Integrated grazing (sheep)
Sheep managing the cover and fertilising, in place of machines.
Integrated grazing brings the animal back to the vineyard. Sheep — typically over the winter-spring dormant period, before budburst — graze the cover, control weeds and return nutrients as dung and urine, in a single pass.
Well managed, it replaces mowing and fertiliser passes with animal work, stimulates cover tillering and drives nutrient cycling. It takes planning — stocking rate, timing and spray residues — but closes the loop like few practices do.
Effort
Medium to high — needs animal management or a shepherd partnership.
Cost
Variable — can earn revenue or save mowing and fertiliser.
Time to result
Immediate on cover management; 2–4 seasons on soil.
What this practice regenerates
Impact by goal — click through for detail and metrics.
Soil health & structure
Dung returns organic matter and microbiology, and light treading incorporates residue, stimulating soil life.
Time horizon: 2–4 seasons
What to measure for this pairing
Input reduction & vine resilience
Dung and urine fertilise the soil and grazing controls weeds, cutting nitrogen fertiliser, mowing and herbicide.
Time horizon: Immediate to 2 seasons
What to measure for this pairing
Biodiversity & ecosystem
Grazing creates a mosaic of vegetation heights and reintroduces the animal into the system, enriching the food web.
Time horizon: 1–3 seasons
What to measure for this pairing
Carbon sequestration & climate
Replacing mechanical mowing with grazing saves diesel, and animal-driven cycling helps retain carbon in cover biomass.
Time horizon: Immediate to 3 seasons
What to measure for this pairing
How it works
Grazing recycles cover biomass through the animal, returning nitrogen and microbiology to the soil as dung, while light treading incorporates residue.
How to implement
- 1Define the safe grazing window (dormancy, before budburst).
- 2Calculate stocking rate for the available cover.
- 3Respect the safety intervals of any applied treatments.
- 4Log entries, exits and grazed plots.
What to measure
Frequently asked
Won’t the sheep eat the vines?
In the winter-spring dormancy, before budburst, there is no tender foliage within reach. Outside that window you need barriers or short breeds.
What about spray residues?
It is essential to respect safety intervals and record what was applied to each plot before introducing animals — something the field notebook guarantees.
Related reading
Related practices
How GrapeFlow helps
Implement and document this practice by plot, with an audit-ready history.
Electronic field notebook (Portugal)
In Portugal, log every operation — cover sowing, grazing, composting, mowing — by plot and date, with an audit-ready history that proves the practice over the years.
Phytosanitary register & copper (Portugal)
In Portugal, every treatment is logged with product, rate and active substance, and copper is summed on the 7-year rolling mean — direct proof of input reduction.
Plot registry
Every practice tied to the right plot, with area, variety, rootstock and history — so you know where you did what and can compare blocks.