Pasture Budget & When To Move the Herd
Grazes cattle
“This tool gets better every time someone says what confused them.
Enter pasture cover, residual, paddock area, herd size and intake to get the grazing daysthis paddock gives — so you know when to move the herd and avoid overgrazing.
Paddock & herd
Next: move the herd after about 3.3 days, or split the paddock so each break lasts 1–3 days; rest the grazed area until cover rebuilds to ~2500 kg DM/ha.
Residual of ~1500 kg DM/ha protects pasture regrowth; utilisation 70–85% for rotational grazing.
Pasture budget — key facts
- Available DM
- (cover − residual) × area × util
- Herd demand
- animals × intake per head
- Grazing days
- available DM ÷ demand
- Residual
- ≈ 1500 kg DM/ha
- Utilisation
- 70–85% rotational
- Cow intake
- ≈ 12–15 kg DM/day
- Regraze at
- ~2500–3000 kg DM/ha
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Graze the grass at its best, never to the dirt
Good grazing is a balancing act: leave stock on a paddock too long and they eat into the residual, weakening the sward and slowing regrowth; move them too soon and you waste feed. A pasture budget settles it with numbers — how much grazable dry matter the paddock holds, how much the herd eats a day, and therefore how many days it lasts. That's the backbone of rotational grazing and more feed grown per hectare.
This tool gives the grazing days, available dry matter, herd demand and a surplus-or-deficit status from your cover, area, herd and utilisation. Use it to set the rotation, time paddock moves, and decide when to make hay from a surplus or buy in feed for a deficit. Pair it with the Dry Matter Intake, Cattle Stocking Rate and Livestock Feed tools for a full grazing plan.
Time the moves
Know the days before stock hit the residual.
Stop overgrazing
Leave enough cover for fast regrowth.
Spot surplus & deficit
Cut hay from extra, plan for a shortfall.
Grow more feed
Rotational grazing lifts total pasture grown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pasture budget?+
A pasture (or feed) budget matches the dry matter a paddock can supply against what the herd eats, to work out how many grazing days it gives. It tells you when to move stock, whether you have a surplus or deficit, and how to rotate paddocks so grass is grazed at the right stage and never overgrazed.
How are grazing days calculated?+
Available dry matter = (pasture cover − residual) × area × utilisation. Herd demand per day = number of animals × dry-matter intake per head. Grazing days = available DM ÷ herd demand. For example 1000 kg DM/ha grazable on 5 ha at 80% utilisation feeds 20 cows eating 12 kg DM each for about 16–17 days.
What is pasture cover and residual?+
Cover is the total dry matter standing on the paddock (kg DM/ha), measured with a rising-plate meter, sward stick or by eye with practice. Residual is the cover you leave behind after grazing (often ~1500 kg DM/ha) to protect the plant's energy reserves and drive fast regrowth. You only graze the difference.
What is utilisation and why does it matter?+
Utilisation is the share of grazable dry matter the animals actually eat rather than trample, foul or leave. Rotational grazing achieves 70–85%; set stocking far less. Higher utilisation means more of the grass you grow becomes animal feed — but pushing too high risks overgrazing the residual.
Why leave a residual instead of grazing it all?+
Grazing below about 1500 kg DM/ha (roughly 4–5 cm) eats into the plant's energy reserves and growing points, slowing regrowth and weakening the sward over time. Leaving the right residual keeps pasture productive, speeds recovery, and ultimately grows more total feed across the season.
How do I find the intake per head?+
Use the animal's dry-matter intake — about 2–3% of body weight for dry stock and more for lactating animals (roughly 2% of body weight plus 0.1 kg per litre of milk). A 500 kg cow eats around 12–15 kg DM/day. See the Dry Matter Intake calculator to work it out for your animals.
When should I move the herd?+
Move when the paddock reaches its residual — the grazing days here tell you roughly when that is. In a rotation, split larger paddocks so each break lasts one to three days for even grazing, then rest each grazed area until cover rebuilds (often to ~2500–3000 kg DM/ha) before grazing again.
Can it tell me if I'm short of feed?+
Yes — if the grazing days are very low for your herd, the paddock can't carry them and you're in deficit: reduce numbers, bring in supplementary feed, or allocate more area. A large surplus means you can take some paddocks out for hay/silage. The status flag highlights short, adequate or ample.
Does this work for any livestock or area unit?+
Yes — it works for cattle, buffalo, sheep or goats; just enter the right intake per head and number of animals, and the paddock area in acres, hectares, bigha, guntha or m². The dry-matter approach is universal across grazing species.
Are the figures precise?+
They're solid planning figures. Real grazing days vary with pasture quality, weather, regrowth during grazing, and how accurately you measure cover. Re-measure cover regularly, keep a feed wedge across paddocks, and adjust — pasture budgeting is about steering, not exact prediction.
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