Holistic Planned Grazing Calculator

Design a rotational grazing paddock plan based on herd size, forage availability, and recovery period goals.

Inputs

Total pasture (acres)

Herd size (Animal Units)

Grazing period (days/paddock)

Recovery period (days)

Forage yield (lbs DM/acre)

Utilization rate (%)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Number of paddocks

Paddock size (acres)6.45

Stock density (AU/acre)7.75

Sustainable grazing (days)7.4

Forage surplus/deficit (%)73.1

Full rotation cycle (days)62

Max carrying capacity (AU)186.1

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Total pasture (acres), Herd size (Animal Units), and Grazing period (days/paddock).
Set Recovery period (days), Forage yield (lbs DM/acre), and Utilization rate (%).
Review the Number of paddocks result.
Use Paddock size (acres) and Stock density (AU/acre) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Grazing period (days/paddock)

Grazing period (days/paddock)	Number of paddocks
1.15	54
2.77	23
4.73	14
6.35	11

What each input means

Total pasture (acres): Total grazing acreage to be divided into paddocks.
Herd size (Animal Units): Total herd in Animal Units. 1 AU = 1,000 lb animal. 1 cow-calf pair = ~1.3 AU.
Grazing period (days/paddock): Days the herd stays in each paddock. Short durations (1-3 days) mimic natural mob behavior.
Recovery period (days): Days a paddock rests before re-grazing. Longer in dry climates (60-90+), shorter in humid (30-45).
Forage yield (lbs DM/acre): Standing forage dry matter per acre per grazing cycle. Typical: 2,000-4,000 lbs for temperate grassland.
Utilization rate (%): Percentage of standing forage to be consumed. 'Take half, leave half' = 50%.

What each result means

Number of paddocks: Paddocks needed to achieve the target recovery period.
Paddock size (acres): Size of each individual paddock.
Stock density (AU/acre): Animal units per acre during grazing. Higher density = more even grazing and hoof impact.
Sustainable grazing (days): Maximum days the paddock forage can sustain the herd. Should exceed your planned grazing period.
Forage surplus/deficit (%): Positive means surplus forage; negative means the paddock is too small or herd too large.
Full rotation cycle (days): Total days to rotate through all paddocks once.
Max carrying capacity (AU): Maximum animal units each paddock can support for the planned grazing period.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Total pasture (acres) = 200, Herd size (Animal Units) = 50, Grazing period (days/paddock) = 2, Recovery period (days) = 60 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Number of paddocks
Number of paddocks = ceil(numPaddocks)
31 = 31
Calculate Paddock size
Paddock size = totalAcres / numPaddocks
6.45 = 6.45
Calculate Stock density
Stock density = herdSizeAU / paddockAcres
7.75 = 7.75

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