Efficient Pasture Systems

The manner in which a pasture is grazed will have a marked influence on pasture productivity. persistence. quality and animal performance. Very light grazing pressure (few animals per unit area) results in high production per animal because animals can graze selectively. Low production per acre will be obtained because forage is wasted. Very heavy grazing pressure {many animals per unit area) may force animals to consume low quality plants or plant parts. If this occurs for very long. production per animal will be low. but production per acre may be increased because little forage is wasted. Also. persistence of desirable plants will be reduced by extended heavy grazing. A conflict often exists between production per animal and production per acre.If you want to obtain optimum production per acre and per animal you should plan the best grazing system or systems to more completely utilize pasture on your farm. With the pasture plants commonly used and seasonal growing conditions prevalent in Kentucky. There are several grazing systems or techniques which could be considered.