Ultra-high-density grazing for sustainable beef production

There are a number of tools that can contribute to successful sustainable agriculture, provided farmers use them strategically. Danie Slabbert, one such South African farmer, explains how he is using ultra-high-density grazing to help ensure that he and future users of the land all benefit. Lloyd Phillips reports.

- Lloyd Phillips

As the sun slowly rises over Van Rooyenswoning farm in the Reitz area of the eastern Free State, a 500- head herd of predominantly commercial Drakensberger beef cattle lines up expectantly along a 100m-long strand of portable electric fencing. At exactly 6am, an automated system lifts the strand to above head height and, with excited bellowing and surprising bursts of speed, the cattle stream into the adjoining temporary grazing block to start grazing the maize crop residue.

This is a typical start to a day in Danie Slabbert’s ultra-highdensity grazing (UHDG) system. He implemented it almost two years ago as an addition to his sustainable agriculture toolbox, which already comprised of no-till practices and planting multiple species of cover crops.

In addition to running cattle, Slabbert has a commercial cropping enterprise consisting of 1 000ha planted to grains and oilseeds, and 18ha to potatoes.

“I’m a fourth-generation Slabbert farmer, and beef cattle have always been on this farm. Before December 2017, they grazed extensively on 300ha of natural sourveld and on crop residues. But selective grazing of the veld resulted in a reduction of the cattle’s preferred grasses, such as red grass [Themeda triandra], and an increase in less preferred grasses, such as bushveld turpentine grass [Cymbopogon plurinodis],” he says.

REGENERATION

In 2007, Slabbert made the decision to convert to regenerative agriculture, and began by adopting no-till cropping methods. When he reviewed his operation after five years, however, he realised that more needed to be done.

“My research and discussions with regenerative agriculture farmers and experts both in South Africa and internationally showed me that I needed to bring multi-species cover crops into rotation with my commercial crops.”