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Jared Higley herds 250 goats
grazing leafy spurge on the mountains east of Salmon. |
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Four-Legged
Pest Control
In the West, noxious weeds have engulfed more than 70 million acres
of private, state and federal land, and they’re expanding
their turf at 4,000 acres a day.
Chipping away at this massive invasion is daunting—like
plowing a field with a toothpick. That hasn’t stopped producers,
researchers and educators from queuing up with innovative solutions,
including prescribed grazing with sheep, goats and cattle.
In eastern Washington, extension beef specialist
Donald Nelson launched a plan to teach the teachers
(EW01-006) about prescribed grazing. In 2002, he coordinated workshops
to teach 30 participants about multi-species grazing. Each was encouraged
to form groups to initiate projects using prescribed grazing to
snuff noxious weeds. The goal: demonstrate non-chemical methods
of controlling invasive weeds and excessive fuel loads in areas
where water, humans or rugged terrain restrict herbicide use.
In a separate grant (SW03-006), Nelson is using goats, sheep and
cattle, along with selected herbicides, to see which combinations
work best from economic, environmental and societal perspectives.
On two Washington ranches involving 2,600 acres,
the animals and herbicides will attack invasive plants like Russian
olive, Scotch thistle, perennial pepperweed and knapweeds. Nelson
hopes to reduce herbicide expense and environmental losses and provide
alternative forage to produce meat and fiber.
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Bonnie and Stan Jensen of
Salmon, Idaho, hire out their goats to graze unwanted vegetation.
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Weed Eaters
Bonnie Jensen stressed over suggesting to her husband that he sell
some beef cows to buy her some goats. But she’d done her homework,
and Stan relented to buy 35 goats for grazing noxious weeds (FW01-039).
Today, the Jensens manage 750 does and 17 bucks. They contract
with the Bureau of Land Management to graze leafy spurge on 8,000
acres in the mountains above Salmon and with the City of Salmon
to graze spotted knapweed around the municipal water supply. In
addition to income and feed from grazing weeds, they sell goats
for meat and pick the top does for sale to other producers. In the
process, they employ local youth they hire to herd.
“It’s a success,” declares Stan. “The
cows would go down the road before the goats.”
The success has Bonnie dreaming of conducting a herding school,
building a goat dairy to produce milk and cheese and inviting tourists
to enjoy the goat-herding experience. And for Stan: He dreams of
taking the goats south to Arizona for kidding and grazing during
Salmon’s long winters.
“Sustainable practices in agriculture are critical to the
health of every aspect of our ecosystem. It’s therefore imperative
that we promote and support the research and education that will
bring these practices into the mainstream.”
Kathy McCarthy, contaminant hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey,
Portland,Oregon
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Goats substitute for herbicides
to choke off spotted knapweed at the Salmon water supply. |
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Animals harnessed to knock back weed
and insect pests
Jim Jacobs of Montana State University hopes to
thwart spotted and diffuse knapweeds using grazing sheep, a flightless
weevil and desirable native plants (SW03-056). Two Montana
ranchers will test various combinations of these non-chemical tools
to restore healthy, diverse plant communities that are resistant
to reinvasion by weeds.
In Idaho, Jeff Nauman of the
state Department of Lands is working with ranchers Ray and
Marianne Holes of the Lazy H Ranch. They’re assessing
various combinations of goat grazing and prescribed burning to beat
back undesirable brush on recently harvested and newly planted forest
plantations (FW03-307). Nauman says the forest industry, like much
of agriculture, has come to rely on the quick fix of chemical herbicides,
which can reduce soil productivity and stimulate dependence. He
hopes to educate owners of large tracts of Idaho timberlands about
the benefits of browsing.
Bug Beaters
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Sheep graze grain stubble
in Montana to suppress wheat stem sawflies and recycle nutrients.
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In Montana, they’re using sheep to fight
crop-damaging insects. Pat Hatfield, Montana State
University animal scientist, found that grazing sheep suppress the
wheat stem sawfly in wheat stubble better than tillage or burning.
And sheep grazing alfalfa in winter and spring trim weevil populations
by 70% (SW00-015).
Not only do grazing sheep save producers the expense of burning,
tillage and insecticides, the sheep crimp weed populations and recycle
nutrients without compacting the soil. In return, the sheep owner
gets an economical, sustainable source of feed.
“Historically,” says Hatfield, “farmers have
been able to see immediate results from technological advances like
fertilizer, pesticides and genetically altered plant varieties.
Our program, though less costly, progresses more slowly, requiring
long-term commitment.”
“Human activity demands the use of our natural resources.
But that use must be renewable, not depletive, if the human species
is going to survive.”
Gus Hughbanks, state conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation
Service, Spokane, Washington
Simply Sustainable
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