Pastoral Farming

Preparing to raise cattle takes some research and planning. One essential thing to consider is how you decide to feed and manage your herd based on the amount of time, labor and finances available and your profitability goals. 

One of the oldest forms of raising livestock is known as pastoral farming. The practice relies on moving cattle from one grazing site to another based on the land's topography and the region's seasonality to optimize forage.  

Sound interesting? Here’s what you need to know about pastoral farming. 

What is pastoral farming

Pastoral farming originated between 8500 and 6500 BCE as humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to agricultural societies. In its truest form, pastoral agriculture is based on herders moving or following their livestock from one area to another as dictated by available forage and weather conditions. 

Traditional pastoral communities are declining even though almost 200 million people continue to rely on this lifestyle. Most live in Africa, Central Asia, and select Scandinavian countries.

Today, pastoral farming in other parts of the world describes farmers who primarily raise livestock, including dairy and beef cattle, goats, and sheep, rather than crops. In some regions of the United States this may also be called ranching, grazing, or livestock farming. On these farms, cattle live on managed grass-fed systems. Some pastoral farmers may also grow forage to supplement grazing land.

Modern-day pastoral farming is common in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, the Western United States, and Canada, among other places. 

Intensive vs extensive pastoral farming

There are two types of pastoral farming, intensive and extensive.

What is Silvopasturing

One form of pastoral farming is Silvopasturing. In these systems, cattle graze densely wooded areas on a strict rotational grazing program, which provides farmers with multiple revenue streams from the cattle grazing there and the timber.

Managing grazing herds

Grazing beef cattle to raise for market requires frequent monitoring of the animal’s health, body condition score, water consumption, and productivity. Grass height and density must be checked daily for forage available to ensure the animals have enough to eat. For example, a dry cow voluntarily eats  2 to 2.5% of its body weight in forage, while a yearling needs 3%, and lactating animals need 3.5%. The soil and forage type, and forage quality play a critical role in deciding how many animals a pasture can support.

In nomadic pastoral farming communities, herders and cattle move from one location to the next as mud, water and grass supplies fluctuate throughout the year. In modern pastoral farming systems, farmers must improve pasture features by installing (in wet locations), stock tanks (in dry areas) and irrigation, as well as taking steps to improve soil health to support grass growth.  

Rotational grazing

Pastoral farming relies on following a rotational grazing system to maximize production and limit the impact on the land. In a rotational system, the animals are typically allowed to graze for one to three days before being moved to another pasture. 

This allows the grass time to regrow and more evenly spreads manure across the pasture area. The length of the rest period varies based on the season. In the spring, it averages two weeks but can be as many as four to six during the middle of the summer.

For the best success, grass height should be between 4 - 6” before turning cattle out to graze and moving them to the next pasture once the grass has been eaten down to 1.5 – 2”. More hay or silage may be needed to supplement or extend the grazing season.

Relying on a grazing system on your beef cattle requires preparation and planning but can be an effective and profitable system for your herd.