By August, all the birds are done nesting and the paddocks, allowed to recover with the help of winter-deposited manure, have come back vigorously. The rest paddocks are brought back into the rotation. Much of the vegetation is over mature and simply gets trampled as the cattle pick through it. Art views this wasted forage as an investment in future soil health and fertility. He finds that the year after a paddock is rested in this way, it is significantly more productive than the other paddocks in his summer rotation.
Art chooses a different paddock for the following outwintering site.
He expects to return to each paddock every 6 th year. Now in his 4 th year of this rotation, he still observes greater plant vigor in the first paddock he outwintered on. Thus, Art has been able to blend pasture management and conservation objectives and provide multiple benefits for his pasture system with a single practice. Your local DNR office should have copies available. I encourage you to learn about the birds and their needs and then work with your system to devise ways of providing undisturbed rest areas for them.