Can Grazing be More Environmentally & Economically Sustainable?
This research is analyzing how Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing increases farm resiliency, contributes to carbon sequestration, improves soil biodiversity and impacts animal wellbeing and productivity. In the first phase of the research, funded in 2017, tested whether AMP grazing or conventional, continuous grazing are better for the land and/or the farmers’ income, Byck and his research team recruited five neighboring ranchers in the Southeastern U.S. to participate in this long-term study where one farmer was practicing AMP grazing and the other used continuous grazing practices. The researchers selected the conventional farms by matching the soil types, slopes and aspects to the sun to the five AMP grazing farms. They then compared results, neighbor to neighbor.
In the second phase of the research, funded in 2022, the research team is expanding the project to the Upper Great Plains, where there is a much shorter growing season and is much drier and cooler than the Southeast. Learning the impacts of AMP grazing in this different region of the U.S. will help further quantify its benefits and aid researchers in determining the scalability of this grazing technique.