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Creating Silvopastures: Some Considerations When Thinning Existing Timber Stands

ID

CSES-155P

Authors as Published

John Fike, Associate Professor and Extension Forage Specialist, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; Adam Downing, Senior Extension Agent, ANR, Forestry, Virginia Cooperative Extension; John Munsell, Associate Professor and Forest Management Extension Specialist, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech; J.B. Daniel, Forage and Grassland Agronomist, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service; Chris Teutsch, Associate Professor and Extension Forage Specialist, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech; Kelly Mercier, Graduate Student, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; Gabriel Pent, Graduate Student, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech


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Silvopastures intentionally integrate trees with forage and livestock production in a rotational grazing system. These systems have the potential to improve animal comfort, increase farm resource use efficiency, boost income, and mitigate environmental costs. From a theoretical standpoint, silvopastures are designed and managed to capture the beneficial interactions among each of the system’s components.


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Publication Date

April 20, 2021