Grazing Distribution

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Grazing Distribution
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What is Grazing Distribution?

• Pattern created by livestock grazing an area of
  rangeland or pasture
• animals tend to graze in spotty patterns
• forage availability is reduced
• grazing selectivity is lost
• reduced animal performance

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What causes uneven grazing patterns?

• Pasture shape L
• Terrain
• Water Location
• Vegetation
• palatability
• stage of growth
• water content of plants
• soil fertility level

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Managing for Grazing Distribution

• Salt Mineral Feeder Location
• placed away from water
• may need to move when trampling begins
• Oilers, Rubbing Posts, or Dust Bags
• attract livestock
• Winter Feeding Location (move around)

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Managing for Grazing Distribution

• Riparian Areas (streams, lakes etc)
• provide alternate water and salt away from
  riparian area
• may need to fence off area
• Prescribed Burning -livestock prefer regrowth
  after burning

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Water Developments

• Quantity Quality are most important
• Cattle consume up to 15 gal per day per 1,000 lbs
  animal
• Stock Ponds - can have poor water quality
• silting
• animals walking in
• Pit Ponds (Dugouts)
• Wells - should have 2-3 day storage

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Water Developments

• Windmills
• high initial cost
• unreliable as a continual source of power
• Electric Pumps
• can pump water to several locations, long
  distances
• requires electrical source
• requires constant monitoring (power outages)
• Solar-Powered Pumps
• can move solar panel pump to different
  locations
• requires constant monitoring

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Water Developments

• Pipelines and Troughs
• can be placed at the best locations
• multiple waterings
• initial cost maintenance
• Spring Developments
• provides clean water away from wet areas
• with continuous flow, water seldom freezes
• Stock Tanks should provide 2-3 days reserve
• concrete pad

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Cross Fencing

• Dividing large pastures into smaller ones
• Conventional materials (barbed wire)
• High Tensile Steel - more maintenance
• High Energy - Low Impedance
• cheaper than barbed

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Grazing Strategies

• Influence grazing patterns

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Season-Long Grazing

• One pasture for the entire season
• Difficult to maintain adequate grazing
  distribution

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Management-Intensive Grazing Systems
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Sequential Forage Grazing

• Using 2 or more forages in combination
• best utilization of forage
• must have different growing seasons

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Partial-season Grazing

• Only allowed to graze for part of the growing
  season

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Deferred Grazing

• Rest pasture during season of growth, grazed or
  hayed during dormant time
• poor quality forage
• cheaper than haying

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Rotation Grazing

• Move livestock from pasture to pasture
• Only graze each pasture once per season

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Rapid Rotation

• Fewer than 6 pastures
• short grazing periods, long rest periods

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Cell Grazing

• Intensified rapid rotation
• more than 6 pastures

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Which grazing system if for YOU?

• Things to consider
• water
• fencing
• animal nutrition
• time

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