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Welcome

I welcome the reader who holds in his hands the journal of the newest scientific body of the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Committee on Grassland Management. Grazing livestock has been fundamental to the provision of food throughout human history. Our knowledge and recent experience shows that we have moved further and further away from exploiting the potential of pastoralism over the last 2 centuries. Therefore, a rethinking of our pasture management through a multidisciplinary approach is necessary. This compelling situation was perceived by a group of a modest number of members of the national pasture management community and a solution was sought. Pasture-based food production will also have social and territorial consequences; above all, more pastoralists, stockbreeders, foragers, botanists, environmentalists, conservationists, technicians and economists have joined the pastoralists, making their activities more colourful, lively and effective.
The specific value of pastures is due to the medicinal, honey and aromatic plants with a high physiological value, which have given rise to a herd of grazing animals that are consumed by grazing according to their genetic code. The mineral and amino acid composition of natural pasture vegetation is varied, 70-80% higher than that of monocultures grown in the field, and premix additives are unnecessary, since all the necessary active substances are found in the mixed vegetation in a physiological bond. For this reason, herds, flocks and condos of reared animals were driven up to 2,000 km and bought as quality goods on arrival. For many centuries, pasture-raised animals have provided 65-75 % of the country's income. Unfortunately, our pasture-based economy has fundamental problems. First of all, no school was organised for them in the 19th century and this legacy has been perpetuated. It was only in 1990 that the first department of pasture management was established in Gödöllő (on the proposal of the then Vice-Rector J. Dohy, on the basis of a decision by V.I. V.). This also means that there is still much to be done to improve and develop. Nevertheless, our pastoralists were successful because they first set up a working group on pasture management within the framework of the Committee for Animal Breeding, Breeding and Feeding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which after 2 years of successful work developed into a subcommittee and after another 4 years was classified as an independent Pasture Management Committee by the Department of Agricultural Sciences. The pastoralists had no press, which made it very difficult to communicate their results. Now this problem has been solved, with the publication of the Bulletin of Grassland Management. We hope that the national and international professional community will welcome the communications of our newest committee and we invite and welcome your comments.

February 2003

Péter Horn
Full Member of the MTA