Rotational grazing is the practice of containing and moving animals through pasture to improve soil, plant, and animal health.
Only one portion of pasture is grazed at a time while the remainder of the pasture “rests.” To accomplish this, pastures are subdivided into smaller areas, referred to as paddocks, and livestock are moved from one paddock to another.
Resting grazed paddocks allows forage plants to recover and deepen their root systems.
Why does it matter?
Left alone on a patch of land, animals like cattle and hogs can quickly destroy all signs of life, compacting the soil as they go. However, if the animals are managed with rotational grazing, the soil sees big returns.
Grazing encourages plants to send out more and deeper roots. Those roots are continually sloughed off to decompose in the ground, boosting soil biomass and fertility and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Rotational grazing also helps prevent erosion and agriculture runoff.
Source: Rodale Institute
