Got a problem with leafy spurge? Maybe you can eat your way out of it.
Using animals to graze pasture infested by weeds can reduce the need for costly chemicals, according to Lee Sexton of the Agri-Environmental Services Branch of Agriculture Canada.
Sexton helps manage 20,000 acres of public grazing land near Lake Diefenbaker which became infested with leafy spurge. He spoke of his efforts to control the weed with livestock at the recent Ultimate Sheep Seminar presented by the Battle River Research Group.
The grazing land had been overrun by leafy spurge, an invasive species originally from Europe that thrives in many soil types, can tolerate both very wet and very dry conditions, and spreads quickly, either by its intensive root system or its seeds.
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Because the area was so large and so infested, spraying would have been very costly, said Sexton. However, animals can be trained to eat leafy spurge before they are set on the pasture. To graze the area, Sexton brought in 1,300 sheep which were moved using fencing rather than herding. As well, 180 goats were also brought in to graze.
In addition, about 550 cows were mixed in with 50 cows that had already been taught to eat the leafy spurge and had previously eaten it for two years in a row.
However, for some reason, the cows were fussy this year.
“I think we trampled more spurge than they ate,” said Sexton. “I watched lots of time and I never saw them eat a lick. We can’t explain what’s happening this year. They had been eating spurge for the past couple of years.”
He suspects the excess moisture may have made the spurge less palatable this year.
Sheep and cattle were not mixed, but were grazed in areas parallel to each other. The sheep consumed spurge in a mixed pasture. Because the cows were not eating the spurge, Sexton considered moving sheep into that pasture, but decided against it.
“I felt they couldn’t go on straight spurge. They need something else,” he said.
Some of the sheep had been trained to eat spurge while others were getting their first taste.
“By five to seven days on that 40-acre parcel, they were putting the heat on the spurge,” he said.
The sheep grazed the spurge extremely well and had to be moved fairly frequently, said Sexton.
“I couldn’t build a fence fast enough for them.”
Goats had a good tolerance for the spurge and may be the best animal for controlling it, said Sexton. The goats were able to consume the spurge right down to the nubs and also ate the grass on the mixed pasture. Next year’s plan will involve reintroducing the cattle to the leafy spurge, and then grazing sheep, cattle and goats together on the same patch of land.
“We’ll have the three species rotating quickly,” he said.
Sexton regrazed most of the spurgy areas, and was able to reduce the volume of the weed by stressing it and weakening it.
But controlling invasive species such as leafy spurge through grazing can take many years, said Sexton. It can also be controlled through the introduction of leafy spurge beetles, who weaken the plant with their larva.
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Using animals to graze pasture infested by weeds can reduce the need for costly chemicals
