A IB—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 5,1983
UNIVERSITY PARK ~ College
of Agriculture scientists at Penn
State claim that over four million
acres of abandoned cropland and
open forest land in Pennsylvania
would make suitable pasture for
beef cattle and sheep.
They found that many species of
wild vegetation are excellent
sources of nutrients for livestock,
according to Lowell L. Wilson,
animal scientist and project
leader.
The Penn Staters were surprised
at the total protein content of some
weed species such as small white
aster, boneset, Allegheny black
berry, clearweed, northern
dewberry, dandelion, Virginia wild
rye, and several other plants.
“The average total protein
content of several weed species
was sufficient to meet the protein
requirements of young steers and
lambs as well as mature beef cows
and sheep,” Wilson commented.
He said several weed and shrub
species contained enough
digestible energy to maintain
weights of animals. However, most
weeds were not quite high enough
in energy to meet the needs of
young, growing steers and lambs.
Wild vegetation was sampled
from marginal, unused fields and
open forests in three Pennsylvania
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4 million unused Pa. acres suitable for livestock
areas Elk, Centre, and Hun
tingdon counties. Fifty-one plant
species were analyzed for energy
and protein content. Many species
also contained adequate levels of
vital minerals such as calcium,
phosphorus,magnesium, and
copper.
In feeding trials with mature
sheep, several weeds and wild
shrubs had fair-to-good ac
ceptance. some plant species were
eaten readily including fine-leaved
asters, wild carrot, Virginia
strawberry, gray dogwood, ox-eye
daisy, common yarrow, and
dewberries.
But even these weeds became
less acceptable as the grazing
season advanced from spring
through fall. This was somewhat
expected, Wilson said, since edible
quality of all plants tends to
decrease as plants mature.
He noted that large areas of once
cleared cropland were abandoned
years ago when farmers con
centrated their production on the
more highly fertile acres. The less
productive marginal lands tend to
be too dry, lack top soil, are stony,
have poor internal drainage, and
are difficult to harvest.
However, many of the weed and
shrub species in abandoned fields
and open forest land have mineral
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content as desirable as alfalfa and
clover, Wilson pointed out. This is
important in grazing livestock, he
said, since many metabolic
diseases in cattle and sheep are
related to mineral imbalances and
deficiencies.
Wilson and associates deter
mined that old field sites produced
sufficient forage for one mature
beef cow and her calf on three to
five acres during a 150-day grazing
period. However, 20 acres or more
would be needed for each cow and
calf in sparsely-grown hardwood
areas. About two and one-half
acres of old fields would be needed
to maintain each young, growing
steer.
Faculty members active in the
research, in addition to Wilson,
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were William C. Stringer in
agronomy, Todd W. Bowersox in
forestry, William L. Kjelgaard in
agricultural engineering, and Earl
J. Partenheimer in agricultural
economics.
Three locations in Pennsylvania
were studied as typical of hill lands
suitable for increased grazing of
livestock. Each area featured
plant environments unique for that
site.
One area was the Allegheny
Plateau region of Elk County. A
second area was the ridge and
valley section of Centre County.
This land included forested ridges
and abandoned valley cropland.
The third area included the bot
tomland or ridges and valleys in
Huntingdon County.
Soil pH ranged from 4.5 (acid
condition) for open forest land in
Elk County to 6.7 (almost neutral)
for old fields in Huntingdon
County. Wild vegetation was
sampled in spring, summer,-and
fall. Mature sheep were pastured
in Centre County plots to deter
mine acceptability of the various
plant species.
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