Develop grazing plan to simulate nature

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Regenerative grazing is based on observations and an effort to simulate nature.

“Historically we had large herds of elk and bison moving through Illinois,” said Kent Solberg, Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota livestock and grazing specialist. “The density, frequency, timing and intensity of the animals moving across the landscape varied constantly and we want to try to mimic that as much as possible.”

Graziers control the time of year the animals are on a pasture, the frequency of when they come back to a paddock, the time they spend on the site and the number of animals per acre.

“We want to be adjusting that all the time,” said Solberg during the virtual Regenerative Grazing: Fundamentals for Farmers program hosted by The Land Connection.

Pastures don’t grow in the same way throughout the year.

“Forage recovery in the spring is much faster than in the fall when it could be 50% or even 100% longer time period, so we’ve got to be mindful of that as we’re setting up our plan,” Solberg said.

Plants need leaves for photosynthesis.

“We have to leave leaves to give the plant the ability to create energy to regrow,” Solberg said. “If you take the forage right down to the ground at the first graze of the spring, it is very difficult for it to recover.”

When animals graze less than 50% of the plant, there is no impact on root growth, Solberg said.

“But when we go to 70% or 80% utilization a certain portion of the roots stop growing for a period of time and our recovery rates are longer,” he said.

In addition, heavy grazing will also influence soil temperature due to reduced shade.

“At 70 degrees, 100% of the moisture in the soil is available for plant growth and it’s also available for microbial activity which is critical for nutrient cycling,” Solberg said. “At 100 degrees soil temperature, 85% of the moisture is lost, at 115 degrees the microbes begin to break down and at 140 degrees the microbes completely die.”

Some graziers are concerned about seed heads forming on plants in the spring.

“A lot of that concern is based on low diversity stands, so the more diversity we have in the stand, the less of a problem that is,” Solberg said. “Once a lot of cool season grasses have been clipped, they can stand for over 100 days and still be very good quality.”

Observing manure helps to evaluate the grazing system.

“We want to see something like pumpkin pie filling that stands about 1.5 inches tall,” Solberg said. “We don’t want it squirting all over because that’s an indicator of too much protein in the ration and we don’t want it stacking up like horse manure which is an indicator of too much fiber.’

Cattlemen can look for rumen fill on the left side of their animals in the triangular area below the spine, behind the ribs and in front of the pelvis.

“We want it to look full and not indented, but not bulging out because that could be bloat,” Solberg said.

Additional ways to evaluate a pasture is by using Brix which is a measure of soluble nutrients, primarily sugars which is directly correlated to soil health.

“The shovel test is one of the simplest things,” Solberg said. “Dig a shovel full in your pasture and see if the soil smells earthy, if you are seeing earthworms and if you’re seeing density and then benchmark that against a shovel full from a crop field.”

For adaptive management, it is important to change the pattern of how the animals move through the rotation.

“The easiest way to do that is start in a different part of the pasture every year,” Solberg said. “We want to alternate the height when the plants are grazed and we want to alternate the rest length, some graziers leave paddocks for an entire year.”

To make the best decisions, it is important to keep records and develop a grazing plan based on the notes from previous years.

“Walk your pastures and the fall is a great time to do this,” Solberg said. “Identify areas that need attention like a patch of thistles or brush or a spot that is thin and take some notes to prioritize the areas you want to focus on next year.”

It is also important to have contingencies for floods if there is river bottom ground or for drought conditions.

“Some people have a reserve paddock that they save for when they need it,” Solberg said. “Maybe your plan is to de-stock or another option is weaning early because the nutritional needs of the cows will drop about 30% which can stretch the forage resources.”

The grazing plan for annuals is a little different, Solberg said, and graziers need to think about how they will fit into a crop rotation.

“Herbicide history is the biggest thing folks miss,” he said. “Develop a multi-species cover crop mix.”

Modern fence technology is portable, relatively low cost and pretty easy to set up.

“For a two-wire fence, the bottom wire should be 30 inches above grade and the top wire 40 inches above grade,” Solberg said. “Use 14-gauge high tensile wire and solid fiberglass line posts, seven-eighths inch in diameter, 5 feet long.”

Solberg recommends using white wire for more visibility to livestock and deer.

“There are a variety of posts and lots of reels so figure out what you need and like,” he said.

It is important to match the wire spacing to the class of animal grazing in the pasture.

“The fence needs 7,000 volts and at least three ground rods that are 6 feet long, 10 feet apart,” Solberg said.

“You need a digital voltmeter with a fault finder to make sure the fence is working properly because the shocking power of the fence controls the animal — the wire and posts are just a delivery system,” he said. “Animals must be trained to the fence and if you have any problem animals get them out of there.”

Graziers can use the herd effect, which is a short-term, ultra high density concentration of livestock on a planned location to facilitate vegetative management.

“This works better with larger herds than smaller herds because there are more mouths and hooves,” Solberg said.

To set up the area, Solberg said, place something attractive to the livestock in the area that needs attention.

“You can place a mineral feeder in a thistle patch at bloom, place a quality hay bale in a willow patch or unroll a round bale of hay on a gravely knoll,” Solberg said.

“You don’t have to do this every day,” he said. “If it’s thundering and lightning, get it next time you go by on the rotation.”