I need some critiques for my mob grazing plan as it seems too good to be true. First, my property is 10 acres of pinyon-juniper savanna and receives 16 inches of rain annually. I want to replicate
Allan Savory's mob-grazing method of restoring semi-arid grasslands. But, the numbers seem crazy to me. Savory works with up to 1 million lbs of animal per acre. Mob grazing is commonly defined as over 100,000 lbs per acre. Any less than that and you don't get the
land regeneration effect. So to reach at least 100K per acre I would need at least 35 fully grown goats in 1700 square feet electric paddock and rotate them daily. That seems like a lot of goats for a small acreage. My small paddock can then rotate through all 10 acres in 10 months with daily moves.
The land is not the best as it has been about 40 years since it was grazed and has only had wildlife on it since. There is grass, but it is short and spotty in places. I would have to supplement the forage with cutting from the
trees, and
hay. However, if Savory's hype is real, then at the end of 10 months, the grass will grow strong and tall and then the goats shouldn't need any more supplement (barring a drought).
Some other notes to consider
-My property is fully swaled.
-Access to
city water
-landscaping businesses drop off a truckload of grass, sticks and clippings daily during the growing season.
-I plan on making tree hay for winter
My questions are
-what breed would be best or what goat attributes would be best for this setup
-how much pine can I
feed them
-If I run low on forage I can pulse onto my neighbors 200 acre property.
-any other advice welcome
3
