Adopting Rotational Grazing and Cover Crops: Drivers and Complementarities

Both rotational grazing (RG) and cover crop (CC) grazing extend the grazing period while requiring additional investment in fencing and water systems. Using a 2023 farmer survey in South Dakota, we found that 33.9% and 9.3% of respondents had adopted RG and CC grazing only, respectively, while 37.2% had adopted both practices. Our regression results further highlight the complementary relationship between RG and CC grazing, which indicates the potential to expedite CC adoption through financially incentivizing RG implementation. Additionally, integrated crop and livestock enterprises with a more balanced share of grassland and cropland acreage could be a target group for promoting CC adoption.