It’s that time of year again when we post links to this year’s FREE grazing charts. This year I’m sending you to the National Grazing Lands Coalition to download them. Troy is NatGLC’s Resource Manager for the Northeast Region and if you’re in that region he’s also available to talk about grazing management. You can reach Troy here.
Why do I give you these every year?
Because they’re a way of improving not just your grazing management, but your LIFE as well.
Troy has successfully used these grazing charts to get through drought and extend his grazing season. Pre-grazing chart days, there were years he was out of grass by October but since he started charting his management, he’s been able to extend his grazing season into December. The grazing chart has also been critical in emergencies, making it possible for Troy’s family to keep everything up and running when he was recovering from heart surgery. Just as importantly, the chart has added balance to his life, giving him more time with his family and friends.
If you’re ready to get started, here are the steps you can take:
1. Set your expectations. Remember that anyone can do this!
If, like other folks we’ve heard from, you’re hesitant because you don’t know the right way to use it, put that worry aside. There is no wrong way to use the chart.
If you’re thinking, “But how can I plan an entire season of grazing?” I understand. My head explodes a little when I think of planning my life out for more than a week. So, let’s make it easy to start. Most practitioners are using the chart to plan out 1 to 2 rotations ahead. If you’re just starting out, try a 10-day plan and gain confidence in reading your land and seeing how planning works for you.
If you haven’t done this before, you won’t be perfect. That’s okay. No one’s going to grade you on how you use your chart. Start by pre-loading your chart with items you need to or want to do during the grazing season like weaning calves, attending weddings, taking a vacation, etc. Then, use the chart in a way that’s comfortable for you and meets your goals.
And if there’s another tool that works well for you – use that one! We’re all for planning, no matter how you do it!
2. Pick out the chart that works best for you, then click to download it.
Normally I download all the charts and post them at On Pasture for you. But this year, I’m just sending you directly to the grazing chart page at the National Grazing Lands Coalition website. While you’re there, you might browse the rest of the site and see if there are other helpful resources.
Troy offers charts that run from April to January and from April 1 to March 31. Choose the time frame that works for you. Just pick the one that has enough paddocks to work for your operation, then click to download it. Ta Da! Not sure what you want? Download them all! They’re free! 🙂
The charts are Xcel spreadsheets. That means you can use them right on your computer. However, lots of folks prefer paper copies. I’ve found the easiest way to get a printable copy is to follow these steps:
1) Save the spreadsheet as a PDF.
Open the file in Xcel or in Numbers if you’re on a Mac.
Click on “File” in the menu bar.
Click on “Save As” in the drop down menu.
Choose “PDF” from the File Format box.
Click on the “Save” button and you’re done.
2) When you open the PDF document, you’ll see that the chart has been turned into a number of pages. Just print them out, then get out your scissors and some tape, and cut and tape until you have your complete chart. Or, you can just leave it in separate pages and put it in a three ring binder as some folks do.
Didn’t find what you need? Pick the closest version and then make your own modifications. This is a good skill to acquire and with a little help from a friend or young person, you’re sure to figure it out.
3. Answer some questions about your operation
A blank grazing chart can be a scary thing if you don’t know where to start. So Troy also created a worksheet with questions to get you thinking about your operational needs and how to schedule your grazing moves to meet livestock, forage, soil, wildlife and personal needs. Let’s take a look at the questions and how they help you figure out what to put on your blank grazing chart. Then you can download the full worksheet here.
The first set of questions gives you an idea of how you’ll manage your paddock sizes and when you move livestock.
• What are the species, weight and number grazing?
• What are their daily dry matter requirements?
• What is the estimated forage production per acre?
• How are you adjusting to animal bodyweight increases?
If you need some help with answering these questions, here’s a walk-through with Troy along with some links to articls that will help you with your estimates and a helpful worksheet from Troy.
Based on your answers, you’ll be able to estimate the number of acres needed to feed your stock. You’ll also be able to decide on paddock sizes, and how long animals will spend in each paddock so they get the food they need while also making sure the forage in your pastures has adequate time to recover.
With all of this, you have what you need to begin penciling in a schedule on your grazing chart to show where animals will be when. But before you start, let’s develop a little more context with some more questions.
• What is your typical grazing start date?
• What is your average killing frost date?
• What is your general stockpiling timeframe?
The first and second questions give you a kind of boundary for when grass is actively growing. The question about stockpiling helps you think about paddocks you may want to skip, or how quickly you move your herd to allow grass to grow and provide winter grazing stockpile. The questions below help you think about challenges that might come up, and wildlife needs you might need to adjust around.
• Do you have drought-prone times? Pugging times?
• What fields are being deferred for haying or emergencies?
• What paddocks are used for sacrifice or emergencies?
• What paddocks may you want to winter on?
• When are you birthing, breeding? What fields?
• Do you have hunting season timeframes?
• What are your wildlife needs?
• Is a bird-fledging date important to you?
• What fields may need renovation, frost-seeding etc?
4. Don’t Forget to Have a Life!
By now you may be sketching out an idea of where you want your livestock when, and what kind of work you’ll be doing to make it all happen. But before you get too busy with that, remember Troy’s motto: “If you want to have fun, you have to plan for it, or you won’t have any.”
Right now, before you write anything else on your grazing chart, write down your vacation plans, 4-H trips in the works, the county fair, concerts, and anything else that makes life worth living. Those are the things you’re going to plan everything else around. It might mean that you create a larger paddock for a few days while you’re gone for the weekend. Or you might include reminders to coordinate with neighbors or the folks who work for you so everything is covered while you’re away.
Take a Look at the Grass Whisperer’s actual 2013-2014 grazing chart example.
It’s always helpful to see how it works for other graziers. So, Troy shares this example of his 2103-2014 grazing chart to give you an idea how he uses it.
Here are some highlights of what he does with his grazing chart:
• Troy adds events, like the organic inspection and his annual participation in the Daniel Barden Highland Mudfest (in memory of one of the Sandy Hook victims). Look for other events he added to the calendar, like his anniversary and a family vacation.
• Notice that he is also tracking his organic matter in each paddock so he can see how his grazing changes this over time.
• At the bottom of the picture you can see that he planned to graze (black Xs) but fed instead. The green Xs show when he actually grazed. Tracking the difference between planned activities and what really happened can help you improve your planning as you go.
• Troy also tracks rainfall and snowfall to track how much precipitation he’s getting along with the temperature, how many animals he’s feeding and the dry matter they’re consuming. Hot days are highlighted in red. Because he has a nutrient management plan for his farm, the chart allows him to capture data as he goes which helps him make better decisions.
• Here, Troy tracks when he moved animals to other pastures, when he spread compost and stockpiled pasture for the herd’s return. You can see his expected frost date in red. In the last column you can see him tracking the number of days of rest each pasture has had before the animals return. This helps him ensure forage has adequate recovery time.
Enjoy Your Homework!
And hey – why not let Troy know that you appreciate his efforts. He does it out of the goodness of his heart and I know from my own experience that folks supporting graziers often feel taken for granted. Saying thank you would help him know it’s worthwhile. Or, if you have questions, drop him a note and see if he’s available to help you or if he has suggestions for someone to talk to in your area.
Last but not least, if you find that the free grazing charts Troy provides don’t quite work for you, there are alternatives. Maybe the ones at Holistic Management International, Ranch Management Consultants, or the Savory Institute suit you better. You can even make your own, or hire someone to do it for you.
And a Funny…
Since we’re talking planning, here’s something to start planning for this July 4.
