Pasture systems support their own unique plant and animal species. The need to control weeds in pastures and reduce herbicide and mowing cost to control undesirable species has increased due to higher fuel and chemical prices.

Ultra-high stock density (UHSD) or commonly known as “mob grazing” or “flash grazing” is a grazing approach that uses a large concentration of animals to graze a small area or small paddocks for very short periods of time.

Weeds can affect the establishment of any perennial system, especially forages. For example, researchers found alfalfa fields with high densities of weeds resulted in reduced alfalfa plant densities more than 50 percent, and others have documented similar results. Researchers attributed the loss in establishment from competition for soil moisture and light.