pasture

(păs'chər)

1. 1. Grass or other vegetation eaten as food by grazing animals.
   2. Ground on which such vegetation grows, especially that which is set aside for use by domestic grazing animals.
2. The feeding or grazing of animals.

1. To herd (animals) into a pasture to graze.
2. To provide (animals) with pasturage. Used of land.
3. 1. To graze on (land or vegetation).
   2. To use (land) as pasture.

put out to pasture

1. To herd (grazing animals) into pasturable land.
2. InformalTo retire or compel to retire from work or a full workload. To retire or compel to retire from work or a full workload.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin pāstūra, from Latin pāstus, past participle of pāscere, to feed.]

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Land with forage plants used for grazing animals.

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The system of management based on the use of pasture as the principal source of dietary energy.

• Ranching and Animal Husbandry - pasture: land on which livestock graze

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Pasture (from the Latin pastus, past participle of pascere ”to feed”) is land used for grazing.^[1] Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs. Pasture is typically grazed throughout the summer, in contrast to meadow which is used for grazing only after being mown to make hay for winter fodder.^[2]

Pasture in a wider sense additionally includes rangelands, other unenclosed pastoral systems and land types used by wild animals for grazing or browsing.

Pasture lands in the narrow sense are distinguished from rangelands by being managed through more intensive agricultural practices of seeding, irrigation, and the use of fertilizers, while rangelands grow primarily native vegetation, managed with extensive practices like controlled burning and regulated intensity of grazing.

Soil type, minimum annual temperature, and rainfall are important factors in pasture management.

Prior to the advent of factory farming with its use of "zero-grazing" feeding techniques, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses. It is still used extensively, particularly in arid regions where pasture land is unsuitable for any other agricultural production. In more humid regions, pasture grazing is exploited extensively for free range and organic farming. It is an important biotic resource.

Grazing cattle on a pasture near Hradec nad Moravicí in Czech Silesia.

Examples of pasture habitats

Sheep out to pasture in arid Snake Valley, near the border of Utah and Nevada

• Flooded grasslands and savannas
• Grassland
• Heathland
• Machair
• Maquis
• Moorland
• Potrero (landform)
• Prairie
• Rangeland
• Rough pasture
• Savanna
• Sheepwalk
• Steppe
• Wood pasture
• Veld

Notes

1. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary pasture
2. ^  "Pasture". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 

See also

• Transhumance

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - græsning, græsgang
v. tr. - sætte på græs
v. intr. - græsse

idioms:

• greener pastures    grønnere græsgange
• pastures new    ny græsgang
• put out to pasture    sætte på græs

Nederlands (Dutch)
weiland, voeder, grazen, weiden

Français (French)
n. - pré, pâturage, droit de pacage, herbe
v. tr. - faire paître
v. intr. - paître

idioms:

• greener pastures    changer d'horizons
• pastures new    changer d'horizons
• put out to pasture    (lit) mettre au pré ou au pâturage, (fig) mettre à la retraite

Deutsch (German)
n. - Weide(land), Futter
v. - grasen, weiden

idioms:

• greener pastures    bessere Bedingungen
• pastures new    etwas Neues
• put out to pasture    weiden lassen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βοσκότοπος, λιβάδι, βοσκή
v. - βόσκω

idioms:

• greener pastures    αιώνιες μονές
• pastures new    νέες βοσκές, νέα λημέρια
• put out to pasture    βγάζω για βόσκημα, (μτφ.) αποστρατεύω, συνταξιοδοτώ

Italiano (Italian)
pascolare, pascolo, foraggio

idioms:

• greener pastures    situazioni migliori
• pastures new    posizione nuova
• put out to pasture    pensionare, mandare in pensione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pastagem (f)
v. - pastorear, pastar

idioms:

• greener pastures    pastos mais verdes
• pastures new    situação melhor
• put out to pasture    levar a pastar

Русский (Russian)
пастись, пастбище, корм

idioms:

• greener pastures    там, где лучше
• pastures new    новые горизонты
• put out to pasture    пасти, отпускать/отправлять на пенсию

Español (Spanish)
n. - prado, dehesa, pasto, forraje, pastura
v. tr. - pastar, pacer, apacentar, pastorear
v. intr. - pastar, pacer, apacentarse

idioms:

• greener pastures    mejores condiciones, nuevos horizontes
• pastures new    mejores condiciones, nuevos horizontes
• put out to pasture    sacar a pastar, echar como a caballo viejo, jubilar, mandar a cuarteles de invierno

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - betesmark
v. - beta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
牧场, 牧草, 草地, 放牧, 吃草

idioms:

• greener pastures    好地方, 更好的职位
• pastures new    好地方, 更好的职位
• put out to pasture    放牧

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 牧場, 牧草, 草地
v. tr. - 放牧
v. intr. - 吃草

idioms:

• greener pastures    好地方, 更好的職位
• pastures new    好地方, 更好的職位
• put out to pasture    放牧

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 목장, 목초, 야구장(의 외야)
v. tr. - 풀을 뜯기다, 방목하다, 목장으로 쓰다
v. intr. - 풀을 먹다

idioms:

• put out to pasture    목초지에 내놓다, 처분하다, 은퇴 시키다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 牧草地, 放牧場, 牧草
v. - 放牧する, 食べる

idioms:

• greener pastures    今より魅力的な場所
• put out to pasture    引退させる, お払い箱にする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مرعى, مرج, رعي (فعل) يرعى, يتخذه مرعى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שדה-מרעה, אחו‬
v. tr. - ‮רעה‬
v. intr. - ‮רעה‬

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