When to move cattle: simple rotational grazing rules of thumb

Rotational grazing gets talked about like a science project. It doesn’t have to be. The idea is simple: let cattle graze a pasture for a while, then move them and let the grass grow back before they come back. Grass that gets rest grows more grass. Grass that gets grazed over and over gets thin, and weeds move in.

The rule most ranchers start with: take half, leave half

Move cattle when they’ve eaten about half of what’s there. The leaves left behind are what the plant uses to regrow, and the roots stay deeper. A pasture grazed to the dirt takes far longer to come back — and in a dry spell it may not.

A practical way to check: walk the pasture. If the grass the cattle like best is down to a few inches across most of it, it’s time to move — even if there’s still tall, rank grass they’ve been avoiding.

How long to rest a pasture

Rest depends on the grass, the season and the rain. As a starting point:

• Fast spring growth: pastures may be ready again in a few weeks.
• Summer and dry spells: plan on a month or more. Growth slows, so rest has to get longer.
• Fall stockpiling: rest fescue and other cool-season pastures from late summer to build up grass for winter grazing.

The more pastures you can rotate through, the more rest each one gets. Even splitting one big pasture into two or three with temporary electric fence makes a difference.

Signs it’s time to move

• The best grass is grazed down and cattle are walking more and grazing less.
• Manure piles are getting close together.
• Cattle are bawling at the gate.
• Regrowth is getting nipped off — they’re back on plants they grazed a few days ago.

Keep simple records

Write down the date cattle went into each pasture, how many head, the date they came out, and the rain in between. After a year you’ll know which pastures carry cattle longest and which ones need help. Our free pasture rotation & rain log is set up for exactly that.

In Ranch Smarter, draw your pastures on the map, tap a pasture to move cattle in, and log rain and mineral as you go. Turn on the Time to move cattle alert, set the number of days, and your phone reminds you when a group has been in long enough.

Don’t forget the water

A rotation only works if every pasture has water cattle can reach. Before you split a pasture, figure out how water gets to each piece.