Much of the grazing literature discusses the use of two different tactics in grazing management. These two tactics are High Performance Grazing (HPG) and High Utilization Grazing. For the benefit of our readers, I have summarized the key characteristics of each tactic in an easy to read table. Enjoy.
| High Performance Grazing (HPG) |
High Utilization Grazing (HUG) |
|
| Utilization | preferred plants are defoliated at light to moderate intensities | all plants are moderately to intensively defoliated during a grazing period |
| Stocking Rate (Grazing Pressure) | Low to moderate | High to Ultra-High |
| Grazing Planning | Animals are encouraged to select only the most palatable forages; grazing days are longer, recovery periods are shorter or non-existent. | Animals are encouraged to consume all available forage; grazing days are shorter, recovery periods are longer |
| Range Improvement | Non-grazed (non-preferred by livestock) plants senesce and become moribund, while grazed plants (preferred by livestock) are invigorated and thrive | All plants remain on the same competitive level after the grazing period, thereby maintaining range quality. Animal impact and herd effect can be used as a tool to ameliorate soil capping. |
| Behavioral Management | Positive reinforcement can be used to encourage consumption of nutritionally dense forages; negative reinforcement can be used to discourage consumption of toxic forages | Diets are carefully balanced and animal nutrition maintained at a maximum to encourage the consumption of non-preferred (toxic?) forages |
| Animal Performance | Theoretically favored because grazing pressure is low and more nutrients are available to fewer animals | Less favorable than HPG, but production per acre/ha is often higher because maximum use is made of available vegetative biomass |
| Examples of “Grazing Systems” | Continuous: multi-paddock, multi-herd. Deferred Rotation: multi-paddock, multi-herd. | High Intensity Low Frequency (HILF): single herd, longer grazing days Short Duration Grazing (SDG): single herd, shorter grazing days |