In agriculture, grazing refers to a method of animal husbandry where domestic livestock are allowed to eat wild vegetation to convert grass as well as other forages into animal products. Grazing is mainly done on land that is considered unsuitable for arable farming.
Different strategies are employed by farmers to optimize production. Grazing can be continuous, rotational, or seasonal in a given grazing period. Conservation grazing is also a type of grazing that deliberately uses grazing animals in order to improve a site’s biodiversity.
Grazing is as old as the birth of agriculture. Goats and sheep were domesticated as early as 7 000 BC by nomads. This was before the creation of the first permanent settlement around the same time. The creation of permanent settlements enabled pigs and cattle to be kept.
Livestock grazing is a method of getting income and food from lands considered unsuitable for agriculture. For example, 85% of the land used for grazing is unsuitable for crops in the United States.
Grazing management
Grazing management serves two main goals. They are:
Proper grazing and land use management technique balances livestock production and maintaining forage, while still maintaining ecosystem services and biodiversity. This is done by allowing regrowth through sufficient recovery periods.
Grazing systems
Ranchers and science researchers have come up with grazing systems in order to enhance sustainable livestock forage production. These systems are:
In this grazing system, livestock is allowed to graze in the same area throughout the year. According to studies, feed consumption and utilization is reduced by 30 to 40% in a continuous grazing system. Low inputs lead to low output.
This system involves grazing animals in a certain area for only a part of the year. The land that is left to rest allows for the growth of new forage.
This system involves allowing animals to graze on a given part of pasture at a given time, and then moving them to another part. Rotational grazing can be done through paddocking, tethering, and strip grazing. The recommended time of rotation is when the forages have been grazed to a certain height. Note that no area should be grazed more than once in one grazing season. This gives the pasture a rest period and allows regrowth. This system is costly as it may involve the construction of fences.
In ley farming, there is no permanent planting of pastures. Pastures are alternated between arable crops and/or fodder crops.
This system involves dividing the range into four pastures. One pasture is rested all through the year and rotational grazing is done on the residual pastures. This system of grazing is mainly beneficial when using sensitive grass requiring time for rest as well as regrowth.
This is where there are at least two pastures and one is not grazed until after the setting of seeds. By using this system, maximum growth of grass can be achieved when there is no grazing.
This involves burning a third of a pasture every year, regardless of the size of the pasture. This patch that is burned attracts grazers that graze heavily on the area because of the freshly growing grass that emerges. Little or no grazing is done on the other patches. During the coming years, the other patches are burned one at a time and the cycle continues.
This system is focused more on improving wildlife and its habitats. It makes use of fences to keep livestock away from ranges near water areas or streams until after waterfowl or wildlife periods.
This involves the use of grazing animals to improve a site’s biodiversity.
This is a form of rotational grazing that uses small paddocks.
Whatever system you decide to use, it is important to note that animals need water. Make sure you provide a source of water within 800 feet of the animal at every time. This increases water consumption, improves grazing distribution, and helps with uniform manure distribution.
