Prescribed Grazing  (NRCS #528)

Reduces soil losses due to water and wind erosion by enhancing vegetative cover.

Decreases compaction when stocking rates and grazing timing are properly managed.

Enhances soil aggregation, infiltration, and biological activity on a long-term basis due to increases in vegetative cover, deeper root systems, and increased soil organic matter.

Promotes soil health.

Livestock traffic may cause soil compaction, especially on wet soils.

Overgrazing can increase soil degradation.

Improves water infiltration and reduces runoff through vegetative cover.

Protects riparian areas when livestock access is controlled.

Reduces sediment and nutrient transport to water bodies.

Improves water quality.

Reduces nutrient losses associated with erosion, thus increasing plants' nutrient availability.

Improves nutrient cycling due to an increase of vegetative cover, deeper root systems, increased soil organic material, and biological activity.

Reduces fertilizer requirements by cycling nutrients.

Uneven manure distribution may cause localized nutrient accumulation.

Overgrazing can increase nutrient runoff and leaching by promoting soil degradation.

Improves forage quality and productivity by planting and maintaining the desired plant community.

Forage stocking rates are estimated to increase up to 40%².

Provides rest time for pastures, allowing for efficient forage regrowth and extending pasture longevity.

Improves livestock performance, health, productivity.

Uneven grazing due to animals' preferences may cause pasture degradation.

Poor grazing management and drought promote rapid productivity reduction.

Improves habitat for wildlife and beneficial insects.

Provides a healthy soil biological community and habitat for soil organisms.

Maintains diverse plant communities when properly managed.

Invasive species may increase if grazing is poorly managed.

If recovery periods are insufficient, wildlife habitat and plant diversity may decline.

Well-managed grazing removes CO₂ from the air, stores it in biomass, and may increase soil carbon stocks³, which can partially offset livestock emissions.

Rotation grazing improves manure spread and reduces hotspots of emissions.

Reduces fuel use compared to harvested forage systems.

Total methane (CH₄) emissions are usually high and increase with herd size.

Net GHG balance is highly dependent on climate, soil type, grazing intensity and frequency, and rarely eliminates livestock climate impact entirely.

Carbon sequestration and SOC storage are still inconclusive⁴.

Reduces purchase feed and fertilizer costs.

Hay feeding replaced by grazing can save around $25 monthly per animal.

In the long term, increases pasture productivity and livestock profitability.

May qualify for USDA conservation financial assistance.

Requires initial investments in infrastructure such as fencing and water systems.

Tracking records is time-consuming and leads to increased labor.