Grazing Systems
Continuous Grazing
A one-pasture system in which livestock have unlimited access to the pasture area with little to no rests during the season. There is no rotation of livestock and no managed grazing plan. While this system has low costs in fencing and low daily management, pastures are often grazed unevenly by livestock eating more of what they like and less of what they don’t. This results in an uneven distribution of manure and fertilization. This system does not optimize stocking density, allowing animals to selectively graze, and therefore overgraze their favorite plants. Without rests and recovery periods, the pasture takes longer to regrow, contributing to low-nutrient forages, drought, erosion, and overall deterioration of the land over time.
Rotational Grazing
A grazing system where a large pasture is divided into smaller sections called paddocks, in which livestock move from one paddock to another. Livestock are concentrated on a paddock for a few days (depending on animal quantity and weather) and then moved to another paddock. This method allows for pasture regrowth and an even distribution of manure, leading to a more nutrient-dense pasture over time. This also aids in breaking worm and other pest cycles, resulting in overall health for the livestock.
Fencing and shelter costs are higher in this system because each paddock must have access to shade and water, meaning more labor is needed to maintain the system. Less expensive, temporary fencing is an option that is often used, but this does not reduce the amount of labor required. However, rotational grazing directly improves livestock and pasture health and helps extend the grazing season, allowing farmers to rely less on supplemental feed. This system is also highly customizable to each individual farm, giving farmers more control over the land.
Slow Rotational Grazing
The pasture is divided into two or more paddocks. Livestock is rotated intermittently between the two paddocks to allow for some recovery in the pasture.
Intensive Rotational Grazing
A more structured and intentional grazing system in which the pasture is divided into many paddocks and stocking density is matched accordingly. The farmer’s goals for the pasture determine the number of animals and how long they spend on each paddock, but often the animals are rotated to a new paddock every one to three days once the forage is grazed down to its targeted height. This results in animals eating nearly everything in the paddock, with an even distribution of manure, better weed control, and nutrient-dense pasture. The farmer must adapt the timing of their grazing plan accordingly as to not introduce livestock too soon to a paddock, lest they overgraze or introduce them to parasites that have yet to die off.
Because this system is very adaptable, there are many subsystems that fall into Intensive Rotational Grazing including but not limited to:
Strip Grazing
A type of intensive rotational grazing, this method uses portable fences to section off a small section of pasture for animals to rapidly graze for a short time period. This aids in pasture growth because animals have limited opportunities for selection, and it teaches animals to eat new forage types. Animals are often moved one to two times per day.
Mob Grazing
A high-intensity grazing system involving a large concentration of animals in a small area for a short amount of time, often moving several times a day using temporary fencing. Long rest periods are essential, and paddocks are only grazed two to three times per year. This is a labor-intensive system.
Creep Grazing
This system allows younger animals to have access to a pasture of higher quality in order to feed them with no competition from older animals.
Leader-Follower Grazing
Two groups of livestock with different nutritional needs are allowed to graze the same paddock at different times. One group with a higher nutritional need (typically young, pregnant, or dairy animals) goes first, allowing them to selectively graze more nutritious forages in the paddock. The second group with lower nutritional needs follows, grazing the rest of the paddock. This system can also be used in a multi-species grazing program.
Multi-Species Grazing
Different livestock species are grazed on the same pasture as one herd, or in the Leader-Follower Grazing system, or in a combination of other methods. Each species has different nutritional needs and forage preferences, which increases forage utilization and efficiency. However, this system is labor intensive and requires more equipment and facilities to meet the needs of every species in the paddock.
Click here for a downloadable list of references used for Grazing Systems.