Spotlight Conservation Practice
What is Prescribed Grazing?
Definition: Managed grazing that fosters recovery of key forage grasses following each grazing event to achieve ecological, economic, and management objectives.
Objectives
- Improve or maintain health and vigor of forage grasses
- Improve or maintain desired plant community
- Provide or maintain food, cover, and shelter
- Maintain or improve water quality and quantity
- Reduce soil erosion and improve or maintain soil health
- Manage fuel loads
How does it work?: Grazing area is divided into smaller paddocks by installing fences. One paddock is grazed for a set amount of time while the other paddocks are in a rest and recovery state. Livestock is moved from paddock to paddock until all paddocks have been utilized once, this is considered a rotation. Livestock will begin grazing again in the first paddock they had originally started from.
What are the benefits?
- Lower purchased supplement feed cost
- Weed control/lower weed control cost (herbicide cost)
- Keep manure and urine out of waterways (ex. streams)
- Improve health of livestock
- Reduce pests and diseases
Grazing plan includes
- Size and location of paddocks
- Number of grazing and rest days
- Number of animals forage is able to support
Facilitative Practices
- Fence
- Livestock Pipeline
- Trough
- Heavy Use Area Protection
- Pasture and Hay Planting
- Range Planting
- Water Storage
- Brush Management
- Trails and Walkways
- Stream Crossing
- Shelterbelt/Windbreak
- Silvopasture
Cows moving through three grass paddocks following red arrows.
*spotlight practices are posted quarterly.