Rotational grazing involves paddocks and the use of one portion of the pasture at
a time on scheduled rotations. Resting time is given for grazed pastured areas in order to regenerate plant growth before the animals are returned to a given pasture / paddock. This gives the plants the opportunity to rebuild root systems, renew energy reserves, and provides longer-lived and higher quality pastures. The timing of rotations and when to pull the cattle out of a paddock is very important. Typically, pasture plants should be grazed no lower than 3 inches. This will ensure that the plants can recover more rapidly. Larger pastures are often divided into several paddocks. Paddocks may feed anywhere from 2-20 or more animals. For best results, rotations of three days or less are recommended for most grazing operations. Other grazing strategies, including Mob Grazing and Creep Grazing, can be used in conjunction with rotational grazing and for specific applications (see Section 5C).
See the chart below for pasture waste caused by trampling and leaving cattle on a pasture longer than is recommended.