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This article was co-authored by Karin Lindquist. Karin Lindquist earned a BSc in Agriculture as an Animal Science major from the University of Alberta, Canada. She has over 20 years of experience working with cattle and crops. She's worked for a mixed-practice veterinarian, as a sales representative in a farm supply store, and as a research assistant doing rangeland, soil, and crop research. She currently works as a forage and beef agriculture extension specialist, advising farmers on a variety of issues relating to their cattle and the forages they grow and harvest.
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One of the most sustainable and economical ways to feed cattle, grazing cattle on pasture is the easiest part of raising these beasts. The only costs and labour involved in grazing cattle is maintaining fences and turning cattle out to fresh pasture.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 3:
Checking the Fences
Check fences prior to turning cattle out. Assuming that pasture fencing is already present, go around the perimeter of the pasture that you are to graze your animals in and check the fence for any broken wires, stretched wires, staples pulled out, broken posts, or trees on the fence line. Fix such weak areas as you find them accordingly.
Open the gate and coax or bribe the cattle through to the fresh grass. Quite often, just the activity of checking fences will bring cattle up to the gate or fence to see what you are up to. Cattle are always inquisitive and will go to discover anything that is new or different, such as activity out in the field or an open gate left deliberately or accidentally open. Thus, it shouldn't take them very long to find the open gate and the fresh grass beyond.Advertisement
Part 3
Part 3 of 3:
Moving to New Grazing Pastures
Repeat the fence checks for the pasture you want the cattle to graze in next before moving them there. It cannot be stressed enough the importance of checking fences before moving cattle. Sometimes you may want to check fences again during the time they are on pasture, especially if they are in an area that is big enough to allow them to graze there for three to four weeks or more, and especially if the fences themselves are old and prone to break from the stress put on them by the cattle.
Move the cattle from the spent pasture onto a new pasture or paddock. Cattle that are manage-intensive-grazed (MIG) will soon get accustomed to being moved at a certain time of day or after a certain time they are on pasture. Cattle that are continuously grazed on a large pasture are not trained as such, and require calm herding techniques to move them from one pasture to the other.- Cattle should be moved to fresh pasture when 50% to 70% of cover has been removed; this is important with rotational grazing that follows a high-intensity low-frequency form of grazing. Cattle will need to be moved sooner in a high-frequency low-intensity form of grazing where they only get to graze enough that they are taking only one bite from every plant and trampling the rest.
- With continuous/rotational combination grazing (where one pasture is being grazed for around a month before moving the animals on to the next) remember to move them before most of the pasture gets overgrazed. This is where determining stocking rates or stocking density--used mostly for MIG--is important. The timing of when you decide to move your animals to fresh pasture depends on the pasture size (number of acres), the average body weight of the herd, and the forage quality and quantity.
- Cattle should be moved to fresh pasture when 50% to 70% of cover has been removed; this is important with rotational grazing that follows a high-intensity low-frequency form of grazing. Cattle will need to be moved sooner in a high-frequency low-intensity form of grazing where they only get to graze enough that they are taking only one bite from every plant and trampling the rest.
Repeat the process from the steps above. Make sure pastures get a rest period of 25 to 30 days or more to allow plants to come back at an adequate height to be grazed again.Advertisement
Community Q&A
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- QuestionHow long should I let a yearling eat per day when break-feeding on grass only?
Community AnswerHow much pasture is available, or what size is the pasture/field? How small an area are you break-feeding this yearling? And what is this yearling, a bull, a steer, or a heifer? These questions must be answered before the question asked here can be answered properly. - QuestionDo cows graze tighter than cattle?
Community AnswerNo, because cows and cattle are the same thing. Both words are used to describe the same animal. - QuestionHow many cows to an acre?Community AnswerGenerally, one. But it depends on where you live. Sometimes an acre isn't enough to support one cow for an entire grazing season, much less an entire year. Other times, depending on management and location, you can get away with 10 per acre, but that often won't be for an entire season, more like a week to a month. Please see your local county or agricultural extension office for local stocking rates for your area.
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Tips
- Cows are intelligent enough to answer by name when they are waiting to be milked. The writer has seen this in action and it's quite impressive. However, it does require some effort in training them!Thanks
- When cows graze, they mostly cross the field all facing and moving in the same direction. They are normally lead by one cow who can be used for management of the herd, by controlling this cow's movements when herding them into a new area.Thanks
- Be sure to follow rest-periods for your pastures to ensure the health of the plants and to make sure that the plants are at an optimum height should they be regrazed.Thanks
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