Maximizing available forage is a priority for any successful beef producer. Rotational grazing – a practice that can be implemented in a multitude of ways – is gaining popularity in every cattle-producing part of the country.

John O'Meara

Freelance Writer

John O'Meara is a freelance writer based in Maine.

Email John O'Meara

Jennifer Tucker, associate professor at the University of Georgia, sees some serious advantages to rotational grazing.

“It has helped us with some of the more expensive weather events,” she says, explaining that land that is rotationally grazed often recovers more quickly in time of both drought and flood. In addition, she emphasizes that rotational grazing allows producers to grow more forage per acre. “We have less reliance on stored food,” she says.

Although there are as many ways to rotationally graze cattle as there are breeds of cattle, one central tenet is that pasture responds well to rest. When a pasture is grazed with a relatively high stocking rate, animals eat both desirable and less desirable plants. Then they are removed from that paddock for anywhere from 30 days to two years, depending on the climate and other factors. Grazing a large portion of all the forage – followed by an appropriate rest period – makes for more productive pasture over the long term.

In Georgia, where Tucker works, it is an achievable goal to feed no stored feed.

“We’ve gotten pretty close,” Tucker says, noting that Georgia’s climate allows for several different grazing options. “We are warm enough that we can plant something year-round.”

Rotationally grazing annuals or reseeded perennials or the remnants of a grain crop can all be useful options.

One of the innovative strategies Tucker has worked into rotational grazing plans is interseeding bermudagrass with alfalfa. The alfalfa can reduce the amount of nitrogen required for the bermudagrass and can increase gains per acre when utilized in a rotational grazing plan.

Oklahoma’s climate is quite different from Georgia's. Still, Paul Beck, a professor and extension beef nutrition specialist at Oklahoma State University, says more producers are using rotational grazing than in years past.

“It’s gaining in popularity,” Beck says. “There’s a third of the producers across the state doing some sort of rotational grazing.”

In Oklahoma, two factors determine the viability of rotational grazing: rain and the size of the ranch.

“There’s more difference in precipitation from east Oklahoma to west Oklahoma than there is from Oklahoma to the East Coast,” says Beck. More rainfall makes rotational grazing easier to implement. In drier western Oklahoma, stocking rates are lower, and sometimes the logistics of moving cattle from pasture to pasture can be daunting. Regrowth happens more quickly with moisture. Still, Beck sees successful rotational grazing across the state.

This image illustrates how pasture health can be improved through a thoughtful rotational grazing program. Image courtesy of White Oaks Pastures.

“One advantage is the ability to give the preferred plants a rest,” he says. “We can gain productivity.”

While Oklahoma may be a world away from Georgia, the arid High Plains demand even more varied solutions from rotational graziers. In Montana, Jeff Mosley specializes in rangeland ecology and management at Montana State University. Of rotational grazing, he says, “It has become the norm. There are myriad ways people are doing it.”

Mosley stresses that the concepts of rotational grazing are the same across the board: Use high stocking rates to encourage cattle to eat desirable and less desirable species, then allow for an appropriate rest for forages to recover. When working in an arid place, he says, “The principles are all the same. You just have to allow more time.” In some parts of Montana, it may be appropriate to let a pasture rest for two years before stocking it again, according to Mosley.

Mosley differentiates between high-utilization grazing (HUG) and high-performance grazing (HPG). HUG is more commonly used in places with irrigation or relatively high rainfall and requires more paddocks. HUG strives to graze paddocks evenly, resulting in pasture that looks like it has been mowed. All the species have been utilized in HUG. HPG uses less intense grazing to ensure less impact on preferred species.

Mosley emphasizes that a grazing plan has to be suited to the conditions of a particular ranch.

“I’ve seen everything work, and I’ve seen everything fail,” he says.

Colin McClure also sees a bright future for rotational grazing in Montana. In his role with Aggregation Agriculture, McClure consults with ranchers to create grazing plans, emphasizing that specific conditions decide the best type of grazing to employ.

“It’s not prescriptive; it’s adaptive,” says McClure. “It’s all about context.”

He finds that in arid places, 18 months is often the right rest time for arid pasture.

Like other experts in rotational grazing, McClure aims to use appropriate stocking rates over relatively short grazing periods to ensure that various forages are being consumed, allowing for pasture to improve over time.

“The cattle aren’t just going for the steak and ice cream,” he says. “The cattle need to eat the less desirable forages too."

McClure also says popularity of rotational grazing is on the rise in Montana. “There is plenty of interest,” he says.

Back in Georgia, Will Harris owns and operates White Oaks Pastures, a farm of over 5,000 acres that has been in his family for generations. The farm has about 3,200 acres available to cattle, which is divided up into over 150 paddocks separated by three wires of dedicated electric wire. The cattle are moved every day during spring and summer, until about Thanksgiving. At that time, they are put on a sacrifice paddock until roughly January, when cool-season annuals are ready for grazing.

Harris recognizes that permanent fencing is a significant capital expense but is glad the farm made the investment. Overall, rotational grazing is good for the cattle and the farm’s bottom line. “The most expensive part of my operation is the land. Rotational grazing allows me to get more utilization out of the land,” he says.

A big part of Harris’s rotational grazing plan involves spreading compost. With two USDA processing plants on the farm, White Oaks Pastures creates a significant amount of compost.

“It makes the land very productive,” says Harris. Of the sacrifice paddocks, he emphasizes the importance of organic matter provided by hay feeding and says, “After a year or two, it’s the richest area on the farm.”

Rotational grazing can go by many names and works best when a specific plan is suited to a specific ranch and producer. From dry pastures of the High Plains to the humid fields of south Georgia, there’s room for rotational grazing on any profitable, healthy farm or ranch.

Image courtesy of White Oaks Pastures.