Paddock Rotation
Calculator

The calculator divides your total grazable area into a number of paddocks and estimates how many days livestock can graze each one before moving on, based on paddock size, animal numbers, and expected forage regrowth time.

Plants need adequate time to rebuild root reserves and regrow leaf area after grazing — moving animals too quickly back onto a paddock stunts regrowth and gradually degrades pasture productivity, so the rest period (not just the grazing days) drives long-term pasture health.

No, regrowth is much faster in spring's active growing season and much slower in summer heat, drought, or the onset of winter dormancy, so the same paddock may need 15-20 days rest in spring but 45-60 days or more in slow-growth periods.

Larger herds or higher stocking density consume available forage faster, shortening the number of grazing days per paddock, so increasing animal numbers without adding paddocks or paddock size means more frequent moves to protect pasture from overgrazing.

Continuous grazing lets animals repeatedly target regrowing plants before roots recover, which over time favors less palatable or less productive species and reduces total pasture carrying capacity — rotational systems exist specifically to avoid this compounding degradation.