Sign up
←

Set Up Your Pasture

Boundary, cross fences, reference paddocks

One-time setup that every grazing style builds on. (Rotating a few pastures without maps? You can skip all of this — see Simple pasture rotation.)

Where this guide gets you: boundary mapped, strips and paddocks living inside it.
Where this guide gets you: boundary mapped, strips and paddocks living inside it.

1 · Create the pasture & map its boundary

Open Pastures, name your pasture, tap Create pasture. Then outline the perimeter — three ways:

  1. 1📍 GPS walk (most accurate): walk to each corner and tap Drop boundary GPS point. The button shows live accuracy in feet — wait for a low number before dropping. At least 3 corners, then Save boundary.
  2. 2🖊️ Draw on map (fastest): tap the corners on the satellite photo, then Done — save boundary. No signal needed.
  3. 3📋 Import a map file saved from Google Earth or a GPS app.
Step 1: all three boundary methods in one place — the ? button explains each.
Step 1: all three boundary methods in one place — the ? button explains each.
⚠️ Google Earth: export with File → Export as KML file. "Save Place As" from the right-click menu makes a file whose shape silently disappears. Only fully closed shapes import.

Rule of thumb: permanent lines deserve GPS; quick shapes are fine drawn. GPS wins under tree cover and on irregular lines; drawing wins when the fence is visible from the sky. Saved boundaries can be nudged later with ✏️ Edit boundary dots and backed up with ⬇️ Export KML.

2 · Cross fences

Permanent interior fence lines, drawn in orange on every map. ✏️ Draw fence line (two taps minimum) or 📍 GPS fence line (walk it), name it, Finish.

Boundary (dashed), the cross fence (orange), and reference cells on the permanent map.
Boundary (dashed), the cross fence (orange), and reference cells on the permanent map.

3 · Fixed reference paddocks (optional)

Semi-permanent divisions you want visible on every map — context for your moves. These never hold animals; the paddocks you actually move animals into are made in the grazing guides.

Step 3 draws the reference layer — visual only.
Step 3 draws the reference layer — visual only.
⚠️ Two kinds of "paddock": reference paddocks (here — a drawing) vs rotation paddocks (in the grazing guides — clickable, trackable). Drawing here and wondering why you can't move animals in is the classic mix-up.

Where to next

Pick your grazing style: daily strips with a cross fence, rotating fixed paddocks, or simple whole-pasture rotation.

Next guide: Strip grazing with a cross fence →All guides