Paddocks = (rest ÷ graze) + 1 If grass needs 30 days to regrow and you move every 3 days, you need 11 paddocks — ten resting, one being grazed. That is the whole formula. The number looks alarming for daily moves, which is why the workbook splits it into permanent divisions plus temporary strips. Worked through properly in the complete guide.

You do not build every paddock in permanent fence Build four to eight permanent divisions and subdivide them with one reel of polybraid. You get the grazing benefit of thirty paddocks from six paddocks and a reel — for a fraction of the cost, and without locking in a layout before you know how your ground actually grazes. See temporary vs permanent for where to draw the line.

Take half, leave half The plan above allocates about double what the herd will actually eat, because they trample and foul some of it. Grass regrows from the leaf you leave standing, so a paddock grazed to the dirt takes two to three times longer to recover — which breaks the rest period and collapses the rotation by midsummer. The soil side of this is in grazing for soil health.

I have never done this. Where do I actually start? Build the permanent divisions the workbook recommends, buy one reel and one roll of polybraid, and strip-graze a single division for a few weeks before doing anything else. You will learn more about your ground in a month of moving fence than in a winter of planning. The portable electric fence buyer's guide walks the first build end to end.

What if the workbook says I am overstocked? It means your acreage cannot feed that many head through the rest period you picked. Run fewer head, shorten the rest, or budget for supplemental feed. Finding this out in March is cheap; finding it out in August is not.

Do I need to move them every single day? No. Every three days captures most of the benefit for a fraction of the labour. Daily moves give better pasture use and more even manure distribution, but an every-three-days rotation you actually stick to beats a daily one you abandon in July. Mob vs rotational covers where higher density starts paying.

My fence is not holding. What do I check first? Grounding, nine times out of ten — not the energizer. Start with how to ground an electric fence, then work the voltmeter decision tree to find the drop in about fifteen minutes.

What about water? Water is what usually limits paddock layout — if every paddock walks back to one tank, the herd carves a mud lane and undoes the plan. Piping water out to the divisions is often the highest-return money in the system, and buried line frequently qualifies for USDA cost-share. Start with how water placement affects performance, the water systems collection and the EQIP funding guide.