Getting started with rotational grazing

Rotational grazing is a cornerstone of regenerative farming practices. Well-managed rotationally grazed pastures can yield 50 – 100% more per year than set-stocking with no more land or fertiliser required.

Members have reported an increase in the margin over purchased feed per litre of 5ppl after just one year of rotational grazing. Also, an improved milk from forage from < 2000 litres to > 3000 litres per cow per year, while reducing concentrates by 1.0 – 1.5 tonnes/cow.

First Milk wants to help all members use grass better and produce milk economically and in an environmental positive way.

Rotational Grazing Principles

The objective is to manage access to pasture and so maintain consistent high-quality grass over the whole grazing season. Grass is targeted to be grazed at its optimum growth stage (3 leaves) over no more than a 2-day period before being left to recover for 21+ days. The rate of the rotation will depend on weather, stocking density, supplementation etc.

First steps

All farms can rotationally graze to a lesser or greater extent and the only equipment needed to start is a reel of electric fence wire with a basic energiser and a few electric fence posts.

Top 10 tips 

1. Plan your grazing as soon as possible – plot a route around the farm to achieve only 2 days grazing in each field
2. Have a simple electric fence kit to manage cow access to fields in recovery/growth phase
3. Consider cow tracks along the most “trafficked” fields
4. Put water troughs of the correct size in the right position
5. From early spring onwards, measure grass growth weekly across the whole grazing platform
6. Put cows into fields with 2,800 – 3,000kgs DM/ha and graze down to 1,500kgs DM/ha
7. Don’t shut off fields for silage restricting the grazing area available to the cows. Once growth rates are ahead of herd requirements, individual fields can be taken out of the rotation temporarily for cutting
8. Soil test the lowest yielding fields and seek advice on issues such as compaction, pH or nutrient balance
9. Be accurate with your manure and fertiliser applications – only apply what your growth rates require
10. Take advice on increasing your stocking rates or reducing fertiliser input when grass growth exceeds previous years.

To learn more about successful rotational grazing, there are many First Milk members happy to share their experiences or ask your Area Manager for a copy of ‘Getting started with rotational grazing’. It is a short guide for members wanting to know more and has been compiled with members who have run successful grazing operations for many years.

One First Milk member using rotation grazing successfully is Pioneer Farmer Grant Walker. Read about how he’s managing his system and the benefits he’s seeing.