ELMWOOD, Ont. — Recovery time is the biggest consideration for graziers looking to get the most from their pastures.
Joshua Dukart, co-ordinator and field representative with the North Dakota Lands Coalition, emphasized the point repeatedly when he spoke here March 17.
“Recovery time is the most under-rated element of grazing,” he said.
“Until we have this part of management in place, we don’t need to worry about how quick we move the cattle or stock density. Without the right recovery time, the rest really doesn’t matter.”
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The time for recovery varies according to climatic conditions and soil type.
Dukart said a ranch in Montana leaves pasture for as long as two years before livestock are returned to the same location, while in Ontario recovery time is measured in days and weeks.
He recommended using paddocks that can be subdivided with temporary fencing. This provides farmers with flexibility to design a rotational grazing system that best meets their needs and that can be adjusted as circumstances change.
Plant recovery is as much about what is below ground as what is above, Dukart said. A heavily grazed pasture has a correspondingly short root system and takes much longer to recover.
Farmers must also consider soil biology.
The idea is to bring balance to the soil-plant dynamics to build pasture capacity. Excessive grazing not only reduces root size, but also hurts soil biology and ultimately deteriorates positive soil attributes such as tilt, nutrient availability, water infiltration and resilience.
“The soil microbes are your underground herd. You just can’t see them very well.”
Dukart said farmers should get off their all-terrain vehicle or horse and take a close look at the situation. This can involve using a shovel to evaluate soil quality and examining plant diversity and the amount of bare ground showing.
He said pastures are over-grazed in three main ways:
- The rotation that’s been employed is too short.
- The cattle are left to graze in a location for too long.
- Cattle are turned into a paddock too early in the spring, which can be solved by establishing one or two sacrifice paddocks that may occasionally be renovated as new sacrifice paddocks are established.
Another problem is that cattle tend to prefer certain sections of the paddock over others, returning to them year after year. This leads to uneven plant removal.
He said the strategic use of temporary electric fences can force cattle to graze those less desirable areas, which can increase forage quantities and provide the necessary recovery time for overgrazed locations.
The same type of uneven grazing situation develops next to water bodies and streams, where cattle like to hang out.
Dukart said producers can provide alternative water sources to encourage cattle to graze other areas or fence them out temporarily.
The result can be dramatic, as evidenced by before-and-after photographs of riparian areas along streams and ponds.
Dukart said mob grazing is another tool for renovating pastures.
For example, Neil Dennis of Wawota, Sask., turned 330 cattle loose for two days on .2 acres that grew little other than Canada thistle. The process was repeated with the end result being a dramatically improved pasture with no thistle.
Dukart also said producers need to balance their cattle’s needs with those of family members and the soil-plant dynamic.
“You have windows of time when you have to focus on animal performance. At other times there’s an opportunity to work on the land,” he said.
