Don't forget the fundamentals when you develop your pasture system. By Dave Forgey, Logansport, Ind., forgraze@carlnet.org Whether you're an experienced grazier or just getting started, you need to remember the fundamentals of grazing. Here are some things that everyone who grazes their livestock should keep in mind: ![]()
There are several days of variation in when a plant can be grazed, that's why you can graze at 6 to 12 inches. You must remember though that there is only about half as much feed in a paddock at 6 inches as there is at 12 inches. At 12 inches there can be more pasture trampled and wasted if not properly managed. I prefer to graze when forages are 6 to 8 inches tall.
![]() As long as soil conditions permit, cows can cross already-grazed forage to get to fresh feed with little damage. After three days, forage starts to regrow, and the cattle should not be allowed to regraze the area. I have found that if milkers top-graze an 8-inch pasture down to about 5 inches, then heifers and dry cows can get adequate nutrition by grazing after the cows and taking the next two inches, leaving a 3- to 4-inch stubble for faster regrowth. I have also found that if you leave some leaf area, the plant recovers quickly without depleting root reserves. Another important aspect of keeping the forages no more than about at the 6 to 8 inches tall is that sunlight can get to the soil surface, and help new plants that would otherwise be shaded out to get established. This helps to build a stronger sod base, and helps reduce mud problems when it's wet. One very important consideration is cows trampling forage during wet conditions. This caused me a lot of concern when I began grazing. I have found that it is important to keep cows full when it is wet. A full cow will lay down and chew her cud, while a hungry cow will pace the fence looking for more feed, damaging the area where she walks. As the sod base thickens through grazing, this becomes less of a problem. But you must never forget the pasture or the cows when it is wet. There are times when heavy pugging (hoof damage) can be a benefit, especially in heavy fescue sods where more clovers are needed to improve palatability. Once pastures are pugged, a young clover plant has a place to become established.
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![]() Wires can be high-tensile galvanized or aluminum as well as polywire. When you begin your system it might be feasible to have a temporary system. However, don't let yourself become bogged down with fence-building and repair. If you are going to make grazing work long term, a permanent fencing system is essential. This can be a very inexpensive system consisting of one high-tensile wire with posts spaced up to 100 feet apart. There should be cut-out switches placed in strategic locations so that you needn't return to the fence charger if you have a minor repair or want to install a break wire. Electric fencers must be adequately grounded. Three 10-foot ground rods driven into moist soil are essential to maintain a well-grounded system. Failure to do this can shorten the life of the fencer as well as provide less charge to the fence causing problems with cattle escaping. (See 17 Mistakes To Avoid With Electric Fencing.) I believe that break-wires are an important aspect of any good grazing system. I install break-wires in most paddocks to reduce the area the animals have when they enter a paddock. This causes them to graze the entire plant and not just the top leaves. Since they eat the entire plant there should be less chance of bloat from legumes and less trampling of forages because they are restrained in a smaller area. I generally place two break-wires in a 12-hour paddock, and remove them as the cows need more feed. This causes very even grazing of a paddock, then heifers can follow-up without concern of bloat. Cut-out switches become essential for us, as many paddocks are more than a half-mile from the fence charger. I also installed underground hot wires across my gateways. This keeps mainline fences hot when gates are open and allows me to insulate gates so they are not hot when they are open. This avoids shorting out the fencer. When installing our water system, we placed the line along the laneways so that paddocks could be supplied on either side of the lane by each connection. In fact, we usually placed risers where four paddocks meet at the lane so that a coupling can supply four paddocks with a garden hose. My lines were buried with a telephone cable plow, but many systems are laid out on the soil surface, or in a furrow made with a single-bottom plow and then covered after the pipe is in place. I used 1-inch pipe, started at the well and went to all paddocks in a loop configuration, returning to the well. This is like having two 1-inch lines going to each coupling and increases the volume of water, plus gives us a way to drain the water lines during freezing weather.
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