Graze, Move, Rest, Repeat

To make money, every rancher should know four words: Graze, Move, Rest and Repeat. Simple instructions that are not hard to follow. With good rainfall, these four words will yield ample grass to graze.

I like to graze one herd. I recently read two articles where ranchers were grazing a grassfinishing herd and a cow/calf herd. After lots of research and analysis, they were finally convinced that one herd was better than two. Grazing is the easy part. Put cattle in a pasture and let them eat.

Move is simple. Open a gate and the cows will move to the next pasture. When to move the herd is usually based on how short the grass has been grazed. Holistic management suggest keeping animals from taking a second bite of grass. This may require frequent moves especially if the pastures are small. Some ranchers move cattle twice a day. This is very effective in building the soil but requires a large number of paddocks and a good amount of time. It isn’t practical for most ranchers.

Other ranchers keep animals grazing on land until the herd removes 50% from the top of the grass. Depending on the time of the year, I like to move animals when 40% of the top growth is eaten. Cattle will eat some grasses shorter, while other grasses get just a nibble.

The late Betsy Ross sometimes allowed cattle to graze until all the grass in the pasture was trampled. She had large herds on small paddocks and moved cattle daily. These differing examples mean that “moving” is a learning experience for each management style.

Rest is the most important part of the Graze, Move, Rest and Repeat formula. Rest means leaving the pasture ungrazed until the grass has regrown to its previous height or higher. Correct rest gives the soil and grass time to recover. The grass will grow more roots as well as top growth. The soil will have time to replenish the grass with the nutrients it needs for regrowth and to use some of the fertilizer dispensed by the animals that just grazed the fields.

Rest is where most ranchers lack patience or ignore the need. They hurry to put cattle back on any new regrowth, having just overgrazed the previous pasture. When the move is hurried, plants cannot replenish the nutrients lost to their root systems. The root system dies back and allows more competition for weeds. The soil becomes open to the wind and sun and forms a crust which makes it harder for water to penetrate. This crusty soil compacts under cattle hooves and everything gets worse.

Expert ranchers rest grasses at the proper times of the grazing cycle to assure sufficient summer grazing and to stockpile grass for the winter. If a rancher cannot rest a pasture long enough, she or he probably doesn’t have enough pastures or paddocks, is too overstocked, is facing drought conditions or has some combination of the three.

Resting time for a pasture is learned by observation and study. It is an art and a science. Again, it is the most important part of the grazing cycle. Resting pastures for over a year is not proper rest, but some pastures in poor condition may need a rest period of six to nine months. With adequate rain and healthy soil conditions, the rest period can be as short as a couple of weeks.

When Bermudagrass has proper nutrition (and no poisonous chemicals applied), sufficient water and dung beetles burying the dung within minutes, the rest period can be hours in the spring and summer. Bahia grass can take an hour or two longer with ideal conditions but can still recover quickly. There are few pastures where ideal conditions exist but I am trying hard to get there.

Repeat is not as simple as it seems. When to repeat graze a pasture or paddock depends on the type of grass in the field and whether the rest period has been long enough. I can graze Bermudagrass frequently in the spring and most falls, while giving a mixed grass pasture longer to rest. I may not go back to a native grass pasture until substantial regrowth has occurred. This is extremely important when stockpiling grass for the winter.

If you are not familiar with the skills needed to effectively Graze, Move, Rest and Repeat, then you might consider taking a course in grazing management. This is not rocket science, but it does require some knowledge. A course could make you money and save your land.

And let me add, when cattle see a gate open to fresh grass, they eagerly move right into the next pasture. Fat cows are happy cows.

David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant. He can be reached at 830-629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx. rr.com.