The balance of management objectives

Farmers accord differing roles to pasture in a farming system, depending upon their goals and skills, the nature of the production enterprise, the biological constraints to the successful use of pasture, and the changing economic incentives available. There are also community pressures which influence the manager's action, according to the societal benefits or damage which flow from the type of pasture utilisation adopted and its integration with whatever regional plans are in place.

1. (i) Sustainability of the pasture ecosystem is the primary long term goal, and this may conflict with short-term objectives. A sustainable system is conventionally defined as one which meets the needs of the present generation without prejudicing the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs.

2. Exploitation of non-renewable resources at a level which leads to a decreased trend in long-term productivity and an increased incidence of environmental damage (for example, stream sedimentation) indicates a lack of sustainability. Fluctuations in climate make it difficult to assess the direction of change, and a succession of dry years will bring out the alarmists in full force and these often undervalue the resilience of tropical vegetation in recovering from stress. On the other hand the evidence of soil erosion and the changed hydrological characteristics of a watershed are usually unequivocal, once bench-marks have been established. The degree to which it is acceptable to utilise fossil fuels in intensifying pasture utilisation and to clear forests for animal production are more controversial, but it is expected that these practices exacerbate the ‘greenhouse effect’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

3. […]