Multi-species grazing

Maximizing forage and farm productivity

The goal of multi-species grazing is to graze two or more livestock species on the same piece of land, aiming to produce more total pounds per acre compared to single-species grazing, while also improving the pasture ecosystem and composition.

Livestock grazing preferences

Each ruminant livestock species will select for different proportions of each common plant functional group (grasses, forbs and browse).

On average:

• Cattle select 70% grass, 15% forbs and 15% browse.
• Sheep select 50% grass, 30% forbs and 20% browse.
• Goats select 30% grass, 10% forbs and 60% browse.
• These proportions will vary within the livestock species and can be manipulated by management.
• Using a diversity of grazing livestock species promotes pasture plant species diversity, resulting in increased nutrient cycling and productivity.

Take stock of pasture plant species

To take advantage of multi-species grazing, evaluate the proportions of grasses, forbs, and browse currently in your pastures and on your farm site.

Determine which livestock species might be a suitable addition to your operation based on your pasture make-up and species preferences.

Benefits of multi-species grazing

These benefits are only realized when proper grazing, animal husbandry, and business management techniques are used.

Plants

• Forage quality and resilience increase, as may overall pasture forage crude protein and organic matter digestibility.
• Prevents pasture domination of just one plant group or species.
• Reduced need for weed control in pastures.

Livestock

• Weight gain increases per day per unit of area.
• Parasite control improves when cattle are grazed with small ruminants.
• Protection from predators improves when combining small ruminants with larger ruminants.
  • Small ruminants should not be combined with all classes of cattle.
  • Cows may attack lambs as they are born.

Farm

• Studies show that a 1:1 ratio of cattle to sheep can increase the net return per animal unit by 65%.
• You can diversify your income streams and mitigate risks.
• Inputs shared between enterprises lower the total cost of producing two or more products.

Livestock considerations

There is a lot to learn when raising a new livestock species, even for experienced livestock producers. Do your homework. For example, learn which plants are toxic to new livestock species. Cattle producers must learn about parasite control for small ruminants if they want to incorporate sheep and goats.

Cattle

• Sheep are more competitive when forage availability is low; cattle productivity will decline.
• If feeding sheep minerals to cattle, you may need to increase copper supplementation during the third trimester of gestation.

Sheep and goats

• Sheep are sensitive to copper. Do not feed cattle minerals with higher levels of copper to sheep.
• May need livestock guardian animals.
• They require more fencing infrastructure, especially for goats. You may need to cull sheep or goats that don’t stay inside the fence.
• Ensure sheep and goats can reach cattle waterers. Place rocks at the bottom of the waterer in case lambs or kids fall in, so they can easily get back out.
• Sheep and goats share parasites. If grazing sheep and goats together, there may be more parasite pressure on goats.
• Prevent all species from grazing too low to the ground (below 6 inches of forage height) to minimize parasite infection.

Grazing methods

Grazing together

Multiple livestock species can be grazed together in a flerd (i.e., sheep and cattle bonded together). This will reduce the labor required for moving livestock to new paddocks. However, bonding cattle and small ruminants can be difficult.

• Start with the youngest, weaned livestock to attempt bonding.
• Closely monitor livestock that are bonding for any aggressive behaviors.

Grazing separately

Multiple livestock species can graze the same land in sequence, one after the other. Some producers graze sheep first, followed by cattle, chickens, and then pigs. This requires more labor to move multiple groups of livestock.

Keeping livestock species separate may reduce the transfer of disease between livestock species. It also allows for specialized management, such as nutrition and health protocols tailored to each species.

Evaluate your resource concerns, landscape, forage and labor availability to determine which livestock species to graze and how to graze them.