GRASSLAND IMPROVEMENT IN SUBTROPICAL GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA .4. DEVELOPMENT OF A WHOLE-FARM GRAZING SYSTEM

A whole-farm feed management system was developed for beef cattle in n orth Guangdong Province centred around the growth cycles of adapted pa sture and forage species. For every 100 breeding cows, about 250 anima ls (or 154 AU) must be supplied with forage from pasture throughout th e year. Late winter-early spring is the critical period of feed shorta ge for a breeding enterprise in this region. Integration of pasture ty pes (tropical-temperate-forage crops) will reduce this period of feed shortage. Based on these assumptions, managers should aim to establish areas of tropical pastures, temperate pastures and forage crops in th e ratio 8.5:4:1. Adjustment for year-to-year variation in supply can b e made by implementing short-term management practices such as strateg ic selling of stock, urea-molasses supplementation, and extension of t ropical pasture growth using deferred grazing and nitrogen application . Guidelines are presented in pasture and herd management plans to ass ist Chinese farm managers coordinate operations for breeding-and-fatte ning enterprises in north Guangdong Province. However, the plans will need to be adjusted as more technical and economic information becomes available.