The following is from Grazing Bites and is used with permission.

by Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

As I write this in late September, the pastures, woodlands, cropland, yards, and gardens all appear to be settling into autumn earlier than normal. This is due primarily to prolonged dry conditions. As wet as it was earlier in the year, and with most area rainfall totals being about normal for the year, I still find myself about four inches behind on rain for the present time frame, but thankfully with rain in the forecast.

This has certainly been a good year to be a watchful grazer—but that is always a good thing! I still have both sheep and cows, and I often ask myself why. The answer is that sometimes a flerd is better. The cattle focus most of their grazing on grasses, legumes, a few random forbs, and some tree leaves within reach while the sheep most often prefer forbs and legumes over grasses.

Sheep are more selective about quality than cattle. Not to say that cattle can’t be selective, but sheep have the ability to choose individual leaves and plant pieces with their mouths, whereas cattle eat by wrapping their tongues around a good bite, tearing it off, and consuming whatever is in it. Cattle may try to consume specific plants or species they prefer, but they are more likely to take in a wider variety, especially if competing with another animal nearby.

Several years ago, I had lab work done on fecal samples collected from both cattle and sheep grazing together in the same field. If you were paying attention to their grazing and browsing, you would have quickly noticed that they were not consuming the same things. The manure samples were assessed using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, a useful technique for analyzing ruminant fecal samples. It provides rapid and non-destructive assessments of the chemical composition of the samples and tests exactly what the livestock consumed—not what we thought they consumed. NIR spectroscopy can estimate the composition of fecal matter, including dry matter, crude protein, fiber and energy content.

Every time both cattle and sheep were evaluated while grazing the same field, the sheep consistently outgrazed the cattle in terms of quality. Such information can be advantageous for managing forages.

As conditions began to dry, I started getting more creative with grazing the flerd. Technically, it wasn’t a flerd—which is when a flock and herd are combined and grazed together— that was not the plan this time. The goal was to extend grazing as long as possible under dry conditions while maximizing recovery for grasses.

The cattle grazed first. The sheep followed, focusing on plants that the cattle either didn’t desire, preferred, or just missed. Sheep don’t mind leftovers and don’t complain and were moved prior to much grazing of grasses. At the same time, the sheep provide a service: besides grazing on desirable forbs (non-leguminous plants), they also browse on plants that I consider undesirable. As long as those plants are not toxic and have sufficient nutritional value, it’s a good thing!

Victor Shelton is a retired Agronomist/Grazing Specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He continues to write Grazing Gites in his spare time from his property in southwest Indiana. - Issue 201