Rotational grazing is a great management tool for optimal vegetative re-growth of forages and nutrient distribution of animal waste. Therefore, this allows for better regrowth and increases grazing efficiency.
This is not a one size fits all! Map your pasture(s) and section into paddocks that will be best suited to regularly move your livestock.
What you’ll need:
- Identify stocking rate: this will change dependent on forage availability, weather, season and type of livestock (one species vs multi-species grazing)
- Important to identify which species will be grazing the pasture as livestock have differing grazing preferences (grass vs forbs vs browse)
- Ability to herd and move livestock from one paddock to another
- Fencing: temporary, electric, or permanent fencing
- Access to water in each paddock
- Mowing can be used as needed to induce grasses into vegetative state
Considerations that affect your rotational grazing system:
- Soil fertility
- Weed management (mechanical and/or chemical): rotational grazing can help decrease the competition between grasses and weeds if not overgrazed
- Each paddock should be rested for 21 to 20 days to allow for regrowth and to help decrease the parasite pressure – you should still maintain a deworming program.
- Time between rotations will vary depending on stocking rate, weather, season, fertilization, and soil fertility
- One species vs multispecies grazing
Be careful to not overgraze pastures by having too many animal units/area or allowing grazing for too long. This depletion of grass (“good forages”) increases competition with emerging weeds and may lead to weed invasion as well as a decrease in regrowth.
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