Mob Grazing Is Just One Tool BY BEN BARTLETT
M
ob grazing is “good.” While there isn’t much data on the subject, we do have many grazier testimonials to that effect. I do believe the people who say that mob grazing is helping them achieve their goals. Yet “good” is a value statement, and we don’t all value the same things. What’s good for your neighbor may not be good for you. What’s good for you today may not be good for you tomorrow. Confusing? Let’s start by defining the subject, and then try to make some sense of it.
Defining the Term
Mob grazing (also known as ultra-high stock density grazing) is usually defined as having more than 100 head of cattle stocked at more than 200,000 pounds of animal per acre or portion of an acre, with fresh grazing offered at least once per day. More often, stock are given multiple fresh paddocks to graze each day. Pasture plants have usually been allowed to grow for more days than is common with management-intensive grazing, thus accumulating more dry matter per acre. Forages are therefore usually more mature. Animal performance can be highly variable depending upon nutritional requirements and how much of the total forage mass you ask them to eat. Dry beef cows are more adaptable to mob grazing than lactating dairy cows or smaller calves. Mob grazing changes grazing behavior compared to methods with lower animal densities or less frequent moves, just as people act differently in mobs as compared to individuals. A mob will tend to graze most all plants with less discrimination, spread and smear manure more uniformly around the paddock, and trample all the uneaten plants. This gives people the impression that mob grazing “wastes” a lot of feed. Multiple daily moves require more work, more water system capacity and lots more temporary fence. More than likely, mob grazing involves more than a few small wrecks, as you are working with large groups of animals that expect fresh feed often. So is mob grazing good or bad? Actually, mob grazing is really just one of the tools a grazing manager can use to control the interaction of plants and grazing animals. Successful grazing meets the needs of the plants, the needs of the grazing animals, and the desires of the grazing manager.
Missing the Point
When people worry about mob vs. “management intensive” vs. “rotational” vs. “set stocking,” they are missing the point that all grazing systems and tools have pros and cons. They can all be the “right” way to graze on a given paddock and/ or for a particular group of animals to meet the desires of the current management. When you try to decide on the best way to graze, the most important thing is to determine what success means to you. Determining success on a grazing farm that relies primarily on perennial forages is a lot more challenging that gauging success on a cash crop operation where all crops are planted each year. French scientist/farmer Andre Voisin talked about pastures not being really good until they are 100 years old. With a perennial crop like pasture, we can “borrow” yield this year that we will have to pay back next year.
Fertility and organic matter levels can increase and decrease over decades within acceptable ranges appropriate for the soil type.
What Stages Are You At?
Leaving a lot of trampled (wasted) forage through mob grazing builds fertility and organic matter, while possibly promoting more legumes and increased plant diversity for future years. This is great when the paddock needs such improvement. On the other hand, if the plant and soil communities in my pastures were already in great shape, and I am a beginning (read: no money) stockman or stock lady, perhaps it would make more sense to push the total stocking rate and animal performance for the first year or two to help get my livestock enterprise started. You need to know the capacity of your land base in terms of organic matter and fertility levels, potential pounds of forage it can grow per year, and the plant communities required to provide certain levels of nutrition for certain levels of animal performance. Corn farmers have a yield goal for each field, and we graziers need to establish some measurable yield goals for our pastures. It’s a little more complicated with a perennial crop, as you need to include both the plant/soil community and the performance of your animals. For really good monitoring, you should also include the investment needed to make it all work. Bottom line: mob grazing works. It just isn’t the best way to graze every paddock, all the time, for every grazier. The challenge in determining when mob grazing works is that we do not have verified, measurable economic and biological documentation of the impacts of mob grazing to help us make decisions on when, where and how to use this grazing tool. I am not asking for “proof” that mob grazing works; what is needed is data. For example, how fast can mob grazing build soils, and therefore future yields? If I cost myself some money by giving up some carrying capacity or animal performance this year, what will I get in return in future years? How does adding another percentage point of organic matter affect the soil’s water holding capacity and plant growth rates in August? When you consider a new way of doing things in your livestock enterprise, you need to ask three questions: 1. Does the new idea work biologically? If I fertilize with Y, will I really get a yield increase? 2. Does the new idea work economically? Fertilizer Y may increase yield, but does the fertilizer cost more than the value of the increase? 3. Does this idea work biologically and economically in my operation? Just because your neighbor does it doesn’t mean it will help you achieve your idea of success. Mob grazing is a great and very powerful grazing tool. I believe the producer testimonials. We need to do a better job of measuring its effects to help everyone sort out the best way to utilize mob grazing. Every grazing operation needs to sort through the tools that can be used in attaining its individual definition of success. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but always be aware that the other riders may not be playing your tune!
Dr. Ben Bartlett is a retired Michigan State University Extension agent who has grazed beef and sheep in northern Michigan. He is also an HMI Certified Educator. This article was first published in GRAZE Magazine and is reprinted by permission. To learn more GRAZE go to: www.grazeonline.com. Num ber 191
h IN PRACTICE 17
