Photo credit: STRATUS
Changing the crop rotation towards more grass (single, multispecies, with legumes) in a fodder producing agricultural system for cattle production will positively benefit soil quality by breaking monoculture (or dominance) silage maize, a crop with very low contribution to soil organic matter and changing to crops that have large contribution to soil organic matter (grasses). In addition, diversifying the crop rotation increases diversity and the possibility of having perennial crops is higher, which has an additional positive impact to soil quality, by less disturbance of the soil.
In addition, it is hypothesized that the manure produced by cattle fed by this shifted ration (from dominance silage maize to more grass-based) has a higher “quality” which would have positive effects on soil quality. Examples are an increased C/N ratio of the manure, more N in organic forms and a shifted microbial composition. This could lead to higher contribution of the manure to soil organic matter and changes in the soil microbial composition.