RGP Tool Page 4 “Daily Log” lets us compare, day-to-day, what is actually happening compared with what we planned. This is where the chickens come home to roost, where the tire meets the road . . . where we finesse the grazing decisions.
RGP Tool Page 4 “Daily Log” contains the numbers from RGP Page 3 “Tally,” for how many days the current flock can be in each paddock this year, but spread out with empty columns in between each month.
In the pen-and-notebook log each day we write how many animals went out to pasture, as well as what time they started grazing and what time they ended grazing in that day’s paddock.
(We also keep a general, running awareness of how much rain our local weather station reports, because rainfall affects how much forage will grow in the pasture.)
We keep a printout of RGP Page 4 “Daily Log” alongside the pen-and-notebook.
Each day, on RGP Page 4 “Daily Log,” we mark a Roman Numeral strike in that month’s blank column, next to that day’s paddock (see picture above).
This way, as the month progresses, we can compare the accumulated Roman Numeral strikes in the white space with the tally number for that paddock for that month, found in the column of numbers.
This keeps daily awareness on whether we are staying on track with the plan we made at the beginning of the year. It also lets us adjust our plan as life unfolds.
Having this system overcomes the inertia of trying to figure out, without a plan, where to put the flock on any given day. Without a plan, if we are tired, we go for the nearest, easiest paddock. Without a plan, if it is hot, we go for the best shade for the animals. And, without a plan, we run our pastures into the ground and destroy root mass, from the accumulated impact of short-sighted decisions.
With a plan, we gain energy to do what is best for the animals and the land. It’s already figured out. We just keep track as we go, watch conditions on the ground and in the flock, and enjoy the benefits of rotational grazing as part of our carbon farming.