Pasture, Rangeland and ATTRA Grazing Management A Publication of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service • 1-800-346-9140 • www.attra.ncat.org By Lee Rinehart In a time of high-cost inputs, pasture-based livestock production systems can naturally maintain soil NCAT Program and plant integrity while growing healthy ruminants. This publication profiles the general types of Specialist pastures and rangelands and offers information about management and expected yields. Weed man- © 2006 NCAT agement strategies are also discussed and tips are offered to rehabilitate depleted land. Issues in graz- Updated Nov. 2008 ing management, such as paddock development, plant selection, drought and plant toxicosis, are also discussed. Resources and references are also presented. Contents Introduction ........................ 1 Temperate pasture ........... 2 Rangeland ............................ 2 Managing soil and forage resources ................ 3 Intake, sward density and grazing period ........... 5 Legumes and soil fertility ................................... 5 Stocking rate ....................... 5 Ecological weed management in pastures ........................... 6 Multispecies grazing ....... 7 Pasture renovation and establishment ............ 8 Rotational grazing and paddock size ............ 10 Photo by Lee Rinehart, NCAT Overgrazing ...................... 12 Plant species and Sheep on native range in southwestern Montana. systems for extending the grazing season ......... 12 Introduction with the use of high-grain rations. Grain- Prescribed grazing fed ruminants typically require treatment on rangeland .................... 13 Pasture is the basis of any livestock opera- for maladies such as acidosis, mastitis and Developing a grazing tion that purports to be truly sustainable. It respiratory disease due to the fact that their management plan on is especially important as the livestock sec- rangeland ........................... 14 immune systems have been seriously com- tor continues to experience extraordinarily Managing for drought .. 15 promised. A singular focus on productivity high fuel and other input costs. Pasture- Plant toxicity ..................... 16 often causes more problems than a systems based production systems offer farmers and Summary ............................ 18 approach. A well-planned and managed ranchers the ability to let the ruminant’s References ......................... 18 pasture-based operation can maintain rea- environment and immune system work Further Resources .......... 19 sonable production, reduce input costs and together, thereby gaining an acceptable achieve a positive economic return, given a ATTRA—National Sustainable level of production while naturally main- Agriculture Information Service well-conceived marketing plan. is managed by the National Cen- taining the integrity of the ecological con- ter for Appropriate Technology nections between ruminants, the soil and Much of the grazing land in the United (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States the pasture plants. Ruminants on pasture States can be used more efficiently for live- Department of Agriculture’s Rural experience fewer health problems due par- stock grazing. For instance, U.S. Depart- Business-Cooperative Service. Visit the NCAT Web site (www. tially to reduced stress, whereas ruminants ment of Agriculture Agricultural Research ncat.org/sarc_current. that are subjected to confinement have their Service scientists have utilized wheat pas- php) for more informa- tion on our sustainable digestive physiology running at top speed ture and old world bluestem perennial agriculture projects. grass pastures, such as those that occupy the presence of high-yielding plant species large sections in the Southern Great Plains, such as bromegrass and alfalfa. Temperate and stocked them with double the number pastures will on average yield anywhere of cattle they normally would when using from 2,000 pounds of dry matter per acre intensively managed grazing techniques. per year to more than 12,000 pounds per Even on the arid rangelands of the west- acre depending on the species, soil type, ern United States, increased stock density growing season, grazing management and coupled with decreased time on a pasture other environmental factors. has been successful in increasing livestock enterprise productivity while improving the Rangeland condition of the rangeland. According to the Society for Range Man- The ecological processes that occur on tem- agement, rangelands are a type of land on perate pastures and on arid rangelands are which the natural vegetation is dominated basically the same, but occur much slower by grasses, forbs and shrubs and the land on rangelands due mainly to temperature is managed as a natural ecosystem (SRM). and moisture differences. The following In North America, rangelands include the section is an attempt to clarify the nature of grasslands of the Great Plains stretching both types of pasture ecology. from Texas to Canada, from the prairie states of the Dakotas and Nebraska to the annual Temperate pasture grasslands of California and forestlands and wetlands throughout North America. Temperate pastures are typically very Included in this definition are arid shrub- productive. They are characterized by lands throughout the western United States, well-developed soils, medium to high pre- the arctic tundra, and mountain mead- cipitation and moderate to rapid nutri- ows and deserts throughout the Southwest. ent cycling. They can be dominated by Rangeland can also encompass pastures of warm- or cool-season plants and occupy introduced grasses, such as crested wheat- niches from Maine to Florida, from Texas grass, that are managed as rangelands. to Minnesota and from Southern Califor- Arid rangelands, which typify much of Ari- nia to the Pacific Northwest coastal regions zona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, of Washington and Oregon. Many irrigated Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California and riverine pastures in the desert and Inter- Washington, can yield anywhere from 200 mountain West also resemble temperate Temperate pasture can to 1,500 pounds or more of dry matter per be highly productive pastures due to deep soils, adequate mois- acre per year. with proper grazing ture from irrigation or high water tables and management. Rangelands are typically characterized by low precipitation, shallow soils and slow nutrient cycling. They are usually domi- nated by grasses, forbs and shrubs effi- cient at water and nutrient utilization, so practices that are appropriate to temper- ate pastures, such as fertilization and plow- ing, are often inappropriate on rangelands. Regardless, rangelands can be very produc- tive, providing sustainable income for ranch communities while protecting valuable nat- ural resources through appropriate grazing strategies. Specific strategies for sustainable rangeland management are covered below in the sections Prescribed grazing on rangeland and Developing a grazing Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS. management plan on rangeland. Page 2 ATTRA Pasture, Rangeland, and Grazing Management greater germination of seeds and encouraging regeneration of pasture swards. Rotational grazing is a proven method of increasing the effi- ciency of pasture systems. Intensively managed rota- tional grazing systems have the potential of maintaining pastures in a vegetative state for most of the growing season in many regions of the coun- try. Coupled with the use of Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS. stockpiled pasture and stored forage, the possibility of year- Native rangelands are more fragile than temperate pastures, and often round forage finishing of live- Related ATTRA require different approaches to management for sustainable production. Publications stock becomes more feasible in more parts of the country. Assessing the Pasture Managing soil and In addition, intensively managed grazing Soil Resource forage resources systems make it possible to feed livestock Dairy Resource List: Fertile soil is the foundation of sustain- without concentrating wastes in manure pits Organic and Pasture- able production. Soil macro-organisms and and lagoons, thereby maintaining nutrients Based microorganisms are the external diges- within the pasture ecosystem and preventing Managed Grazing in tive system that processes organic matter, them from becoming pollutants. Riparian Areas delivering a smorgasbord of minerals, vita- An intensively managed pasture system is Multispecies Grazing mins and other nutrients to the crop at a appropriate for maximizing gain per acre metered pace. This contrasts the conven- Nutrient Cycling in and maintaining soil and pasture stand Pastures tional approach of flooding crops with a health. But to take advantage of the ben- limited number of soluble fertilizer nutri- eficial qualities of an intensively managed Pastures: Sustainable ents, leading to luxury consumption, imbal- pasture system, a grazier should pay careful Management anced plant nutrition and a susceptibility to attention to grass stubble height after graz- Pastures: Going disease and attack by insect pests. ing. A grazier should be aware of the direct Organic Pasture systems are maintained through correlation between after-grazing stubble Paddock Design, grazing and animal impact on the land, heights and pasture health. Fencing, and Water which accomplish the following: Livestock should be turned onto cool-sea- Systems for Controlled Grazing • nutrient cycling through feces and son grass pastures such as orchardgrass,