Background: Yak (Poephagus grunniens) production on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is influenced heavily by the quality of the natural forage, which can vary significantly in both quality and quantity. Therefore, timely and accurate monitoring of forage variables is essential for optimizing livestock production in this region.

Methods: This study investigated the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a tool for estimating the composition and quality of natural forage. A total of 301 natural forage samples were collected, and their spectral data were acquired using NIRS. Conventional methods were used to measure the forage composition, and predictive models were developed based on the spectral data.

Results: Our findings indicate that NIRS can accurately predict the contents of crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber. However, it demonstrated less accuracy in predicting dry matter digestibility, gross energy yield, and methane production.

Conclusions: The application of NIRS for assessing the nutritional composition of forages on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is a key advancement for the livestock industry. Understanding forage nutrition enables informed feeding strategies and improvement of livestock production. Future research should refine predictive models to ensure sustainable forage management and enhance livestock productivity in this unique ecological environment.

Background: The persistence of summer-active perennial species is critical for pasture-fed meat production in the temperate, uniform rainfall environment of south-eastern Australia.

Methods: To investigate the limitations of important pasture species under contrasting levels of drought and soil acidity stress, we monitored replicated field plots for persistence and productivity at three sites on the Southern Tablelands over 2–3 years.

Results: All sites experienced a period of severe drought. At one site, persistence was ranked lucerne > phalaris > Porto cocksfoot > Savvy cocksfoot, tall fescue, chicory > plantain, red clover. Bromes survived via recruitment. Lucerne and chicory were the most productive immediately post-drought in summer and phalaris and chicory in autumn. Cocksfoot outyielded tall fescue. At a higher-elevation site, less drought-tolerant species were more persistent and productive. At a site with deep soil acidity, lucerne failed to persist; chicory performed better but declined with overgrazing during drought. Tall fescue declined severely during drought.

Conclusions: Lucerne remains the most productive summer option if soil conditions allow its growth, with chicory a potential replacement on acidic soils. Good productivity combined with acid soil tolerance favours cocksfoot over tall fescue. The ability to survive occasional severe drought is an important factor in species choice.

Background: Feed is the most costly input for US ruminant livestock production systems, and increasing the utilization efficiency of irrigated forage systems can improve system profitability. This study assessed the production, utilization, and quality of 22 intensively managed perennial grasses and legumes.

Methods: Forages were cultivated as monocultures under irrigation and subjected to mob stocking or similarly frequent and intense mowing for 2 years at 6-week intervals between May and September. Twenty-two grasses and legumes were randomly assigned to adjacent 1.5-m-wide × 9-m-long split subplots within each whole plot of eight replications, and the eight replications were grouped into four pairs, with the two replications per pair randomly assigned to defoliation either by grazing or mowing.

Results: Seven mostly warm-season grasses did not persist following the first defoliation, and accumulation for three legume species could be evaluated only twice in Year 1. For the 12 remaining forage species defoliated four times in both years, defoliation management did not affect dry matter accumulation or removal, but utilization was 10% greater under grazing than mowing (p = 0.0031).

Conclusions: Under 6-week-long rest periods, numerous irrigated cool-season grasses and temperate legumes were tolerant of repeated mob grazing.

Forage plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) has emerged as a valuable agronomic species within grazing systems in New Zealand. The release of two cultivars in New Zealand in the mid-1990s led to on-farm use and research. Subsequent identification of the potential of plantain for reducing nitrogen losses from intensive grazing systems led to an expansion of research and extension over the last decade. This review summarises key aspects of the agronomic use of modern forage plantain from mainly New Zealand-based research, including environmental tolerance, forage productivity, feed quality, cultivar development, weed and pest management, grazing management and measurement of herbage mass. The agronomic advantages of including modern plantain cultivars in pastures include seasonal growth complementarity with grasses and clovers, greater summer-drought resilience and improved forage quality. On-farm use of plantain in New Zealand has grown to about 20% of new pastures over three decades, a modest level which can be attributed to unmet farmer expectations of plantain persistence as a substantive contributor to perennial grass-based swards and the limitations for controlling dicot weeds. These are key areas of future research priority, along with the potential for complementarity with forage grasses other than perennial ryegrass.

Background: Tall fescue is sensitive to sowing depth and, in the Pampas region of Argentina, its sowing is often delayed from autumn (average air temperature 18.5°C) to winter (average air temperature 10.0°C). Since tall fescue is sensitive to the sowing depth, and temperature determines the emergence period, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of sowing depth at different times on seedling emergence and herbage yield.

Methods: Two field experiments were carried out in Pergamino, Buenos Aires province, Argentina, to evaluate a summer-active tall fescue at two sowing times and five sowing depths. The emergence of seedlings and the herbage yield in the year of sowing were determined.

Results: Seedling emergence was maximal when sown at 1.2–1.5 cm depth and at 230 growing degree days (GDD) in early autumn and 257 GDD in winter. In both years and sowing seasons, herbage yield was positively related to the number of seedlings at maximum emergence.

Conclusions: No differences in seedling emergence were observed between the autumn and winter sowings, and the emergence of tall fescue was well explained by the thermal time. The concept of “critical depth” was determined as the sowing depth at which the greatest seedling emergence and forage yield are achieved.

Background: Biochar (BC) amendment to soils can affect crop yields negatively, especially during the first season following application, by binding essential nutrients; however, little data exist on its effects on warm-climate forage yields and nutritive values. We determined the effects of BC (0, 5, 10 Mg DM ha⁻¹), dairy manure (0 and 10 Mg DM ha⁻¹), soil type (loamy sand, sandy loam, clay loam), and tillage practices (till [incorporation of soil amendments with tillage] vs. no till [soil amendments surface application]) on the nutrient profile and dry matter yield (DMY) of Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.), maize (Zea mays L.), and sorghum-Sudan (Sorghum drummondii (Nees ex Steud.) Millsp. & Chase).

Methods: Bermudagrass was harvested at the boot stage, sorghum-Sudan when the canopy reached 90% light interception, and the maize 90–120 days after planting as silage. Samples were dried and analyzed for nutrients and DMY.

Results: BC and manure application were not detrimental to forage production or nutritive value to cattle in the first growing season.

Conclusions: Effects varied across tillage and soil type; thus, it is essential to consider soil texture and nutrient makeup before choosing the proper tillage and amendments. Longer study periods may produce different results since, over time, BC can act as a slow-release source of nutrients.

Background: The development of alfalfa cultivars with improved digestibility may minimize the yield-quality tradeoff, enabling higher quality with late-harvested forage and possibly higher yields.

Methods: An irrigated experiment conducted over 4 years compared 28-d harvest schedules with 35-d harvest schedules and an alternating 21-d and 35-d schedule. Four conventional cultivars and four cultivars developed for higher digestibility were grown under each schedule.

Results: Delayed cutting (35-d) yields were 16% greater and the staggered treatments were 6% higher than the 28-d strategy. The nutritive value decreased significantly with the 35-d schedule, but a “staggered” system provided nutritive value similar to the 28-d schedule while achieving higher yields. The nutritive value of cultivars was in the order of HarvXtra>Hi-Gest> conventional cultivars. The HarvXtra but not Hi-Gest cultivars achieved similar digestibility under the 35-d cutting schedule compared with conventional cultivars on a 28-d schedule.

Conclusions: This study clearly demonstrates that higher nutritive value cultivars of fall dormancy 6–9 grown with staggered or late cutting schedules can increase yields while maintaining higher nutritive value. The combination of staggered or late schedules with improved cultivars can maximize yields while maintaining the nutritive value of alfalfa, potentially breaking the alfalfa yield-quality tradeoff.