Holistic Grazing for Ranch Livestock

Many ranchers and farmers are already familiar with rotating cattle for grazing in order to keep grass and soil in prime conditions. However, in the past few years, traditional rotational grazing has been upgraded to a method called holistic grazing. This method takes things a few steps further by ensuring livestock is in the right place, at the right time and with the right behavior.

Holistic grazing has been compared to a permaculture approach to ranchland management. It makes the environment and social welfare of the livestock just as important as production. If you want to make the switch to holistic grazing, here are some ways to ensure a successful process.

Define what you want.

Set goals and objectives for what you’re trying to accomplish. What type of environment are you trying to create? How many herds are involved? How much land do you have? What other resources do you have (wildlife, forestry, etc.) to help you achieve your goals?

Make grazing charts.

A chart will clearly be able to provide where livestock needs to be and when. It will also make it a lot easier to determine if adjustments are needed while allowing you to monitor every move.

Limit your livestock.

Incorporating holistic grazing into your plan works best when it is only one herd. And it should be shorter grazing periods and longer rest periods.

Create a plan for the off-season.

When forage isn’t growing anymore, have a plan in place to level out the remaining forage to last until growing season starts. The main goal is to make sure plants and soil are kept up and prepared for the next season. Time and timing are most important when developing any plans for grazing no matter what time of year.

Just remember that the weather changes, land changes and even the economy changes every year so make sure you are paying attention and adjusting your plans accordingly for best results.

United Country Real Estate is the leader in ranch land sales across the country. View all of our available ranch listings for sale at www.UCRanches.com.

Sources:

https://www.savory.global/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/about-holistic-planned-grazing.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_management_(agriculture)