Merging Pastures

PastureMap lets you combine two or more neighboring pastures into a single pasture. This is useful when you have taken out a fence, or when you have been grazing several pastures as one and want your records to match how you run the ranch.

Before you start

• The pastures you want to merge must be within 33 ft (10m) of each other. Pastures further apart do not appear as options.
• A pasture with active subdivisions cannot be merged. See Merging a pasture that has subdivisions below.
• Merging cannot be undone. If you want to divide them back - subdivide and convert to standalone pastures
• The pastures you merge are retired, not deleted. Their grazing history is kept.

Merging pastures

Selecting the pastures to merge

1. On the map, click the pasture you want to merge into. This is the pasture you are keeping as the base.
2. In the Item Summary panel, click Merge Pastures.

3. Under Step 1: Select Pastures, select each pasture you want to merge in. The distance from your base pasture is shown next to each name. You can also select them by clicking on a map
4. Click Next.

Naming and adjusting the merged pasture

1. Under Step 2: Name and Adjust Pasture, enter a name in Merged Pasture Name. This is filled in with your base pasture's name, so change it if you want something different.
2. Check the combined boundary on the map. To adjust it, click a boundary line to add a point, drag a point to move it, or right-click a point to delete it.
3. Click Next.

Adjusting herd moves

This step only appears if a herd is grazing on one of the pastures you are merging. Because that pasture is being retired, PastureMap needs to know where the herd should go. You have two options.

To move the herd onto the merged pasture:

1. On the Move tab, click Select from list and choose the merged pasture.
2. Confirm the Since date and time. These default to the time the herd started grazing its current pasture.
3. Enter Planned grazing days if you use them. This is optional.
4. Open Additional information to record available dry matter, a note, or a photo for the move out and the move in. This is optional.
5. Click Save.

To end the herd's grazing instead of moving grazing location:

1. Click the Suspend tab.
2. Set the Until date and time.
3. Open Additional information to add details if you want to. This is optional.
4. Click Save.

Merging a pasture that has subdivisions

If a pasture has active subdivisions, Merge Pastures is grayed out. You have two ways to clear this, and they give you different results.

Use Retire Subdivisions if you want to keep the pasture whole and merge it with a neighboring pasture. This removes the subdivisions and leaves the pasture itself in place, ready to merge.

Use Convert to Pastures if you want each subdivision to become a pasture in its own right. Converting retires the original pasture, so you end up with more pastures than you started with rather than fewer. If your goal is to merge, retiring the subdivisions is usually the simpler path.

Both options are in the Item Summary panel for the subdivided pasture.

What happens to the pastures you merged

The merged pasture is created as a new pasture with the name you gave it. Its acreage is the combined acreage of the pastures you merged.

The original pastures are retired. They no longer appear in your Pastures list or on the map, and they cannot be edited.

Troubleshooting

• Merge Pastures is grayed out. The pasture has active subdivisions. Retire the subdivisions or convert them to pastures first.
• A pasture I want to merge is not in the list. It is more than 33 ft from your base pasture.
• I cannot find one of the pastures I merged. Merged pastures are retired and removed from your Pastures list. Their grazing history is kept.
• My herd is not where I expected after a merge. See Why Did My Herd Disappear from the Map.

Related articles

• Subdividing Pastures
• Managing Subdivisions
• Retiring Subdivisions
• Converting Subdivisions into Independent Pastures
• How to Edit or Delete a Pasture
• Moving Herds on the Map
• Understanding the Item Summary Panel
• Why Did My Herd Disappear from the Map