Adaptive Winter Grazing Strategies

This article is one of a series of case studies on forage beneficial management practices from Alberta Agrisystems Living Lab and Canfax. It is reprinted on BeefResearch.ca with permission. Extended grazing can play a key role in lowering your feed costs and can have positive benefits for the health of your land. Some of these benefits include more even manure distribution across fields, less corral cleaning, improved soil fertility and overall reduced fuel use on your operation. One thing to keep in mind with extended grazing is the nutritional or feeding needs for the cattle. Some stages of growth or pregnancy may need more feed than extended grazing can provide. Careful monitoring of the cattle’s condition and feed tests can help you to be successful with extended grazing. Swath grazing utilizes annual crops, such as cereals or forage crops, that are cut in the fall and left in the field for cattle to graze directly. It can improve soil fertility by directly depositing manure, and