Husband and wife team Emry Birdwell and Deborah Clark manage 5,000 head of stocker cattle in a single herd on the historic 14,200 acre Birdwell and Clark Ranch in north central Texas. Through Holistic Management and adaptive grazing planning, they’ve achieved a stocking rate nearly twice the average for their area and greatly improved soil quality, species diversity, water quality and pasture productivity on the ranch.
How do I know how much forage I've actually got on my pastures? What should my stocking rate be? How do I estimate my carrying capacity?
While recording a pasture inventory is quick and easy in PastureMap, actually estimating the available forage inventory per acre or calculate carrying capacity for each of your pastures might seem a little more complicated. Here are four ways to estimate available forage inventory, ranging from a quick estimate to an exact measurement.