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Abstract
AbstractSward management is critical for animal performance in pastoral environments. We evaluated the performance of sheep grazing Italian ryegrass pastures under factorial combinations of two stocking methods (SM) (continuous and rotational) and two herbage allowances (HA) (10% and 20% of LWT) over 9 years. Average daily gain (ADG) was greater in continuous than in rotational stocking (p < .001) and in HA‐20% when compared with HA‐10% (p = .002). Weight gain per hectare was greater in HA‐10% than HA‐20% (p < .001). HA and total herbage production were the most important factors determining live weight (LW) gain per hectare, whilst sheep ADG relies upon sward parameters (i.e., sward height). Moreover, to increase sheep LW production per hectare in grazing systems, the amount of herbage production and its availability to animals is more important than the SM. These outcomes provide the basis to build sound grazing systems through the optimization of sward management.
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