Paddock Rotation Planner

How it works

Paddocks = rest days ÷ graze days + 1; usable forage/acre = (available − residual) × grazing efficiency; paddock acres = herd intake/day × graze days ÷ usable forage/acre

Rotational grazing works by matching the rest each paddock gets to the time the pasture needs to regrow — 20–30 days in fast spring growth, 40–60 or more in summer heat or drought — while keeping animals on any one paddock briefly enough that they do not bite the regrowth. The number of paddocks follows directly: rest divided by grazing period, plus the one being grazed. Paddock size comes from a forage budget: the herd’s daily dry-matter demand times the days it will stay, divided by the forage each acre can spare above the residual you want to leave (typically 3–4 inches, or 1,000–1,500 lb DM per acre), discounted for trampling and fouling. Because growth rates change through the season, the plan must flex — drop paddocks out for hay in spring, slow the rotation or add land in summer.

Worked example

50 AU eating 26 lb each need 1,300 lb DM a day. With 2,500 lb available, 1,200 lb residual and 70% efficiency, each acre offers 910 lb usable, so 3-day paddocks are 4.3 acres. A 30-day rest needs 11 paddocks — 47 acres in a 33-day cycle; the 150-acre farm has plenty, so paddocks can be bigger and grazes longer.

Frequently asked questions