High-Density Livestock Grazing: “Cowology”

“Biscuit, I’m tired of this ‘Cowology,'” Hewey Calloway tells his horse at the beginning of the movie, “The Good Ol’ Boys,” adapted from the Elmer Kelton novel of the same name. Cowology, or more accurately, cow psychology, is a rapidly developing aspect of high-density livestock grazing.

Cows are simple creatures who, when left to their own devices in a wide-open pasture, will spread out attempting to harvest the best, tastiest, and highest-quality grass. They quickly pick out the best options available, leaving behind lower-quality foodstuffs and allowing lower-preference grasses and forage to expand until only those species remain.

In a high-density grazing program, you ask the cows to ‘clean their plate’ before moving to the next grazing area. When cattle are confined to a smaller area and asked to eat what they would normally choose, harvest efficiency increases dramatically. For every “weed” a cow eats, that’s one less “weed” you will need to address later with a chemical or mechanical removal. Another benefit of high-density grazing is the perceived competition among cows. Cattle in a confined grazing area will increase harvest use simply because they feel they must compete with other cows for the limited forage, leading to greater grass consumption.

After you calculate the forage needs of your cattle and figure out the size and duration of your grazing paddocks (for example, a 1/2 acre strip per day, assuming 3000 lbs of grass per acre/1500 lbs of grass per paddock, for 20 cow/calf pairs), release the cows into the grazing area and watch the cows quickly try to ‘out-eat’ their neighbor!

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Author: Blane Stacy, Rangeland Specialist