Summary
This review considers the potential role of multispecies swards in de-risking Australian dairy systems that currently rely heavily on monocultures of perennial ryegrass and high rates of inorganic nitrogen application to be productive. Recent trends in increasing inorganic nitrogen fertiliser prices, societal pressure for increased environmental sustainability of farming practices, coupled with variable and extreme weather events have renewed interest for functionally diverse pasture mixtures. Evidence from the latest international studies either for or against the purported benefits of multispecies swards (e.g. productive, resilient, and environmentally positive) is examined. There is an ever-growing body of evidence confirming that species richness can promote high levels of productivity
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