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 PLMS
is the Pasture Land Management System, a practical and portable computer
decision aid supporting private land-use decisions related to pasture land
management.
The program helps livestock farmers compare different strategies for managing their land and their livestock. The basic idea is to bring the balance of forage produced on the farm and forage demanded by the livestock into a seasonal balance. Using PLMS, a farmer can explore using intensive grazing, manipulating stocking rates, and modifying forage species to improve productivity and profit, while also benefiting the environment. PLMS provides nearly instant feedback on how user-generated alternative grazing systems affect critical variables like farm profit, milk production, and pounds of beef to market. It also estimates the environmental consequences of alternative plans, from effects on soil erosion to influences on greenhouse gasses. |
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PLMS is being developed in concert by ISIS Labs, LLC and the Pasture Land Management System development team, at Virginia Tech and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding is being provided by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Ruminant Livestock Efficiency Program (RLEP) and a Southern Region Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE) Program Training and Education Grant.
The Pasture Land Management System development team is:
The Pasture Land Management System Help and Users Manual development team is:
