Rotational versus Extensive Grazing
It would seem that the best way to graze cattle is to let them graze an area thoroughly for a short period and then put them somewhere else while that area rests and regrows. This is called rotational or management-intensive grazing. Figured out in the 1960s and 1970s by Allan Savory, founder of Holistic Management International, and a host of other researchers, farmers, and ranchers around the world—and since portable fencing became readily available in the 1980s—rotational grazing has been quietly revolutionizing pasture and range management.
Nonetheless, extensive grazing is still by far the most common pasture system in the United States. If you have a lot of land and just a few head of cattle, it may be the most economical choice. The cattle can be turned out for the grazing season and left largely on their own; you only need to make sure that they have water, salt, and a mineral mix on hand at all times. If the pasture is big enough, no one will starve, although if it gets dry in the late summer and grass growth stalls, the cattle will need hay.
The biggest long-term problem with extensive grazing is that it can wreak havoc with the soil, water, and vegetation. Cattle that return to the same areas day after day to graze or rest will kill the plants and compact the soil. If there’s a stream or pond in the pasture, they’ll trample the banks into mud. With no lush vegetation to shade the water and no roots to hold the soil, the water temperature will rise and the banks erode, clouding the water and silting up the bottom. This is devastating for many aquatic species, especially prized ones such as rainbow trout. When cattle rest in the shade of the same trees day after day, the trampling can destroy the delicate feeder root systems and kill the trees. When palatable grass and clover are constantly grazed into the ground, noxious weeds can flourish. Especially in dry climates, where even without cattle it’s difficult for vegetation to prosper, extensive grazing can be devastating.
Setting up rotational grazing for beef cattle is fairly simple. Using whatever type of fence you prefer, split your pasture into several paddocks. Step-in posts and plastic electric wire are the cheapest, quickest, and most common choices for paddock fences. If, however, you don’t care for the constant maintenance required by electric fencing, you can put up permanent paddock divisions.
Paddocks should be sized to provide enough pasture to feed the herd for at least three days but usually no longer than a week. A shorter period tends to make beef cows too fat, and a longer stretch allows them to regraze plants that are just beginning to regrow. If you’re grazing steers with the goal of putting on as much weight as quickly as possible, you can shorten the rotation time to twenty-four, or even twelve, hours, although it’s not necessary if the pasture is in good condition.
Paddocks need to be rested anywhere from a couple of weeks during the spring flush of growth in high rainfall areas to several months in hot, dry regions. Getting it all right takes some experimentation, talking to other rotational grazers in your area, and practice. Fortunately, rotational grazing is a forgiving process, and the cattle will probably do fine while you tweak your system.
Portable fencing makes it possible to change paddock sizes and configurations at the drop of a hat. In those years when I have more cows, I subdivide the land into more paddocks and graze them for shorter periods. When I have fewer cows, I cut back on paddock numbers and don’t graze as tightly. Most years, I also graze all or part of our hayfields, either early in the spring or late in the fall or during a dry stretch when the pastures have given out. Anytime your cattle can harvest forage for themselves will save you time and money.
Overall, rotationally grazing pastures produces significantly more grass—as well as more palatable grass—than extensive grazing does. In practical terms, that means faster-growing animals and fewer out-of-pocket costs for feed. Organic matter in the soil increases, which helps hold moisture in. Consequently, grass growth continues longer into a dry spell. The pasture gets thicker and lusher. Trees are hardier. The tall grass along streams shades the water, and the roots hold the soil of the stream banks tightly, keeping the water clear and the stream narrow and deep.
| FEED ADDITIVES AND GROWTH SUPPLEMENTS More than 90 percent of cattle being fattened for slaughter are implanted with hormones and given antibiotics in their feed to make them grow more quickly and to convert feed to muscle more efficiently. When done correctly, the economics of these practices are persuasive. Properly used hormone implants will add 40–50 pounds of weight to a finished steer for a couple bucks’ investment, while antibiotics and ionophores (a particular class of antibiotics with a different mode of chemical action in the body) increase the efficiency of digestion by 10–20 percent, which results in quicker weight gain. Antibiotics in the feed at low levels also help prevent illness and disease in what is (in a feedlot) a very crowded and dirty environment for cattle, which are being fed an unnatural diet. Hormone implants are placed in the middle third of the ear and are either a synthetic estrogen that will increase muscle gain, a synthetic androgen that decreases protein breakdown and thus increases muscle mass, or a combination of the two. However, implants inserted incorrectly or the wrong implant type for the animal can diminish the benefit. An estimated 25 percent of implants have abscesses around the implant site, reducing their effectiveness, and implants in larger breeds can result in overly large animals. Implants can also increase toughness and delay marbling—the fat deposited inside the muscle—lengthening the time the animal must be on feed to reach a higher quality grade. Concern over the effects of these practices on the environment and humans has grown markedly. An article by Michael Pollan in the March 31, 2002, edition of the New York Times Sunday Magazine, titled “This Steer’s Life,” probably did more than any other single event to galvanize public interest in what had been fed to the beef they were eating. Mr. Pollan revealed that most antibiotics sold in the United States end up in animal feed, not in people, and thereby add considerable impetus to the ominous and accelerating development of antibiotic-resistant human infectious agents. Manure that gets washed into nearby streams and lakes, in turn, leaves measurable levels of hormones in the water, where fish with abnormal sexual characteristics have been found. Some scientists believe, Mr. Pollan wrote, that this build-up of hormonal compounds in the environment may be connected to falling sperm counts in human males and premature maturity in human females. |
Grazing-Management Basics
Some grazing-management practices are dependent upon climate. In arid areas, according to Allan Savory, a high density of grazing cattle is necessary to break up the soil crust and to work seed and fertilizing manure and urine into the ground. In the Deep South, where high summer temperatures prohibit grass growth, some cattle owners plant warm-season annual forages for grazing when pastures aren’t producing. In our area, the Midwest, the major concern is weed control. I mow paddocks once or twice a season, just after they’ve been grazed. In general, it takes grasses and clovers about three days to begin regrowing after they’ve been grazed. You want to mow within that time window so you’re only mowing plants that the cattle didn’t graze, not cutting regrowth. Where the ground is too rocky or steep to mow, I hand-cut weeds, preferably before they go to seed.
Every two or three years, it’s a good idea to test your pasture soil. This involves taking a small shovel and a bucket and gathering samples from the top few inches of soil at several locations in the pasture. Mix up the samples, put some in a plastic bag, and send the combined sample to the soil testing laboratory. In a few weeks, you’ll get back a report showing the pH level of the soil and the nutrient levels for nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. When you submit your samples, ask the lab to test for trace minerals, too, especially calcium. If your pasture is deficient in any nutrients or minerals, you’ll need to amend the soil accordingly.
To find a soil lab in your area, get precise directions on how to take a sample, or locate lime and fertilizer dealers, start by asking your local agricultural extension agent or feed and seed dealer. Ask what time of year is best for taking samples and spreading amendments in your area, too.
Finally, pastures should not be monocultures (limited to one plant type). You don’t want to eat the same thing for every meal, and neither do your cattle. A mix of several types of grasses,