About two months ago, March 12th, 2024, I took the cattle off of the sacrificial rotation and hay, and starting rotating them through the pasture. The grass wasn’t great, it was very high in protein, and I decided that in 2025 I would have enough hay to last until mid April, no matter what. And even if the grass did grow in March, I would wait until April to avoid having runny manure.
The sacrificial area was exactly that. By the time I left the area, it was very short grass that I abused and overgrazed and piles of leftover hay. I also had some deep pugging from after heavy rains.
The difference is astounding. I get the feeling that it’s OK to abuse the grass in the winter — AS LONG AS YOU GIVE IT PLENTY OF RECOVERY TIME.
And that’s kind of the key. If you don’t abuse the grass, allow it to sink its roots deep and reach up high in the sky, and only take 1/3 at a time with weeks of rest in between, then it will recover quickly. If you push it harder, it will take longer to recover, and if you don’t give it that time, you can easily kill it.
Knowing this principle, nevertheless, it surprised me how much a few months of rest can do in spring. I’ll keep this in mind, and probably abuse the poorer parts of the pasture in the winter, knowing I’ll give it rest in the spring.