“Mob Grazing” Pays Off For Cattle Producer
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Neil Dennis has quadrupled the carrying capacity of his pastures and cut his costs with mob grazing. Concentrating heavy numbers of cattle on small areas also has increased the native grasses, forbs and legumes found on the former croplands. He now hires out as a consultant to other grazers and is a sought-after speaker on mob grazing.
“I got the idea after moving the herd into a 6-acre paddock before later moving them into one with 40 acres. Regrowth on the small paddock was thicker, and recovery was faster, allowing higher carrying capacity,” says Dennis, who then started experimenting with the idea.
Since he gets paid for pounds gained on the cattle he custom grazes, carrying capacity is vital to Dennis’ bottom line. Ultra-high stock density grazing has produced twice as many pounds of beef per acre as conventional methods.
Dennis soon adopted the heavy grazing technique on all his acres. Today he will graze up to 1.3 million lbs. of beef per acre. The cattle quickly graze down available forage, spread the manure across the area, and trample it in with their feet.
Sugar is key, according to Dennis. He wants the cattle to have access to the grass when sugar content of the pasture is high. He takes a sample of the grass, squeezes it into a ball and puts it through a garlic press, squeezing the juice onto a refractometer to check sugar content. He also checks for pH.
Dennis does some supplemental over seeding, but relies mostly on natural reseeding. He holds off on grazing each paddock at least once a year until the plants have gone to seed. Future grazing presses the fallen seed into the soil, encouraging germination.
Bromegrass is a mainstay in Dennis’ pastures. He has seen it adapt and improve with mob grazing at the same time native prairie forbs and grasses returned on their own. Organic matter in the former grain fields has increased from 3 to 10 percent, similar to what native prairies were thought to have. Water infiltration and holding capacity have also increased.
“It can take as much as 8 in. rain per hour without running off,” says Dennis. “This summer we went a month and a half without rain, but the plants kept growing.”
Dennis says the “fencing toys” he has developed allow him to move 800 to 1,000 head of cattle as many as 10 times a day. They let him set a quarter mile of fence in 9 min. The BattLatch automatic gate releases (Vol. 38, No. 5), which he also sells, makes shifting cattle much easier.
One thing Dennis didn’t expect was how much healthier everything grew. The cattle gained faster and no longer required as much medication. One direct way it showed up was mineral consumption; another was change to the land itself.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Neil Dennis, Box 8, Wawota, Sask. Canada S0G 5A0 (ph 306 739-2896; sunnybrae@rfnow.com).
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“Mob Grazing” Pays Off For Cattle Producer LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Neil Dennis has quadrupled the carrying capacity of his pastures and cut his costs with mob grazing Concentrating heavy numbers of cattle on small areas also has increased the native grasses forbs and legumes found on the former croplands He now hires out as a consultant to other grazers and is a sought-after speaker on mob grazing “I got the idea after moving the herd into a 6-acre paddock before later moving them into one with 40 acres Regrowth on the small paddock was thicker and recovery was faster allowing higher carrying capacity ” says Dennis who then started experimenting with the idea Since he gets paid for pounds gained on the cattle he custom grazes carrying capacity is vital to Dennis’ bottom line Ultra-high stock density grazing has produced twice as many pounds of beef per acre as conventional methods Dennis soon adopted the heavy grazing technique on all his acres Today he will graze up to 1 3 million lbs of beef per acre The cattle quickly graze down available forage spread the manure across the area and trample it in with their feet Sugar is key according to Dennis He wants the cattle to have access to the grass when sugar content of the pasture is high He takes a sample of the grass squeezes it into a ball and puts it through a garlic press squeezing the juice onto a refractometer to check sugar content He also checks for pH Dennis does some supplemental over seeding but relies mostly on natural reseeding He holds off on grazing each paddock at least once a year until the plants have gone to seed Future grazing presses the fallen seed into the soil encouraging germination Bromegrass is a mainstay in Dennis’ pastures He has seen it adapt and improve with mob grazing at the same time native prairie forbs and grasses returned on their own Organic matter in the former grain fields has increased from 3 to 10 percent similar to what native prairies were thought to have Water infiltration and holding capacity have also increased “It can take as much as 8 in rain per hour without running off ” says Dennis “This summer we went a month and a half without rain but the plants kept growing ” Dennis says the “fencing toys” he has developed allow him to move 800 to 1 000 head of cattle as many as 10 times a day They let him set a quarter mile of fence in 9 min The BattLatch automatic gate releases Vol 38 No 5 which he also sells makes shifting cattle much easier One thing Dennis didn’t expect was how much healthier everything grew The cattle gained faster and no longer required as much medication One direct way it showed up was mineral consumption; another was change to the land itself Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Neil Dennis Box 8 Wawota Sask Canada S0G 5A0 ph 306 739-2896; sunnybrae@rfnow com
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