• Title/Summary/Keyword: Grassland farming

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Urinary Cortisol Levels in Japanese Shorthorn Cattle before and after the Start of a Grazing Season

  • Higashiyama, Y.;Narita, H.;Nashiki, M.;Higashiyama, M.;Kanno, T.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.18 no.10
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    • pp.1430-1434
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    • 2005
  • We conducted two experiments to assess the effect of transfer from housing to grazing on stress hormone secretion in cattle using urine samples. In a preliminary experiment, urine samples were collected following an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge, and cortisol levels in urine were compared with the levels in plasma. In a second experiment, urinary cortisol was measured before and after the start of a grazing season in 6 Japanese Shorthorn cows, all of which had experienced grazing before. In experiment 1, urinary cortisol showed a pattern of changes similar to that of plasma with a 0.5-h temporal lag time, and the peak levels were 4 to 10 times higher than the basal levels. In experiment 2, the urinary cortisol levels in cows did not change after the cows were let out to pasture, with no decreases in body weight. This study suggests that the transfer from housing to grazing did not affect physiological responses to cause high excretion of urinary cortisol in grazing-experienced cattle using a non-invasive sampling method.

Factors Required to Sustain Grassland Farming Systems and Forage Supply In Winter-Cold Zones in China (중국의 동계한냉지역에 있어서 초지개발과 조사료 공급의 활성화에 필요한 요인)

  • Zhu, T.;Zu, Y.;Fu, L.;Gao, H.
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.23-29
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    • 1992
  • This paper discussed the effect of cold on the forge and animal production and reviewed the main problems and present developement of grasslands farming in winter cold zones in China. It is considered that climatic factor,sepecially cold winter conditon, is the ,main limitint factor of the frasslands productionm which cause the seasonal unballance of forage prduction and forage supply in winter cold zones in china. Present ang future development of grasslands farming in winter cold zones are discussed ditailly.

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Soil Properties Influencing on Earthworm Habitation in Upland (밭토양에서 지렁이 서식에 영향을 추는 토양특성에 관한 연구)

  • 나영은;이상범;한민수;김세근;최동로
    • The Korean Journal of Soil Zoology
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.165-168
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    • 2000
  • The earthworm was investigated for knowing about that he inhabits in grassland, orchard field, organic farming land, greenhouse land, and ordinary farming land according to use of upland. The earthworm lives all in grassland and orchard field where was investigated, in 6 among 8 sites of organic farming land, in 5 among 12 sites of greenhouse land, in 5 among 25 sites of ordinary farming land. The earthworms that were shown are the Lumbricidae and the Megascolecidae. The number of the earthworm was 14 in orchard field, 12 in grassland, 10 in organic farming land, 7 in greenhouse land and 3 in ordinary farming land. The weight of the earthworms was declined in order of 12.3 g in orchard field, 11.6 g in organic farming land, 10.6 g in grassland, 4.2 g in greenhouse land and 2.9 g/0.25 m$^2$in ordinary farming land. If the water content of soil is not below 5% or over 35%, earthworm was no problem to live in. It was examined that the earthworm could live if pH values was not just strong acid or alkal. And if the organic matter is below 1%, the earthworm do not live but move another place.

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Exploiting Biological Nitrogen in Organic Grassland Farming (유기농경지에서 생물학적 질소의 이용)

  • Laidlaw, A.S.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Organic Agriculture Conference
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    • 2011.06a
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    • pp.117-127
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    • 2011
  • The paper outlines farming systems, including organic, in the UK, and provides a context for the use of biological nitrogen (N) from legumes, especially clovers, and manure in organic grassland systems. As N is dynamic within organic ruminant/grassland systems its pathway is described, including its loss and resultant environmental impact. Improvements in the predictability of response to biological N, its role in reducing the carbon footprint of ruminant products and potential to improve its efficiency are discussed.

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Factors Required to Sustain Pastoral Farming Systems and Forage Supply In Winter-Cold Zones in Korea (한국의 동계한냉지역에 있어서 초지개발과 조사료 공급의 활성화에 필요한 요인)

  • 김동암
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.30-40
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    • 1992
  • The area of grassland established and the arable land in forage production have been decreased recently in Korea. As a result, forages available from the grassland and the arable land provided only 40% of the total roughage consumed by cattle in 1991, compared with 54% in 1989. The decreasing trend of the forage production has been impinged on by a number of legislative. socio-economic. technical and other constraints negatively affecting grassland and forage development. Consequently. effective systems and strategies are quite necessary to have sustainable grassland farming in Korea. In spring and autumn, temperatures are too low for subtropical forage crops, and the summer monsoon climate is another serious limitation to the use of cool-season species. Therefore it is an imperative that not only the research-based grassland development but also the forage crop production should be strongly supported by the government authorities to overcome such climatic limitations. Private forest land holdings are of relatively small units in Korea. Accordingly. it is necessary and important to enlarge the forest land holdings per farm to develop as economic units of grassland. For this the government should introduce new policy measures such as for example: long-term leases of Sorest land and the idle arable land of absentee owners ; rational rental system of national and public forest lands; integrating livestock and forest production. All the laws and regulations standing in the way of the grassland development in forest lands should be modified and revised to open the way for much easier development of grassland. It is also proposed that a high level of financial incentives -hould be provided for structural improvements for the grassland development. They may be: mechanization facilitation, construction of new roads relating to grassland, and land exchange and consolidation. And it is basically necessary that financial enumeration or profits must be garanteed in order to motivate farmers to keep up farming continuously. For more efficient grassland development in mountainous areas, reorganization of Alpine Experiment Station and NAB1 Namwon Branch Station may be needed. Research should be strengthened for completion of pasture mixtures, development of maximum forage production methods with a view to saving labor and reducing production costs, introduction of grazing and forage conservation techniques. and utilization of rice straw as more palatable and nutritious forage source. In order to have more efficient and effective transfer of advanced forage production technologies to livestock farmers the user-clients. it is also essential that special training measures should be given to livestock farmers through making greater use of specialized research and extension workers.

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Crisis Construction in the Inner Mongolia Grassland and the Controversy of Desertification: The Emergence of Grassland Chicken Farming (중국 내몽고 초원의 위기와 사막화 논쟁 -초원목계(草原牧鷄)가 등장하기까지-)

  • Lee, Seonhwa
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.47 no.6
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    • pp.836-852
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    • 2012
  • Based on a long-term ethnographic study, this paper examines how the propositions and practices for desertification management in Inner Mongolia, China have changed over time. Desertification as an ecological issue cannot simply be treated as a something "natural" or "social," while it is an outcome of the construction made by both human and non-human agents. My research has found that the propositions for desertification management have been involved in the process of defining desertification, particularly by selecting different actors related to the ecological process in this region. Ultimately, the crisis in the inner Mongolia has always been constructed by the ways in which the selected actors and their relationships are differently defined. My study also reveals that although the proposed preventive measures, including afforestation, area protection, and pasturing prohibition, have tried to reconcile the conflicts of interest among the different actors, they have always been faced with certain limitations and failed in dryland management. In this historical context of crisis construction, by introducing a new non-human agent, "the chicken," the project of grassland chicken farming has eventually appeared to be an innovative strategy that can overcome the earlier limitations and coordinate the interests of Mongolian pastoralists who have suffered from economic difficulty.

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