El 2-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 22, 2003 BENEFITS OF MULTI-SPECIES GRAZING Mixed species grazing has several advantages. Cattle prefer grass over other types of plants, and are less selective than sheep or goats. Sheep and goats, on the other hand, are much more likely to eat weeds. Sheep prefer forbs (broad leaved plants) to grass, and goats have a preference for browsing on brush and shrubs, and then broad-leaved weeds. Therefore, grazing cat tle, sheep, and goats together on a diverse pasture should re sult in all types of plants being eaten, thus controlling weeds and brush, while yielding more pounds of gain per acre compared to single-species grazing. The addition of goats to cattle pastures has been shown to benefit the cattle by reducing browse plants and broad-leaved weeds. This per mits more grass growth. Goats will control blackberry bram bles, multiflora rose, honey suckle, and many other trou blesome plants. It is thought that you can add one goat per cow to a pasture without any reduction in cattle perform ance, and with time the weedy species will be controlled so that total carrying capacity is improved. This is a cheap way of renovating pastures, and you can sell the extra goats and kids for a profit, as well. The same principle holds for sheep. Although they are less likely to clean up woody plants, sheep are quite effec tive at controlling other weeds, with proper stocking pressure. Multi-species grazing may also benefit pastures that are less diverse, by encouraging more even grazing. Cattle will tend to graze taller grasses that sheep may reject. It has been shown that sheep graze near cattle manure deposits, which cattle avoid. This also results in more even use of the pasture. Carrying capacity and pasture productivity are improved, and animal gains are also increased. Diversifica tion of species results in diver sification of income sources. Also, some researchers have found that adding cattle to a sheep flock may help reduce predation losses, after a period of bonding. Another way that multi species grazing can improve pasture and animal produc tion is through the consump tion of poisonous plants by a species that is not harmed by the toxins. For example, leafy spurge and larkspur, serious problems in the western U.S., are harmful to cattle but not sheep. Therefore, using sheep to eliminate those plants will result in more useable and safe pasture for cattle. Con versely, some plants are prob lematic for sheep, but easily tolerated by cattle. Parasites are a major con cern with sheep and goats, under any system. Worm eggs are deposited on the pasture in the manure; the eggs hatch and larvae are consumed by grazing animals. If left un treated, concentrations of par asites will increase with time as this cycle is repeated. High er concentrations of animals on a pasture may tend to mag nify the infestation. Parasites are species-specific; that is, cattle parasites affect cattle, and not sheep, while sheep parasites affect sheep but not cattle. The cattle act as “vacu um cleaners,” in - gesting the sheep worm lar vae, and preventing them from affecting the sheep. This is most helpful when sheep and cattle follow each other in a grazing system. However, goats and sheep do share par asites, and therefore grazing them together does not im prove parasite control. fltf u u tJ £ M % Because parasite eggs are deposited in the manure, and larvae only travel a short dis tance up grass blades, animals grazing taller forages will not consume worm eggs or larvae. Therefore, goats that are given ample browse will be much less likely to become infested with parasites. If goats are forced to graze at ground level, however, the goats may acquire a serious parasite load. Potential Problems with Multi-Species Grazing Problems may arise with mixed species grazing. One of these is the potential for “bully” animals. Bully ani mals can be from any species. At lambing time, some cattle may be difficult and bother some to the sheep, or the shep herd. Another problem is supple mental feeding, including the feeding of trace minerals. The mineral supplement that is adequate for sheep may not be so for cattle, and a mineral supplement that is best for cattle may be toxic to sheep, as sheep to not tolerate much copper. This difficulty, and the one of aggressive animals, may be overcome by simply rotating the animals. If sheep are grazed for a few days, then moved to a fresh pasture and the next species put on the first pasture, you may get the Mfe Salute Our Faming Industry G 4 SERIES Fertilizer and Lime Spreaders The New Leader 04 Series Spreader can spread more acres per day-- with a wider range of material application ratcsHthan any other granular applicator currently on the market. The new L3OZOG4 variable rate broadcaster allows you to I Spread lime with effective swath widths up to 60’. I Spread fertilizer with effective swath widths up to 90’. The New Leader L2020G4 is also available. For more Informatlon contact: Annville Equipment Co. 470 Palmyra-Bellegrove Road Annville, PA 17003 717/867*4631 or 800/233*0520 Email: aeclOpaonllne.com website: annvtlieequlpmentcompany.com benefits to your pasture and avoid these problems. Fencing is another issue to consider. Electric fencing is generally considered to be the most economical and conven ient. Opinions vary as to num ber of strands needed. If sheep get in the habit of going through the fence, it’s very hard to cure them. Goats are notoriously hard to contain in an area. If cattle fence is already in place, one idea is to string off set wires inside the fence. This should be set in about 8 inch es, and be 12-14 inches above the ground, and must be maintained at 4,500 volts or better to be effective. Also, it is a good idea to train sheep or goats to electric fence. This is done by confining them in a small area with a very power fid fence, or by placing feed on the other side of the fence, just out of reach. For best results, the training area should be surrounded by secure fencing such as panels, woven wire, or a board fence. This practice will discourage those individu als inclined to lunge forward or run through the fence after being shocked. —ATTRA Website (Appro priate Technology For Rural Areas)
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