Conservation Partnership Awards Prescribed Grazing Hero

Improve Bottom Line Profits and Soil Quality by Implementing Prescribed Grazing

Updated 08/05/2008

“Prescribed Grazing Heroes” were recognized during the 64^th Annual Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts Meeting held in July 2007 at Louisville, Kentucky.  These individuals receive a “Prescribed Grazing Hero Award” sponsored by the Kentucky Conservation Partnership; namely, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Division of Conservation, Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts, and Kentucky Soil & Water Conservation Commission. 

Landowners were recognized for leadership ability, willingness to share information with other landowners, and for doing an excellent job of maintaining and improving soil quality on their pasturelands through the implementation of prescribed grazing systems.

These landowners divide larger pasture fields into smaller paddocks through the implementation of fences and livestock watering tanks.  They also fertilize by soil test and renovate pastures with high quality legumes and grasses to improve forage quality for livestock.  Livestock are rotated from one pasture to another to provide a “rest” or “grazing deferment” period that allows forage plants to build up enough green leaf material to begin growing rapidly during the rest period.  During this period of rapid growth, the plants grow deeper, healthier root systems that allow forages to capture more soil moisture and nutrients.  These fast-growing, healthy root systems also help in maintaining pastureland soil quality.

Soil quality is the ability of the soil to function to sustain plant and animal life, maintain and enhance water quality, and support human health and habitation.  Soil quality gains are made when landowners implement rotation grazing as “prescribed” for a particular farm with its’ unique set of livestock management goals, soil characteristics and limitations, and current weather.  The basics of rotation grazing are: 1) estimate herd size (weight) and number of livestock, 2) estimate forage quantity and quality needs for the type, class, breed, and physiological stage of livestock, 3) determine the forage production and feed provisions needed for the herd, and 4) begin a flexible herd rotation that allows for long grazing and rest periods when forages are growing slowly, and short grazing and rest periods when forages are growing rapidly.

It is of utmost importance that significant regrowth not occur during a grazing period.  This weakens plants and impedes grazing recovery and root growth.  Therefore, during the fast-growing periods for forages (typically spring/fall for cool season forages, summer for warm season forages, but weather dependent) livestock should not stay in a given pasture for much more than a week at a time.  Higher forage utilization efficiencies can be achieved with even shorter grazing periods.

Generally, move cattle into cool season grass pastures when the average height of grass is at least 4 inches and no taller than 10 inches for medium maintenance animals to achieve optimum performance.  Move cattle out of the pasture when the forage is 2-3 inches average height.  Consistently grazing cool season forages shorter than this will increase the forage recovery time, ultimately diminishing total forage production and bottom line profits!   A grazing system prescription will be more specific depending on the actual forage species.

Generally move cattle into native, warm season grass pastures when the average height of grass is 12 to 20 inches (depending on species) and move out between 6 and 12 inches (depending on species).  A grazing system prescription will be specific depending on the species of warm season native grass.  Contact the local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist to aid in development of a prescription for your farm.  Soil quality can also be increased by limiting livestock access to fields that are prone to compaction in time of moisture and establishing and maintaining good weed control.  Rotating cattle over smaller paddocks distributes manure evenly, enhancing nutrient cycling.  All these things together increase soil quality by allowing more root growth and more organic matter in and on the soil surface.

By implementing a prescribed grazing system landowners accumulate numerous soil quality benefits in the form of physical, biological, and chemical soil improvements.  Some physical benefits include; better soil aggregate size and strength which means better soil structure, better infiltration, better permeability, lower bulk density, better water holding capacity, decreases in erosion, and improved water quality.  Chemical benefits include; higher cation exchange capacity (the sum total of exchangeable cations that a soil can absorb), which results in higher soil nutrient holding capacity and greater potential mineralizable nitrogen resulting in an increased soil nitrogen bank.  Biological benefits include increased carbon which serves as a food source for soil microbiology as well as for macro fauna and flora.  Glomalin is a protein of mycorrhizal fungi and when produced results in aggregation of soil.  Increases in soil physical, biological and chemical properties enhance soil function while improving water quality, plant, and animal habitation.  All these benefits can be attributed to increased organic matter levels and live roots.

For more information about individual “Prescribed Grazing Heroes” and how they manage for soil quality through no-tillage systems, please click on the links below.

Lowell Clifford, Harrison County Kentucky

If you have a nominee for a No Till Hero, contact John Graham, Soil Scientist

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