5/21/2008

P t
Pasture
for
f Profit:
P fit Managing
M
i
Intensive Grazing Systems For
Animal Production
RockyLemus
Rocky Lemus
ExtensionForageSpecialist
May19,2008

WhytheNeedtoImproveGrazing
Systems?
Approximately80%ofthepasturesin
MS ff f
MSsufferfrompooranduneven
d
fertilitycoupledwithseriousweed
management.
Close
Closeto90%ofthepasturesinMSare
to 90% of the pastures in MS are
undercontinuousgrazing.
Over50%oftheforageproductionis
underutilized.

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SuccessfulLivestockProduction
Therearemanyimportant
i
ingredientsinasuccessful
di t i
f l
livestockproduction
system.
Oneofthemostimportant
tasksistokeepdetailed
recordsonlivestockstocking
rate,livestockperformance,
andforageproduction.

ForageSpecies
Agoodcombinationofperennialcoolseason
andwarmseasongrassesisdesired.
d
i d i d
60%coolseasongrassesinterseededwith
legumes.
40%warmseasongrassesinterseededwith
annuallegumesandcanbeinterseededwith
coolseasonannualgrasses.
Lookatstockpilingcapabilityofbothspecies.

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ChangesinProductivity
Forageutilizationrates:
Continuousgrazing:~30to35%.
Rotationalgrazing:~50and75%.

Ratesarehigherinrotationalgrazing
because of higher stock densities
becauseofhigherstockdensities.

ForageGrowthCurve

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ForageGrowthCurve

SuggestedResidueHeightofSelectedForagesfor
OptimumAnimalPerformanceandStand
Persistence
Species

Residue Height
(inches)

Rest Period
(days)

Maximum Utilization
(%)

Alfalfa

36

15 30

50

Annual Ryegrass

34

7 15

75

Arrowleaf Clover

34

10 - 20

50

Bahiagrass

46

10 - 20

60

Bermudagrass

34

7 - 15

75

Oat

46

7 15

75

R d Clover
Red
Cl

46

10 20

50
0

Rye

46

7 15

75

Tall Fescue

34

15 - 30

75

Wheat

46

7 15

75

White Clover

46

7 15

75

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ManageForageGrowth
Decisionsaboutmovinganimalsfrompaddock
t
topaddockarebasedon:
dd k
b d
Theamountofforageavailable.
Sizeofpaddocks.
Estimatedseasonalgrowthrates.
Thenumberandnutritionalneedsofthelivestock.

GrazingManagementSystems
Grazingmanagementshould:
Balancelivestockdemandwithforageavailability.
Balance livestock demand with forage availability
Promoterapidpastureregrowthduringthegrazing
season.
Promotelongtermpasturepersistence.

Theartofgrazingmanagementistoensurethat
thereissufficientpastureinastagesuitableto
grazeatalltimesthroughoutthegrazingseason.

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ContinuousGrazing
Meaning:
Puttingasetnumberofanimalsoutonapasture
P tti
t
b
f i l
t
t
andleavingthemthereforasmuchoftheseason
asthepasturewillsupportthem.
Thenumberofanimalsthepasturecansupportis
determinedbytheforageyieldduringtheperiod
ofpoorestpastureproductivity,usuallyJulyand
August.
Thestockingrateneedstobeveryloworthe
animalswillloseweightduringthesummer.

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ContinuousGrazing
Drawbacks
Meatormilkproductionperacreisvery
low.
Mostoftheforageproducedinthespring
iswasted.
Theanimalsselectivelygrazeandcause
thepasturetobecomelessproductive
withtime.
Addorsubtractanimalsasdeterminedby
pastureproductivity.

SettingUpARotationalGrazing
System
Goals
Areyougrazingtomaintainaherdorachieve
A
i t
i t i h d
hi
maximumproduction?
Howintensivedoyouwantyourmanagementto
be?
Areyouwillingtofertilize?
Doyouwantproductiveyieldsrightwayorcan
Do you want productive yields right way or can
yougraduallyworkuptohigheryields?
Doyouhavesevereweedsproblemsthatneed
attentionbeforeyouintensifyyoursystem?

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SettingUpARotationalGrazing
System
Resources:
Howmuchcapitalisavailabletoinvestforstarting
agrazingsystem?
DoIhaveashortageorabundanceofpasture?
Whatforagespeciesarecurrentlyinthepasture?
Whataretheconditionsofthepastures?
p
Iswateravailabletoeachpaddock?
Whatarethefencingconditions?

WhyRotationalGrazing?
Onlyoneportionofthepasture(paddock)is
gra ed while the remainder of the pasture rest .
grazedwhiletheremainderofthepasturerest.
Allowforageplantstorenewenergyreserves,rebuild
vigor,deepentheirrootsystem,andgivelongterm
maximumproduction.

TimeSavings
It
Ittakesabout15
takes about 15 20minutesperdaytomovecattle
20 minutes per day to move cattle
iffenceisproperlyplaced.
Ittakesabout20minutesto1hrtofeedhayorsilage.
Ittakesabout7hoursperacretomakehay.

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Advantages
Theadvantagesofcontrolledgrazingare:
More
Moreoftheproducedforageisused.
of the produced forage is used
Highernumbersofanimalscanbesupportedbythe
pasture.
Moremeatormilkisproducedperunitofland.
Thepasturerecoversquicklyafterbeinggrazedand
remainsproductiveforalongerperiodoftime.
Itfavorstakingahayorsilagecutifthereisanexcess
g
y
g
offorageinthespring.
Desirablelegumesandgrassesareabletopersistfrom
yeartoyear.

RotationalGrazing
Rotationalgrazinginvolvesfencingapastureinto
several small paddocks.
severalsmallpaddocks.
Subdivisionisausefulwaytobalancelivestockneeds
withforagesupply.
Putlivestockintoapaddockwhentheforageis812
inchesandremovelivestockwhenthepastureis
grazeddownto3inches.

Arelativelyhighstockingrateforthesizeofthe
paddockforcestheanimalstobelessselectivein
theirgrazingandtograzethepaddockoffevenly.

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RotationalGrazing
Dividingthefieldsallowssomeofthepaddockstobe
harvested for hay early in the season.
harvestedforhayearlyintheseason.
Considerhowmuchwillbeneededtosupportthe
livestockuntilthehayaftermathisreadytobegrazed.
Thelaterthefirstcut,theslowertheregrowth.
Thisdelaysputtingthecutareabackintopasturerotation
andputsextrapressureonthegrazedarea.

Rotationalgrazingdoesnotnecessarilyincreasedaily
liveweightgains,butdoesallowaheavierstockingrate
tobecarried,whichincreasesgainsperacre.

StripGrazing
Inthissystemtheanimalsaregivenjustenough
pasture to supply 1/2 to 1 dayssrequirements.
pasturetosupply1/2to1day
requirements
Thefenceismovedonceortwicedailytoprovide
freshforage.
Asecondwirecan"follow"theanimalstoprevent
movementbackontograzedareas.

While
Whilethisisthemostlaborintensivemethodof
this is the most labor intensive method of
grazing.
Itresultsinthehighestqualityfeed,theleastwaste
andleastdamagetoapasture.

10

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StripGrazing

MobGrazing
UltraHighStockDensity
Grazingbyarelativelylargenumberof
Grazing by a relatively large number of
animalsatahighstockingdensityfora
shorttimeperiodandareleftinapaddock
untilalltheforageisgrazeddownevenly
andclosely.
Thisapproachisnormallyusedtocleanup
pastureswithalotofcoarse,mature
plants.Mobgrazingcanreplaceclipping.

11

5/21/2008

MobGrazing
TheAdvantagesofManyPaddocks
Aspaddocksizedecreasesstockdensityincreases,
causingbetterdistributionofdung,urine,and
trampling.

MoreEvenGrazing
Thelongerweholdanynumberofanimalsinany
paddock,thehigherthenumberofplantsthatget
severelygrazed.

MobGrazing
IncreasedEnergyFlow
Theamountofgreenleafremovedgreatlyaffects
theratewhichplantsregrowafterbeinggrazed.

ImprovedAnimalNutrition
Thefactthatanimalsmovemorefrequentlyonto
The fact that animals move more frequently onto
freshground,meanstheyreceiveabetter
nutritionandreduceddangerofparasiteinfection
andbuildup.

12

5/21/2008

MobGrazing
1,000,000poundsofcattleperacrestock
d it
density.

MobGrazing

13

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MobGrazing

MobGrazing
400headin1.5acresperday.

14

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MixedGrazing
Thisapproachtograzingmanagementtakes
advantageofthefactthatdifferenttypesof
d t
f th f t th t diff
tt
f
livestockliketograzedifferentplants.
Twoormoretypesofanimalsgrazethe
paddock at the same time or follow one
paddockatthesametimeorfollowone
anotherthroughthepaddocks.
Sheepandcattlemakeagoodcombination.
Donotgrazesheepwithhorses.

15

5/21/2008

StockingRateandCarrying
Capacity
Stockingrateisgenerallyexpressedasanimal
units per unit of land area
unitsperunitoflandarea.
Carryingcapacityisthestockingratethatis
sustainableovertimeperunitoflandarea.
Acriticalfactortoevaluateishowwellthe
stockingrateagreeswiththecarryingcapacityof
the land.
theland.
Atermthatisusedtohelpunderstandandestimate
foragerequirementsistheconceptofAnimalUnit
(AU).

AnimalUnit(AU)
AnimalUnitEquivalent
Cattle<900lbs
Cattle <900 lbs
AUE=(BodyWeight+100)/100
Animals>1,100lbs
AUE=(BodyWeight 100)/100

16

5/21/2008

AnimalUnit(AU)
AnimalUnitEquivalent
Cattle<900lbs
Cattle <900 lbs
AUE=(BodyWeight+100)/100
Animals>1,100lbs
AUE=(BodyWeight 100)/100

StockingRateCalculation
Alivestockproducerhas50headof1,000lb
cowson200acresfor12months.
200
f 12
th
TotalLandArea [(#AUs)x(GrazingSeason)]
200acres [(50AUs)x(12months)]
=0.33acresperAUmonth(AUM)or4acres
perAUyear(AUY)

17

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ExampleofStockingRate
Livestockoperationthathas100acresof
bermudagrass andlongtermproduction
and long term production
recordsindicatethepastureiscapableof
producing5,000lbs.offorageDMperacre
overthegrowingseason.
A
Aproducermaywishtoknowhowmanyhead
d
i ht k
h
h d
of500lb.stockercalvestheymayexpectto
stockinthepasture.

CalculatingAvailableForagefor
Grazing
(AverageDMinlbs.peracre)x(#Acres)x
(%UtilizationFactor)
5,000x100x0.65=
325,000lbs.ofForageDM

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5/21/2008

CalculatingStockingRate(#head)
BasedonAvailableForage
(TotalForageDM) [(#GrazingDays)x(Daily
F
ForageDemandfor1AUorAUEofthe
D
d f 1 AU AUE f th
animalinquestion)]=#ofHead
325,000 [(120days)x(15lbs.DMperday)]=
Stocking Rate
StockingRate
325,000 1800=181Head

CalculationofAUsfromAUEs
#HeadxAUE=TotalAUs
181Headx0.6=109AUs
Calculatethestockingrate.
(TotalLandArea) (#AUs)=StockingRate
100 109=0.92acresperAU

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5/21/2008

GrazingSystemInfrastructure
Requirements:
Paddocksizeandshape
Paddock size and shape
Squareorrectangular

Water
Closetoanimalsmuchbetter

Fencing
F i
Electricfencing
Polytape orpolywire
Hightensile

Paddocks:HowManyandHow
Big?
Dependsonthemanager
Determinedbycurrentfencing,topography,accessto
y
g, p g p y,
water,andaccesstocommonareas(corral).
Thenumberofpaddocksdependonthenumberofdays
theanimalsgrazeinapaddockandthemaximumsummer
restperiodneeded.

Morepaddocksmeanincreasingthelengthontherest
period and decreasing the length of time an area is
periodanddecreasingthelengthoftimeanareais
grazed.
Restperiodsshouldbebasedonthegrowthrateofthe
pasture,whichwillvarywiththeseasonandweather
conditions

20

5/21/2008

LengthofRestPeriods
Useshortgrazingperiods
Moreuniformforageintake
M
if
f
i t k
Onedayfordairy.
Twotosixdaysforcattle.

Shorteninggrazingperiods:
Threetosevendaysincreasesutilizationto50to65
percent.
Twodays,55to70percent.
Oneday,between60and75percent.

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5/21/2008

Bahiagrass ForageProduction
80

LbofDM/acre/day

70
60

58

64

61

50

81%

40

37

73%

30
20

67

65%
57%

10
0
1day
Source: Stewart et al., 2005

3days

7days

21days

Continuous

Rotational

RelationshipBetweenPaddock
NumberandRestPeriodPerAcre

In
Ina6
a 6paddock
paddocksystem,animals
system, animals
willgrazeasinglepaddockfor
about5to6days,allowingthe
paddocktorest82%ofthe
time.

22

5/21/2008

PaddockLayout
Rectangularorsquare
Easiercalculationoftheamountoffenceneeded.
Squarepasturesrequirelessfence.
Rectangularpasturescanbeusedforstripgrazing

PaddockLayout

23

5/21/2008

WhereShouldIStart?
Oneshouldconsiderstartingwithfiveto10
paddocks in the rotational grazing program This
paddocksintherotationalgrazingprogram.This
allowapaddocktobegrazedinthreeto7daysand
restedfor25to30days.

Example

100headsofstockercalvesweighing500lbseach.
Drymatterproduction2000lb/ac.
ForageUtilization=60%.
Drymatterintake=3%.

Calculations

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5/21/2008

WaterSystems
Providingwaterisanothercapital.

WaterSystems
Designingawatersystemforfutureexpansion
maybethebestoptionforbeginnerswith
b th b t ti f b i
ith
limitedfunds.
Manyproducersusepipesandportablewaterers
tocreatemovablewatersystemsanddesign
permanentsystemsbasedonthisexperience.

Flexibilityinlocatingwaterwithinpaddocks
shouldbepartofanyfinaldesign.

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5/21/2008

Fencing
Rotationalgrazingrequiresadditionalfencing.
Hightensileelectricfencingischeaperandeasierto
Hi h t il l t i f i i h
d
i t
installthanconventionalfencing.
Temporaryaswellaspermanentelectricfencingis
available,andmanyproducersuseacombinationof
thetwo.
h
Thisequipmentoffersflexibilityinmanaging
animalandplantresources.

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5/21/2008

AlleysandGates
Laneshouldbekeptasnarrowaspossible
Sixtoeightfeetforcattle
14to18feetforcattleandmachinery
Theyshouldbeshort

Gates
Gatesshouldbelocatedinthecornerofthe
should be located in the corner of the
paddockclosesttothecommonarea(corral).

FertilizationandRotational
Grazing
RotationalGrazingincreasesthenitrogenvalue
of manure returned to the pasture by grazing
ofmanurereturnedtothepasturebygrazing
animals.
Asmuchas85to90%ofthenutrientsconsumedinthe
forageareredepositedonthepasture.
Producer
Producercanreducerecommendednitrogenrates20%
can reduce recommended nitrogen rates 20%
forthesameyieldgoalonintensivelymanagedpastures.
Fertilizeonly
only whenincreasedforageproductionis
needed.

27

5/21/2008

NutrientRemoval

GrazingSystemandNCycling
UrinehastheNfertilizerequivalentof2001,000
lbs N/acre in that little patch
lbsN/acreinthatlittlepatch.
Continuous
TheeffectiveNapplicationratefromcattleurineisless
than1lb/acre/day.

Rotational
The
TheeffectiveN
effective Nfertilizer
fertilizerequivalentfromurineis
equivalent from urine is
around30 50lbs/acre/day
Atwiceweeklyrotationputsabout20lbs/acreof
readilyavailableurinaryNonthepasture.

28

5/21/2008

NutrientDistribution
Dubeux et al. (2005)

29

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Summary
Managementintensivegrazingisnotforevery
producer.
d
Itwillnotinstantlyprovidewealthandleisure
orsolvealltheproblemslivestockproducers
face.
Itmighttakethreeyearsofobservationand
It might take three years of observation and
manipulationofsoil,plant,andanimal
resourcestoreallybegintomanagethem
well.

30

5/21/2008

FourStepstoRotationalGrazing
Determinethenumberofanimalunitsthatwill
be in the grazing system
beinthegrazingsystem.
Estimatehowmanyacreswillbeneeded
throughoutthegrazingseason.
Estimatehowlargeeachpaddockshouldbe.
E ti t h l
h dd k h ld b
Estimatethenumberofpaddocksneeded.

RotationalGrazingSystems
Profitsimprovebecause:
Thestockingrateishigher.
Thegrazingseasonislonger.
Thereislessneedforlanddedicatedtohay
productiononly.
Thereislessdependenceonmechanical
p
equipment.
Animalhealthimproves.

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Progressive Changes in
Forage Management

Develop a 3 4 year plan

depending on economics,
land resources, forage species,
and goal of the operation.

TakeHomeMessage
Rotationalgrazingallowsyourpasturestostay
green,whichishealthierforyourpasturesand
hi h i h lthi f
t
d
yourlivestock.Asabonus,youshouldseea
decreaseinyourfeedbillaswellandwellas
theamountofhaybeingfed.

32

5/21/2008

33