Grazing: feeding livestock directly from pasture
Grazing means livestock eat their feed directly from pasture or rangeland. Productive pasture often provides one of the lowest-cost ways to feed ruminants. How heavily you graze, how you rotate animals and how long each paddock rests determine how much the plants regrow before the herd returns.
How does paddock rotation work?
For example, moving a herd to a fresh paddock every few days gives each grazed paddock time to recover. The plants can regrow before the animals return, helping keep grass palatable and pasture productive throughout the grazing season.
How can HerdMobile help?
Use HerdMobile to plan a ration that includes grazed forage and stored feed. You can account for what pasture provides alongside the feed you bring to the herd.
Questions from the farm
How long should a paddock rest?
Paddock rest depends on rainfall, plant species and the season. Check grass height and regrowth in each paddock, then bring the herd back when the grass reaches your target height.
Is grazing cheaper than stored feed?
Productive pasture usually costs less per kilogram of dry matter than harvested feed. Note how many days the herd grazes so you can make a fair comparison of feed costs.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
Include grazed forage in the ration's forage share, so you can plan pasture and stored feed together for the whole herd.
