Rotational grazing with few pastures

[Jakes]

I'm trying to get an idea of how to rest some pastures so they've maybe had a year off from grazing before we go back to them with cattle. After having lots of grasshoppers the last couple years it seemed like the pasture that had lots of old grass to start the year weren't hit as hard by the hoppers but I can't quite get my head around where to get started with a grazing system. We're basically moderately stocked with 3 or 4 pastures per bunch with one for calving then cows are turned to another in summer then another late fall/winter currently and try to leave plenty of grass left over to get a good start the next year.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Where are you located?

It helps to know as what I do probably isn't the same as someone in Missouri

 

[Jakes]

Where are you located?

It helps to know as what I do probably isn't the same as someone in Missouri

Eastern Montana 12 inch precip. 40-50 acres per cow

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I'm just north of you, across the border from Plentywood.

We can hope we get 12 inches this year, last we were closer to 6 inches.

I had gone to using 3 breeding pastures using , using one heavily and resting the other two.
With Our later turn out that gave almost 3 years of rest. Unfortunatly with the prolonged drought I have had to use a second one some each year. This has gotten ahead of the grass. Would love to get back to normal moisture or above normal to get the grass back,
Last year the grass hardly grew.

 

[leanin' H]

Moisture has to drive your plans. But I am a huge proponent of resting pastures in the spring. Grass needs to grow and recharge the root systems and mature. That happens in my area in the spring and early summer. Once it heads out and goes to seed I feel like grazing it benefits it much more than hurts it. I always try and leave half the plant but in drought years it's tough. But spring rest is crucial. Meaning don't hit the same pasture year after year in the spring. My two cents but has worked on the desert

 

[Jakes]

Moisture has to drive your plans. But I am a huge proponent of resting pastures in the spring. Grass needs to grow and recharge the root systems and mature. That happens in my area in the spring and early summer. Once it heads out and goes to seed I feel like grazing it benefits it much more than hurts it. I always try and leave half the plant but in drought years it's tough. But spring rest is crucial. Meaning don't hit the same pasture year after year in the spring. My two cents but has worked on the desert

Both of what you two are doing sound like good ideas. We saved quite a bit of grass last year to calve on this year. It looked pretty good til mid July then the grasshoppers ate a lot of the leaf off the grass so there's not a lot of feed value there for this spring.