How Much Space Do Cattle/Cows Need? | Joel Salatin

How much space do 100 cows need? 1 acre? 100? Joel Salatin breaks down some of the myths around how much space is actually needed for your cattle.
Want to know the best way to manage your cattle grazing? Learn more about Joel Salatin's "Farm Like a Lunatic" masterclass and the Cattle Grazing Management here 👉 www.farmlikealunatic.com
The course starts with the ecological principles of grass growth and then drills down on the
strategies for making a plan, including details like:
• Where the cows should be
• How to determine cow days per acre
• How to manage water and shade
• How to reduce hay consumption
• How to control the animals
• How to think about margins
• How to make decisions about profitability
The Cattle Grazing Management course includes:
• 24 video sessions
• 5+ hours of video
• Downloadable PDF transcripts for each video lesson
• Homework PDFs for each lesson that guide you through the essential steps
• Expert insight from an award-winning farmer
Enroll in the course now: www.farmlikealunatic.com/​
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[@mightyminifarm]

I’ve got 2 cows on a single acre and have raised beef this way for our family for years. We take 2 years to grow them out, buying a calf each fall and taking a full grown animal (1,000 lbs) to butcher each fall. Yes, we keep hay available year round but the cows have mostly enough grass during the summertime for the hay consumption to go way down. Grain finish at the end and I’ve got a year round supply of beef for much less than grocery store cost.

[@alterityregenerativeranchi7947]

Cows are herd animals. they want to be together. Thank you Joel

[@leedza]

The calculation for the sheep stocking is by cow equivalent or weight per acre. Doesn't matter which mix you have at that point.

[@lisadouglass1229]

So I know that the ratios for high density grazing is dependent on quality of grass but in this scenario how many cows are you grazing on that 203 acres and how big is the average paddock?

[@kimberlyclements9984]

I would really like to know this as well

[@haroldmarsh5156]

how do you calculate grazing density

[@pelayoasturias6650]

Depends but rule of thumb is 1 cow per acre.

[@willbass2869]

Determine how many pounds of forage your herd needs for some period of time, preferably 1-3 days. Then determine how pounds of forage are available for consumption based on idea of "take half, leave half". Then use electric fence to parcel out the area that provides the forage amount needed Really *BROAD* rules of thumb... Lots of other things like drought condition, feed value of the forage, age/class & type of animal (lactating sheep versus cull cow) determine stocking density

[@calholli]

So why not just let them roam the full 3 acres? Why separate the fields like this? You're not exactly articulating the benefit in continually moving them like this

[@jasonknowles5362]

Not sure if this is a rhetorical question or not, but in case it's not, there are a bunch of reasons that can be summed up by saying it's better for the land and for the cows/sheep. For instance, moving them every day keeps the animals away from parasites in their manure, which become problematic several days after the cows leave an area, and then die before the cows make a lap around the farm to graze that area again. The grass needs time to recover (grow) after being grazed - if the cows always have access to the whole paddock they end up grazing it all down short, and grass grows more slowly when it's short, so this way the cows get better grazing and the pasture grows far more grass every year, which means you can have more cows on the same number of acres.

[@calholli]

@@jasonknowles5362 Moving them "Every day sure seems labor intensive. You could move them every OTHER day and cut your work in half. I don't see why that would be a problem. I would hate to be burdened to move cows every single day.. I can't imagine that being fun

[@jasonknowles5362]

@calholli some people like Greg Judy (look up his channel) move them twice a day. There are studies that show that the higher the stocking density (smaller paddocks, faster moves) the better it is for the pasture and the animals. Any kind of rotation, even if it's once a week between 4 or 5 permanent paddocks is far better than never rotating.

[@lukebruce8161]

@@calholli it's about marginal gain and cost. moving daily vs every other day may yield only a 5-10% improvement in forage production and cattle growth, but if that gain is worth more than the labor cost then it's economically beneficial. Mostly it comes down to herd size. if you're moving a couple hundred at a time then the overall labor cost per cow is pretty small compared to a guy with a dozen.

[@doesnotexist6524]

​@@calholliit's really not. A single person can move them in about 15-30 minutes. They learn to expect the move and as soon as you open the way to the next paddock, they all run over to it.