Voisin Rational Grazing as a Sustainable Alternative for Livestock Production

SIMPLE SUMMARY: To meet current global food supply challenges, researchers and technicians are searching for alternative livestock systems that promote highly sustainable animal productivity and farm profitability, while having a positive environmental footprint. In this narrative review, we highlight one such system, Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG). VRG is a regenerative livestock farming system proposed by French scientist Andre Voisin in the 1950s and further developed in Brazil in the 1970s. VRG has been applied in many countries with vastly different ecosystems. Like other regenerative systems, VRG provides a range of ecosystem services, including negative net carbon emission, reduced soil erosion, and increased biodiversity. Because VRG is also focused on animal performance, farmers applying VRG are more resilient against the adversities confronting farmers practicing more conventional farming systems. VRG requires a paradigm shift from the farmers and thus its uptake may be hindered if there is not enough support within the community. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of VRG, along with its benefits and constraints. ABSTRACT: Current livestock practices do not meet current real-world social and environmental requirements, pushing farmers away from rural areas and only sustaining high productivity through the overuse of fossil fuels, causing numerous environmental side effects. In this narrative review, we explore how the Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG) system responds to this problem. VRG is an agroecological system based on four principles that maximise pasture growth and ruminant intake, while, at the same time, maintaining system sustainability. It applies a wide range of regenerative agricultural practices, such as the use of multispecies swards combined with agroforestry. Planning allows grazing to take place when pastures reach their optimal resting period, thus promoting vigorous pasture regrowth. Moreover, paddocks are designed in a way that allow animals to have free access to water and shade, improving overall animal welfare. In combination, these practices result in increased soil C uptake and soil health, boost water retention, and protect water quality. VRG may be used to provide ecosystem services that mitigate some of the current global challenges and create opportunities for farmers to apply greener practices and become more resilient. It can be said that VRG practitioners are part of the initiatives that are rethinking modern livestock agriculture. Its main challenges, however, arise from social constraints. More specifically, local incentives and initiatives that encourage farmers to take an interest in the ecological processes involved in livestock farming are still lacking. Little research has been conducted to validate the empirical evidence of VRG benefits on animal performance or to overcome VRG limitations.