MMFS Manual

Tool 7.5 Grazing management guidelines for individual species

Individual pasture and forage species have specific grazing requirements. You can use these requirements to increase or maintain a species or to decrease a species (i.e. increase the relative contribution of other species in the mixture). The table in this tool contains species-specific information and following are general rules for grazing management.

Grazing frequency

Plants that can cope with heavy, continuous grazing during their growing season are those with a prostrate (flat) growth habit (sub clover, annual medics and many broadleaf weeds such as capeweed, erodium and thistles), or those with rhizomes or stolons (bent grass, couch grass, kikuyu). These plants are able to maintain some leaf for photosynthesis even when grazed very short, and hence are able to survive.

Plants that have a more upright or erect growth habit, such as many introduced and native perennial grasses and most annual grasses, are less resilient to heavy, continuous grazing, because most leaf and stem material is easily removed by stock, leaving little capacity for regrowth.

Grazing tactics

If you want to modify your current grazing system or methods, be clear about the benefits you are trying to achieve. For example:

Use rotational grazing to increase autumn/winter growth rates of desirable perennial and annual grasses. This will improve the size and persistence of perennial grasses and also help suppress broadleaf weeds.
Use crash-grazing or set stocking (with a high stock density) in spring to prevent annual or perennial grass weeds dominating in problem paddocks and increase the desirable annual pasture content.
Remove stock from paddocks when groundcover falls below the acceptable limit in your district to protect the pasture and the soil (see chapter 6.2 in MMFS Module 6 Healthy Soils). Maintain groundcover and litter at the time of the season break to reduce germination of annual broadleaf weeds, such as capeweed or dandelion. However, leaving more than 1,000 kg DM/ha (litter/dead pasture) in the paddock at time of the autumn break will reduce germination of annual pastures.
Maintain a flexible approach and adapt to the conditions to achieve the best possible outcome. Varying seasonal conditions from year to year will affect pasture composition so you need to be able to adapt your grazing system accordingly. Routinely measure ground cover, feed on offer (FOO), pasture growth rate, etc., to make informed decisions based on the season.
When applying your grazing strategy or tactic, refer to the seasonal targets you have set for the class of livestock grazing the paddock/s (see tool 10.4 and tool 10.5 in MMFS Module 10 Wean More Lambs). Achieving the best outcomes for both pasture and animal production means compromising some objectives. Care should be taken to ensure the compromises (economic, environmental and social) have the least effect possible on the outcomes.

Rest periods for rotational grazing systems should be based on allowing the grass you want to be most dominant in the pasture to grow back a target number of leaves (see table below). Only when this target number of leaves has regrown on a tiller has the plant fully restored its reserves in readiness for the next grazing and re-growth cycle. This may require lowering your stock numbers or deferment of grazing. The following table lists these targets for species where clear rules are available.

Pasture type	Increase or maintain	Decrease or remove
Temperate native grasses	Use strategic, tactical or rotational grazing Maintain groundcover at 70% (high rainfall) or 40% (semi-arid areas) Allow flowering and seed set Use low rates of phosphorus (less than 10 kg P/ha/year) and sulphur and manage grazing to ensure grasses are not killed	Continuously graze even at low and moderate stocking rates Overgraze, especially in dry conditions Regularly burn pastures Allow shrub and weed invasion Note – many states/catchments restrict native pasture management interventions– see signposts in chapter 5.3 in MMFS Module 5 Protect Your Farm’s Natural Assets.
Sub-tropical grasses	Graze or slash grass to allow annual legumes to germinate in autumn and provide winter growth when sub-tropicals go dormant Control growth of competitive winter weed species (e.g. silver grass) Control growth of competitive, summer growing annual grasses Provide adequate nitrogen, either through fertiliser or by encouraging companion legume growth Reduce grazing pressure when dry, N is low or groundcover falls below 70% Heavy grazing (or fast rotations) is required to maintain quality during periods of fast vegetative & reproductive growth Allowing some species (like purple pigeon grass and Rhodes grass) to seed will help thicken up the pasture	Reduce fertiliser and nitrogen inputs Too frequent cutting or grazing (say every 14 days) leads to stand decline Graze grasses to ground level Note – purple pigeon grass, bambatsi panic and green panic are susceptible to overgrazing due to high palatability.
Phalaris	Increase phosphorus applications In northern environments with more summer rainfall, rest in spring/summer, remove excess trash late in summer then rest until 3-4 weeks after autumn break In southern environments, lenient rotational grazing over autumn/winter to allow more tillering of the existing plants Graze after the plants reach 4-leaves/tiller Monitor stock for any signs of phalaris poisoning such as phalaris staggers and sudden death syndrome	Allow soil fertility to decline Graze heavily during spring/summer or repeatedly cut so it is not allowed to run to head Graze heavily any new green shoots in summer and autumn
Cocksfoot	Graze to maintain above 1000-1500 kg DM/ha Apply high rates of phosphorus fertiliser Avoid continuous grazing of green shoots during summer and autumn Graze plants when they reach 4-leaves/tiller to maximise feed quality	To avoid cocksfoot dominance, graze all summer growth including individual tussocks down to 10 cm tall at the autumn break Graze heavily during autumn to physically pull plants from the ground Graze hard down to 2.5cm or less during late spring or summer Allow soil fertility to decline
Perennial ryegrass	Rotationally graze during summer, ideally after plants reach 3-leaves/tiller Use seedling recruitment strategies to thicken up ryegrass stands Apply high rates of phosphorus fertilisers	Allow soil fertility to decline Do not allow to run to head Graze continuously and heavily during summer
Tall fescue	Graze frequently (every 14-21 days) for short periods (2-3 days) during periods of active growth, once the plants reaches 3-4 leaves/tiller Set stock or rotationally graze from autumn to spring to maintain 1,000-2,500kg green DM/ha (or 5‑15cm) of pasture Slash to remove reproductive stems if unable to remove by grazing to encourage summer growth or autumn recovery	Continuously graze in hot dry conditions Graze heavily during dry summers or early autumn
Sub clover	Reduce litter levels to 1,000kg DM/ha ready for the autumn break Avoid grazing until seedlings have 3-5 true leaves, usually 3-6 weeks after the autumn break Maintain a sward height of 3-5 cm until flowering Reduce grazing pressure when flowers appear Avoid heavy grazing where stock eat burr which depletes seedbank Increase phosphorus applications Control earth mites	Maintain grass and weed cover above 2,000kg green DM/ha Rotational grazing with long rest periods Cut hay or graze heavily during seedset Apply herbicides during flowering Allow soil fertility to decline, including molybdenum and boron
White clover	Keep grass/weed cover low at break and graze continuously to keep the grasses short Over winter and early spring, graze pasture to 750kg green DM/ha (or 3 cm) Heavily rotationally graze in spring to control grasses, maintaining pasture between 1,000‑3,000 kg green DM/ha (or 10-25 cm) Increase phosphorus applications	Graze heavily during flowering Graze to less than 1,200kg green DM/ha while under moisture stress during summer Allow soil fertility to decline, including molybdenum and boron
Lucerne	Allow to achieve well in excess of 10% flowering prior to grazing. This must be achieved at least once per year, preferably in the autumn Rotationally graze for most areas: - summer: 2 weeks grazing and 5 weeks rest - winter: 2 weeks grazing and 7-8 weeks rest	Set stock paddocks at heavy stocking rates Allow soil fertility to decline, including molybdenum and boron Potassium can run down when used intensively for hay production, zinc can be a problem on alkaline soils
Grazing cereals	Delay first grazing until plants are well anchored and starting to tiller (6–8 weeks post emergence) For winter types, longer deferment can increase growth and winter feed supply If crop is to be taken to grain, stop grazing at growth stage 30 (GS30) Strip grazing can be utilised to reduce wastage High stock density rotational grazing gives the most even utilisation and allows recovery	Heavy grazing during the first 6–8 weeks Heavy grazing in spring once the seed heads begin to form Late grazing of semi-dwarf types can make any grain harvesting difficult
Chicory	If sown as a specialist finishing pasture, rotational grazing is essential – a four paddock system works well Graze at 15-20 cm height back to 10 cm In late summer, allow stands to develop stems and set seed if regeneration is required If sown as a component of a mixed pasture, rotational grazing is essential for persistence, but it is likely to decline after 3-5 years	Easily removed by set stocking Plants very susceptible to overgrazing and trampling when dormant (winter) More erect varieties (e.g. Grouse) have higher crowns and are more susceptible to overgrazing
Brassicas	Some brassicas are grown to maturity and grazed only once so strip grazing is needed to minimise trampling losses Some forage brassica hybrids are suited to multiple grazing – strip grazing minimises trampling losses and allows more rapid recovery	Set stock paddocks at heavy stocking rates Allow soil fertility to decline

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Tool 7.5 Grazing management guidelines for individual species

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