Rotational Grazing System

A grazing system is nothing more than managing the timing and intensity of grazing on a given piece of pasture or rangeland. The objective of most grazing management systems is to optimize use of forage resources while improving or maintaining the existing landscape. For this to be accomplished, a proper balance must be maintained between the quantity of the animals using the forage and the amount and quality of forage produced. Through good grazing system set-up and implementation, wildlife also benefits from increased ground cover and improved water quality.

Weather in the prairies can fluctuate tremendously from year-to-year and within different seasons; therefore grass growth is expected to change as well. One year or season forage growth may be suitable to sustain a large amount of animals while in another it may not even be enough to get by. Producers must make timely adjustment in the numbers of animals or in the length of grazing periods to avoid overuse of forage plants when production is down and to avoid waste when forage quantities are high.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides cost sharing and technical assistance to help producers maintain this proper balance for increased production and profit. Everyone wins with a grazing system.

Here’s what a local Stutsman County landowner says about the beneficial program, “I have grandsons that may want to farm and ranch when they grow up. I think that taking care of the land, managing it properly, and working with the partners of the Chase Lake Prairie Project will allow them to succeed in farming this land and to enjoy the wildlife that use it.”

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service