NEWS
Rotational grazing for animal productivity
Izak Hofmeyr
Current Address : Stockfarm Reprinted From : http :// bit . ly / 2MQn4nk
The term ‘ rotational grazing ’ is very often misinterpreted and has become closely aligned with a very rigid system where decisions based on actual veld condition are rarely considered . This is according to Prof Kevin Kirkman , professor in grassland science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg .
The priority of veld management , he says , should be the production of veldgrazing animals . “ For animal production to be high , animals need to eat short , actively growing grass throughout the summer . As soon as you allow the grass to grow too tall , it loses its quality very quickly , especially in the sourveld regions of the country . However , it may also affect the sweetveld areas to some extent .”
Tall-growing grass that has started going to seed , he explains , has already declined in quality , which means that animal performance will also decrease .
“ If one looks at many of the continuous grazing approaches , animal production is generally quite good , unless the stocking rate is too high . The reason is that the animal can move around and select the high-quality , actively growing plants . Yet a continuous grazing system is probably not very sustainable . My approach would therefore be to take the best the continuous grazing system has to offer , and make it sustainable by allowing plants to recover from grazing .”
Rotating between camps
Prof Kirkman suggests that producers use rotational grazing to graze their animals during summer in a way that will enhance performance . He uses a socalled Long Tom beer can as indicator of when a camp should be grazed and when the animals should be removed from that camp .
“ Let ’ s say you have ten camps per herd . At the start of the growing season , you start grazing camp 1 until the veld is as high as a Long Tom beer can lying on its side . Then you move to camp 2 , followed by camp 3 . You continue this way until the grass in camp 1 is the same height as an upright beer can . Then you move back to camp 1 .
“ You follow this approach right through summer , no matter how many times you go back to camp 1 . If for some reason another camp is ready for grazing before camp 1 , you go back to that camp . It is important not to follow a fixed rotation , but to base decisions on actual veld condition . This way you will have
Figure 1 : A dynamic rotational grazing system is a good way of determining the correct stocking rate for a particular farm .
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