ABSTRACT. - Sward management is critical for animal performance in pastoral environments. We evaluated the performance of sheep grazing Italian ryegrass pastures under factorial combinations of two stocking methods (SM) (continuous and rotational) and two herbage allowances (HA) (10% and 20% of LWT) over 9 years. Average daily gain (ADG) was greater in continuous than in rotational stocking (p .001 and in ha-20 when compared with ha-10 weight gain per hectare was greater than ha total herbage production were the most important factors determining live whilst sheep adg relies upon sward parameters height moreover to increase lw grazing systems amount of its availability animals is more sm. these outcomes provide basis build sound through optimization management. john wiley sons ltd.>