Grazing and Grassland Management Quiz

Livestock Unit (LU)

• 1 Livestock Unit (LU) = 1 dairy cow or 1 suckler cow
• Used to determine the amount of grass or winter fodder needed on a farm

Animal Livestock Unit

• 1 Dairy/Suckler Cow = 1 LU
• 1 Cattle (1-2 years) = 0.6 LU
• 1 Cattle (< 1 year) = 0.4 LU
• 1 Sheep = 0.15 LU

Methods of Grazing

• Rotational Grazing: moving animals around several grazing fields

Paddock Grazing

• Land divided into paddocks of equal size
• Herd grazes a new paddock every day
• Grazed paddocks fertilized and allowed to recover for at least three weeks
• Advantages: fresh, leafy grass each day, no grass wasted
• Disadvantages: expensive to set up, fencing and water supply needed in each paddock

Strip Grazing

• Moveable electric fence divides a field
• Fresh strip of grass given to livestock each day
• Requires more labor than paddock grazing, ensures no grass wasted

Block Grazing

• Dividing large fields into smaller blocks
• Livestock graze a block for about one week, return to a block after three weeks

Zero Grazing

• Cattle housed all year round
• Grass or other forage crops cut and brought indoors and fed to livestock
• No grazing on the land

Topping

• Mowing grass to encourage tillering and control weeds

Leader-Follower System

• Young animals (calves) graze ahead of older stock
• Young animals get freshest, leafiest, most digestible grass
• Less chance of young animals picking up disease and parasites from grass or older animals

Mixed Grazing

• Cattle and sheep graze together in the same field
• Tillering is increased, reduces need for topping

Fertilisation of Grassland

• Nitrogen application on grassland without clover to maintain grass quality
• Nitrogen fertilizers: CAN, Urea, and 18-6-12
• Nitrogen application according to Nitrates Directive
• Quantity and time of application determined by land use (grazing or silage)