(bolded supported partly or fully by Grassland 2.0 grant from USDA NIFA #2019-68012-29852)
Winsten 2024 Pasture-based dairy 4x more profitable than confinement
Kalscheur et al. 2024 Heifers raised on pasture had similar body weight, age at calving, and greater DMI at end of 2nd grazing season. Cost of heifers raised on pasture 26.7% less in the first grazing season and 58.4% less in the second grazing season compared to heifers raised in confinement.
Wiedenfeld et al. 2022 Dairy needs real innovation
Winsten et al. 2020 Coordinating a ‘basket of incentives’ for regenerative dairy
Chavas et al. 2009 Pasture grazed by heifers at WICST most profitable cropping system (with or without subsidies to commodity crops)
Judd et al. 2025 Perennial pastures build and stabilize soil organic matter differently than annual row crops at WICST
Dietz et al. 2024 Soil C lost from all WICST cropping systems over 30 years except perennial grassland, which was not significantly changed (interpretations would have been much more sanguine if only surface soils were analyzed)
Mehre et al. 2024 Soil C greater under rotational grazing than continuous grazing or row crops in Ontario, Canada
Von Haden et al. 2024 Soil C change accounting is possible with rigorous methods and here’s how
Raffeld et al. 2024 Soil C accounting must be more rigorous for C markets to be effective
Augarten et al. 2023 Across >700 Wisconsin soil samples, biological indicators of soil health were up to 195% greater in pastures than other cropping systems
Becker et al. 2022 More than 5 tons more C per acre in perennial pasture surface soils than nearby row crop surface soils across ~30 sites in Wisconsin
Rui et al. 2022 At WICST, incorporating legumes and manure into annual cropping systems enhanced POM-C, microbial biomass, and microbial C-use efficiency (soil health indicators) but did not significantly increase microbial necromass accumulation, MAOM-C, or total SOC storage (soil health metrics)
Sanford et al. 2022 Land use-land cover gradient demonstrates the importance of perennial grasslands with intact soils for building soil carbon
Cates et al. 2022 Warmer conditions under climate change may more substantially alter mineral-associated C content, while changing water regimes will alter C content in physically protected environments, with the most significant changes under cool and moist conditions
Oates et al. 2014 Net ecosystem C balance best in managed grazing (MIRG) compared to continuous, hayed, or unharvested cool-season pastures
Osterholz et al. 2014 Soil N2O emissions lowest in managed grazing cool-season pasture at WICST, compared to other cropping systems
Sanford et al. 2012 Soil C lost from all WICST cropping systems over 30 years except perennial grassland, which was not significantly changed
Jackson et al. 2007 Assessing variance of GHG
Jackson et al. 2015 Soil N2O emissions spiked in 3-day period post-grazing in managed grazing system, but were negligible thereafter in cool-season pastures of southern Wisconsin and southeastern Nebraska
Cates et al. 2016 Frequent cultivation for weed control in Organic grain rotation likely disrupting aggregate formation and storage of C and N, but systems that were chisel plowed every one to three years, high biomass C inputs maintained POM-C and POM-N and soil aggregation equivalent to the fully perennial system
Jackson et al. 2007 N2O emissions more sensitive to management than location in cool-season pastures of southern Wisconsin
Young et al. 2023 Very little nutrient runoff under perennial pastures
Wepking et al. 2022 Modeled nutrient losses lower under perennial grassland
Campbell et al. 2021 Ag land must be transformed to perennial grass to meet Yahara water quality goals
Jackson 2020 Mini-review of nitrate leaching under grazing
Bendorf et al. 2021 Flooding exacerbated by annual rowcrops in Driftless Area
Basche & DeLonge 2019 Infiltration rates higher under perennials than annuals
Weigel et al. 2000 Stream macroinvertebrates
Paine & Ribic 2002 Riparian plant communities
Lyons et al. 2000 Fish habitat
Paine et al. 1996 Cattle trampling of ground nests
Lyons et al. 2000 Grass vs trees
Temple et al. 1999 Managing pastures for birdsBruce et al. dissertation work studying butterfly responses to grassland
Gratton et al. 2024 Agroecological innovation
Jackson 2024 America’s Dairy Grassland
Jackson 2022 Enough land to finish all our beef on grassland?…yes!…but see important rebuttal encouraging more full accounting (Hayek 2022) and reply (Jackson 2022)
Jordan et al. 2013 Landlabs: An integrated approach to creating agricultural enterprises that meet the triple bottom line
Williams et al 2013 We believe institutional researchers are uniquely positioned to serve as agents of change. There is much room for their leadership in grassshed initiation and deployment over time. To do this, however, they will need to be properly motivated and equipped to lead. Researchers’ institutions, therefore, must innovate appropriate systems of reward and advancement for such efforts . Here, there is ample opportunity for realigning institutional capacities and norms to more fully support advancements in praxis and scholarship relevant to the grass-shed model.
Lyon et al. 2011 Grazing farms demonstrate rich variability and individuality as a result of their position within a number of biophysical and social contexts. Graziers emphasized the importance of nding ways to work with the variables of their speci c context, rather than trying to control that variability. This effort entails the development and use of local knowledge, as graziers respond to the idiosyncrasies of their farms. It also leads graziers to reject mainstream agricultural research that has produced formulas for agricultural uniformity.
Lyon et al. 2010 Accepting the maculate conceptions of participatory work means recognizing the problems that we bring with us, but trusting the creative process of dialogue to uncover possibilities we do not yet see.
Bell et al. 2008 Most agronomic research seeks to limit the variability of productivity, offering universal ‘recipe knowledge’ that attempts to overwhelm contextual differences. Based on participatory research with a group of eight graziers in Wisconsin, we present the counter hypothesis that the productivity of variability is a key principle of agroecology. Contextual variability across space and time presents farmers with productive opportunities. Appreciating these contextual possibilities offers a universal principle that is not also a recipe.
Rissman et al. 2023 Policy needs and recommendation
Lowe & Fochesatto 2022 Just transitions for more diverse, equitable, and inclusive ag
Van Vliet et al. 2020 – Plant-based meats, human health, and climate change
Van Vliet et al. 2021 – A metabolomics comparison of plant‑based meat and grass‑fed meat indicates large nutritional differences despite comparable nutrition facts panels
Provenza et al. 2019 – Is grassfed meat and dairy better for human and environmental health?
Provenza et al. 2021 – We are the earth and the earth is us: how palates link foodscapes, landscapes, heartscapes, and thoughtscapes
Timlin et al. 2024 – More pasture in the diet means ‘better’ butterDisease
Hill et al. 2019 – Corn-driven air pollution-driven premature death
Gerken et al. 2024 – Industrial ag pesticide use driving cancer types
Reynolds et al. 2021 Dimensions of genuinely regenerative agriculture
Sanford et al. 2021 Diversity and perenniality important to stability and resilience
Jordana Rivero et al. 2021 Global livestock network
DeLonge & Basch 2018 Managed grazing to improve land global meta-analysis
Spratt et al. 2021 Grazing to tackle environmental and social challenges
Franzluebbers 2012 Well-managed grazing-the forgotten hero of conservation
Chasen et al. 2025. Simulating pasture yield in Wisconsin
Chamberlain et al. 2012 Warm-season grass grazing
Paine et al. 1999 Pasture growth, productivity and quality
Oates et al. 2011 Pasture quantity and quality under rotational grazing
Bouressa et al. 2010 Burning and grazing to promote warm-season grasses
Sabatier et al. 2015 Grazing in an uncertain environment
Sabatier et al. 2015 Management flexibility of a grassland agroecosystem
Doll et al. 2011 Grazing management for warm-season grasses
Doll et al. 2009 Pasture management effects on pasture quality
Alber et al. 2014. Temperate grass response to extent and timing of grazing
Brink et al. 2010 When is pasture renovation a good idea?
Jackson et al. 2010 Warm-season grass persistence summer bison grazing
Woodis & Jackson 2009 Pasture plant community response to grazing management