Grazing Basics
Central Wisconsin
Grazing Meetings
March 2008
Craig Saxe
UW-Extension, Juneau Co.
211 Hickory Street
Mauston WI 53948
(608) 847-9329
craig.saxe@ces.uwex.edu
We’ll be covering
• What is rotational grazing
• Why use rotational grazing
• Understanding plant growth
• Setting up a grazing system
• Fencing, watering and frost seeding
• Grazing tips
Setting up a Grazing System
Fundamentals of successful
grazing management
•
Meet the nutritional needs of the
livestock from standing pasture
•
Optimize pasture yield, quality, and
persistence
•
Maintain or enhance the natural
resource base
•
Integrate appropriate technology and
knowledge into a practical system
Setting up a Rotation
• Size of animal
• Number of animals
• Daily intake
• Forage availability
• Desired rotation length
The example to follow was created by Laura Paine
How much forage
is out there?
Rule of thumb:
Figure about 400 pounds
dry matter per acre per
inch of cool season
pasture.
L. Paine
How much do my animals need?
Rule of thumb:
Figure 2.5 to 4% of body
weight dry matter per
animal per day.
L. Paine
How big should my paddocks be?
• Paddock size equals:
Number of head x Daily Intake (3% ) x No. of Days
Available Forage/Ac./Rotation
L. Paine
What does a sheep eat in a day?
• One ewe/lamb pair weighs about 200 lb
• Daily forage need/pair
= 3% of body weight
= 200 x 0.03
= 6 lb of dry matter/day
L. Paine
What does your flock eat in a day?
• One ewe/lamb pair eats 6 lb/day
• 20 pairs eat 120 lb/day
• 50 pairs eat 300 lb/day
• 100 pairs eat 600 lb/day
L. Paine
When should I graze and how
much forage is out there?
• Graze when pasture is 8 to 10 inches
high (depending on species).
• Take half-leave half rule: graze down to
4 or 5 inches.
• At 400 lb/inch, you have 1600 to 2000
lb/acre to work with.
L. Paine
How long should I leave the flock
on one paddock?
• One to three days.
• Above 3 days, you’re regrazing grass
that you grazed the first day.
• The shorter the rotation, the better
quality and forage utilization you’ll
have.
L. Paine
Putting it all together
• Flock of 100 ewes with lambs.
• 3-day rotation.
• Need 600 lb forage/day.
• 600 lb x 3 days = 1800 lb/paddock.
L. Paine
Putting it all together
• Ready to graze pasture = 1600 lb
forage/acre available to use.
• Acreage needed to last 3 days =
1800/1600 = 1.13 acres.
• Just over one acre/paddock.
L. Paine
Determine Number of Paddocks
• 30 days  3 day rotation + 1 =
11 paddocks
• 11 paddocks x 1.13 acres/paddock =
12.43 acres
L. Paine
Another Example: Stocker Cattle
• 100 stockers or heifers, 1 day rotation, 2000 lb/a
available forage
• Beginning weight = 400 lb; ending weight = 800 lb;
• average weight = 600 lb.
• Paddock size equals:
(100 x (600 x 0.03) x 1)  2000 =
(100 x (18) x 1)  2000 =
1800 x 1  2000 =
1800  2000 =
*0.9 acres*
L. Paine
Determine Number of Paddocks
• 30 days  1 day rotation + 1 =
31 paddocks
• 31 paddocks x 1 acre/paddock =
31 acres
L. Paine
Stockers or
Heifers
• 100 animals
• 1 day rotation
• 30 day cycle
• 1 acre/paddock
• 31 paddocks
L. Paine
The Rest Period
• Should vary according to plant growth
• In general, must increase as growth
rate slows
• Relates closely to seasonal forage
growth
• Need to rotate between paddocks every
3-6 days (or less)
Relationship of rest period to pasture mass
during periods of rapid vs. slow growth
Optimum
Lbs.
Rest
DM / acre
Period
0
5
10
15
20
Period of fast plant growth (days)
25
0
10
20
30
40
Period of slow plant growth (days)
50
Rest
Meeting the needs of the pasture plant
Maximizing Intake
• Three controlling
factors
• Grazing time
• Biting rate
• Bite size
Jim Gerrish, Dodge County Grazing Conference, 2002
Of the three controlling factors,
bite size is all we can control!
Jim Gerrish, Dodge County Grazing Conference, 2002
(% liveweight)
Intake
Change in daily intake from day 1 to day
7 of week grazing period
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Jim Gerrish, Dodge County Grazing Conference, 2002
Which will cause more overgrazing?
The stocking rate of both paddocks is identical:
100 Animal Days per Acre.
The effect on the paddocks will be much
different.
Stocking Rate (animals/acre)
• Can use formulas for actual numbers
• Thumb rule; 1000 pound animal per 2-4
acres
• Intensive Rotational Grazing = 1000
pound beef animal to 1-1.5 acres
• Traditional “Under-managed” pastures
= 1000 pound animal to 5-10 acres
Radial pasture configuration - before
NRCS, Bozeman, MT
Radial pasture configuration – after
NRCS, Bozeman, MT
Another pasture configuration - before
Explanation
Bare
Buildings
Fences
Lawn
Property
Streams
Trees
Water
Weeds
Another pasture configuration - after
Explanation
Bare
Buildings
Fences
Lawn
Property
Streams
Trees
Water
Weeds
Fencing, Watering and Frost
Seeding
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/teamforage/index.html
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cwas/