![]() ![]() Each new slice of pasture should be sized so it is completely used up in a single day's grazing. Intensive grazing during the winter should revolve around using daily pasture moves. During a drought you should leave as much stubble as possible to preserve the root mass and provide as much shade as possible for the soil to reduce moisture evaporation.) Daily pasture slices are essential to winter grazing Intensive Grazing Implication: While you should leave at least a 6-10 inch tall grass stubble during the growing season, once the growing season ends you should change your grazing strategy to grazing really short so that you use up each slice of pasture completely before moving on to the next slice. Grazing the grass close to the ground during the winter actually makes room for next year's spring regrowth because it removes dead plant material that would otherwise choke out some of the new grass shoots that emerge next spring. Grazing grass short during the winter is actually beneficial to the grass. It can therefore be grazed off completely without harming the next spring's growth. The above-ground plant material of the dormant grass is therefore no longer required to either maintain the root mass, nor is does it play a role in the next spring's grass growth. This root mass is responsible for providing the initial growth spurt when the next growing season returns. Roots become inactive without dying back, essentially preserving the root mass that they built up at the end of the prior growing season. Grass goes dormant when the growing season ends, which allows frost to kill the entire grass plant above ground without impacting the next year's re-growth. Let's look as some of the other considerations that belong in your winter intensive grazing plan: How short should pastures be grazed after the growing season ends? I also recommend reading the following articles to help you plan your winter grazing rotation: The 'flow' of your winter intensive grazing plan should also account for: Save the tallest pastures for mid- winter when snow is the deepest. Start the winter grazing season with the shortest pastures as well as those that will be most vulnerable to nutrient leaching or most vulnerable to getting crushed or covered over by the winter snowpack. Plan the timing of your intensive grazing progression according to the different conditions that your cattle will experience over the course of the winter. Create a winter grazing map that shows how your cattle will move through your winter pasture rotation in such a way as to make optimal use of the pasture grass that is available. Consequently, you should plan a logical grazing progression - your winter grazing plan - which shows where you want your cattle to be at any given time during the winter. Since the grass is not growing during the winter you can only graze each slice of pasture once. Winter Grazing Plan - your roadmap to the winter grazing season Pre-planning the 'flow' of your winter grazing season also allows you to prepare for the weather conditions you expect throughout the winter season, account for differences in snow pack around your farm, and protect vulnerable pastures against damage from trampling hooves during muddy seasons. Plan the 'flow' of your winter herd migration in advance so you can time the grazing sequence of your winter pastures according to the requirements of your winter livestock water system. Grazing Rule #7: During the winter, ration out your 'crop' of winter pastures using small daily slices of pasture. ![]() maximize how long you can safely continue your winter grazing season.protect the health of your cattle throughout the winter grazing season,.protect pastures during the spring thaw,.improve the consistency and quality of the grass available for grazing in your winter pastures,.train your cattle so they continue happily grazing even after the snow begins to pile up in the fields,.make the most of the grass in your winter pastures,.And there are also a number of guidelines to follow during your daily intensive grazing management that will help you: It is vital to pre-plan the flow of your entire winter grazing rotation to account for all the weather and grazing conditions that your cattle will encounter during the winter grazing season. All you need is a really good winter grazing plan. Although the rotational grazing strategies used during the winter are somewhat different than managing a pasture rotation during the growing season, intensive grazing during the winter is actually much simpler than grazing at any other time of the year. ![]()
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