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Build up your pasture leading into the wet part of winter. Higher pasture cover provides better physical protection against pugging. Ideally, you want pasture to be 12-15cm high.

The main cause of soil pugging is stock churning up wet ground, damaging pasture plants and compacting soil, removing crucial, tiny pockets of air. As you can see in this image, something heavy travelling over wet soil has a dramatic effect, crushing its air pockets and structure.

Pugging can severely reduce pasture yield – between 20-80% for 4-8 months – depending on soil type, the severity of the damage, and assuming you take remedial action.

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11 ways to reduce pugging in your pasture thisnzlife.co.nz