Rangeland Management 1994 33 INTENSIVELY MANAGED ROTATIONAL GRAZING SYSTEMS FOR IRRIGATED PASTURE

Harvest of forage from irrigated pas-tures can be distinct, at a given time and a determined amount. A simplified analogy between the hay grower and rotational grazing systems may be made. The manager of a grazing system determines when and how much plant material is harvested. The manager uses livestock instead of equipment to make the harvest. Just as the hay grower must under-stand plant growth principles, the manager of grazing livestock must understand pasture growth principles. These must be balanced with knowl-edge of and performance goals for the livestock. The objective of the grazing management plan is to quickly and uniformly harvest the desired amount of plant material. Plans, however, should be considered as guidelines and remain flexible. A practical intensively grazed pasture system consists of a number of pas-tures or paddocks. Pastures are grazed for one to four days, with some period of rest between grazing. A uniform harvest with minimum selectiv-ity and repeated defoliation is encour-aged when pastures are properly stocked and short grazing periods are used. The manager determines the number of livestock per paddock, the amount of time spent grazing on each paddock and the amount of time (rest) between grazings. That is, livestock are managed to conduct a timely, uniform and prompt harvest of pasture much like a swather for making hay. Figure 1. Grazing should harvest plant material leaving 2-4 inches. The residual serves as the basis for regrowth of new plant material for subsequent grazing. Intensive grazing systems can be one of the most cost effective management activities for pastures. However, to be successful, plant varieties, composition, fertility, and water management must be considered