Introduction To Range And Pastures
Overview
Drive north out of Kaduna towards Sokoto in August and the landscape is a rolling carpet of green, tall grass swaying shoulder-high beside the road, cattle spread wide across it with a Fulani herdsman walking behind. Make the same drive in February and the same land is brown, cropped almost to the soil, dust rising with every hoof. Nothing about the land changed except the season, yet it decides whether a herd eats well or eats poorly, and whether it stays put or treks a hundred kilometres south in search of grazing.
In this lesson you will learn what separates a range from a pasture, and a natural pasture from an artificial one; meet the grasses and legumes a Nigerian farmer relies on for grazing; and understand why this single, unimproved resource still feeds more of Nigeria's cattle, sheep and goats than any manufactured feed ever could.
Objectives
- Define range and pasture
- Distinguish between natural and artificial pastures
- State the importance of range and pasture to livestock production
- Give examples of common pasture grasses and legumes in Nigeria
- Explain the factors affecting pasture growth
Lesson Note
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Lesson Evaluation
Congratulations on completing the lesson on Introduction To Range And Pastures. Now that youve explored the key concepts and ideas, its time to put your knowledge to the test. This section offers a variety of practice questions designed to reinforce your understanding and help you gauge your grasp of the material.
You will encounter a mix of question types, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. Each question is thoughtfully crafted to assess different aspects of your knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Use this evaluation section as an opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the topic and to identify any areas where you may need additional study. Don't be discouraged by any challenges you encounter; instead, view them as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Extensive, largely unimproved natural grazing land, typical of the Fulani pastoral system, is best described as a: A. Pasture B. Range C. Paddock D. Ranch Answer: B
- Which of the following is an artificial (cultivated) pasture grass in Nigeria? A. Stylo B. Centrosema C. Guinea grass D. Groundnut haulm Answer: C
- Legumes such as Centrosema and Stylo are sown with pasture grasses mainly because they: A. Grow taller than grasses B. Fix atmospheric nitrogen and raise protein content C. Are resistant to bush fire D. Require no rainfall Answer: B
- Pasture growth in Nigeria is most strongly limited during the: A. Wet season B. Dry season and harmattan C. Early rains D. Flowering season Answer: B
- The seasonal movement of pastoral herds in search of grazing is known as: A. Ranching B. Transhumance C. Rotation D. Zero-grazing Answer: B
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Recommended Books
Past Questions
Wondering what past questions for this topic looks like? Here are a number of questions about Introduction To Range And Pastures from previous years
Question 1 Report
(a) Complete the table below on forage crops
| Botanical name | Common name | Types of forage |
| Pennisetum purpureum | (i) | Grass |
| Calopogonium mucunoides | (ii) | (iii) |
| (iv) | stylo | (v) |
| Panicum maxinium | (vi) | (vii) |
| Mucuna utilis | (viii) | Legume |
(b)i. Define the term pasture
ii. State four ways in which grass-legume mixture is important in livestock production
(c) State six characteristics of rangelands
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