Weed Management and Livestock
In mixed systems, where grass/clover leys are used for fertility building, livestock can make good use of the nutrients and they also produce manure, a resource which can be used around the farm to fertilise cash crops. Apart from leys, pastures will also need weed management and increasingly conservation of old or rough pastures requires specialist grazing. Animals can also be used to consume cut weeds or other plant material like chaff or screenings that are likely to contain some weed seeds.
Animals have different grazing habits and it is even recognised that different breeds or individuals are likely to have different tastes and habits. The species, breed, age and individuality of animals will all affect what they will eat and therefore what effect they will have on both weeds and pasture. Variability within the feeding site (e.g. vegetation, topography) can also be important as can other factors such as the weather. In general terms:
- goats are browsers and have a reputation for enjoying tough and woody plants
- sheep are recognised as being useful for weed control as they graze close to the ground and will eat a wide range of plants. They can be used early and some breeds are hardy
- cattle can be used for early grazing but there are a large number of different breeds and types with different grazing requirements including beef, dairy and traditional breeds. Grazing strategies appear to be related to plant energy content and digestibility and this will affect how plants are eaten (leaves or stems or other parts of plants), which plants are eaten (species) and size plants eaten (young or more mature plants). Cattle tend to avoid longer coarser grass and hairy, spiny or poisonous plants. The selection of certain plant species and plant components as well as the location of these plants is based on the previous experience of the animals or learned from their mothers when they are calves.
- pigs are good at rooting and have been recommended at various times for digging out perennial weeds like dock and couch when fenced within fields (and tightly stocked)
- geese consume grassy weeds and have been used to weed in between rows of well established crops
- horses and poniesare grazed on ever increasing areas of land and can be used as part of a grazing rotation. They prefer frequent small amounts of fibrous grass or other high roughage material. They have been known to dramatically increase the number of docks in a rotation.
It is important to get the right grazing balance over the year to get the maximum benefit for the animals and also to prevent damage to the sward or soil. For example, stocking more lightly in the winter months and in wet periods prevents poaching. So think about the right season to graze, how long to graze, how many animals to graze and how long the grazing area will need to recover. Things to consider include:
- timing grazing to benefit the pasture and promote competition with weeds
- timing grazing to damage the weeds, e.g. to remove flowers or seed heads before seed production
- allowing time for the pasture or forage to recover between grazings
- making sure that livestock that have been grazing on weedy land feed on weed seed free forage for 4- 5 days before introducing them to weed free areas or pastures (some seeds will remain viable after passing through animals which may take a few days)
Suggestions for rotating livestock, depending on situation, include:
- alternate the grazing of sheep and cattle from year to year or to use mixed grazing for better weed control. Mixed grazing in the same field may be detrimental to the cattle (see SAC factsheet)
- exploit animals
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We suspect that grazing a few goats with a sheep flock might exploit the complimentary grazing habits of the two species and control weeds. The difficulty seems to be that goats, particularly dairy goats, are not as weatherproof as sheep - and need more shelter...
- Lawrence Wright 1---1-2004
Around Pau it is all maize and becoming a desret devoid of all incects. Money!
I have found geese, and hens eat the seeds and young plants this helps, but at now near retirement age I can see myself 'fleebaning every year' Not a happy thought...
There is a very small part of me that has to admire the technics for survival of this weed. Does anyone know what use it coud be apart from making a sort of hemp!
Would love any replies as I am beginning to dream about the wrethched plant!
- Fran 0---1-2006