Swales and strip grazing

Has anyone successfully integrated strip grazing cattle  and swales?  I am a big fan of Greg Judy and I try to mimic him as much as possible. He does not like swales and cattle.  I believe his issue is his strips were perpendicular to his swales and his cattle tore up the swales going up and down them espescially after a rain.  I can see that.  

In the Greg Judy style, you advance the cattle daily (or hourly but I dont have time for that) and give them access to water in the pasture they have already grazed.

The only way I can see swales and strip grazing cattle working is if the swales ended in  an alley and I only gave them access to one swale at a time.  The effort to build the swales aside, it seems like a lot of extra work.  Ive not put in swales on my property yet mainly because I have been lucky enough to live in a very resiliant climate in Eastern Ontario.  I am between major two rivers (Ottawa and St-Lawrence) and close enough to Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard that rain has always fallen reliably . I could nt really justify the expense . But this year we have nt had rain since early July.  Normally come Labour Day we would get Tropical Depressions bringing welcome rain. So far this year (Sept 22, 2025 as of this writing)  not a one.  Normally Id be moving cattle onto pastures they had nt grazed since May and there would be lush grass waiting for them.  This year not so much.  Maybe its time for swales? But it needs to work with my cattle operation.

If I did swales I would plant Honey Locust, black locust and persimions (ala Trees for Grazers)  on top of the swales.  But I am on the fence as it were , maybe I just plant the trees. Let their shade keep moisture in the ground.  So I would love to hear experiences of people who have put in swales in their cattle operation.

It can work, but it takes A LOT more fence and time dealing with it.  It makes it extremely hard to adjust paddock size to match grass growth conditions.  Cattle will ruin swales, and quickly; you can’t let them run loose.  

It I were to do it again, I would make multiple alleyways so you can cross the swales more than just the ends.  Or do the crescent mini swales with guilds that you can put a circle fence around and run your paddocks wherever you need for the conditions and herd.

Swales are sometimes described as a tree growing system. You plant trees on the down slope side of the swale and their roots benefit from the sunk water and accumulated fertile detritus in the pit.  They concentrate sparse water to benefit the trees.

What advantage are you hoping to see in a grass growing system? Are you seeing much surface flow that isn't already sinking into the soil? Grass is usually pretty good at sinking in rainwater - more so than bare soil at least.

Hi Jeff,
That is a great question. Could I ask why you wish to put those two particular techniques together?

I think it could certainly work, depending on how many cattle and how far apart your swales are... but I wonder if there is a better solution. Swales are designs to hold water in the landscape and grow trees. Do you need to hold water and/or grow trees?

Strip grazing, or paddock shift, or similar techniques are designed to grow grass and forage and cows. They are designed for two different situations.

The reason I ask, is that I have the bad habit of falling in love with a specific technique and trying to fit my land to that technique. I think a better way is to find the technique that fits my land and needs. The old quote, "you don't need a drill bit you need a hole".

Thank you R Scott , Michael, and Matt for your replies.  You reaffirmed my doubts about swales in my situation.   Matt your closing statement of when you need a hole not a drill was spot on.  I need more water retention not necessarily swales.  My land has not been in row crops since at least the 1960s, probably longer.  Just hay and beef so I am lucky enough to have high organic matter in my soil.  Trees grow just fine on my property all on their own. I fact they have taken over some of my pastures after years of neglect. I am busy clearing low quality trees so more sun gets down to the grass.  I do want to grow trees, but trees that will grow food for my cattle namely honey and black locusts( for nitrogen) ;  persimons ; apples; and pears  . I also wonder the sanity of cutting down elms and silver maples to replace then with my desired trees.   But I want to make my land more productive.  Plus I heat with wood so nothing is wasted.

I hope the shade of the trees will help keep moisture in the ground  .  I do notice that my best grass grows  under the light dappled shade of black locust.  So I think that is what I will do , plant rows of the above mentioned trees instead of swales.

I think swales are so emblematic of permaculture, that I sometimes think how can I call myself a permaculturalist if I dont have swales.  Crazy but true.  I also don't have a rocket mass heater

Anyways thanks for reading my ramblings and for your input.

Hi Jeff,
It sounds like you are halfway to a silvo pasture :)

For people who are not familiar with the term, it is intentionally using trees and livestock together to mimic a savanna eco system.  This allows livestock and timber to be harvested from the same land.