Pasture management for intensive and sustainable cattle production

Intensifying cattle production on pasture increases the productive efficiency of the animals, regardless of the grazing system adopted. In this context, knowledge of the particularities of the forage species is a tool that helps when deciding which system to use. Knowledge of the pasture ecosystem is extremely important to avoid frustration and failure of a particular cultivar or technology, caused by incorrect use. Pasture intensification can be achieved through various grazing systems such as intermittent, continuous, deferred, intercropped, silvopastoral, and integrated crop-livestock and forestry, as long as they are managed correctly, respecting the characteristics of the ecosystem, which includes the soil-plant-animal interrelationship. Morphogenic characteristics also correlate with the ability to keep pastures productive. In this way, grazing management is extremely important in the search for the optimum production point for a given forage plant, so that it is not affected and meets the nutritional requirements of the animals.