MOVING HERDS TO A NEW PASTURE TWICE DAILY IS MOSTLY ART, AND SOME SCIENCE
Rancher Alejandro Carrillo describes the observations and calculations involved in moving his animals.
HART HAGAN: So you're talking about the need for rest periods and a certain amount of stock density. You always have to monitor what you're doing. It's not a fixed schedule. You want to examine the pasture and see whether it is ready to be grazed again.
ALEJANDRO CARRILLO: Yes, Hart, and through experience, we have learned to observe and to let the livestock lead the way. What we usually do--that's why we still use horses--we ride the area, and then we evaluate.
We move twice a day. Our paddocks--which is a small pasture--are sized based on a 12-hour grazing period. We're trying to size the paddocks based on the current conditions and the time of the year. It could be the growing season. It could be the dry season. It could be winter. It could be spring.
Depending on the location and the conditions, you size the paddock based on the 12-hour period in such a way that you're always leaning towards the more conservative rather than the more aggressive.
Every time we move the cows, the cows need to be full. The well-being of the livestock is very important for us. They give you feedback on how you're doing. If they feel happy, everybody's happy. If they are kind of desperate and moving a lot, making a little noise, maybe you're late on moving your livestock.
HART HAGAN: Say more about that. What is the process for making decisions about where to move your herds next? You're talking about herds that include cattle, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats. So how do you make those decisions?
ALEJANDRO CARRILLO: That's a very important decision, Hart, at the end of the growing season. Let’s say it’s fall. After fall very few things are going to grow. So whatever grasses or biomass you have, that's it. You're going to wait. You’re not going to graze in some regions until spring, and in my region, not until summer, the monsoon season.
So in my context (situation), I have to make sure that I have grass for whatever number of livestock I have for the next 10 to 12 months. If I have more livestock than grass then I have to sell at that time. At that time of the year, it is very important to adjust the numbers. But usually with this kind of management you have more grass than livestock. So you probably add more animals at that time.
Remember, the cows, and all these livestock are a way to sell your grass. Every time we go and move the cows, we look at the animals on the very low end of the spectrum that are not doing well. We take those animals out, getting them into a nice large pasture, well-rested, not much stock density. They get back on track and then we sell them. At this point, we are acting as predators, but then we change hats, and now we are the shepherds.
It's beautiful because we don't have to push or drive. The herd will follow you because they trust you. You're the shepherd. They follow you. They know that you're going to put them in a nice, better pasture.
So yeah, it takes observation. It’s a lot of art and some science.
Question. Let's say as mentioned autumn approaching & not much grass available (e.g. suddenly lack of grass). Where do you move excess stock ? Of course I understand this comes down to smart proactive holistic planned grazing rather than rotational. My land is finite (80 acres) but impression is I should ideally partner up with adjacent land holders for increased scope of movement & grass/land availability.