Fodder Production and Grassland Management

ROTATIONAL GRAZING

• In this type of grazing, animals are allowed for grazing into different sub units of the grassland area in rotation at suitable intervals during the grazing season, so as to bring about uniform grazing without making it too close.
• The quick change over from one compartment to another provides the advantages of giving the animals a nutritive, young herbage and at the same time provides a period of rest during the growth season. The disadvantages in this method is that it gives no chance for seed formation.

Hohenheim System:

• This is an improved system of rotational grazing developed in Germany during the 1^st world war to produce sufficient milk without any need to feed concentrates to milch cattle.
• It consists of dividing the pasture into several equal sized plots or paddocks and applying large quantities of nitrogenous fertilizers in these paddocks.
• The dairy cattle are separated into 3 groups high, medium and poor milkers and are let into the paddocks in rotation, so that the best milkers will get the youngest and most nutritious grazing.
• Assuming a growing period of 3 months from July to September the plan of grazing in this system, will be

	July	August	September
1st Year	I	II	III
2nd Year	II	III	I
3rd Year	III	I	II