Curriculum · Module 04
Recovery, Density and the Contested Evidence
A grazing plan is designed around recovery, not around paddock count or a fashionable density. Once the arithmetic from Module 3 is in place, this module lays out the plan, places the piosphere deliberately, and then puts the strongest published case for and against adaptive multi-paddock grazing side by side — including the SA fence-line study that found nothing.
- 16 Recovery Period Is the Design Variable Settles that recovery period, not paddock number or stocking density, is what a grazing plan is actually designed around. Derive the minimum paddock number on your own farm from your own recovery and graze periodsRead recovery off leaf stage and regrowth instead of off a date on the wall plannerExplain why a fixed rotation is a fixed error on veld whose growth rate changes through the season 13 min
- 17 Designing the Grazing Plan: Paddocks, Water and the Piosphere Settles how to lay out camps, water and movement so that the place animals concentrate works for you rather than against you. Lay out camps and water points against the recovery arithmetic rather than the fence line you inheritedPlace the piosphere on purpose, using your soil form map, instead of discovering it three years laterObtain a defensible infrastructure cost from three dated written quotes, because no verified SA benchmark exists 13 min
- 18 The Contested Evidence, Steelmanned Settles what is genuinely known and genuinely disputed about AMP and holistic planned grazing, and what a farmer should therefore do. State the strongest published case against AMP grazing outcomes and the strongest published rebuttalIdentify the precise qualifier under which a measured difference has actually been foundSay which claims you may make to a buyer or a certifier and which you may not 16 min
- 19 Herding, Kraaling and the Labour Question Settles whether a herder can substitute for fencing in South Africa, and what kraaling actually does to fertility. Cost a herder against the losses a herder prevents, with family labour priced in and the wage priced at today's rateState what kraaling moves, what it costs elsewhere on the farm, and where it may and may not be sitedApply low-stress handling principles that make frequent moves possible with one person 13 min