How Much Pasture Do I Have and How Long Will It Feed My Cows?

A very common question asked by cattlemen is, “How much pasture do I have and how long will it feed my cows.” The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines and tools for answering this question. In pasture systems, determining the amount of pasture is much harder than in grain-based feeding systems because feed may be allocated for more than one day and feed quantity and quality is influenced by weather, fertility, stand density, and season. In addition, not all the available forage is consumed and the plants continue to grow after they are grazed. Variation in quality and animal production status (pregnant, dry, lactating, growing, etc.) also influence feed consumption