Meteer travis
Beef Extension Educator / University of Illinois

1. Rest helps roots. Resting plants allows them to recover leaf tissue without robbing the root base. Continuous grazing will result in overgrazing, as animals will continue to graze down the most palatable plants. Overgrazing reduces yield, lowers root reserves, makes plants more susceptible to drought and weed pressure. Stands of forage that are less stressed will have more leaf-to-stem ratio and will maintain a vegetative state longer in the grazing season.

2. Diversity helps weed control. A well-managed pasture will have a diverse sward of palatable, desirable species and less weeds. An overlooked weed control strategy is correctly managing forages to promote a dense, thick stand. This starts with proper stocking rates and resting forages. Inevitably, you will have weeds in a pasture that need controlled. Mechanical control via mowing or spot-spraying herbicides can work well. Broad-spectrum herbicide applications can remove desired forages.

3. Poor fertility creates problems. Low soil fertility is one of the biggest hurdles to maximizing forage production. Soil testing is a must. Adding fertilizer is an option, but balancing soil pH and mineral imbalances can often be done more cost-effectively than broad fertilizer applications. While grazing animals deposit a large portion of nutrients back onto the pasture in the form of manure, those nutrients can be concentrated in areas of shade, water and windbreak areas.

4. Water, shade and paddock size matter. Distance to water, location of shade and size and shape of the paddock can also determine grazing patterns. As a result, larger and more obtuse-shaped pastures may be unevenly grazed. This can cause overgrazing to certain areas. Square-shaped paddocks that have water within 800 feet of the boundaries will be the most evenly grazed. Managing the time animals are in a certain area is the best way to improve forage utilization. Continuous grazing results in about 30% pasture utilization. A seven-day rotation with six paddocks results in about 55% utilization. Moving cattle once or more a day will result in about 75% utilization. An adaptive grazing plan is needed by all graziers to ensure a successful grazing season that results in economical production of healthy animals. 

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