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Weeds are gone... Now
What?
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Karen Jackson
University of Tennessee
Extension Agent
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Well, you got goats
to clean up your pastures of pesky weeds such as pigweed,
cockle bur, thistles, honeysuckle, brambles, and so
on. After a few years, all of these plants seem to
be under control; and your goats are competing with
your cattle for grass. They also seem to be picking
up more parasites because they are now grazing closer
to the ground. So what do you plant next to provide
the goats with their nutrient needs and keep them
at their peak condition? |
First of all, you
will need to look at your legume base in your pasture.
Goats like to eat alfalfa, red clover, lespedezas,
birdsfoot trefoil; and vetch. These forages will provide
some quality protein; many will fix nitrogen in your
pastures for grasses. Their TDN values are also fairly
high. |
Next you want to
look at what grasses you would want to plant with
your legumes. Grasses for goats should be of the broader
leaf variety and less stems. Goats will eat orchard
grass, reed canary grass, fescue, and rye for cool
season grasses in spring and fall. |
For summer pastures
they will. do fairly well on native grasses such as
broom sedge; but you can plant Bermuda, sorghum, sudan
grass, Bahiagrass, and millet. |
If you would like
to have earlier grazing, goats will also eat small
grains such as wheat and rye. |
When you are looking
at forages to plant, consider the following: |
Do I want forage
as close to year-round as I can get? |
Do I want to use
this forage for hay as well as grazing, or am I going
to buy in hay? |
How are my slopes
for planting some of this forage? |
Is my soil capable
of producing this forage? |
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Forages on your farm
should match your soil type, landscape type, and animals
you are grazing. If you are grazing goats and don't
have plenty of browse, planting from the above listing
should give you quality forage for your animals. If
you have sheep, you might want to lean more on the
grasses, and lessen some of the legumes. Sheep prefer
clover, whereas goats would prefer lespedezas. |
For the control of
parasites, make sure your forage is above 8 inches
while grazing and also give a resting break of 6 months
or longer on pastures to let parasite larva die down.
If you graze a pasture in early spring and it grows
up, but hasn't had a long resting break, cut hay from
it in later spring. This will reduce the amount of
larva on the pasture so it can be used for fall. |
| Good luck with your
pastures and forage bases!
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This article first appeared in
Volume 1, Issue 2, of the Small Ruminant Newsletter
published by Karen Jackson, UT Extension Agent, P.O.
Box 100, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464. You should be able
to contact your local Extention Office for the same
services and additional information.
"The University of Tennessee, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and County Government Cooperating.
The Agricultural Extension Service offers its programs
to all eligible persons regardless of race, color,
national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or
veteran status and is an Equal Opportunity employer."
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