The integration of grazing and cutting and the balance between the two can affect the efficiency and profitability of grassland farming. Some land is unsuitable for cutting for silage or hay, but on land which can be cut there may be an advantage in taking one or more cuts in addition to some grazing. More extreme possibilities are to do no grazing and carry all food to the stock or to do no cutting of swards and buy in forage or use arable by-products. This is easier if some of the land is used for cutting at times when the grass is growing most quickly and if some or all of the livestock can be taken off the land when there is little growth of grass. Rotational grazing involves fairly regular movements of livestock from field to field, allowing the plant a period of uninterrupted regrowth between grazings.
Continuous grazing involves leaving animals in a field continuously for several weeks or months.
During continuous grazing, individual grass tillers usually have a period of uninterrupted regrowth after being defoliated, but this period is likely to be shorter than with rotational grazing. Sward height guidelines are a valuable help when managing grazed grassland. Occasional topping of the fields may be beneficial.