As we look out on our pasture’s painted canvas, we always strive to make something better – whether that’s deciding which bull to turn out for this coming year’s calf crop, how to better maintain weeds and brush along fencelines or simply how to increase forage production. All these corrections require a thinking cap and, of course, a toolbox. When it comes to better pasture maintenance and increasing the overall richness of the soil, have you considered the idea of integrating multispecies livestock into your grazing program?
“A resilient farm is based upon diversity,” says Lee Rinehart, sustainable agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology. “Grazing multiple species together can allow for a more stable and sustainable income and will noticeably increase pasture resiliency. Having different livestock species on the farm will help push plant succession in the pastures toward a multitude of forage species.”
With the help of varied species of livestock, the composition of the pasture is likely to change. Livestock contribute organic matter to the soil, fostering better nutrient cycling. Grazing on forage plants stimulates root growth and root exudation of plant sugars that feed soil microorganisms. This all increases soil microbiota, especially when different species of livestock graze together on one pasture.
Creating diversity on pastureland
The big question is, how do you get diversity out on your pastureland? Rinehart says, “First thing, put animals on it and watch.” Observe their grazing patterns and what plants they are after. Notice how the pastures recover after the livestock are moved to another paddock. Rinehart also noted to move your livestock around and to not keep them on the same pasture the same time each year. Hence, it is important to document the changes in your pastures, especially the different livestock species grazing on them.
To increase grazing capacity, the consideration of adding sheep to an existing cattle operation can be beneficial. “One sheep for every cow will usually not affect pasture productivity, since the dietary overlap between the two species is around 50 percent to 75 percent, but there are seasonal considerations to consider. As the season gets warmer and dryer, dietary overlap between sheep and cattle tends to decrease as sheep look for higher-quality forage while cattle can get by with forages of lesser quality,” Rinehart says.
A key management strategy is to select indicator plants in the pasture and monitor them. When these plants reach about 50% to 60% defoliation, it’s probably time to move the herd or flock. If you want to start small with the integration of sheep and cattle together, Rinehart suggests trying out one sheep for every one or two cows. With that, you also have another enterprise, increasing opportunities for profitability. It is also important to note that while integrating sheep into a cattle operation, your population with sheep will increase dramatically, and quickly, especially with twin rates. “The pressure on the pasture throughout the course of a year will rapidly increase with sheep rather than cattle,” Rinehart says.
Travis Hoffman, sheep specialist for North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, explains more about the integration of sheep and goats into cattle pastures. “Sheep provide the opportunity to utilize pastureland if there are invasive species, most specifically leafy spurge. Goats have the advantage because they are browsers and will help to utilize shrubs and forbs – helping with Minnesota’s challenge on buckthorn,” says Hoffman. “Buckthorn decreases pasture capability as a forage. Utilizing goats in a multispecies grazing situation allows for the goats to control buckthorn, and the goats graze, making the pastures better available to cattle and better for cattle use.”
Additionally, when the prices of cattle drop, you have sheep or goats to piggyback on, which also has the benefit of having a lower upfront cost to get into. Moreover, instead of having to spray weeds, sheep and/or goats will take care of those for you – saving money and helping take care of the land. With these benefits noted, there are some important considerations when grazing multiple species together.
Adequate fencing
Fencing requirements vary between species; however, fencing for a multispecies system doesn’t have to be complicated. “Two strands of poly wire will keep sheep and cattle in, and it might keep goats in but only if they are bonded to the cattle,” says Rinehart. Rinehart shares how when you have multiple species together within a paddock, they tend to bond and have fewer incidents of escapes (i.e., the goats). They stick closer together because of their evolutionary history of avoiding predation.
Mineral supplementation
Sheep are more susceptible to copper toxicity than goats and cattle. “You can overcome this if you have really good soils, if you’ve been working on your soils and if you’ve got really diverse forages out there with a good grazing system,” says Rinehart.
Rinehart refers to a good grazing system as when animals are not staying on a paddock too long and their grazing periods are short, leaving a good residue after grazing and allowing that pasture to have full plant recovery before it’s grazed again. This all builds the soil structure, aggregation and a habitat for microorganisms, resulting in nutrient cycling while also accessing rock minerals through carbonate acids.
If mineral is needed on multispecies pastures, you can separate creep feeders for sheep, or if you have goats and cattle together, feed them the same mineral. Hoffman encourages using species-specific mineral for sheep to help avoid copper toxicity, “not cattle mineral because of the increases in the copper in the cattle mineral.”
Parasite control
“When grazing sheep and/or goats, it’s important in early summer to evaluate parasitic load by using FAMACHA scoring. Deworming sheep and goats prior to pasture grazing is beneficial,” recommends Hoffman. “Veterinarians would suggest, according to the biological cycle of parasites, that you check your animals once a month to determine anemia. That is the result of increased parasitic loads.”
When managing parasite populations in which you have a refugium of parasites and increased resistance to dewormers, Rinehart suggests utilizing a five-point check: FAMACHA scoring, identifying animals, getting rid of repeat offenders and only treating the ones with symptoms of anemia. Speak with your veterinarian for more information on small ruminant parasite control.
Keep in mind these best practices to fully utilize your pastureland. Will you be incorporating multispecies grazing to build a more resilient, diverse farm?
