Is there a way to convert

[Swissy Baroo]

I asked my local extension office for general guidelines for animal to land ratio's.

And got these guidelines: 3 to 5 acres for a cow/calf unit year round, about 1 acre of grass for 200 to 225 chickens, 1 acre for 5 sheep or goats, 1.75 to 2 acres for 1 adult horse and 1 acre for approximately 6 sows with litters.

The of course there were other variables: how you intend to raise those animals, what percentage of time they will be on pasture, what production class is being considered for each species, year round vs. seasonal production and the quality of the land/pasture.


Now is there a way to alters these guidelines to fit into these criteria? Or should i e-mail my local extension office with more specific guidelines?

1. I want my animals to be as "normal" as possible. Grass-fed and finished. And keeping them holistic without the needs to buy commercial food.

2. I don't plan to do year round grazing; winter time will be supplied with hay.

3. Will certain animals increase or decrease answers? For example: I want Highland Cows which are known to be excellent graziers and can live off smaller amount of land then other beef cows.

4. Then of course production: Cows- Beef. Chicken- Broilers and Eggs. Pigs- Meat. Sheep- Meat and Goat- Milk.

[redgate]

To specifically answer your questions, you have to realize that the office gives you data based on averages for your area. The animals they have listed are usually based on "a.u.'s" or "animal units." One animal unit is roughly 1,000 lbs, thus saying 3 acres for 3 cows or 1 acre for 5 sheep is assuming each sheep weighs around 200 lbs (thus 1,000 lbs per acre) or each cow weighs 1500 lbs plus her calf, which will weigh 1,000 lbs or so. It's a little confusing, but just think in terms of putting roughly 1,000 lbs of animal weight on each acre as a starting point. Thus, if you get Highland cattle rather than Herefords, then yes, that means you can likely have 2 cow/calf pairs on 3 acres rather than just one. It sounds like they are NOT thinking pasture fed for those sows, as there is no way 6 full grown breeding sows with litters could be fully sustained on one acre. 5 acres would be more like it.

That being said, you can reduce your land needs by IMRG. Read up on IMRG (Intensive Management Rotational Grazing). Even that has it's challenges, but it's the way we have gone. We are learning as we go. The data the office gives is based on turning those animals out into the given acreage. Period. The problem with that system is that the animals will overgraze their favorite areas and undergraze their least favorites. Overtime, you will wind up losing grass entirely in areas they frequent for rest, water, or shade, while weeds will take over in the over and under grazed areas. As the years go by, you will find you need increasingly MORE acreage to sustain the animals in optimal health.

IMRG, on the other hand, involves taking those given acreages and subdividing them in temporary grazing paddocks. The more temporary, the better. You have to figure out how much the animals can graze down in one to two days, ideally. For example, I have found that my 3 cows, 1 donkey, 5 goats, and 2 calves graze down an 80 x 90 ft paddock in 2 days during spring lush, 1 day in later summer, and 1/2 day in drought. By only giving them access during the alloted time, they never over-graze, over-trample or pug, and even the water bucket is moved every 1-2 days so that area never goes bare. They spread their own fertilizer rather than letting it build up in piles. I follow them about 3 days later with free-range hens, who further scatter the manure, eat any larvae and eggs in it, thereby further increasing fertility and reducing our fly population. Rather than getting weedy or bare over time, the paddocks' health actually improves. Statistics show that it takes about 3 years of this type of grazing to see a huge difference, potentially even doubling the paddocks fertility and the number of animals it can sustain in that time. The longer it is done, the better it gets. Good stuff. Sure, it's a little more work, but I think it's crucial to a small operation trying to sustain grass-fed animals in optimal health.

Hope that answers your questions and gives you something to think about.

[coolrunnin]

Your hay fields count as acres per animal unit as well.