Livestock grazing comparison

Last updated February 26, 2020

Livestock grazing comparison is a method of comparing the numbers and density of livestock grazing in agriculture. Various units of measurement are used, usually based on the grazing equivalent of one adult cow, or in some areas on that of one sheep. Many different schemes exist, giving various values to the grazing effect of different types of animal.

Use

Livestock grazing comparison units are used for assessing the overall effect on grazing land of different types of animals (or of mixtures of animals), expressed either as a total for a whole field or farm, or as units per hectare (ha) or acre. For example, using UK government Livestock Units (LUs) from the 2003 scheme^[1] a particular 10 ha (25-acre) pasture field might be able to support 15 adult cattle or 25 horses or 100 sheep: in that scheme each of these would be regarded as being 15 LUs, or 1.5 LUs per hectare (about 0.6 LUs per acre).

Different species (and breeds) of livestock do not all graze in the same way, and this is also taken into account when deciding the appropriate number of units for grazing land. For example, horses naturally graze unevenly, eating short grass areas first and only grazing longer turf if there is insufficient short grass; cattle graze longer grass preferentially, tending to produce a uniform sward; goats tend to browse shrubs if these are available. As these feeding styles are complementary, a pasture may therefore support slightly more units of mixed species than of each species separately. Another consequence of different grazing styles is variation between species in the number of units that can lead to overgrazing – for example, horses may overgraze the short parts of a pasture even when taller grass is still available.

Livestock grazing comparison units are used by many governments to measure and control the intensity of farming. For example, until 2004 the UK Government had an extensification scheme which paid additional subsidy to farmers who kept their livestock at less than an average of 1.4 LUs per hectare.^[1]

Schemes

Although different schemes have similar aims, they vary in complexity and detail. For example, some schemes give no value to a young calf, but an additional value to a cow together with her calf at foot. Some give values to different-sized animals of the same species, or different values to the same species in different regions. Most schemes use a calculation based on the weight of the animal. Some use figures for animals of different sizes which are directly proportional to their weight – for example the 2006 UK Government scheme uses a figure for ruminants of the animal's weight (in kilogrammes) divided by 650.^[2] Others include an adjustment for the proportionally higher metabolic rate of smaller animals, according to Kleiber's law, which states that the metabolic rate of most animals varies according to their weight raised to the power of approximately 0.75. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization's Tropical Livestock Unit is based on the weight of the animal raised to the power of 0.75, compared with the equivalent figure for a "tropical cow" of 250 kg (550 lb).^[3]

The following is a summary of some schemes in common use, using the most closely comparable categories:

Unit	Livestock Unit: UK government 2006 ^[2]	Livestock Unit: The John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook^[4]	Animal unit ^[5]	FAO Livestock Unit (North America)^[6]^[7]	FAO Livestock Unit (Sub-Saharan Africa)^[6]^[7]	Tropical Livestock Unit (Unité Bovin Tropical)^[3]	Unité de Gros Bétail, Livestock Unit^[8]^[9]	Dry Sheep Equivalent ^[10]	Ewe Equivalent, Stock Unit or Livestock Unit^[11]^[12]
Abbreviation	LU, LSU	LU, LSU	AU			TLU, UBT	UGB, LU	DSE	EE, LSU
Region	UK	UK	US	North America	Sub-Saharan Africa	Tropics	Europe	Australia	New Zealand
Unit equivalent to	Dairy cow	Dairy cow	Beef cow			Tropical cow	Dairy cow producing 3,000 l (790 US gal) milk	2-year-old dry Merino sheep	Ewe with one lamb
Weight equivalent of one unit	650 kg (1,430 lb)		455 kg (1,003 lb)			250 kg (550 lb)	600 kg (1,300 lb)	45 kg (99 lb)	55 kg (121 lb)
Dairy cow	1.00	1.00		1.00	0.50	0.70	1.00	20.0	8.0
Dry medium beef cow	0.70	0.75	1.00	1.00	0.50		0.80	8.0	6.3
Medium beef cow suckling	0.90	0.80		1.00	0.50			18.0
Calf under 6 months	0.00	0.34					0.10	0.0	2.5
Cow and unweaned calf	0.90	1.14					0.90	18.0	8.8
Heifer or steer under 1 year	0.60	0.34					0.30	10.0
Heifer or steer under 2 years	0.60	0.65	0.80				0.40	12.0	4.5
Heifer or steer over 2 years	0.70	0.80					0.60	9.0	6.0
Bull	0.90	0.65		1.00	0.50		0.60	10.0	6.0
Horse	1.00	0.80	1.20	0.80	0.80		0.70	^[13] 10.0
Medium sheep	0.08	0.08	0.20	0.15	0.10	0.10	0.17	1.0	1.0
Goat	0.10	0.16		0.10	0.10	0.10	0.17	^[14] 1.0	2.0
Bison	1.10						0.80
Water buffalo	0.70			1.00	0.50		0.80
Llama	0.25	0.45					0.17
Camel	0.75			1.10	1.10	1.00
Pig		0.20		0.25	0.20		0.26

Central Europe

The size of a livestock farm in Central Europe was traditionally given in Stößen (singular: Stoß) This unit of measurement was subsequently replaced by the grazing livestock unit or Großvieheinheit (GV).

Stoß

The Stoß is a unit of cattle stock density used in the Alps. For each Alm or Alp it is worked out how many Stoß (Swiss: Stössen) can be grazed (bestoßen); one cow equals one Stoß, 3 bulls equal 2 Stöße, a calf is ¼ Stoß, a horse of 1, 2 or 3 years old is worth 1, 2 or 3 Stöße, a pig equals ¼, a goat or a sheep is ⅕ Stoß.

In Switzerland a Normalstoß is defined as a Großvieheinheit that is "summered" for 100 days.^[15] For small livestock there are corresponding conversions. Depending on the quality of the Alp or Alm a full Stoß may require between 1/2 ha and 2 ha.

The Stoß is divided into feet or Füße. A full Stoß is the pasture required by a cow, and equals 4 Füße. Bulls, calves, etc., are a fraction of that, e.g. a one-year old bull needs 2 Füße.

Großvieheinheit

A Großvieheinheit (GV or GVE) is a conversion key used to compare different farm animals on the basis of their live weight. A Großvieheinheit represents 500 kilogrammes (roughly the weight of an adult bull). In the wild it excludes small animals like amphibians and insects, but is used for game in forestry and hunting.

Examples are:

Calf 50–100 kg = 0.1–0.2 GV
Young milk cow 450–650 kg = 0.9–1.3 GV
Milk cow = 1 GV
Horse = 0.8–1.5 GV
Boar = 0.3 GV
Domestic pig = 0.12 GV
Piglet = 0.01 GV
Sheep = 0.1 GV
100 Chickens = 0.8–1 GV
320 egg-laying chickens = 1 GV

A more precise unit is the "fodder-consuming livestock unit" or Raufutter verzehrende Großvieheinheit (RGV), which corrects the value above based on the demands of a given species and direct, near-natural supply of food (fibre-rich roughage) without concentrates.

The "tropical livestock unit" or (tropische Vieheinheit) or TLU is based on a live weight of 250 kg.^[16]^[17]

Aquaculture and hunting

Analogous units are :

Fish population (Fischbesatz) in fishing, is a measure of the stock of fish in a waterbody
Game population (Wildbesatz), in hunting is the stock of game in a reserve^[18]

Related Research Articles

Arable land is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops. Alternatively, for the purposes of agricultural statistics, the term often has a more precise definition: "Arable land is the land under temporary agricultural crops, temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow. The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for 'Arable land' are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable." A more concise definition appearing in the Eurostat glossary similarly refers to actual rather than potential uses: "land worked regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation".

Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature reserves. It can also be caused by immobile, travel restricted populations of native or non-native wild animals. However, "overgrazing" is a controversial concept, based on equilibrium system theory. A strong indicator of overgrazing is where additional feed needs to be brought in from outside the farm, often to support livestock through the winter. Traditionally this feed was sourced on the farm, with fewer animals being kept and some fields being used for hay and silage production. Modern farm businesses often choose to keep more animals than their land can support alone, buying in external feed to offset this.

Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, eggs, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding and the raising of livestock.

Pasture land is used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs. Pasture is typically grazed throughout the summer, in contrast to meadow which is ungrazed or used for grazing only after being mown to make hay for animal fodder. Pasture in a wider sense additionally includes rangelands, other unenclosed pastoral systems, and land types used by wild animals for grazing or browsing.

In agriculture, rotational grazing, as opposed to continuous grazing, describes many systems of pasturing, whereby livestock are moved to portions of the pasture, called paddocks, while the other portions rest. Each paddock must provide all the needs of the livestock, such as food, water and sometimes shade and shelter. The approach often produces lower outputs than more intensive animal farming operations, but requires lower inputs, and therefore sometimes produces higher net farm income per animal.

Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions, it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base. In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change.

Feedlot An array of pens for feeding livestock for human consumption

A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used for the efficient raising and finishing of livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) in the United States and intensive livestock operations (ILOs) or confined feeding operations (CFO) in Canada. They may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens.

In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are used to convert grass and other forage into meat, milk, wool and other products, often on land unsuitable for arable farming.

Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry, historically by nomadic people who moved with their herds. The species involved include various herding livestock, including cattle, camels, goats, yaks, llamas, reindeer, horses and sheep.

Pastoral farming is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, arable farming concentrates on crops rather than livestock. Finally, Mixed farming incorporates livestock and crops on a single farm. Some mixed farmers grow crops purely as fodder for their livestock; some crop farmers grow fodder and sell and in some cases pastoralists. Pastoral farming is a non-nomadic form of pastoralism in which the livestock farmer has some form of ownership of the land used, giving the farmer more economic incentive to improve the land. Unlike other pastoral systems, pastoral farmers are sedentary and do not change locations in search for fresh resources. Rather, pastoral farmers adjust their pastures to fit the needs of their animals. Improvements include drainage, stock tanks, irrigation and sowing clover.

Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production. The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operations, backgrounding, and feedlot operations. The production cycle of the animals start at cow-calf operations; this operation is designed specifically to breed cows for their offspring. From here the calves are backgrounded for a feedlot. Animals grown specifically for the feedlot are known as feeder cattle, the goal of these animals is fattening. Animals not grown for a feedlot are typically female and are commonly known as replacement heifers. While the principal use of beef cattle is meat production, other uses include leather, and beef by-products used in candy, shampoo, cosmetics, insulin and inhalers.

The environmental impact of meat production varies because of the wide variety of agricultural practices employed around the world. All agricultural practices have been found to have a variety of effects on the environment. Some of the environmental effects that have been associated with meat production are pollution through fossil fuel usage, animal methane, effluent waste, and water and land consumption. Meat is obtained through a variety of methods, including organic farming, free range farming, intensive livestock production, subsistence agriculture, hunting, and fishing.

The concept of an animal unit (AU) has traditionally been used in North America to facilitate planning, analysis and administration of forage use by grazing livestock, but the term has also had other applications. The term has been variously defined by regulation in different jurisdictions, and by livestock management specialists, rangeland resource managers and others. Consequently, when using or interpreting the term, care is needed to ensure that a definition appropriate for the purpose is being used. Most definitions are based on the concept that a 1000-pound (454 kg) cow, with or without an unweaned calf, is one animal unit, with such a cow being assumed to consume 26 pounds of forage dry matter per day.

The Latxa is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Basque Country of Spain. Mostly contained within the provinces of Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Navarre, Latxa are dairy sheep whose unpasteurized milk is used to produce Idiazábal and Roncal cheeses. There are two sub-types of the breed, a dark-faced and a blonde.

Livestock is commonly defined as domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce labor and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to those that are bred for consumption, while other times it refers only to farmed ruminants, such as cattle and goats. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb as livestock and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category.

Cattle, or cows, are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos taurus.

A ranch is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep most often applies to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Western Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. People who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as horses, elk, American bison or even ostrich, emu, and alpaca.

A cow–calf operation is a method of raising beef cattle in which a permanent herd of cows is kept by a farmer or rancher to produce calves for later sale. Cow–calf operations are one of the key aspects of the beef industry in the United States and many other countries. In the British Isles, a cow–calf operation may be known as a single-suckler herd. The goal of a cow–calf operation is to produce young beef cattle, which are usually sold. A rancher who works within such a model is often called a "cow–calf operator" in the United States.

Agriculture in Wales has in the past been a major part of the economy of Wales, a largely rural country that forms part of the United Kingdom. Wales is mountainous and has a mild, wet climate. This results in only a small proportion of the land area being suitable for arable cropping, but grass for the grazing of livestock is present in abundance. As a proportion of the national economy, the importance of agriculture has become much reduced; a high proportion of the population now live in the towns and cities in the south of the country and tourism has become an important form of income in the countryside and on the coast. Arable cropping is limited to the flatter parts and elsewhere dairying and livestock farming predominate.

Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGR) are a subset of genetic resources and a specific element of agricultural biodiversity. The term animal genetic resources refers specifically to the genetic resources of avian and mammalian species, which are used for food and agriculture purposes. Further terms referring to AnGR are "farm animal genetic resources" or "livestock diversity".

References

1 2 Cattle Scheme Literature: Notes for Guidance 2003, UK Rural Payments Agency, 2003 (pp 11 & 25)
1 2 Chesterton, Chris, Revised Calculation of Livestock Units for Higher Level Stewardship Agreements, Technical Advice Note 33 (Second edition), Rural Development Service, 2006 (Table figures for unlisted ruminants calculated from weights given in relevant Wikipedia articles) Archived June 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
1 2 FAO paper about Tropical Livestock Units Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Nix, J. 2009. Farm Management Pocketbook. 39th Ed. Corby: The Andersons Centre.
↑ Jasper Womach, Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-12-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
1 2 P Chilonda and J Otte, Indicators to monitor trends in livestock production at national, regional and international levels, Livestock Research for Rural Development, 18 (8), 2006, Article #117
1 2 Compendium of Agricultural-Environmental Indicators, Annexe 2: Definitions, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (includes different values for various regions)
↑ Coefficients de conversion des animaux en unités de gros bétail (French): Conversion factors for livestock units.
↑ La Commission Européen: Agriculture et Environnement (French) Archived 2010-01-02 at the Wayback Machine European Commission, Agriculture and Environment (English version).
↑ McLaren, Colin, Agriculture Note AG0590: Dry sheep equivalents for comparing different classes of livestock, State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, 1997. Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Cornforth, I S and Sinclair, A G, Fertiliser Recommendations for Pastures and Crops in New Zealand, 2nd Ed (New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture, Wellington, New Zealand, 1984), quoted in A History of the Stock Unit System, New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
↑ New Zealand Livestock Units on Ruralfind Archived 2010-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Horse stocking rates in Dry Sheep Equivalents
↑ McGregor, Bruce, Agriculture Note AG0998: A Guide to the Grazing Requirements of Fibre and Meat Goats, State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, 2007
↑ Glossary. Archived 2012-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Casalp.
↑ Tropical Livestock Units (TLU) Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine . Paper about livestock units from Livestock and Environment Toolbox. FAO (auf fao.org).
↑ P. Chilonda, J. Otte: Indicators to monitor trends in livestock production at national, regional and international levels. In: Livestock Research for Rural Development 18 (8), 2006, Article #117 (auf lrrd.org).
↑ Besatz, Begriffsunterteilung. duden.de

External links

FAO discussion paper, explaining relationship between LSU, UBT and UGB.

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[UK2003-1] 1 2 Cattle Scheme Literature: Notes for Guidance 2003, UK Rural Payments Agency, 2003 (pp 11 & 25)

[UK2006-2] 1 2 Chesterton, Chris, Revised Calculation of Livestock Units for Higher Level Stewardship Agreements, Technical Advice Note 33 (Second edition), Rural Development Service, 2006 (Table figures for unlisted ruminants calculated from weights given in relevant Wikipedia articles) Archived June 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[FAO3-3] 1 2 FAO paper about Tropical Livestock Units Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Nix, J. 2009. Farm Management Pocketbook. 39th Ed. Corby: The Andersons Centre.

[5] Jasper Womach, Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-12-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[FAO1-6] 1 2 P Chilonda and J Otte, Indicators to monitor trends in livestock production at national, regional and international levels, Livestock Research for Rural Development, 18 (8), 2006, Article #117

[FAO2-7] 1 2 Compendium of Agricultural-Environmental Indicators, Annexe 2: Definitions, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (includes different values for various regions)

[8] Coefficients de conversion des animaux en unités de gros bétail (French): Conversion factors for livestock units.

[9] La Commission Européen: Agriculture et Environnement (French) Archived 2010-01-02 at the Wayback Machine European Commission, Agriculture and Environment (English version).

[10] McLaren, Colin, Agriculture Note AG0590: Dry sheep equivalents for comparing different classes of livestock, State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, 1997. Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine

[11] Cornforth, I S and Sinclair, A G, Fertiliser Recommendations for Pastures and Crops in New Zealand, 2nd Ed (New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture, Wellington, New Zealand, 1984), quoted in A History of the Stock Unit System, New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

[12] New Zealand Livestock Units on Ruralfind Archived 2010-05-25 at the Wayback Machine

[13] Horse stocking rates in Dry Sheep Equivalents

[14] McGregor, Bruce, Agriculture Note AG0998: A Guide to the Grazing Requirements of Fibre and Meat Goats, State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, 2007

[15] Glossary. Archived 2012-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Casalp.

[16] Tropical Livestock Units (TLU) Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine . Paper about livestock units from Livestock and Environment Toolbox. FAO (auf fao.org).

[17] P. Chilonda, J. Otte: Indicators to monitor trends in livestock production at national, regional and international levels. In: Livestock Research for Rural Development 18 (8), 2006, Article #117 (auf lrrd.org).

[18] Besatz, Begriffsunterteilung. duden.de