Managing Grazing for Sustainable Pastures

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Managing Grazing for Sustainable Pastures

• Developed by
• Wendy Williams, Natural Resources Conservation
  Service, Montana
• Holly George, University of California Extension
  Service

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Well be covering

• Benefits of implementing grazing management
• Steps to effective grazing management
• Estimating carrying capacity
• Monitoring your land by making footprints
• Grazing systems and pasture configurations
• Grazing tips

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Why manage grazing?

• Keep plants healthy and productive
• Increase forage production and saves money
• Increase grazing capacity
• Improve use of forage supply throughout the year
• Help control weeds

USDA NRCS
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Why manage grazing?

• Allows for maximum vigor of key species
• Allows seed production by key species
• Allows seedling establishment of key species
• Meets other management goals (fire hazard,
  birding, housing beneficial insects, etc.)

www.forages.orst.edu
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Why manage grazing?

• Reduces erosion
• Improves water quality
• Improves range or pasture condition

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
T
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Why manage grazing?

• Allows for flexibility
• Enhances wildlife habitat
• Maximizes efficiency of your time and resources

elib.cs.berkeley.edu
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What crop are you managing?

• Your pasture plants, of course!

www.farmphoto.com
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Key points to remember about pasture plants

• The leaves manufacture carbohydrates for the
  plant. You must reserve some leaf volume for this
  purpose.
• To ensure regrowth, you must preserve the growing
  points on your plants.

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Deitz, NRCS
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Deitz, NRCS
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Steps to effective grazing management

• Graze to the desired stubble height.
• Dont forget to preserve growing points.
• Allow adequate rest periods for grass regrowth.
• Dont regraze a pasture until your key species
  has reached the desired height.
• In an irrigated pasture, dont let seed heads
  form.

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How many animals can I graze?
ACES
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Matching animals to available forage

• This is not determined by local zoning!
• Amount of forage varies by season, climate,
  length of growing season, soil type, water
  availability, etc.
• Animal needs vary by age, condition, amount of
  exercise, pregnancy, etc.

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No matter how many animals some things are the
same

• You need to know
• CARRYING CAPACITY, or the number of animals a
  pasture can accommodate without overgrazing
• STOCKING RATE, or the amount of forage stock are
  going to eat

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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We can predict when grass will grow, but not
necessarily how much
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What do animals need and when?
Birth
Peak Lactation
Before Birth
Last 1/3
Breeding
Lactation
Wean
Late Lactation
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Do the nutritional needs of the animal match the
forage availability?
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Methods for estimating carrying capacity

• Pasture sticks and other physical methods
• Animal Unit Months
• Animal Days per Acre

UCCE
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Determine carrying capacity

• Remember that grazing animals only need to eat
  about 2.5 to 3 of their body weight
• An 1,100 pound horse will eat 27.5 pounds of
  air-dry forage (hay) per day, or 825 pounds per
  month (27.5 x 30)

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Determine carrying capacity

• Horses trample or damage 25 of their forage in a
  pasture, so add another 25 when feeding from a
  pasture this brings the total requirement
  closer to 1,000 pounds per month

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Pasture sticks
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AUM Animal Unit Month

• Animal Unit the forage consumption of one
  1,000-pound cow plus calf
• Animal Unit Month the amount of forage required
  for one animal unit for one month (AUM)
• All other animals are compared to one 1,000-pound
  cow plus calf

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AUM equivalents
Species AUM Species AUM
Cow 1.00 Sheep 0.20
Bull 1.30 Goat 0.20
Weaned calf 0.50 Llama 0.30
Mature horse 1.25 Deer 0.17
Yearling horse 0.75 Elk 0.50
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1 AUM equals

• 1 cow and calf
• OR
• 2 weaned calves
• 5 sheep
• 5 goats
• 3 llamas
• 5 deer
• 2 elk
• Etc.

All require 1,000 pounds per month of air-dry
feed
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ADA Animal Days per Acre

• A formula for determining how many animals can
  graze a specific pasture for a given period of
  time

www.farmphoto.com
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Some ways to use ADA

• To assess pasture productivity
• To determine if a pasture can supply enough
  forage for a future planned grazing period
• To determine the area required to supply daily
  forage requirements for one animal
• To set stocking rates
• Butit does NOT tell you anything about the
  nutritional content of the forage!

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Estimating carrying capacity in ADA
10 yards
Pace off an area of pasture that one animal would
need for grazing for one day as the sole source
of forage
10 yards
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Calculate stock days per acre

• Multiply the length by the width
• Calculate square yards per acre needed per animal
  per day
• Divide 4,840 square yards per acre by square
  yards needed per animal per day
• This gives Stock Days per Acre (SDA)

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Stock days per pasture

• Multiply SDA by the number of acres in the
  pasture
• The total represents the total number of stocking
  days in the pasture

www.farmphoto.com
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How many days can you allow livestock to graze?

• Divide stock days by the number of horses (or
  other livestock)
• This tells you how many days you can graze the
  pasture with that number of animals

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Lets try an example

• You have 5 acres of pasture and four horses
• Your experimental time period is one day
• Area width and length are both 25 yards

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Step 1 Calculate stock days per acre

• Calculate the area by multiplying length x width
• 25 yards x 25 yards 625 square yards
• Divide 4,840 square yards per acre by 625 square
  yards per animal day
• 4,840 square yards/625 square yards
• 7.7 stock days per acre (SDA)

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Step 2 Calculate total stock days per pasture

• Multiply the stock days per acre times the total
  number of acres in the pasture
• 7.7 SDA x 5 acres 38 stock days

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Step 3 Calculate the number of grazing days for
the pasture

• Divide the number of stock days by the number of
  horses
• 38 SD / 4 horses 9.6 days
• You can graze the five-acre pasture with four
  horses for 9.6 days

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Improving carrying capacity

• Manage grazing
• Create and use exercise areas and paddocks
• Control weeds
• Improve irrigation
• Consider need for reseeding or renovation

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How do you know if your estimated grazing length
is correct? Walk your land and look!
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Overgrazing occurs two ways

• Leaving stock in a pasture too long
• OR
• Bringing them back too soon

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Stocking rate vs. stock density

• The stocking rate of both paddocks is identical
  100 animal days per acre
• However, the stock density is much greater in the
  pasture on the right, so the effect will be much
  different!

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How do you know when to graze, and when to rest?
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Length of rest period

• Depends upon
• Period in the growing season
• Availability of irrigation water
• Amount of active leaf area remaining following
  the grazing period
• Cool-season grasses recover more quickly in
  spring and autumn

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Monitoring

• Use observations and common sense
• If there isn't enough feed in your pasture, you
  are either overstocked or not allowing enough
  rest, regardless of what the calculations said

www.agry.purdue.edu
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Monitoring grass height
www.agry.purdue.edu
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Make footprints to manage well

• Get out on the ground and look at what is
  happening
• Your footprints and observations of how pastures
  and stock look are critical to making the
  necessary adjustments

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Three important questions

• Look BEHIND What rest period do my pastures
  need?
• Look AHEAD Has the paddock had enough rest?
• Look WHERE the STOCK ARE Is the stocking rate
  correct?

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Look BEHIND

• Before making decisions about grazing periods,
  know how much rest is needed
• Make footprints in pastures that stock have
  already grazed to evaluate regrowth
• If grass has grown a couple of inches in 1 to 2
  weeks, plan relatively short rest periods (30 to
  45 days)
• If not much regrowth has occurred in 1 to 2
  weeks, plan for longer rest (60 to 120 days)

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Look AHEAD

• Has the pasture had enough rest?

• Make footprints in the pasture. Make sure it is
  ready!
• If the production is low, dont graze it yet
• If you graze the pasture before its ready, stock
  will find less and less grass waiting for them
  each move

www.farmphoto.com
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Look WHERE THE STOCK ARE

• Is the stocking rate correct?
• Make footprints in the paddock currently being
  grazed to observe severity of use
• If use is too severe (not enough stubble height),
  the pasture is overstocked
• Either reduce stocking
• level OR lengthen the
• rest period

www.farmphoto.com
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What did your monitoring tell you?
NRCS, Bozman, Mont.
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J. Mohler, Mont.
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• Good cover

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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• Overgrazing

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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• Uneven use

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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• More production

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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• Bare ground

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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WSU Extension
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NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Remember to make footprints

• BEHIND
• To assess growth rate and determine the rest
  youll need to provide
• AHEAD
• To see if it is ready for livestock (Did it get
  enough rest?)
• WHERE THE LIVESTOCK ARE
• To see if your stocking rate is appropriate

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Options for improving your management
www.agry.purdue.edu
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Create more pastures

• To maintain sufficient rest periods, subdivide
  existing pastures
• If there are 8 pastures that need 50 days of rest
  per pasture, graze periods will be 7 days long.
• If we divide each pasture in half to make 16
  pastures, we can rest each pasture 60 days with
  4-day graze periods.

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Paddocks and exercise runs

• Areas of bare soil or sand/soil mix with little
  grass or other vegetation
• Paddock or sacrifice areas should a minimum of
  400 square feet per adult horse
• Exercise runs should be long and narrow for
  maximum usability
• Minimum width on an exercise run is 24 feet
• Avoid exercise runs on slopes to decrease erosion

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WSU Extension
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Exercise runs and paddocks

• Locate exercise runs or paddocks on relatively
  stone-free, well-drained soils
• Spread sand at least 2 inches deep to improve
  footing
• Remove accumulated manure frequently
• Divert runoff away from paddocks
• Consider grassed filter strips around the edges
  of an exercise area

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Grazing systems

• Season-long grazing
• Partial-season grazing
• Rotational grazing
• Rapid rotation
• Cell grazing

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Season-long grazing is not a good strategy
?
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Partial-season grazing
NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Rotational grazing
USDA NRCS
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Rapid rotation or short- duration grazing
NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Cell or strip grazing
NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Which grazing system is right for me?

• CONSIDER
• Existing facilities
• Water
• Fencing

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Which grazing system is right for me?

• CONSIDERATIONS
• Quality of pasture forage
• Species of grazing animal
• Costs
• Time yours!

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Radial pasture configuration - before
NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Radial pasture configuration after
NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
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Another pasture configuration - before
Explanation Bare Buildings Fences Lawn Proper
ty Streams Trees Water Weeds
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Another pasture configuration - after
Explanation Bare Buildings Fences Lawn Proper
ty Streams Trees Water Weeds
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Grazing schedules

• Be flexible
• Plan ahead
• Monitor check your footprints and adjust to
  grass condition
• Adjust original plan
• Keep records

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Keep records

• Record
• Grazing order of your pastures
• Start grazing and stop grazing dates for each
  pasture
• Number of animals on the pasture
• General health and productivity of the pasture
• Seasonal variations and weather

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Tips for improving your grazing management

• Control weeds and undesirable plants in pastures
  and adjacent areas
• Prevent or reduce differential or selective
  grazing
• Mow pastures, especially those dominated by
  bunchgrasses, if selective grazing has occurred

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Tips for improving your grazing management

• Do not allow 24/7 access to forage areas two to
  three hours during morning and evening will
  suffice
• Divide or subdivide grazing areas into smaller
  blocks, where feasible
• Improve waste management so that forage is not
  lost or damaged by wastes

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Homework

• Walk your pastures and determine if theyre
  overgrazed, underutilized, etc.
• Take photos.
• Estimate the carrying capacity.
• Design a grazing management plan for your
  property.
• Bring in weed samples to identify during the next
  class.

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Appendix Calculating AUMs
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Balancing feed and forage using AUMs

• Determine whether your animals feed and forage
  requirements balance with your lands production
• Feed is defined as hay you provide an animal
• Forage is what your animals consume by grazing.

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Annual hay production
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Annual pasture production
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Annual production of feed

• Acres of hay
• Tons of hay per acre
• Total hay production
•  
• _______ acres X _______ Tons/acre
• __________ Tons

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Annual production of forage

• Acres of pasture
• AUMs of forage per acre
• Total forage production
• _______ acres X _______ AUMs/acre
• __________ AUMs

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Animal requirements - feed
Animal Tons per animal per month Number of animals Number of months Total tons of hay or feed required
Cow 0.40 X_________X_______________ 0.40 X_________X_______________ 0.40 X_________X_______________ 0.40 X_________X_______________
Horse 0.50 X_________X_______________ 0.50 X_________X_______________ 0.50 X_________X_______________ 0.50 X_________X_______________
Sheep 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________
Llama 0.15 X_________X_______________ 0.15 X_________X_______________ 0.15 X_________X_______________ 0.15 X_________X_______________
Goat 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________ 0.10 X_________X_______________
Total feed required ______________ Total feed required ______________ Total feed required ______________ Total feed required ______________
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Animal requirements - forage
Animal AUMs per animal per month Number of animals Number of months Total AUMs required
Cow 1.00 X_________X_______________ 1.00 X_________X_______________ 1.00 X_________X_______________ 1.00 X_________X_______________
Horse 1.25 X_________X_______________ 1.25 X_________X_______________ 1.25 X_________X_______________ 1.25 X_________X_______________
Sheep 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________
Llama 0.30 X_________X_______________ 0.30 X_________X_______________ 0.30 X_________X_______________ 0.30 X_________X_______________
Goat 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________ 0.20 X_________X_______________
Total forage required ____________ Total forage required ____________ Total forage required ____________ Total forage required ____________
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Try an example

• A landowner has 10 acres
• 5 acres are used for hay production (FEED)
• Hay production acres are not irrigated
• 5 acres are used to graze two horses (FORAGE)
• Grazed acres are not irrigated
• Landowner considers all his land to be in good
  condition
• Do the feed and forage balance?

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Step 1 Calculate land production

• FEED Assume that a pasture is in good condition
  and not irrigated, so 2 tons of hay per acre are
  produced. The landowner has 5 acres, so 5 acres x
  2 tons 10 tons of hay per year.
• FORAGE Assume the remaining 5 acres is in good
  condition but is not irrigated, so the pasture
  produces 2 AUMs. 5 acres x 2 AUMs 10 AUMs per
  year.

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Step 2 Calculate animal requirements

• FEED - A horse will eat 0.5 ton per month. The
  landowner has 2 horses that are usually fed hay
  for 5 months, so 0.5 x 2 horses x 5 months 5
  tons needed to feed the horses.
• FORAGE - 1.25 AUMs x 2 horses x 7 months of
  grazing 17.5 AUMs needed for the other 7 months
  of the year.

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Step 3 Add it all up

• Feed Production 10 tons of hay
• Feed Requirements 5 tons of hay
• Feed production exceeds use!
• Forage Production 10 AUMs
• Forage Requirements 17.5 AUMs
• Forage does not balance. There is a shortfall in
  forage production.