Last week we spent a few days with beef, sheep and dairy farmers
interested in learning more about how animals can be taught to expand their
nutritional palates. The farmers who
came to the events were excited and engaged, and at all three farms we found
animals eating some of the target weeds.
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| Picking goldenrod for a live weed-eating demo. |
As weed-eating trainer Kathy Voth says this process, "helps
you feel comfortable with your animals' ability to make good choices."
As Bruce Hennessey of Maple Wind Farm in Huntington said,
"I look at my pastures in a totally
different way now". Bruce and
his interns Eleanor, Eli and Diane have been teaching their beef cattle to eat
golden rod at a leased farm and plan to tackle Canada thistle at the home farm
next.
Julie Wolcott of Green Wind Farm in Fairfield worked with
her dairy heifers to each a variety of weeds they will find in the pasture,
once they are turned out to begin grazing.
The weed-eating program has not only introduced them to a range of weeds
from thistle to plaintain, but has also been an easy way to teach the heifers
that grass and legumes are tasty and nutritious. Typically, Julie observes that the cows lose
weight when they first go out to pasture, as they adjust to the new food
choices. She is hoping they eat all of
the plants more evenly and that the heifers' weight gain continues
smoothly. As Julie says, "This is easy! Easier than I ever expected."
Jenn Colby of Howling Wolf Farm in East Randolph has been
teaching her sheep to eat Canada thistle, but her flock has already enjoyed a
varied diet. Tops on the menu: wild
chervil, wild parsnip, burdock and giant ragweed. As Jenn says, "I haven't experienced the drought challenges that the farms around me
have this year. The sheep love the
burdock and milkweed, which are growing back very quickly after grazing....much
faster than the grass. I don't think of
weeds as weeds...I think of weeds as alternative forage!"
So...why should you
consider teaching your animals to become weed managers?
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| Proof! |
- Weeds are nutritious and highly digestible
- Weeds are resilient in a changing environment
- Weeds maintain their quality longer than other forages
- Weeds take NO work to plant, fertilize or maintain
- Weeds have always been here...and likely always will be
- Controlling weeds mechanically or with chemical sprays is expensive, costly, and takes time
- It's quick and easy, and teaching animals once means they will teach their herdmates for years
- Animals who eat weeds are healthy and grow well
- Farmers have better things to do than stress about old weeds (or new ones!)
- It's fun (we're not kidding)
To learn
more about teaching livestock to eat alternative forages, visit
www.livestockforlandscapes.com or contact the UVM Center for Sustainable
Agriculture's Pasture Program at www.uvm.edu/pasture
