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Grazing lingo - what does it all mean
Term | Definition |
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Grazing duration or grazing | The time livestock spend grazing a paddock. |
Grazing intensity | The combination of stocking rate and grazing period. Pasture utilisation is lifted by increasing the grazing intensity, however if the intensity is too great:
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Rest periods | The time in a rotational grazing system when the stock are not in the paddock, so the pasture can re-grow before the next grazing. Rest period is sometimes referred to as the grazing interval. |
Rotational grazing | Livestock are moved to a ‘new’ pasture paddock regularly, based on one of three factors
Rotational grazing means usually leads to bigger mob sizes in paddocks, which equates to higher stocking densities. This increases pasture utilisation by reducing the potential for livestock to selectively graze. |
Set stocking (or continuous grazing) | Stock are run in one paddock year round and the pasture receives no rest. Stocking rate is set to match paddock pasture production over the whole year, but can be increased or decreased in response to changes in forage availability. In reality few producers set stock in the strictest sense. Most ’set stockers’ have some ability to move stock when feed runs out. |
Stocking rate | The number of livestock carried per hectare. Stocking rate is usually calculated over a full year, and expressed in dry sheep equivalents (DSE) per hectare per year. Stock density is usually calculated over a shorter time period and can be expressed as DSEs or animal class/ha/week (or similar shorter time period, such as 100 ewes/ha for 20 days). |
Tactical grazing | The practice of using a range of grazing methods through a single year, or series of years, to meet different animal and pasture objectives at different times. |