TY - JOUR T1 - Well-managed grazing systems: A forgotten hero of conservation JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 100A LP - 104A DO - 10.2489/jswc.67.4.100A VL - 67 IS - 4 AU - Alan J. Franzluebbers AU - Laura K. Paine AU - Jonathan R. Winsten AU - Margaret Krome AU - Matt A. Sanderson AU - Kevin Ogles AU - Dennis Thompson Y1 - 2012/07/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/67/4/100A.abstract N2 - Ecologically sound grazing management is an underused and underappreciated conservation tool in the eastern United States. We contend that significant policy and educational barriers stand in the way of expanding the use of this conservation tool. Well-managed pasture systems combine vigorous perennial vegetation cover, reduced pesticide and fertilizer inputs, and lower costs of production using ecological approaches to generate ecosystem services for society, as well as economic sustainability for the producer. The majority of currently available conservation policy tools were designed to address either rangeland grazing situations in the western United States or conservation cropping in the eastern United States. To promote well-managed pastures in the eastern United States, resource managers and government agencies struggle to adapt programs that are really designed for annual row crop systems. Additional educational and technical assistance resources are needed for promoting well-managed pasture-based farming in the region. This paper summarizes the potential of well-managed pasture systems to provide ecosystem services, provides thoughts for discussion on the barriers to adoption of such systems in the eastern United States, and offers some solutions to move such systems forward through policy and educational efforts. These ideas were first presented at a symposium as part of the 2011… ER -