How many cows can you have per acre

Suppose we want to know the total number of cows that can fit an ac pasture in good condition. We want to keep a herd with an average weight of lb for the cows with calves. The field's location is relatively wet, which assures the average annual precipitation of to mm. Good pasture condition and precipitation zone provide the average forage yield of 2. An animal equivalent of our cows is 1. We can also ask the question the other way around — how many acres do you need per cow? If you want to learn more about different pasture condition classes, check the definitions by Alberta Forage Manual :.

Keep in mind that the values in the table and the results from our cattle per acre calculator are only rough estimations , as the actual yield of a pasture varies for different legumes and grass types. Also, forage production changes throughout the year. You should be able to graze from 2 to 4 cows on average pasture per every 5 acres.

However, this number may rise to 20 assuming excellent pasture conditions and applied irrigation. On average, you can have around 0. Keep in mind that one head of cattle or one Animal Unit often refers to the cow and calf pair. You should be able to keep between 0. However, rotational grazing techniques require at least two paddocks and are usually more expensive.

Embed Share via. Table of contents: The animal unit — how many acres does a cow need? How much land does a cow need? How to use cattle per acre calculator? How many acres do you need per cow? A sample computation Tame pasture condition classes explanations FAQ. The animal unit — how many acres does a cow need?

Many factors influence these values: Pasture condition; Precipitation zone; Forage type; and Grazing strategy e. Let's go together through the step list to understand how our cattle per acre calculator works: Choose a cattle type you want to graze.

A sample computation Now that you know how much land a cow needs and how to use this cattle per acre calculator, let's proceed to an example. FAQ How many cows can graze on 5 acres? For this example, 1, pounds of forage for the calf from birth through weaning and then 45 days of preconditioning will be used.

This means the cow-calf pair would consume about 11, pounds of forage during the year. Forage production per acre and appropriate utilization rates are the next factors to consider when determining stocking rates. Forage production per acre is influenced by many factors; we will look at those later. For this example, 6, pounds of forage produced per acre will be used.

The forage base and how much forage needs to be left to maintain a healthy productive stand must also be considered. Introduced forages like bermudagrass and bahiagrass can be utilized at much higher rates than native range forages.

The final step is to divide the amount of forage needed for the pair by the amount of forage that is consumed per acre. In this example, the 1,pound cow and its calf would need 2. As you might expect, cow size has a huge impact on stocking rate. Using the assumptions from above, a 1,pound cow and its calf would need 2.

Because cows are now larger, many properties become overstocked when they try to run the same number of cows as previous generations. Forage production per acre is influenced by several factors, including rainfall, length of the growing season, soil type, forage species, and soil fertility. Soil type is often overlooked when evaluating a property.

For most properties, the Web Soil Survey can be used to identify soil types and their relative production potential. For example, you can let chickens run the field after the cows have been taken out. They scratch around in the soil, helping prepare it for new growth.

They also accelerate the breakdown of cow manure to nourish the soil and they eat a lot of the parasites that could bother your cows. You could also reduce the grazing season of your cows, keeping them on dry feed for more months of the year. In the long run, this could cost you just as much money in feed bills as the money lost by having fewer cows.

Overgrazing is a common mistake that homesteaders make, and it leads to reduced biodiversity in your pasture. This encourages invasive and non-native plants and grasses to take over, leaving you with lower-quality forage. Overgrazing also causes soil degradation, which is very difficult to reverse.

Not only will growing become more difficult in the future, but it can cause desertification of your land. If you overgraze land that is leased to you, it could lead to the termination of the contract and even legal problems if the soil has been damaged in the long term. Remember that pastures will need longer to recover during times of drought.

Cover crops include buckwheat, clover, and rye. Planting a cover crop will protect the soil from any more degradation caused by wind and water, and prevent invasive weeds from getting out of hand. After choosing your cover crop , you just need to sow the seeds in the degraded pasture.

This will hopefully outcompete invasive species and fix nitrogen in the soil whilst the land takes a much-needed rest year. You can also choose to plant a cover crop that can be eaten by cattle.