Developing decision-making tools for improving pasture quality on deer farms in New Zealand

This paper describes the development of a learning package to support improved pasture quality on New Zealand deer farms. The first step has been to determine the specific requirements of deer farmers that will enable them to improve pasture quality decisions on-farm. Decision support software that interprets and demonstrates the impacts of pasture quality and animal physiology on the performance of young growing deer has also been developed. Key themes identified to aid pasture management decision-making included identifying the right pasture quality, management systems to maintain pasture quality and maximising the potential of livestock. This paper reports on the type of knowledge that deer farmers require in the learning package.