Grass-Fed Beef Grazing Basics

When it comes to grazing cattle the devil is in the details. The approaches to grazing cattle range from granting them access to all the acreage they will see for the entire year (often called continuous grazing) to giving them just enough forage for a half hour (called high-density grazing). So what is our approach at Living Pastures and why?

We practice adaptive grazing. Though there are some subtle differences, adaptive grazing might also be called intensive rotational grazing or management-intensive grazing. It is a form of high-density grazing, rather than continuous grazing.

So, what’s the difference and does it matter? Adaptive grazing involves giving the cattle access to enough forage that they can eat half of what is available in a day or less, and leave half of the forage behind. (Take 50%, leave 50%.) Then that paddock is left to rest for at least 40 days, but sometimes even months at a time. In a continuous grazing system the cattle have access to the same area of pasture for at least several months, sometimes most, or all, of the year.

In the photos above you can see how we set up our paddocks. Using a single strands of electrified polywire (on reels that make letting it out and picking it up really easy), plastic step in-posts, some garden hose, and a 75 gallon plastic water trough, we can give the cattle what they need for a day or less at a time. In the photo on the left the cattle are in a paddock they just moved into; in the photo on the right is a paddock they grazed for about 24 hours.

When they have grazed enough to stimulate plant growth but left (and trampled) enough to leave the soil microbes with plant residue for them to eat, we move them to the next paddock. It is more of an art than a science, and we definitely don’t get it exactly right every time, but by observing closely how both the animals and the pasture respond to the paddock size and time combination we can adjust each day. We will share some photos of the grazed paddock as it rests and recovers from the grazing so you can see what looks like.

The effects of these different grazing approaches are surprising, especially as they manifest themselves over many years. An adaptive, or rotational, grazing system results in greater soil health as indicated by soil aggregates, soil organic matter, water infiltration and storage capacity, and soil carbon sequestration. With healthier soil comes more nutrient dense pasture as indicated by the percentage of plant energy (sugars, carbohydrates, etc.), also known as brix. Adaptive grazing also results in greater grass, legume, and forb diversity and density. And with healthier soil and healthier pastures comes healthier cattle and the ability to produce more pounds of beef per acre.

Each of the above soil or pasture health indicators could be its own book, let alone blog post, and we will get into more details on each of them. What they all point to, though, is is the fact that not all grass-fed beef management systems are equally beneficial to soil, pasture, or animal health.

I do want to emphasize that this isn’t meant to condemn those who do practice continuous grazing. A lot of the research that shows the benefits of frequently rotating your livestock has only come out relatively recently. Continuous grazing itself can be done in a way that any negative impacts are quite small or in a way that presents more serious and numerous problems. But having learned from those who do study and apply adaptive grazing principles, it is hard to deny its many benefits.