Recovery of Tropical Pasture Systems

Project Overview

FW03-018
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2003: $6,875.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2005
Region: Western
State: Hawaii
Principal Investigator:

Commodities

  • Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
  • Animals: bovine

Practices

  • Animal Production: pasture fertility, pasture renovation, range improvement, feed/forage
  • Crop Production: foliar feeding, nutrient cycling, organic fertilizers
  • Education and Training: display, extension, on-farm/ranch research
  • Production Systems: holistic management
  • Soil Management: soil analysis, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

    Proposal summary:

    Abandonment of sugar cane in Hawaii left nutrient-depleted soils exposed to wind and soil erosion that threatened nearby coastal areas and streams. Cattle producer Dwayne Cypriano, who raises 47 breeding cows on 100 acres on the Hamakua Coast of the Island of Hawaii, plans to use his Western SARE grant to assess nutrient cycling. He will incorporate nitrogen-fixing legumes, plant grass and graze cattle in a rotation system. Cypriano will evaluate plant and cattle performance as well as the economics of the system comparing two parcels of former sugar cane land, control and improved, each fenced into three paddocks. The project is designed to reinforce the holistic resource management concepts of nutrient-mineral cycling, soil conservation and water cycling and conservation.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.