ABSTRACT
In temperate agriculture, grasslands play an important role in the provision of forage for livestock production. Forage can be consumed as fresh grazed forage, fresh forage mechanically harvested and fed directly to housed livestock, or mechanically harvested and conserved as silage or, to a lesser extent, hay. Grasslands for livestock nutrition range from old permanent pasture, to rough grazing, to cultivated grassland. Management of that grassland is vital to ensure that the highest quality feed is available for livestock production. As well as a source of livestock nutrition, grasslands play a key role in maintaining biodiversity at the farm level.
