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Mob grazing

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Where I grew up in NE TX. we could run a pair on 3 to 4 acres. We could also get 5 to 6 1500# round bales per acre when we put up our hay. In most years we would get 3 cuttings. Where we live now it takes 40 to 50 acres to run a pair during an average year. I would bet the mob grazing method would have worked great for us back home. Without a doubt it would have been something worth trying. Here in NE WY. though, I don't see it doing anything but damaging the ground for years to come. Maybe I'm wrong, but our enviroment here in the Powder Rver Basin is pretty much high desert. This ground takes a long time to heal and recover. I've seen ground that was overgrazed 5 years ago and it still looks like a gravel lot. I was working for the guy when he did that and consequently that was one of the major reasons why I quit. He had went to a seminar put on by some ag scientists from Kansas State. Even though I tried to tell him that it was apples and oranges he was the owner. In his mind it worked on paper, so there was no reason that it wouldn't work for him. Now he is looking for more land to lease and he has the $$$ to rent a big place, no one will even talk to him. The general consenses is that he has more dollars than sense.
 
I'm curious what part of the country would be equivalent to South Africa. Ian Mitchell-Innes grazes 5000 head on 6000 acres, not sure what area you can compare it to.
 
Over grazing comes from plants being grazed over and over again over a period of time. Mob grazing relies on plants being grazed and trampled for very short periods of time then given very long rest periods. The difference is night and day. Arid country requires much longer rest periods and is harder to implement because of fencing and water requirements. The technique works most everywhere because it's basis is the way grasslands evolved. The really hard and often impractical problem is being able to implement it.
 
Angus 62 said:
Over grazing comes from plants being grazed over and over again over a period of time. Mob grazing relies on plants being grazed and trampled for very short periods of time then given very long rest periods. The difference is night and day. Arid country requires much longer rest periods and is harder to implement because of fencing and water requirements. The technique works most everywhere because it's basis is the way grasslands evolved. The really hard and often impractical problem is being able to implement it.
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Yes, that's right. Overgrazing and mob grazing are complete and total opposites. It would scare me to mob graze in high and arid country, but there are people doing it. I know of some fellows in Mexico who wait up to two years to come back to a piece of ground. They don't mob near as dense as I do at first glance, however, they are probably very similar in stocking density if apples were compared to apples. In other words, if my "average" is three acres per steer for the summer with no rotation, I would have 106 steers on a half section at a conventional stocking rate/density. If those steers averaged 700 lbs., that would be 231 lbs./acre. It's not at all out of the question for me, when mob grazing, to be stocked at 100,000 lbs./acre. In Mexico, those same 106 steers may need 60 acres a head for arguements sake, or 6,360 unrescticted acres for the summer. That would only be about 12 lbs./acre. Tightening those steers down to 5,194 lbs./acre would be the equivelant of my 100,000 lbs./acre.

I only leave those 100,000 lbs. on an acre for about a day on my better grass. If the Mexican fellows left 5,194 lbs. of cattle (4 pairs) on an acre of their land for a day, followed by two years of rest, I can't see them doing much harm. I could be wrong, though. Anybody?
 
A couple of things that bear consideration in our semi arid(more arid than semi the last 15 years except for this year) non brittle native grassland environment is #1 the value of standing litter for snow trap which in many years makes the difference between some growth or none at all. And the scenario we have experienced where total rest was required until it rained again for recovery to occur which has been up to five years. If you practice mob grazing in our country and you leave no standing litter and it doesn't rain in the right quantities during the right time for your cool season native species you need to be prepared to risk no production for an extended period of time eg 3, 4 or 5 years.
 
We used to have a neighbor that practiced true "intensive grazing." He grazed his place as intensively as possible, clear to the dirt. I always said that when it snowed, we got all of the snow that fell on our ranch and all of his, too, because the wind blew it all off of his smooth flat ground.

His ranch consisted entirely of state-owned school land, and they eventually rescinded his bid. I was asked if I wanted the lease, and I turned them down. Another tenant used it for a year and wanted out. I was asked again. They wanted to regulate the grazing, which was rather like shutting the barn door after the horse had escaped. I told the school land representative that I would take the lease only if allowed to run the grass in my own manner, which would be like I run our own grass. He drove around with me and was satisfied, and we have used the place ever since.

The buildings have since all fallen down, but that doesn't bother the school land reps. They are only interested in how the grass is handled. There is no financial incentive for me to keep their buildings usable. If the buildings were too nice, someone could possibly raise my bid on the lease. :? This summer the power company even took down the electric line to the place.
 
Ground litter is what really makes mob grazing work and is a function of grazing mature plants. The common thought is looking at lots of trampled grass and considering it waste or thinking it would of been better off in a bale . That is absolutely the hardest part for many, especially in arid climates.
 
We have been management intensive grazing for many years. (the management is intensive, not the grazing). We have not gotten to stock densities like Neil Dennis, but we do try to keep densities up. We also move cattle every 2 to 3 days. We go slower when it is dry and faster when it is wet (one of the hardest lessons to learn). We last stuff we seeded was in 1992 and we have a piece that was seeded in 1986 that is more productive than ever.
We have found that if we take 1/2, leave 1/2 that it works better. We can obviously grow more when it rains, but when it is dry is when things really shine. The biggest thing is to get the cattle out of there before the plants you want start regrowing, otherwise they keep getting sheared off and the undesirables come faster. By upping the density and moving the cattle you make sure they graze some of the less desirables, but also that the stuff you want doesn't keep getting hammered. The worst thing people can do from a grass perspective in my opinion is to put too few animals on for too long a time. Then they just pick and choose the ice cream plants and continually knock them back.
For our operation, every 15 minutes spent on a warm July day managing our grazing, eliminates 3 days at 2 hours a day in a cold January feeding cows.
I think your environment (on a daily/monthly/annual/long term basis) and personal comfort level should determine what that density/movement schedule is.
Grass only has one desire in life and that is to grow. The trick is just the same as with kids, dogs, horses or cows. Figuring out how you put that grass in a position that it can succeed.
We don't intensively graze all of our land. Most of the native stuff is deferred, rest deferred or winter grazed. For us, I like winter grazing on native because you can't overgraze a plant that is not growing, and snow makes water accessible evenly across the entire field.
 
Cows are made to walk, grass is made to stand still.

Best advice I have gotten, the better I can apply it, the fuller my wallet seems to stay.

One thing that really hepled us out was not trying to run several herds all year, now try to keep everyone together as much as possible.


life is good, ya'll have fun!!
 

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