Anderson Mutasa, who heads up operations at the Tlhokomela Mobu Farm near Radium in Limpopo, explains to Maile Matsimela, Digital Editor at African Farming, how high-density grazing has allowed them to farm a mere 60 hectares intensively with cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens.
The Tlhokomela Mobu farm is managed by Anderson Mutasa and a team, including Hendrik O’Neal and Sally, with their dedicated workers. Their holistic, nature-based approach, which maintains a healthy balance between livestock and the ecosystem, has demonstrated that regenerative farming can be both economically and ecologically viable, even on smaller land parcels.
The farm employs strategic high-density grazing with cattle as the first species in the rotation. Using movable electric fencing, cattle are confined to small paddocks, where they perform several essential ecosystem functions.
Cattle: Leaders of the Pack
“Cattle are the cornerstone of our regenerative operation,” explains Anderson. “They’re our primary grass management tool.” The process begins with cattle acting as the primary landscape managers, trampling and eating tall grass with their tongues, while their hooves loosen and soften the soil surface. “The cattle mow down tall grass while depositing manure and urine across the paddock,” Anderson elaborates. Their heavy grazing also breaks up hard soil surfaces and pushes seeds further into the ground. The strategic movement of cattle also forms natural firebreaks around the property’s perimeter, demonstrating how careful management utilises livestock as practical landscape management tools.
Sheep: Selective Touch
As cattle move to new paddocks, sheep enter areas recently vacated by the bovines roughly three to four days later, allowing for a short rest period. “Sheep graze differently from cattle,” Anderson points out. “While cattle wrap their tongues around grass and pull, sheep use their narrow muzzles and split upper lips to nibble plants that cattle typically avoid selectively.” This non-selective grazing creates plant diversity across the landscape. The sheep target weedy species and plants with broader leaves that cattle often bypass, effectively managing the understory vegetation without the use of herbicides.
“Our sheep are primarily Pedi and Damara crosses,” Anderson notes. “They’re hardy, adaptable, and excellent mothers that lamb easily without assistance, which is perfect for our low-input approach.” The smaller hooves of sheep provide a different soil disturbance pattern than cattle, reaching areas where cattle hooves don’t impact. Their manure also has a different nutrient profile, adding another layer of fertility to the regenerating soil.
Also read: How pigs and chickens complete the regenerative cycle at Tlhokomela Mobu Farm
