Prevent large numbers of animals from congregating. If grazing animals are causing soil or plant damage, it is often a problem of poor animal distribution rather than too many animals. This is probably the most important decision with any grazing plan. Too many animals will cause animal performance to decline, but the soil and vegetation will have deteriorated before animal performance begins to suffer. Most grazing plans that include strategically timed ungrazed periods during the growing season will, over time, support more animals than grazing systems where pastures are grazed continuously throughout the growing season.
Flexibility is critical.
Animal grazing must be managed according to the varying plant, soil, and animal conditions that exist, not according to specific calendar dates. Even the most well developed grazing plan will continually require some adjustments.