(The following is from my monthly newsletter. This series began in March 2022 and has continued for nearly a full year, with its final installment in February 2023. Below is the “better” edited version from what I originally emailed to my followers.)

This particular Grazing Tool is a very interesting topic: Human creativity. Human creativity is boundless, and nothing to take lightly. It’s expressed quite substantially in children, but as we get older our experiences and understanding of the real world around us begin to limit that expression of creativity. I submit that we, as responsible adults, shouldn’t let that happen. Human creativity is, after all, not just child’s play!

The Art of Grazing

Human creativity in the context of regenerative grazing is about using your imagination in figuring out how to lay out a grazing plan that fits your context. This is where grazing becomes an art, rather than a science.

It’s crucial to understand that you have a wide variety of constraints to deal with. These all fit within your context. Accounting for every single one of these constraints can help you better plan out any potential possibilities for a good, smooth grazing plan.

However, don’t let those constraints paralyze you! You might be surprised as to all the different types of cell designs that will actually work for your land. This way, you can make as many different plan variations to your heart’s desire.

Brainstorm. Draw. Set aside. Repeat.

Once you’ve done all that, then you can go back and analyze each and every one of those designs to see which work, and which obviously don’t.

It’s so much better and cheaper to make mistakes on paper. Or Google Earth Pro. And, it’s easier to come up with multiple plans in case your first doesn’t pan out.

Also, don’t think that what you figured out now is going to be set in stone for the future. Plans change, and you will always need to come back to the drawing board to replan and rethink your previous “good ideas.”

Some Basics to Know

The size of the paddocks do not matter, nor does the number of animals you have to graze on the land. Both are common misconceptions. What matters the most is the number of paddocks you have. The greater the number of paddocks, the more times you will need to rotate your animals.

The number of paddocks you choose isn’t for a particular size of the property. Having, say, 20 paddocks for a 5-acre piece can easily be doable for a 500-acre piece. The number of paddocks is going to be determined by your desired recovery period.

Don’t be scared of utilizing lanes. Some people hate lanes, while others love them. But, lanes can make the flow easier if you can plan it out that way. Lanes are perfect if you have one water source that cannot be moved around. Lanes connect various paddocks so animals can go from paddock to water and back again.

No need to worry about making straight fence lines either. No matter what kind of comments you might invite from your neighbours (or friends and family). If you have to make crooked, windy, odd-looking fence lines because it’s in your context to do so, then plan for it.

Different Types of Paddock Designs

There are six different types of cell designs:

Each has its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the single-alley and wagon wheel designs have poorer utilization compared with the other four. The designs with the most cross fencing needed (which can be costly, as we’ll discuss next month), are the wagon wheel, single alley, double alley, water truck, and water pipeline designs, in that order. The highest design in labour costs is the strip grazing and the water truck designs. Manure distribution is best with water truck, pipeline and strip grazing, though the latter is variable depending on how intensive the moves get. Manure tends to accumulate mostly in lanes on single or double-laned designs. Both pipeline and water truck have increased capital costs compared with the other four.

The thing is, these are neither the best nor the worst for your operation. You may find you will have to use a combination of one or more of the two depending on your land base, your financials and how much time and energy you can spend moving animals and looking after infrastructure.

It’s very, very likely that none of the above designs are going to look picture-perfect, or textbook-style on your land. No way! Unless you’re on land that is absolutely flat as a pancake with no riparian areas, patches of bush, roads, or other farm yards to worry about, and your water source is nicely tucked away in the corner or near the edge of the land, could you draw such near-perfect fence lines!

The Planning Process

Note your physical restraints, your herds’ restraints, watering source locations, water bodies (including riparian areas), different plant communities or forage types, physical land restraints like roads and gas leases, and other topographical features. Leave existing fences for last, especially if they’re old fences that aren’t going to fit in the grazing context.

Make a list of all of those constraints. Brainstorm away; worry about the order of importance later.

Once you’ve noted all of those, then the creative juices can start flowing.

Once you’ve got the grazing plans laid out, the next issue will be planning out animal movement.

(**Note** just because you have your fence lines down doesn’t mean you cannot change them afterward when you start looking at animal movement. Tweaking fence lines (or even water lines), especially if they’re not installed yet, is highly recommended if it means making your pasture planning better and smoother in the year. Caution: don’t let paralysis by analysis get your goat!)

The animal movement must be in such a way that you do not potentially graze yourself into a corner. Make movements easy and smooth as possible.

It’s important to have an “escape plan.” Equally important is to understand that animals love going into corners. They also do best when moving into paddocks that aren’t adjacent to the one previously grazed.

One custom grazier friend has recommended using the “star pattern” when moving animals in a wagon-wheel or four-paddock grazing system, for example. He’s found that if animals are being moved in adjacent paddocks, especially with cross-fencing in place, animals tend to get very confused. Some will, in eagerness to follow the herd, move back into the same paddock they were previously in. Then it’s more time spent chasing them out of that paddock to get them into the new one.

This is where the old adage that “there’s no such thing as having too many gates” is so true. You really, cannot have too many gates. But, they must be strategically placed to effectively have smooth, easy movement. Always remember: gate placement in corners makes for better flow than in the middle of the fence.

Finally but not least, water source placement is also crucial. Is the water source permanent and not moveable, or do you have the opportunity to make them mobile?

What About Other Animals?

Planning movements and timing may affect other animals you’re grazing. If you’re pasturing pigs and/or poultry, then timing when those critters get on pasture after the ruminants leave needs to be incorporated into the planning process. Layer chickens love scratching through cow pats when they’re a few days old. Broilers need fresh, but short (less than 6 to 8 inches tall) grass to peck through, in addition to their regular feed.

Pigs need to be moved in a very timely manner so that they aren’t going to tear up the ground [too much]. Grass-type pigs like Kune-Kunes and Idaho Pasture Pigs (IPPs) can still snoot and dig around… just because they’re pigs and they can.

Goats, while still good grazers prefer plenty of forbs and brushes. They don’t do as well on grass as sheep or cattle (or equines) do. Sheep (and goats) need to graze in a way that will break the parasite cycle. Most parasites live for 90 to 100 days, therefore recovery period (or the length of time when those sheep can return) should be at least 100 days; say 120 days to be safe.

Equines are somewhat more finicky because there have been metabolic issues associated with grazing high-quality pastures meant for putting muscle on steers and milk in lactating cows. Sugar content is mainly the issue. Sugar levels in forages are greatly influenced by day length and sunlight. There have been very conflicting views on what types of forages are best, and what horses must graze. Basically, I’ve found consensual agreement in that horses are better suited at grazing coarser, more mature plants than younger plants, daylight affecting sugar levels notwithstanding.

Deferred Grazing, Stockpile Grazing, Ultra-high Stock Density Grazing…

Perhaps there are areas that you want to leave for the season. Your reasons may be that the pastures look rough and you want plants to set seed, or that certain species do best if grazed after maturity. Or, that you want to extend the grazing season past the frost date and when the first snows hit the ground.

Some paddocks need a thorough deep massage, which can only be done via ultra-high stock density. The higher the stock density, the more mature distribution and hoof impact will be done on that piece of ground. UHSDG shouldn’t be a regular occurrence, nor for very long. It’s often occasional, and short enough (like within an hour or two) that animals don’t need access to water. This way of grazing can bring a “normal” stock density of, say, 10,000 lb/acre to 500,000 lb/acre or higher, like over 1,000,000 lb/acre. It should only be done on land that really needs it.

Human Creativity in Other Realms

I’ve found it fascinating how human creativity has been utilized to develop a wide variety of tools available to make adaptive multi-paddock grazing that much easier. The creation of apps like PastureMap or MaiaGrazing has increased in use because ranchers can take almost real-time satellite images of their land and easily create pasture or paddock plans for the season. Google Earth Pro (which is completely free) has been considered a great tool too to build pasture plans, which can be saved and looked back on later. It also helps you see changes in elevation, especially if you’re like me who is making plans for a producer many miles away. (One downside is that it uses outdated satellite imagery. Some may find this discouraging, as it doesn’t reflect what you have to work with now.)

Let’s not forget all the other cool tools like automatic gate openers, different electric fence reels, different temporary fence posts, fence testers, fence chargers, and more. I’m continually amazed at the different inventions that people come up with to make their lives easier!

Do you have any other examples to share? Let me know if you do!

Conclusions

Human creativity is boundless, but in the context of grazing has to be held back by recognizing the various constraints that determine whether or not certain plans are possible or just a trainwreck waiting for a place to happen. Yet, that’s what pasture software programs, paper and writing utensils are good for: instead of making a bad mistake in the building process, the mistake is being made in the planning process.

We cannot forget who will be affected by the grazing planning process either. The decision-makers in the operation must be a part of the planning process in some way, shape, or form. For instance, you might be responsible for coming up with a grazing plan, but the decision on whether it will work depends on whether the family or the landowners (if you’re leasing) are happy or not. Expect to go back and make adjustments, or make multiple plans.

The beauty of planning out grazing is that there’s no one-size-fits-all rule that everyone must follow. There’s a reason why there are six primary options to choose from. From those, it’s entirely possible to tweak them to make them work or, integrate another different design to enhance ease of flow.

Always remember, you must design a grazing plan that fits your and your farm’s context. Never, ever assume that what works for your neighbour or friend a hundred miles away will work equally as well for you.

Also, have fun with it.