Paddock Sizing For Intensive Grazing

  This article was first published in October of 2015 to answer a question that many readers have, "How big should my paddocks/pastures be?" The answer involves some forage clipping, some weighing and some math and Dave Scott explains it all here. Enjoy! Dave Scott and his wife own and operate Montana Highland Lamb (Home Grown & Happy) in Whitehall Montana. Dave is also a livestock specialist at ATTRA's National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte, Montana. Recently he created a series of videos to help folks with the ins and outs of management intensive grazing, using his own operation as a demonstration. Though he talks about is sheep, the principles he demonstrates are the same regardless of what you're raising. Dave manages an average of 200 ewes and 330 lambs on 30 irrigated acres. They graze from May first through September 1, and then he rests his pastures by sending them to a nearby ranch to graze down the leafy spurge there. (Dave notes that his sheep have been so good at reducing the leafy spurge that they may be grazing themselves out of a job!) When they return home, the pastures have rested enough that the sheep can graze again from October 15 through January 15. As he describes in this video, Dave has three goals for his management. Daily goal: Let the grass fully recover, Seasonal goal: Control parasites and