Monitoring for a Flourishing Field
- sloscalzo6
- Sep 10
- 4 min read
As a young and impatient man, I grew frustrated when my farming mentor would pause work to smoke. I saw it as wasted time. Looking back, I suspect he felt a similar impatience when I overlooked important details in the field. He was always the first to notice the subtle things—a cow in heat, the faint signs of illness, the beginning of erosion on a slope.
Over time, I realized those “idle” cigarette breaks weren’t wasted at all. They created space for him to observe. While we now know smoking is bad for our health, taking time to actively watch and reflect is good for the health of our pastures.
For the past several weeks, we’ve shared management practices for growing a flourishing field. But how do we know when those strategies are working? What exactly should we be looking for?
It’s hard to detect slow changes when you see something every day. That’s why monitoring—whether personal and informal, or standardized and objective—needs to be intentional and actionable. Measure what you’ll actually use. What gets measured gets managed. And your recordkeeping system should be one that works for you, not against you.
Useful Production Data for Pasture Health
Production data can tell us a lot about pasture conditions. Tracking average daily gain (ADG) gives insight into how well livestock are converting forage into weight. Monitoring grazing days per animal unit helps determine how efficiently pasture resources are being used. Recording forage growth rates shows whether plant productivity is improving, declining, or staying steady.
Grazing charts are an especially valuable tool—not just for planning rotations, but also for recording when and where animals grazed throughout the season. Over time, these records reveal patterns and provide a clear picture of the long-term effects of management changes on specific paddocks.
Thinking Inside the Box
Some factors, like weather, are beyond our control, yet they still influence average daily gain (ADG), grazing days, and forage growth. This is where more objective assessments can help. One simple method is to use exclosures—small fenced-off areas that livestock cannot reach. Even an exclosure as small as 16 square feet can yield valuable information. By comparing the protected area to the grazed pasture, you can see the difference between actual forage consumed and what was potentially available. It also shows how plants regrow under grazing pressure compared to haying.
Exclosures reveal livestock grazing preferences, highlighting which species are eaten first and which are avoided. They can also show how much wildlife browsing affects establishment in newly seeded pastures. In some cases, old fence lines can serve the same purpose, especially for identifying compaction problems.
Monitoring by Camera Lens
A quick and easy seasonal practice is to take photographs from the same spot each year. Capture one image looking across the field and another looking down at the ground. Use a fixed landmark or place a visible marker so you can return to the exact location in future years.
The University of Nebraska’s GrassSnap app makes this even easier by helping you relocate the same spots year after year and catalog your photos. Over time, these images become a powerful visual record—especially for monitoring problem areas.
Step-Point Monitoring
Another straightforward method is step-point monitoring. Walk along a fixed transect line, stopping at set intervals to record what’s under the tip of your boot. Classify each point as bare soil, litter, or live vegetation. If it’s vegetation, note whether it is desirable or undesirable, and categorize it by grasses, forbs, or specific species.
To be effective, this method requires consistency—use the same route, the same spacing between steps, and a sufficient sample size of at least 100 points. This repeatability allows you to track subtle changes in plant composition and ground cover over time.
Formal Scoring Systems
For those who prefer a more structured approach, the USDA NRCS Pasture Condition Score (PCS) system provides a standardized method for evaluating pasture health. By assessing ten key indicators, PCS helps pinpoint areas needing improvement and offers a way to track changes year to year.
Beyond these methods, several other field assessments can provide valuable insights when repeated over time. Compaction readings taken with a penetrometer reveal how easily roots and water can penetrate the soil. A complete soil analysis every three years helps track nutrient levels and pH changes. Plant coverage percentages can be measured quickly using the Canopeo app, while water infiltration tests show how well the soil absorbs rainfall.
Brix readings, which measure plant sugar content, can indicate forage quality. Aggregate stability—or slake tests—measure soil structure and resistance to erosion. And keeping track of worm counts and dung beetle activity provides a window into the biological health of the soil ecosystem.
My mentor’s “cigarette breaks” were always about more than the smoke—they were about creating space to observe, reflect, and better understand the farm. We don’t need cigarettes to create those purposeful pauses. A timed coffee break, a phone reminder, or the Take Five safety rule are simple ways to build in moments for monitoring. In agriculture, such intentional pauses, supported by diligent record keeping, allow us to recognize subtle changes before they become more serious problems. This practice not only safeguards the immediate health of our pastures, but also ensures the resilience and productivity of the land so our pastures can flourish for generations to come.
Find more posts and grazing resources here: https://www.northjerseyrcd.org/grazing-resources
Click links below for other articles in the Flourishing Fields Series:
1st post: Understanding Your Soils
2nd post: Grazing Animals are Good for the Grass
3rd post: Timing is Everything
4th post: Making Sugar While the Sun Shines
This post: Monitoring for a Flourishing Field
Craig Haney
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