From 60% Bare Ground to Less Than 10% – Grazing Management Made the Difference

This 2015 Classic comes to us from Pat Guptill who will be one of the speakers at this year's National Grazing Lands Conference in Reno, Nevada. He's just one of more than 50 producers who will be talking about innovative grazing techniques. We hope he'll inspire you to join us in December! Register before October 16 to get the reduced rate of $395, and bring a friend or spouse with you for just $175 more. In this 7:40 video, Pat Guptill of Quinn, South Dakota shares his experience with his change from a rotational grazing plan to mob grazing saying, "What we've done here, it's just baffling to me, the number of cattle we can graze." After doing things the same old way for years, Pat said he was never happy with how the grass looked.  Now they move their cattle very day, trying to keep the ground covered or with litter. He says his land and his cattle are both healthier. Pat describes how he got started figuring out how large his paddocks should be, and how he expands the pasture sizes as the forage matures so he can keep the best forage possible in front of his stock. He also shares how he keeps his stock watered. Under this type of rotation he's taken his pastures from 60% bare ground to less than 10% and sees more natives and a deeper green color to his pastures.  While he says this may not be the way to do things for everyone, he's seen lots of benefits and would like others to use his example, along with an open mind, to figure out how to make improveme