Transitioning from conventional continuous grazing to planned rest-rotation grazing: A beef cattle case study from central Texas

Abstract

Debate on the superiority of rotational or continuous grazing continues, but proponents of each call for additional research to enhance grazing management decisions. The short-term impact of transitioning from continuous grazing to an alternative grazing system is not well understood even though the transition can require substantial changes in infrastructure and management decisions related to forage availability, grazing duration and livestock movement, forage planting, and supplemental feeding. The objective of this five-year case study in a humid, subtropical environment was to evaluate real-world challenges and opportunities for beef cattle operations transitioning from conventional continuous grazing to a planned rest-rotation grazing system. The experimental data and observations (i.e., forage production, diet quality, cattle response, economics, and soil health) showcased that management changes under the planned rest-rotation system had potential for increased annual forage production, improved soil health (on cultivated grazed paddocks with multispecies forage crops, but not on grassland), and reduced costs; however, conventional continuous grazing produced higher body condition scores for cows and higher revenue. Average annual profits (-US$5.32 ac-1 [US$2.15 ha-1]) were similar for both grazing systems considering all economic factors. Key lessons learned and challenges faced include the difficulty of no-till establishment of cool-season multispecies forage in cultivated grazed paddocks and the importance of adequate fertilization of supplemental forage crops and dietary supplementation in the cold season.