By Andrea Oyuela Zavala, M.S. student
Effective grazing management directly impacts forage production and quality, which in turn affects livestock production. When designing management practices for a forage-livestock system, it is important to properly understand the needs of livestock and forages to balance them, and to plan for forage species and distribution of production and quality throughout the season to meet specific animal needs and performance.
In South Carolina, livestock systems are based on forages due to its favorable weather conditions, which support productive stands of perennial forages and still allow the use of annual forage species. In most years, it is possible to rely on grazing perennial species for close to 9 months, but in the remaining months, the use of conserved forages, additional annual grazing plantings, and supplementation is necessary. A clear understanding of this seasonality of production enables producers to choose appropriate forage options and to adjust grazing management and stocking rates to enhance the use of grazed forages and to minimize reliance on off-farm inputs due to their costs.
To successfully implement a grazing system, it is important to properly understand forage species and livestock needs, and the operation’s goals and resources available. Generally, continuous grazing and rotational grazing are the most commonly used grazing methods. Continuous grazing is when animals are stocked on a single pasture for the entire grazing season or for extended periods. This approach minimizes labor; however, it carries a higher risk of overgrazing and reduced overall forage production because animals can select what they want to eat and leave the rest (Silva et al., 2022).
Under rotational grazing, a pasture is divided into paddocks that cycle between grazing and intervals of rest — a schedule that prevents over‑ or under‑grazing, rebuilds plant energy reserves, promotes more uniform forage harvest by animals, and spreads manure more evenly (Silva et al., 2022). The system does require extra fences and the labor of regular moves (Silva et al., 2022). The way to do this is to divide your pasture into paddocks and rotate them every 3 to 7 days, usually. There are several variations of this management with more intensive rotations. Then, generally, the recommended resting interval is 25 to 30 days; throughout the season and based on the forage species used, this may be adjusted to avoid overly mature forage or overgrazing.
Creep grazing is another available grazing method that allows calves to access a nearby paddock with higher-quality forage while their mothers remain on the main pasture. Most creeping gates will provide forages of high nutritional value for calves, most often legumes or grass-legume mixtures. This method uses a small gate that allows only the calves to pass. This targeted nutrition boosts calves’ performance but requires a dedicated creep gate to separate the two groups (Silva et al., 2022). Creep grazing works best when milk supply drops, forage quality declines, or you plan to maintain calves after weaning. Calves gain weight faster, and cows maintain their body condition because a fence separates them from the competition. University of Georgia trials measuring calf weight gain in creep grazing showed that calf daily gains jumped from 1.38 to 2.10 lb, adding around 75 lb by weaning when calves grazed pearl millet (Stewart, 2017).
Strip Grazing is a method that uses temporary electric fencing to allow animals to graze an area for a short period of time, then periodically provides access to another strip ahead as needed. This practice is commonly used with stockpiled forages (such as tall fescue or bermudagrass). However, it can supplement animal diets with higher-quality forage such as winter annuals (Silva et al., 2025).
Main considerations to decide which grazing method you should use:
- Labor: What is your labor availability for weekly, daily or more intensive checks and livestock move?
- Fencing and water: Do you already have lanes, cross-fencing, and permanent or portable water setups?
- Weight goals: What are your goals for calves for the season? Creeping gates can be an ally for increased weights.
- Pasture condition: Do you have adequate management implemented or overly mature forage? High weed pressure? Those issues may need to be addressed first to improve the pasture condition.
- Cow body condition: Thin cows can mean issues with reproductive parameters and can lead to missed pregnancies — if that is a recurrent issue, then there is a need to adjust your operations’ management and properly address livestock category nutritional needs and supplementation, as needed.
- Measure the available forage mass and adjust the stocking rate. It is essential to determine the forage mass and adjust the stocking rate in grazing systems. The variations in growth and forage accumulation throughout the season require proper determination of stocking rates to ensure adequate forage regrowth and stand persistence over time.
REFERENCES
- 2022. Grazing Methods – Which one is right for you? Farmbrite. Available from: https://www.farmbrite.com/post/grazing-methods
- Silva, L.S.D., S.L.; Mullenix, M.K.; Wallau, M.O.; Vasco, C.; Tucker, J.J.; Keishmer, K.; Russell, D.; Kelley, K.; Runge, M.; et al. . Concepts and Research-Based Guidelines for Forage-Livestock Systems in the Southeast Region. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education: Auburn, AL, USA, 2022; Volume 1, p. 127.
- Silva , L., L. Dillard , K. Mullenix , M. Griffin, J. Elmore, and D. Ball. 2025. Grazing Management Concepts and Strategies – Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Available from: https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/farming/grazing-management-concepts-and-strategies/
- Stewart, L. 2017. Creep Feeding Beef Calves. extension.uga.edu. Available from: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1315&title=creep-feeding-beef-calves
