedbed
• Sowing
• Germination
• Direct drilling
• Weed control
• Seeders
• Grazing new pastures

6 Managing Existing Pastures

• Native Grasses versus Pasture
• Carrying Capacity of Native Grasses
• Stocking Rate of Native Grass Areas
• The Establishment of the Native Grasslands
• The developing grasslands
• How grasslands deteriorate
• Factors promoting succession or retrogression
• Limiting factors and terminal plant communities
• Allogenic Factors
• Autogenic Factors
• Rests To Promote Rapid Growth
• Rests to change the composition of the community
• Rests designed to eliminate or control bush encroachment
• Rests to accumulate grazing material
• Rests to provide out of season fodder
• Physiological aspects

7 Managing Stock on Pasture

• Factors affecting food intake by animals
• Animal factors
• Feed factors
• Grazing factors
• Grazing behaviour
• Complementary Grazing
• Rank Order of Dominance
• Selective Grazing
• Ruminant Time
• Herd group behaviour
• Grazing Time
• Pasture management principles - rest, grazing period, stocking, carrying capacity
• Equal Utilisation or the Removal of the Top Hamper, paddock size, number in herd etc
• Grassland management principles - Split - season Systems, Continuous Light Stocking, One Herd, Four Paddock System, Intensive systems etc
• Horse pastures
• Food trees and shrubs

8 Pasture Management Work Tasks

• Fertilizer
• Pest and weed control
• Biological control
• Advantages of Biological Methods
• Disadvantages of Biological Methods
• Irrigation
• Fallowing
• Cultivation
• Pasture renovation
• Managing pasture after drought
• Managing pasture after fire