Grazing plans are fun to make, but they can be challenging. The thing to remember is that you need to understand your context first before you begin drawing out fencelines. Once you’ve established your situation, you can begin to hash out the details of your grazing plan.

In this series, I’m using a mock grazing plan I developed for a presentation on this topic. This precludes using an existing grazing plan from my past clients, as they may not allow me to use it. And, it’ll really help to illustrate what I’m talking about, especially if you’re new to the whole grazing plan thing.

While the grazing plan very likely won’t be implemented (a wide variety of personal and family-related factors prevent it), it is placed on an existing parcel of land that I know quite well from my past. It’s on the land of the farm where I was born and raised.

As I develop the grazing plan[s] for this piece of land, I will provide various tips and tricks along the way for you to note. These tips and tricks will be in ITALICS.

This four-part series is divided up as follows:

• Part I (this post) involves identifying goals and objectives, and answering the question, “where are we at now,” or “what is our current situation?”
• Part II involves identifying the different physical plans (laying out where fences and water lines go) that could be put into place.
• Part III goes into both the types of materials to use for fencing and water, plus all the costs associated with them.
• Part IV is going over the grazing chart (as developed by Holistic Management Canada) and grazing tables to really nail down what it looks like when you’re working on a grazing plan for the year, as well as tips on how to determine the forage yield, stocking rate (or cow-days per acre), and stock density so that you can turn your rotational grazing plan into an adaptive multi-paddock grazing (AMPG) plan based on the teachings of Jim Gerrish, Allen Williams, Joel Salatin, Greg Judy, and many others.

(IF YOU’RE A CANADIAN PRODUCER LOOKING TO APPLY FOR THE ON-FARM CLIMATE ACTION FUND (OFCAF) PROGRAM HELD THROUGH THE CANADIAN FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION (CFGA), THIS SERIES WILL HELP YOU APPLY FOR FUNDING. Please contact your local mentor for assistance if you need help beyond what I’ve covered in this plan.)

Identifying Goals & Objectives

My main goal is to regeneratively graze two quarter sections (309.5 acres total, excluding both acreages: the north quarter, called “Home Quarter” (or HomeQ), contains 154.79 grazable acres, and the south quarter is called “South Quarter” (or SouthQ), contains 154.74 grazable acres). Using regenerative grazing, I hope to help the soil recover from years of conventional annual crop production, provide habitat for numerous kinds of wildlife and pollinators, and provide ample forage for the animals in my care. I recognize that I need a sufficient recovery period and a light enough utilization rate to get my animals to provide the natural fertility the land needs through both manure and trampled plant matter.

The main use for the two quarters will be grazing. However, allowing hay or mowing equipment accessibility in very good years is a big consideration for my plans. I anticipate seasons where my stockers will get too far behind the grass, and some paddocks (or areas) will need to be mowed.

I also want to preserve the small but few notable natural areas on the farm as much as feasibly possible. In particular, a 1.58-acre treed area on the west edge of the home quarter should recieve the most special attention. It has always been a home to amphibians with it being an ephemeral pond surrounded by various woody species. Other areas are ephemeral wetlands and will be included as part of the grazing plan, as they haven’t shown (yet) to be as important as the “sensitive habitat” previously mentioned. (If this were a real grazing plan, I would mention that I will be monitoring these other ephemeral wetland areas for any changes in habitat as the grazing seasons go on, and make changes to the fencing/grazing plans as necessary to bolster their presence as a legitimate sensitive habitat for aquatic and semi-aquatic life. This means anticipating keeping animals out of certain paddocks during late spring melt or after recieving significant rainfall for an extended period of time; “skipping” these paddocks, in other words, or “deferring” them altogether for the season.)

Grazing my animals where they are targeting the highest quality forages possible, such as only permitting them to graze the top third or half before moving on to the next paddock, will ensure my animals gain enough weight that they will be heavy enough to sell to finisher programs for market. Fat steers usually make both buyers and sellers happy.

I will create a grazing plan in a way that is as low-cost as possible and doesn’t require an exorbitant amount of labour; pasture planning should promote the easy movement of cattle from one paddock to another. (HOWEVER, for the sake of this series, I will abandon this last advice and instead show you the multiple different ways to design paddocks on a piece of land, including fencelines, waterlines, water sources, laneways, animal movement, and numbering paddocks, and use these designs to compare how to plan moves in a grazing chart, anticipate costs for labour and materials needed to build this grazing enterprise, and more. When going through these designs/plans, I will point out which one[s] I find are most cost effective and easiest to build, so you can take at least one piece of advice from this series and apply it to your [new/revamped] grazing operation.)

Animals & Paddocks

I intend to graze somewhere betwee 300 and 350 head of yearling stocker steers, starting weights of around 700 pounds, goal end-weight of 1000 pounds or more. They are expected to start grazing on May 1st (plus or minus a couple of days) and finish on October 31st, making 184 days of grazing.

I wish to build a multi-paddock adaptive grazing system where I move animals daily. It’ll give myself the option to move them every two to three days, or twice daily. It will depend on what areas need more “love” through animal impact via higher stock density than normal. That means my rest period is intended to be 65 days, with a utilization rate of 50 to 60 percent.

On doing some “napkin math” from above, that means I will need to build 66 paddocks (on HomeQ & SouthQ combined), which gives me about 4.69 acres per paddock (or, to be less precise, between 4.5 and 5 acres per paddock). That said, if I want to move twice a day, I will need 131 paddocks. But, if I want less frequent moves, like once every two or three days, I only need between 33 and 22 paddocks, respectively.

Waterers & Waterlines

I’m also open to different types of plans; I’m not opposed to having lanes, getting cattle to a central water source, using mobile waterers, or multiple water stations supplied by temporary waterlines. (As mentioned, I will provide multiple designs to showcase the different choices I have to choose from on my landbase. I strongly suggest you do the same, if your land base allows it.) However, because I’m grazing so many animals (more than my late Dad did, which was a maximum of 60 to 70 head of stocker steers on 100 acres of just one quarter section over ~160 days), I want to make the water source issue a bit easy for the animals so that:

1. They don’t have to travel a maximum of half a mile for water (nor often all at the same time) and,
2. Excessive trampling, hoof compaction, pugging, and cow-trail-making is at its minimum.

Because HomeQ and SouthQ are divided by a main public road (gravel), I will need two primary water sources. Fortunately, HomeQ already has a well plus two permanent cattle waterers located on the main acreage site. Unfortunately, these waterers cannot be the only waterers available for animals to travel to, especially over 300 head! These waterers would be most suitable if they are grazing close by, but not if they are paddocked a half a mile away. Therefore, it will be best to run a main water line from the main well so that I have several options for water:

1. Multiple mobile water sources are used (and possibly moved) wherever animals are moved to graze, or
2. A second permanent water source is built in the centre of the quarter for animals to have easy access to. This may be:
   • a dugout that has a pump going into a tall 10,000 gallon tank that provides water in a separate stock tank;
   • a large tractor-tire stock-tank that can water 50+ head at once, or
   • a large water truck that feeds into mobile or semi-mobile stock tanks or similar.

SouthQ, however, has no water sources installed. I will need to, therefore, establish primary water source, such as a dugout. It may be cheaper to build a rain-fed, fenced-in dugout and make a design so that animals get access from an outside, adjacent waterer from nearby paddocks, plus run gravity-fed piplines to other water sources to the east, south, and/or west. The dugout would be located in the northeast corner, since it is the highest point in SouthQ, and makes it the perfect spot for developing gravity-fed lines to the south, southwest, and western parts of the quarter section. (ALWAYS take advantage of topographical features like hills and valleys to plan your water sources. Gravity makes things far cheaper to operate than gas-powered or even solar-powered. Gravity is always around when gas prices are too high and the sun doesn’t always shine.)

Permanent & Temporary Fencing

HomeQ has a permanent perimeter fence installed, so I will not need to build one (except to address any repairs it will need). SouthQ will require a permanent perimeter fence along its entire border (I don’t trust the neighbour’s acreage fence to be strong enough to keep out curious steers, plus the neighbours’ fence on the south border is very old and decrepit). SouthQ perimeter fence will be five-stranded barbed-wire. Gates will be installed on three main approaches (see next section below) in SouthQ and the same in HomeQ. (Gates are crazy important for moving animals from one piece of land to another, for equipment access, vehicle access, rider access, and more. As one farmer put it, you can never have too many gates, as expensive as they can get.)

Internal cross fencing will be required. I aim to use hi-tensile electric fencing, double-stranded, and semi-permanent. This will allow me to divide both quarters into four parts, making each available for making multiple paddocks with temporary electric fencing.

Temporary electric fencing will give me great flexibility to create the ideal paddock sizes for my herd, depending on things like forage yield and grazing objectives. In Part III, I will go over all the electric fencing supplies I choose to go with and why. (One hint I’ll give is a strong enough charger to reach a lot of fenceline, plus deliver enough power to teach any rogue animal to respect the fence in just one zap. This is important when introducing animals that may be new to daily moves on pasture.)

The Forage Seed Mix

I intend to use a mix that includes legumes and grasses adapted to the area and to being grazed. The species I have concluded are perfect for the quarter are, as a custom seed blend:

• Smooth Bromegrass – 20%
• Meadow Bromegrass – 30%
• Orchard Grass – 20%
• Tall Fescue – 10%
• Alsike Clover – 10%
• Red Clover – 10%
• Alfalfa – 10%

(For those applying to the CFGA OFCAF program, note that you’d be encouraged to have a 50% legume mix or higher, not a less-than-50% mix. For this example, I’m not comfortable including a high population of bloat-causing legumes, three of which are on this list. However, if I were a producer applying for the OFCAF program, I would make sure to include a non-bloat legume like cicer milkvetch, bumping the mixture up to 50% legume and down to 50% grasses.)

I decided on a 70-30 grass-legume mix because I’d rather have more grass for my animals to choose than more legume (or an equal amount of legume) and risk bloat in the herd. The more grass there is, the less likely animals are to bloat (usually). I recognize, too, that certain management practices will mitigate bloat, such as turning them out in the afternoon, moving them when they’re full and not hungry, introducing them slowly with a hay bale or two to eat off, and more. (Certain species are more bloat-prone than others, such as alfalfa and clover. Species like cicer milkvetch, sainfoin, and birdsfoot trefoil are non-bloating legumes you can include in a grazing mixture.)

What Are Your Goals?

The way I laid this out is by answering these questions:

• What are your long-term goals for developing a grazing plan, or changing an existing one?
  • What are your goals for the land? For your animals? For economic reasons?
• What animals will you be grazing and how many?
  • What are your target start and finish dates?
  • How often do you wish to move?
  • How many days would you like to give your pastures to recover from grazing?
  • How many paddocks do you estimate you need based on how large your landbase is?
• What are your plans for water sources?
  • Water lines? Other water sources? Please provide details.
• What are your plans for fencing?
  • Will you need to build permanent fencing? Internal cross-fencing? Temporary electric fencing? Please provide details.
• Will you be sowing forages in any areas you intend to graze?
  • What is the seed mix? What is the percent legume mix?

The Context of the Landbase

These two quarter sections (above) are in the Grey Wooded Soil Zone of Alberta (~150 km northwest of Edmonton), indicating the area is well-suited for a high forage yield. Average rainfall for the area is 19 to 21 inches. The soil on the quarter is well-drained clay-loam with some mild undulations in the landscape.

Neither is flat by any means: in fact, as confirmed by Google Earth Pro (the best resource for developing grazing maps, as it’s completely free to download and use, now being slowly integrated into its web version), both have sloping tendencies from one corner of the quarter to the other, as described in the next section.

Home Quarter

The highest point[s] is at the southeast corner, and up towards the northeast corner, with an elevation drop of only 2 metres. However, when venturing westward, the elevation decreases significantly, with the lowest at the southwest corner and the next-lowest at the northwest corner. Some undulation in the landscape created random areas where water accumulates during significant rainfall events or snowmelt. These areas are visible not only in satellite imagery but also when walking the land.

There is a 3-acre acreage near the southeast corner, which is the original home site for both HomeQ and SouthQ, and will be used as a home base for my grazing plan[s]. It contains a deep well that is for residential use and two main cattle waterers. Neighbours’ fields are located to the north, to the east, and to the west across the road. Two county roads run along its western edge and southern edge. There is one “hidden” road allowance on the west side, and I’ve identified two other potential access points for gates along the southern edge.

The entire quarter is under crop production. Almost two decades ago, it used to be pasture (100 acres making up the north half and a third of the east), as well as fields for silage and hay. After 2009, everything was converted into annual crop production.

There are three major areas that exist as ephemeral wetlands that tend to stay wet most of the year: along the east edge near the home quarter (~2 acres), a large 10.5-acre area to the north, and a 1.6-acre treed strip along the west edge, almost at the middle.

South Quarter

The highest point is in the northeast corner. From there, it slopes down not only to the south but also to the south-southwest, southwest, south-southwest, and west. There’s one spot in the middle of the quarter that is a high point, then it slopes down from there. There are some small undulations in random places where ephemeral natural slough areas occur, which I need to take into account. There are also a couple of treed spots that I can’t ignore in my grazing plan.

There are about 2 acres of land owned by neighbours on the northern edge. They have a sewer pump that is about 30 feet from their property fenceline, which must be respected (meaning: wholly excluded from animal access). A county road runs along the northern edge and the western edge of the quarter section, and neighbours’ fields exist to the east and south. There are three primary road approach points: one at the northeast corner, one just to the east of the neighbour’s property, and the third at the southwest corner. The most commonly used approaches are the two at the north edge of the quarter.

The entire quarter is in annual crop production. Its previous crops have been wheat and canola. Years ago, it grew a great hay crop on one-third of the area (~60 acres), but that, too, was plowed under to produce cash crops.

There are two ephemeral wetland areas to keep an eye on: a 1.5-acre treed area in the northwest corner, a tiny 0.5-acre treed wetland on the southern half of SouthQ towards the east, and multiple little areas (popping up only in high precipitation seasons) along the west edge, near the southwest corner, and to the north between the neighbour’s acreage and RA2, near where the main dugout will be located.

What is Your Context?

Notice the list of things I went through to identify what I’m working with. Each contained a sublist of aspects to consider. You may or may not have more than what I have here.

1. Environment
   • Location – where are you located
   • Climate – annual precipitation specifically
   • Soil type – what soil zone is your farm located in?
     • What is the specific soil type for the land? Is there clay, loam, sand, silt, or a combination?
2. Topography & Other Natural Areas
   • Identify if land is flat or undulating
   • Identify any specific geographical formations that will affect your plan, if applicable.
     • These areas may be very sensitive to grazing or impossible to access and must be excluded. Topographical features will influence how you plan your fencelines, water lines, and watering points.
   • Identify any forested areas.
   • Identify any existing bodies of water (sloughs, wetlands, lakes, creeks, dugouts, rivers, etc.) of whether they are ephemeral or not, that will be affected by hoof traffic.
     • Please consider if they will be grazing exclusion areas, or if they can be briefly grazed without harm in your plan (not to be identified here)
3. Existing Infrastructure
   • Roads – where do they go? Private or public access?
   • Railway – where does it run? Is there an access point that allows both vehicles and livestock to cross it?
   • Neighbouring properties – acreages will “remove” pieces of land that affect the grazing plan.
     • How large are they? Are there existing infrastructure[s] nearby that will also affect grazing plans?
     • Where are neighbour’s fields and other properties that need to be excluded?
   • Fences – any existing fences that are remaining
     • important to note, especially if you intend on keeping them and building off them in your plan.
4. Land Use
   • What is the current state of the landbase you are targeting in your grazing plan?
     • DO NOT PLACE YOUR GOALS HERE.
     • Are you currently grazing this piece? Is it in annual crop production?
       • What is the field history, in brief? What has grown there or is growing there?
       • If grazing, what is the current grazing plan?
         • How many animals are you grazing?
         • How long are they there?
         • Are they being continuously grazed (no restrictions on the entire parcel), or has there been any attempt to rotationally graze them? If the latter, what does the current plan look like (map with fencelines attached)

It is extremely helpful to provide a map of the current infrastructure and natural areas you will need to address. Rather than drawing it on paper, it would be ideal to use satellite imagery of the target landbase to identify everything in points 2 and 3. Use that map as a reference to begin building your new grazing plan.

On To Part II…

In Part II, I will look at several paddock design options that may be suitable for HomeQ and SouthQ, and work through some tips on how to choose which paddock design is best for your land and your context.