Free-range cattle are cattle that are allowed to roam in search of food in a large area without being impeded by fencing or confined to an enclosed space. This definition is actually partially true, because cattle are still confined to a fenced area (called pasture), and this area is not always large, especially if a question like “how much space does a small herd need?” should exist!

Because I only chose this title from a list of title suggestions, and therefore was unable to correct the wording, I must first explain how “free-range” should not really apply to cattle, except dairy cows. In most livestock operations, free-range farming only applies to poultry or pigs, not cattle. Free range cattle is a bit of a misnomer because most of the time cattle are already sent out to pasture to roam alone in search of food without much fencing to prevent them from doing what they naturally do best. This is especially true of most beef operations (except feedlots), and is a common occurrence in all cow and calf rearing operations. It also shouldn’t come as a surprise that all smallholders also “earn in the wild” on a regular basis, even without realizing it. Besides, who wants to confine a small herd of cattle and have to work for them to keep feeding them all the time when they can be out on a small piece of land grazing a bit?

This brings me to the ability to answer the question of this title: “How much space does a small herd of cattle need?” Now I’m assuming this is for the grazing space, as it applies to the so-called “free range” aspect, but sometimes you never know.

What I would like to know first are many different things, such as the following:

• How “small” is this little flock? Is it made up of just two animals, or 10?
• How big is the cattle? Are they young calves or large, mature cows?
• What is your location? For example, is it found on the rich prairies of South Carolina or on the more sparse arid prairies of West Texas? Or is it much further north, like in central Alberta or Saskatchewan?
• How is the vegetation? Exuberant or scarce? Good quality, poor quality, native grasslands, tame grasslands? Are the grasses in their vegetative stage or at maturity?
• How much precipitation does it receive per year or per month?
• What is the quality of your soil and what type of soil do you have? Is it loam, sand, clay, or a mixture of any of these three? Is it alkaline, acid, saline, etc.?
• What kind of grazing management practices do you want to implement? Are you planning to intensively graze your cattle or let them roam freely throughout the pasture area? Do you want to improve your soil and increase organic matter, or just want to have some cows nearby?

I have noticed several articles on this site where some cattle “expert” authors recommend their readers average one to one and a half acres per cow. To tell the truth, I disagree with those numbers. The reason is that there are too many variables at play to consider calling 1 to 1.5 acres/cow even close to average. You see, I can see that those numbers are applicable to areas where grass is abundant, grazing is frequent, and they don’t see drought or snow at any time of the year. I can even see these numbers being exceeded in operations where rotational grazing is managed with a great deal of success. But when it comes to other areas where rotational grazing is impossible to do or there simply isn’t enough rainfall to grow as much grass as a producer would like to have that many acres allotted per animal, it is totally unreasonable and undeniably ridiculous to take those numbers as done.

The other big concern I have with those numbers is the size of the cow. I seriously question the validity of that “average” stocking rate when it comes to the size of the cow in question. Is that population rate average for tiny 500lb cows, or are they applicable for much larger 1600lb beef/dairy cows? Somehow I think it’s both and neither. You see, the intake rate or the amount of grass eaten per cow per day is drastically influenced by the body weight of the bovine. A big cow will eat much more than a small cow. You do not believe me? Take the maintenance requirement of 2.5% of a bovine body weight in dry matter ration per day, then multiply it to different body weights of different cows. For example, a large Simmental cow will weigh around 1,600 pounds. That means he’s expected to consume 40 pounds of dry matter ration per day, regardless of whether it’s grass or hay. Now take a 500-pound miniature cow; she will consume 12.5 lbs of dry matter ration per day. Keep in mind that those are maintenance requirements only. Values ​​at feeding time differ greatly depending on forage moisture content, physiological requirements of the cow (if lactating, late pregnancy, early gestation, etc.), environmental conditions (warm weather or cold) and quality. of feed. So when it comes to the stock rate, there is no exact value or even an average to give you in this article.

Therefore, the best thing to do to determine how much grazing area is needed for your small herd is to answer all of the questions above and visit your local county extension office for information on local population rates for your area. . Once you have that information, you can choose to store as many animals as you like. Just be careful not to overstock or stock too many that overgraze your pasture too quickly. Excess cattle can mean anything from being optimal for intensive grazing purposes to turning your pasture into a feedlot.