Pasture Stocking Density Calculator

Animal units per acre, rotational paddock count, recovery time. Cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, mixed-species. Rotational vs continuous comparison.

Plan your grazing

Pasture

Total pasture (acres)

Pasture quality / forage Poor — overgrazed, weedy, dry Average — mixed grass, modest fertility Good — improved pasture, well-managed Excellent — irrigated, high fertility

Climate Cool-season grass region Warm-season grass region Arid / semi-arid Mixed cool+warm season

Grazing method Continuous (set-stocked, all year) Rotational (move every 5-7 days) Mob / Adaptive Multi-Paddock (move daily)

Animals

Primary animal Cow-calf pair Mature cow (1000-1300 lb) Yearling steer / heifer (700 lb) Bull (1500-2000 lb) Dairy cow (lactating) Horse (1000 lb) Mature sheep (150 lb) Mature goat (130 lb) Alpaca Pasture-raised meat chickens Pasture-raised layers Pasture pig

Number of animals

Animal Unit (AU) reference

1 Animal Unit = 1,000 lb mature animal. Forage demand ≈ 26 lb dry matter / day.

Animal	AU	Daily DM intake (lb)
Cow-calf pair (cow + calf)	1.25-1.4	35-40
Mature dry cow (1100 lb)	1.0	26
Yearling steer (700 lb)	0.65	17
Bull (1700 lb)	1.5	40
Lactating dairy cow	1.5-1.7	40-45
Horse (1000 lb)	1.25	~30 (less efficient than cattle)
Mature ewe (150 lb)	0.20	~5
Mature goat (130 lb)	0.17	~4
Alpaca	0.20	~5
Layer hen	0.005	~0.13
Meat chicken (broiler)	0.005	~0.15 (mostly grain; pasture supplemental)
Pasture pig (200 lb)	0.40	~10

Pasture carrying capacity

Quality	Cool-season region (AU/acre/year)	Warm-season region	Arid region
Poor	0.3-0.5	0.4-0.6	0.05-0.15
Average	0.7-1.2	0.8-1.4	0.15-0.30
Good	1.5-2.5	1.8-3.0	0.30-0.60
Excellent (irrigated/intensive)	3-6	4-8	1-3

Continuous vs rotational vs mob

	Continuous	Rotational (5-7 day)	Mob / AMP (1-day)
Effective stocking density	1.0× baseline	1.4-1.8×	2-3×
Plant recovery	Poor; overgrazing	Good	Excellent (long rest)
Soil health trajectory	Declining	Stable	Improving
Manure distribution	Poor (concentrated)	Good	Excellent (mob impact)
Labor	Lowest	Moderate (~15 min/move)	High (daily moves)
Infrastructure	Permanent fence only	Permanent + portable poly	Heavy portable + tank/water moves

Rotational grazing rules

1. Take half, leave half. Graze grass to ~3-4" residual height — never bare. Plants recover from 50% removal; struggle past 70%.
2. Rest = recovery. Grass needs 25-40 days rest in spring (fast growth), 60-90+ days in late summer (slow growth). Move animals before regrowth starts.
3. Match paddock count to recovery period. If you need 30 days rest and animals are in each paddock 2 days, you need 16 paddocks (30 ÷ 2 + 1 grazing = 16).
4. Water access in every paddock. Animals walk less; manure stays in paddocks.
5. Polywire + step-in posts are the affordable rotational tool. Permanent perimeter + portable subdivisions.
6. Track residual height. Sward stick or sole-of-boot test. Pull animals when you reach target residual.

Free under CC BY 4.0. Cite as "OAT Pasture Stocking Density Calculator (openagriculturetechnology.com)". Reference data from USDA NRCS, university extension publications, and Allan Savory grazing literature.