Hobby Farm Grazing Methods

Whether you have one or two pet goats or a herd of a thousand cattle, there are grazing methods you can use to save money and get the most use out of your grazing land even if that "grazing land" is just your backyard.

The commonest grazing method is called continuous grazing. This is when you have one fenced grazing area and you keep your animals there year-round. This has the advantage that it is cheaper, as regards fence costs, than the other method. A properly designed grazing fence will keep your animals where you want them, and keep them out of the garden and away from the rosebushes and other temptations. It will keep bears and stray dogs from being able to harm your animals.

But there are disadvantages to continuous grazing. Over time you will find that they overgraze the grass nearest the barn and undergraze the most distant areas. They also eat up all their favorite plants, wiping them out, and leave the plants they find less palatable to reproduce and spread.

The next step up from continuous grazing is alternate grazing. In this method, you divide your grazing land in half. Inexpensive modern fencing solutions such as electric netting are a good way to make this division. Graze in one half for a period of time, then switch your animals to the other. It's often a good idea to mow your pasture-halves after your animals have done with it, in order to mow down the larger plants and inedible weeds. This makes the pasture much tastier when your animals go back to it.

Rotational grazing, also called Management Intensive Grazing, is the next step up, and involves dividing your grazing area into many paddocks. These mini-pastures are grazed for a short period of time and then the animals are moved on. These paddocks get grazed down during their period of use and then have time to rest and regrow.

During spring when grass growth is lush, there may be more grass than your animals can use. You don't want the grass to get too high, because the shorter, tender grasses have more nutrition. You may have to mow some of your paddocks in spring rather than grazing them. If you have the equipment, you can harvest this grass for hay.

With rotational grazing, the same amount of pasture land can support more animals. The exact number of animals depends on the quality of your pasture. Good pasture can support 5 sheep per acre, while poorer land can support only 3 per acre.

What is good pasture? Good pasture land includes a class of plant called legumes--- plants which are high in protein. Alfalfa, clover and birdsfoot trefoil are all forms of legume. Alfalfa and clovers can cause a condition called bloat if overeaten, so you don't want a pasture with too much alfalfa or clover. Birdsfoot trefoil does not cause bloat, so this legume might be a good one to plant.

Rotational grazing has grown in popularity in recent years. The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine is dedicated to this form of grazing and provides much information. Other farming magazines also may run articles on rotational grazing. It's a good idea to read up on grazing methods, even if you only have a few animals and a small acreage. Improving your grazing technique can help you save money on animal feed and improve your animals' health. It's well worth the effort involved.

Sources:
Kruesi, William K. - The Sheep Raiser's Manual
Schroedter, Peter - More Sheep, More Grass, More Money
The Stockman Grass Farmer - http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/