Limiting soil and pasture damage in winter

Background

• When the soil surface cannot support hooves of grazing animals, especially when wet, small depressions occur which then hold more water.
• Walking on this surface compounds the problem and mud results.
• The delicate crumb structure of the soil is lost as they become waterlogged.
• The roots and growing points of plants are damaged.
• Pasture production can be reduced by as much as 80% for up to 8 months.

Avoiding problems

• Have a good pasture cover for calving by building up pasture before calving.
• Graze wetter paddocks before the wetter part of the season.
• Use a slow rotation – greater than 80 days in winter. When its dry go slower.
• Shift stock before daybreak to minimise activity. Hungry stock waiting for their new break walk up and down the fence and pug the pasture.
• Make breaks as square as possible, to prevent stock walking up and down a long fence face.
• Stay away from stock when very wet to avoid disturbance, encouraging the to walk about.
• Start grazing from the back of the paddock to the front. So when you move them they walk over long pasture to prevent damage.
• Minimise supplements fed out in the paddock. This reduces vehicle damage and reduces stock concentration.
• Use a stand-off area.
• Use a farm bike rather than a tractor.
• Use a back fence to prevent further damage.
• Use on-off grazing, having stock on pasture for as low as 4 hours before holding them off.