Care & Feeding of Overgrazed Pastures

Good pastures depend on good soil. That’s why professional contractors see your pastures literally from the ground up. The quality of the growth above ground will tell them the state of the root growth and the soil. What is up top determines what is down below. If there is damaged, overgrazed, matted, and undernourished top growth, the roots will not grow as the short-cropped and sickly sward cannot make the chlorophyll necessary to feed and sustain healthy root growth.

Overgrazing compacts the soil, reducing water infiltration and moisture holding capacity, and stunting root growth; less moisture combined with less organic matter reduces soil fertility. Virile weed species, which thrive on poor and sick soils, will then take over.

Overgrazed grasslands have resulted in many desert-like features we see appearing more frequently in the world today; these dry, barren areas are unproductive and useless. Once the grass disappears, water (rain) cannot penetrate into the soil and instead goes elsewhere in the form of run-off or erosion. The dry lands of Australia and the Mediterranean for example are the result of overgrazing primarily by sheep in Australia and goats in Southern Europe and North Africa.

Repairing the Damage

Some folks do not have the acreage or ability to completely renovate their fields to good soil by ploughing, putting green matter back into the soil, fertilizing, and reseeding. This takes time as a newly seeded pasture should not be grazed for a complete year. The new grass will also need cutting to stimulate root growth and make thicker, stronger top growth.

Overseeding is the next best option. To achieve the best results, old manure needs to be distributed and the soil aerated to allow the “good guys,” worms and insects, to get to work. Aerating can be done by discing, harrowing, or using an aerator. Any implement which can scarify and open up the soil to let in oxygen and moisture is a good step towards better grass.

New pasture seed can then be broadcast over the field. Timothys, orchard grasses, and endophyte-free fescues are good species with which to overseed. Kentucky Blue grass is a later maturing grass but will hold the