산지에서의 환경친화형 조사료변산과 이용

Sustainable Livestock Production in Hill and Woodland

Although economically viable, the livestock industry is currently facing a number of challenging environmental problems and highly complex social issues, many of which are related to its size and geographically concentrated nature. Increased emphasis on environmental quality has also placed new demands on livestock producers to ensure that their production practices are in harmony with natural environment. In terms of sustainable agricultural systems, ruminants have served and will continue to serve a valuable role. They are particularly useful in converting vast renewable resources from rangeland, pasture, and crop residues or other by-product into food edible for human. With ruminants, land that is too poor or too erodable to cultivate becomes productive. Also, nutrients in by-products are utilized and do not become a waste-disposal problem. In Korea, however, native and dairy cattle production is not consistent with the advantageous roles of ruminant livestock in sustainable agricultural system because imported feed grains become the main basis for cattle raising. At present the ruminant livestock producers are heavily concentrated in and around the urban areas. About 75% of all the nation's cattle herds are kept on the outskirts of urban areas. As a result, the amount of pasture and forage land available per head of cattle is generally small. Furthermore, animals are raised in a cattle shed with high density. This situation is rather unfavorable for the national economic and environmental points of view As nation income increased, the demand for livestock products grew at an unforeseeable pace. But the pasture area involving in current utilization is tended to decrease during recent years. Based on the above figures more than 250,000 ha of pasture ought to be available for the present herd of cattle. It is obvious that these needs can scarcely be met with arable lands. Lands area for the establishment of new grassland have to be found in the hills and mountains which have not yet been used for crop framing or livestock. The development of extensive grasslands in the hill and woodland areas is now a declared aim. The starting point of the present work is the lack of knowledge of forage production and utilization in hill pasture and woodland in spite of indispensable necessity for livestock production in Korea. The importance of pastoral system in hill region and woodland is particularly emphasized in a standpoint of sustainable livestock production. Main chapter comprises the principle and techniques applicable for improving the utilization of hill pasture and woodland. We finally discussed the problems to solve and future works for a successful livestock production in hill and mountainous area in Korea.