AN EVALUATION OF THE NEED AND POTENTIAL ACCEPTANCE OF A TAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM OF MISSOURI GRAZING LAND

Approximately one-third of the State of Missouri's land surface is pasture. There is no method available to professionals or landmanagers for classifying these pastures.;To determine the need and potential acceptance of a taxonomic classification system for pastures in Missouri, 1400 questionnaires were sent to landmanagers in fourteen counties located in seven Major Land Resources Areas (MLRA). One hundred and thirty-four professionals were also interviewed in these same counties.;Approximately ten organizations now deal with pastures and have developed separate methods for evaluating individual pastures. Members of these organizations frequently use more than one method of evaluation. Landmanagers and professionals relied heavily on knowledge acquired by experience (heuristic knowledge) to make management decisions. This heuristic knowledge is not transferable to new employees or landmanagers.;Only 58% of the professionals and 22% of the landmanagers now use a written method to assist in evaluating pasture. A majority of the professionals (86%) and landmanagers (61%) indicated they would use a pasture classification system if one was developed.;The area with the greatest potential for developing a pasture taxonomic classification system for pastures in Missouri is in MLRA 116a and 116b. These MLRA contain large areas of pasture and the overall response of professionals and landmanagers to development of a pasture classification system was most positive.