Sustainable intensification in rangelands of the southernmost region of Chile

Authors: FERNANDEZ, LIRA RAUL - Institute Of Agricultural Research, Chile; Cibils, Andres

Submitted to: African Journal of Range & Forage Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/2025
Publication Date: 2/26/2026
Citation: Fernandez, L., Cibils, A.F. 2026. Sustainable intensification in rangelands of the southernmost region of Chile. African Journal of Range & Forage Science. 43(1). https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2025.2603412.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2025.2603412

Interpretive Summary: Specialized grazing systems research is usually unable to assess on-the ground results of applying such systems on commercial ranches. This ‘Commentary’ paper summarizes informal conversations held with Chilean sheep ranchers who tested Holistic Resource Management (HRM) Planning on their properties. It provides novel insights into what drives grazing system adoption and attrition rates. The findings are pertinent to other rangeland-based ranching systems of the western hemisphere where specialized grazing systems are often promoted as the solution to address rangeland deterioration.

Technical Abstract: Rangeland-based sheep ranching has shaped the agricultural economy of Chile’s southernmost grasslands for over a century and a half. Ranching systems in the region, established in the late 1800s, transitioned from large European corporate enterprises, common until the mid-20th century, to family ranches and cooperatives that emerged as a result of the land tenure reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. Intensification efforts, aimed at increasing system productivity, have been a constant and evolving endeavor of the region’s livestock industry throughout its history. Specialized grazing systems and the quest for forage varieties adapted to harsh Patagonian environments are perhaps the most common examples of such efforts. In recent years, Holistic Resource Management (HRM) planning was tested as a new means of intensification that promised dramatic stocking rate increases while improving vegetation and soils. A group of ranchers and HRM-affiliated consultants received funding from the Chilean government to test this intensification strategy. A few years after the project concluded, we visited several participants to learn about their experience and opinions. This paper summarizes what we learned during these informal conversations and places the HRM planning experiment in the broader context of the history of intensification efforts in the region.